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How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers

Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.

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Main Author: MacRobert, Marguerite
Other Authors: Viljoen, Shaun
Format: Thesis
Published: Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch 2010
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access_status_str Open Access
author MacRobert, Marguerite
author2 Viljoen, Shaun
author_browse MacRobert, Marguerite
Viljoen, Shaun
author_facet Viljoen, Shaun
MacRobert, Marguerite
author_sort MacRobert, Marguerite
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv University of Stellenbosch
description Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/5224
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:45:01.662Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2010
publishDateRange 2010
publishDateSort 2010
publisher Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
publisherStr Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/5224 How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers MacRobert, Marguerite Viljoen, Shaun University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Creative writing processes Writing Coovadia,Imraan -- Interviews Beake, Lesley -- Interviews Van de Ruit, John -- Interviews Dissertations -- English literature Theses -- English literature Orford, Margie -- Interviews Authorship Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis describes a qualitative investigation of the creative writing processes of successful publishing authors in the South African context. Four successful South African authors of fiction were interviewed with the intention of garnering current, local insights into the creative writing process in order to nuance this field of knowledge and to challenge reductive, undynamic ways of thinking about it. What these creative writers say about their writing processes is discussed in the context of previous empirical research on the writing process and the creative process in the related fields of composition studies and psychology. The resulting theoretical paradigm for the study was a flexible, recursive cognitive process model of the writing process within the context of a particular domain and field, in opposition to a stage model of writing or models of writing that are devoid of social and affective context. Interviews with Margie Orford, Imraan Coovadia, Lesley Beake and John van de Ruit investigated how expert creative writers work in the South African context and explored contributing factors to the writing process, from initial inspiration or origination of ideas through to submission of completed manuscripts for publication. The creative writers in question are experienced authors who have published more than once as the intention was to discover what successful or established authors of literary fiction do, with an eye to making a contribution to current international attempts at theorising the field of creative writing. The results of this research indicated clear support for most of the combined underlying theories and hypotheses discussed in the literature study, with an indication of some areas that required further refining and research, such as the impact of situational variables on the writing process. Finally some suggestions are made as to how the theoretical models might be improved through combination and comparison with one another and with more extensive empirical research, and some of the implications of this research for creative writing pedagogy and the development of novice writers are explored. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis beskryf ’n kwalitatiewe ondersoek van die kreatiewe skryfprosesse van suksesvolle gepubliseerde outeurs in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Onderhoude is met vier suksesvolle fiksieskrywers gevoer met die doel om hedendaagse, plaaslike insig in die kreatiewe skryfproses te verkry ten einde hierdie kennisgebied te nuanseer en reduserende, ondinamiese denke daaroor aan te veg. Hierdie kreatiewe skrywers se beskrywing van hul skryfproses word bespreek teen die agtergrond van vorige empiriese navorsing oor die skryfproses en die kreatiewe proses in die verwante gebiede van stylstudies en sielkunde. Die teoretiese paradigma vir die studie wat hieruit gespruit het, was ’n buigsame, rekursiewe kognitiewe prosesmodel van die skryfproses in die konteks van ’n spesifieke domein en gebied, in teenstelling met ’n faseskryfmodel of skryfmodelle sonder enige maatskaplike en affektiewe konteks. Deur middel van onderhoude met Margie Orford, Imraan Coovadia, Lesley Beake en John van de Ruit is ondersoek hoe ervare kreatiewe skrywers in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks werk, en faktore wat tot die skryfproses bydra, is ondersoek. Sodanige proses strek van aanvanklike inspirasie of die oorsprong van idees tot die inlewering van voltooide manuskripte vir publikasie. Die betrokke kreatiewe skrywers is bedrewe outeurs wat reeds meer as een keer gepubliseer het, aangesien die voorneme was om uit te vind hoe suksesvolle of gevestigde outeurs te werk gaan met die oog daarop om ’n bydrae te maak tot huidige internasionale pogings om die gebied van kreatiewe skryfwerk te teoretiseer. Die resultate van hierdie studie toon duidelike ondersteuning vir die meeste van die gekombineerde onderliggende teorieë en hipoteses wat in die literatuurstudie bespreek is, alhoewel daar ’n aanduiding is dat sommige gebiede verdere verfyning en navorsing verg, byvoorbeeld die impak van situasionele veranderlikes op die skryfproses. Laastens word enkele aanbevelings gemaak oor hoe die teoretiese modelle verbeter kan word deur kombinasie en vergelyking met ander modelle en deur meer omvattende empiriese navorsing, en die implikasies van hierdie navorsing vir die pedagogie van kreatiewe skryfwerk en die ontwikkeling van amateurskrywers word ook ondersoek. Masters 2010-11-24T14:12:40Z 2010-12-15T10:23:23Z 2010-11-24T14:12:40Z 2010-12-15T10:23:23Z 2010-12 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5224 University of Stellenbosch 63 p. application/pdf Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
spellingShingle Creative writing processes
Writing
Coovadia,Imraan -- Interviews
Beake, Lesley -- Interviews
Van de Ruit, John -- Interviews
Dissertations -- English literature
Theses -- English literature
Orford, Margie -- Interviews
Authorship
MacRobert, Marguerite
How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title_full How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title_fullStr How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title_full_unstemmed How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title_short How creative writers write : interviews with successful publishing writers
title_sort how creative writers write interviews with successful publishing writers
topic Creative writing processes
Writing
Coovadia,Imraan -- Interviews
Beake, Lesley -- Interviews
Van de Ruit, John -- Interviews
Dissertations -- English literature
Theses -- English literature
Orford, Margie -- Interviews
Authorship
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5224
work_keys_str_mv AT macrobertmarguerite howcreativewriterswriteinterviewswithsuccessfulpublishingwriters