Creative process a. The concept of creativity

Studies of the creative process are associated with the identification of its various stages (acts, steps, phases, moments, stages, etc.). Various classifications of stages proposed by many authors have, according to Ya.A. Ponomarev, approximately the following content:

1. Conscious work - preparation, a special active state, which is a prerequisite for an intuitive glimpse of a new idea;

2. Unconscious work - contemplation, unconscious work on the problem, incubation of the guiding idea;

3. The transition of the unconscious into consciousness - inspiration; as a result of unconscious work, the idea of an invention, discovery, material enters the sphere of consciousness;

4. Conscious work - the development of the idea, its final design.

While agreeing in general with the fact that various spheres of the human psyche are involved in the creative process, we still note that we can hardly speak of a clear alternation of conscious and unconscious brain activity. Neither one nor the other is turned off for a minute, and the dominance of one of the levels of the psyche at various stages of creativity has not yet been proven. It seems more appropriate to describe the stages of creativity not from the point of view of which department of the psyche is responsible for them, but from the point of view of what exactly happens at these stages. And in the latter case, we observe required sequence of processes:

1. Conservation of information is the most complex psychological process of processing information, which includes intellect, emotions, will, all levels of the psyche;

2. Recombination - the reunion of old elements on a new basis, in new connections (at the informational level!), born of the desire to create something unique;

3. Reproduction on the basis of historical and cultural ideas that have developed in humans.

The presence of the first stage is not recognized by all researchers, but no one doubts the last two. A. Maslow calls them the primary and secondary phases of creativity. The primary phase is distinguished by enthusiasm, intense interest. Here a person understands the task, sees its ideal solution and improvises in search of ways to achieve it. The secondary phase of creativity is to develop the material that gave birth to inspiration. Here concrete actions, mastery of creative methods, mastery are already required. Many people go through the first phase, but the development of the second phase is given by hard work, and here inspiration alone is not enough. The peculiarity of journalistic creativity lies in the dominance of this last phase, the last stage. For journalism, A. Maslow's remark is true: “... Ups and downs and inspiration are cheap. The difference between inspiration and the final product is a lot of hard work."

All the stages we have identified proceed more or less successfully depending on such personality traits as the ability to concentrate (because the journalist has to work in conditions where the distraction factor is very large), empathy (allows the journalist to get more valid information, work more efficiently with the interlocutor), redistribution of attention.

From the position of psychology, creativity in a broad sense acts as a mechanism for the development of the individual and society. The functioning of the mechanism of creativity is divided into several phases:

1. Ontological analysis of the problem - the application of available knowledge, the emergence of a need for novelty;

2. Intuitive solution - satisfaction of the need for novelty;

3. Verbalization of an intuitive solution - the acquisition of new knowledge;

4. Formalization of new knowledge - formulation of a logical solution.

Back in 1926, the English sociologist Graham Walls described the steps of creativity in much the same way: preparation, incubation, insight, verification. And the founder of the Foundation for Creative Education in New York, Alex Osborne, gave a more detailed description of the creative process:

1. Orientation - task definition;

2. Preparation - collection of information on the task;

3. Analysis - the study of the collected material;

4. Formation of an idea - development of options;

5. Incubation - understanding options;

6. Synthesis - development of a solution;

7. Evaluation - consideration of the idea.

Researchers of the process of journalistic creativity usually note that in journalism the staging of the creative act is clearly expressed: it appears as a unity of two relatively independent parts - the stage of obtaining information and the stage of text formation. Let's consider these stages and their components from the point of view of psychological knowledge.

1. Stage of cognitive activity

So, the beginning of any creative process is associated with the accumulation of information. Assimilation of reality is a prerequisite for the initial moment of the creative act. This very development takes place in different ways depending on the type of creativity. Writers and poets, for example, most often do not set themselves the explicit goal of observing, remembering. Artists and musicians - even more so. Their assimilation of reality can be called spontaneous. Although they also use notebooks. The notebooks of A.P. Chekhov or the diaries of F.M. Dostoevsky. Writers remain themselves in them, and reading these texts is as interesting as the works of art themselves. And the famous film actress Marlene Dietrich, in addition to her memoirs, also left us the ABC of My Life, which contains notes about famous personalities, culinary recipes, philosophical discussions on various topics, everyday details of the biography. This stage is much more clearly expressed in the work of scientists. It often takes longer. In any case, we can call the first stage - perception.

No matter how we receive information - arbitrarily, as a result of observation, or a special search, in the end we receive it through the process of perception. Creative perception is distinguished by several features:

1. The combination of the whole and the details, which allows you to see the object in volume, in all connections and relationships, and, therefore, to understand its peculiarity and novelty;

2. A combination of external form and internal content, which provides an understanding of the true essence of things hidden from many;

3. A combination of unique and typical in one object, which allows you to typify and at the same time specify what is happening;

4. A combination of positive and negative, which provides a vision of contradictions, contrasts.

In journalism, the initial stage of a creative act in terms of the volume of tasks and the complexity of the conditions is a very specific phenomenon: it is a conscious, purposeful cognitive activity that involves obtaining sufficiently reliable operational knowledge about the current reality. As a rule, it is performed by a person alone, in a very strict time regime, and even in the mode of interpersonal communication, which makes the task unreasonably difficult. At this level of activity, a journalist establishes a fact, determines its essence and studies it.

