Creative Process..................Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The creative process has traditionally been described as taking five steps.

The first period is preparation, becoming immersed, consciously or not, in a set of problematic issues that are interesting and arouse curiosity.

The second phase of the creative process is a period of incubation, during which ideas churn below the threshold of consciousness. It is during this time that unusual connections are likely to be made. When we intend to solve a problem consciously, we process information in a linear, logical fashion. But when ideas call to each other on their own, without our leading them down a straight narrow path, unexpected combinations may come into being.

The third component of the creative process is insight, sometimes called the "Aha!" moment, the instant when Archimedes cried out "Eureka!" as he stepped into the bath, when the pieces of the puzzle fall together.

The fourth component is evaluation, when the person must decide whether the insight is valuable and worth pursuing. This is often the most emotionally trying part of the process, when one feels most uncertain and insecure.

The fifth and last component of the process is elaboration. It is probably the one that takes up the most time and involves the hardest work. This is what Edison was referring to when he said creativity consists of 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.

The elaboration part of the process is constantly interrupted by periods of incubation and is punctuated by small epiphanies. Thus the creative process is less linear than recursive. How many iterations it goes through, how many loops are involved, how many insights are needed, depends on the depth and breadth of the issues dealth with.