Creative Process Argument Analysis

When asked if the environment plays a role in the creative process of the participants there was a noticeable reoccurring theme of needing peace to allow creative thoughts to come to them. This idea of not forcing the thoughts and letting the mind wander was also prevalent across all interviews.

(P4) 80-82 – ‘I like to block out distractions to keep my mind focussed and to not lose any of the creative energy.’

(P3) 76-78 – ‘I find it easier to be creative when I 'm in a calming environment with like good music and little distraction from the outside world.’

(P5) 87-88 – ‘creativity, I find peace and being alone is what’s best for me. I also find that I am most creative and productive at night. Though ideas’

(P1) 57-60 – ‘Definitely sunlight,

P5 explains how he works best at night and feels most productive around that time. This could support the calm environment as it is mostly peaceful at night and creative thoughts may come to him easier. P1 also related to finding it easier to come up with creative ideas around the evening time of day, he suggests that the ‘golden hour’ (which is around an hour before the sun sets) is what inspires him most and where he feels the world around him is so stimulating that it helps him with his own ideas. P3 and P4 both describe how they feel the need to ‘block out’ distractions around them so that more creative ideas can flow through them. This idea that creativity comes to you and cannot be forced are also supported by these

There is also this general idea that you can learn to build upon your creativity, this idea that if you don’t, it will fade even though we all have the skill to start with. This could link to the fact that creative people have different perspectives, if you look for the creativity in things you are exercising this skill that you are born with and therefore building upon it and constantly improving.

One participant also agreed with the idea that you can build upon the creative skill however he also stated that he did not believe that you can learn it from scratch. Which could suggest that he believes we are not all born with it and it is just not possible for some people to grasp the skill of creativity;

(P1) 42-45 – ‘hmm no, I guess not. I don’t think it can be learned but I do think it can be enhanced. It’s a way of thinking, we can learn to think creatively, but I think some better than others but we definitely all possess the ability to.’

Another participant supported the biological aspect of creativity and suggested that personality might play a role in how creative you can be. She suggested that although the skill can be improved you might also need a set of personality traits to start off with.

(P4) 64-65 – ‘but I guess this might stem from certain personality traits, and might be improved with the right