Psychology of Creative Writing Book

"The Psychology of Creative Writing" synthesizes a collection of essays from various writers and explores the mental mechanics of creative writing. Some of the essays are better written than others but all of them are very interesting and insightful.

I liked that the book looked at many different facets of creative writing and gave equal hearing time to a variety of perspectives; it even gave airtime to some findings and theories which slightly conflicted with one another. I appreciated that the book allowed readers to decide how best to interpret contemporary research on the topic.

This book is not aimed at making readers better creative writers per say, but the knowledge it provides concerning the process of writing could help a writer become more self-aware and gain more control over themselves and their craft. The chapter discussing writer's block is a good example of how this book is both a catalyst for improvement and a vehicle for understanding.

Overall this was an informative and enjoyable book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes psychology or writing.