Susan Perry on getting into a creative place and daring to write fiction

Two interviews

1) On her book "Writing In Flow"

Susan K. Perry, PhD, is a social psychologist, teacher and author of the book "Writing In Flow" - which is based on her work in flow psychology and includes interviews with dozens of writers.

Referring to a comment that her book "helps writers negotiate that vital movement from 'busy mind' to 'no mind' where they can write with authenticity and real power," Dr. Perry clarifies that it's more a move to "some other place.

"I don't believe that when you get into a creative place, you're giving up thinking," she says. "You're super-thinking -- better and with more parts of your mind than you do normally."

But, she adds, there is a 'busy mind' aspect which "means you're fragmented, you're unfocused, distracted, too many things on your mind. You want to get to a place which is both loose, relaxed, and focused.

"What I found in my studies of flow are that two things you need to do to get to this place where time stops and you can be most creative, are to loosen …