Emotional Keys to Creativity

You know the joy of writing when the ideas flow freely? When your Muse shows up, supplying words and images as you draft? Set yourself up for that delightful state by embracing a sense of fun.

Putting yourself in a positive mood before you write pays off in creativity. Today, I’ll share scientific support for the idea that writing should be fun.

Positive moods enhance creativity

A significant body of research shows that positive moods boost creativity.

In one study, researchers asked hundreds of young adults to report on their moods and their perceived creativity each day. In the results, positive moods correlated with creativity. The more energetic the mood (excited, energetic, and enthusiastic), the stronger the link with feeling creative.

Negative states didn’t work the same magic.

What does this mean for you in your writing?

Experiment with setting your mood before your work. One friend told me he played positive music before he started writing. Our emotions often leak through into our writing, so pay attention to how you approach your work.Don’t give up on writing if you’re in a bad mood! Showing up on the tough days builds resilience and maintains progress.

However, it’s not as simple as “Happiness breeds creativity.”

First, researchers in that study found that the emotion/creativity link was stronger for people who have more open-minded personalities. (Openness is one of the standard personality traits.)

Second, the correlation isn’t perfect, because we are complex creatures. Other factors affect our creativity—including motivation. Oddly, too much motivation can work against us.

Cute cats or delectable desserts?

According to a series of studies led by Professor Eddie Harmon-Jones at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, another factor contributes to creative moods: motivational intensity.

This report measures productivity by “cognitive scope” — how narrowly we focus our attention. Of course, creativity flourishes with a wider cognitive scope.

To wildly oversimplify the findings, the more intensely you want something, the more attention narrows around that thing.

As an example, the research suggests that watching adorable cat videos might put you in a good mood without motivating you to take any action. Watching videos of delectable desserts, however, focuses your attention on food, leaving less for creative ramblings. Stop watching the Food Network before writing!

Intense desire can narrow, rather than expand, our focus. And a narrow focus shuts down creativity.

This might explain why working for a much-needed payment may take some of the creative joy out of a project, or why it’s harder to do wonderful work when the stakes seem high.

How do we bring this to our writing practice? Watching a few funny cat videos doesn’t hurt, as long as you put on a timer.

More importantly, lighten up on your attachment to the outcome as you write. Trust in your future self to fix whatever comes out as you draft.

The more you focus on finding the perfect word as you draft, the narrower your overall focus becomes. The focused attention of the Scribe shuts out the creative contributions of the Muse.

Adding these ideas to your writing practice

How can you implement this research in your writing?

Experiment with setting your mood before your work. One friend told me he played positive music before he started writing to inspire creativity. Having a pre-writing ritual may help you clear out the negative stuff.Don’t give up on writing if you’re in a bad mood! Showing up on the tough days builds resilience and maintains progress.

As for attachment, it’s okay to be excited about your creative project. As you work on it, give yourself permission to do something less than perfect. Trust that you can fix it later. You may find that creativity shows up.

More on this theme

Watch the April Writing Challenge: Lighten Up

Lighten up with details

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