Many experienced journalists admit that they evaluate almost any event that passes before them in terms of how it can be described in the material (transformative vision). Such a professional look sometimes becomes intrusive, but this is not a deviation only from the journalistic profession. A doctor, unwittingly, at the first glance at a person determines the state of his health, a teacher - the level of intelligence, a tailor - the quality of clothes, a hairdresser - a hairstyle, etc. This approach, a kind of professional deformation, is common to everyone. In everyday life, perhaps, it prevents us from evaluating life in a multifaceted and versatile way, but it helps a journalist, since a phenomenon worthy of attention can be recorded and then used in the material. This process is based on the action of the installation mechanism: we fix in reality those concepts that interest us now. For example, pregnant women often say that they did not think that there were so many pregnant women on the streets of the city. Almost the same thing happens with a journalist. The mosaic of perception, noted by Spengler, also manifests itself at the level of professional activity. And here a huge role is played by the dominance of one of the levels of the psyche - consciousness. On the one hand, consciousness inhibits the spontaneous manifestation of a creative personality. But on the other hand (and this is important for a journalist!) consciousness is a force that encourages transformative, creative activity. It allows the journalist to navigate the environment, adapt to the requirements of the media, find an adequate place for himself and his materials. Consciousness constantly “verifies” the internal and external experience of a person and allows the journalist to pay attention to a topic that is interesting for him, on the one hand, and for the audience, on the other.

The next step is to collect preliminary data. The essence of this stage is that the journalist remembers everything that is related to the proposed object of study and selects the material at his disposal. The most important thing at this stage is to identify adequate sources of information on the topic. If the information comes from a person, then the main criteria for a successful choice are competence, the presence of storytelling skills. Desirable criteria - the ability to communicate with journalists (this greatly simplifies the work), the availability of exclusive information, the ability to present it in an accessible form.

At the stage of preliminary accumulation of information, we receive a huge amount of data, and not all of them are of interest to a journalist from a professional point of view. There are general criteria that information is of some public interest:

1. The presence of a conflict in the information;

2. Catastrophic;

3. Information with clear social implications;

4. Attitude towards celebrities;

5. Unusual, single;

6. Bright emotional background of the event.

What follows is a definition of the specific subject of study. From the general range of facts, the journalist (or editor) selects the most significant for the audience. Whatever the information, its relevance always depends on the conscious or unconscious choice of the audience. And here the thematic preferences of the audience change. They are a variable value and are largely formed by the journalists themselves.

However, you can take into account the priority topics of the audience:

1. Information about patterns (about such connections between well-known events that were unknown to us);

2. Simplifying information (deciphering complex phenomena). It is also called anti-information because it allows our brain to rest;

3. Information of atavistic sensations (fire, thunderstorm, etc.);

4. Information of instinctive sensations or about them;

5. An individual experience that is consistent with that of most members of the audience, but judged by them to be marginally more successful.

Once the subject is established, directed study of the subject follows.

In the theory of journalistic creativity, two tactics of information search are usually defined - situational and targeted.

At this stage, the journalist uses various methods of obtaining information, in each of which the role of the psychological component is great.

The process of searching for information is based on a person's ability to search activity in general - a deeply determined factor. The need for search is genetically inherent in any person and not equally. This need must be realized whenever its mechanisms come into force. In a situation of searching for a solution or achieving a result, the cause of distress is not the difficulty of the situation itself, but the refusal to search (the so-called "stress of a collapsed hope"). And this makes the body more vulnerable. There is even a certain type of personality (coronary) for whom “winning” in a search situation is as necessary as air, and if such people have to admit defeat, this often turns into a significant deterioration in health.

Journalists are often this type of people. However, some compensatory function in this sense is performed by the idea that information can be found everywhere. Thus, a survey of more than three hundred journalists showed that the most capacious source from the informational point of view, the journalist defines the editorial office or television company (69%), as well as colleagues from other media (66%). That is, on a psychological level, a journalist has a feeling of awareness even if he is simply present at his workplace. Objectively, this is not so, but subjectively, such a representation protects the journalist from the stress factor.

The search phase includes the work of all levels of the human psyche, but more intense than others - consciousness, subconsciousness and superconsciousness. Consciousness provides a clear statement of the question, concretization of the concept, goals. The subconscious mind to a greater extent determines the way of implementing the concept, achieving the goal (choosing a genre, angle, style, etc.), the birth of an image. Superconsciousness "launches" the mechanisms of insight, intuitive and instantaneous creative problem solving.

Outwardly, these processes are supported by special methods of information search, which are used when, due to some circumstances, it is impossible to obtain information spontaneously. A targeted search for information can be carried out in several ways:

Observation;

Research of documents;

Investigation of the situation;

Questioning;

Experiment;

Interviewing.

Observation is based on a person's ability to perceive the world in the process of audiovisual contacts with it. Journalistic observation differs from simple one in that it is purposeful and, so to speak, focused on a working idea. The popularity of this method is due to several reasons:

1. Being present at the scene significantly improves the quality of the material;

2. Direct observation allows you to see or intuitively grasp the essence of what is happening, some secret connections that elude in the presentation of others or official information;

3. Observation makes it possible to make independent assessments and conclusions;

4. When observing, the selection of facts for the text is easier and earlier than when working with documents (for example, with a press release).

Observation can be enabled or disabled. In the first case, the journalist participates in the event. And this is a special state of the individual. Therefore, there are rules of observation that are best followed:

1. Classify the elements of events to be observed as detailed as possible, using clear indicators;

2. Observe the same object in different situations (for example, the hero of the material);

3. Clearly record the content, forms of manifestation of observed events and their quantitative characteristics (intensity, regularity, periodicity, frequency);

4. Use columns for opinions and for factual data;

When working with documents, you should also follow some rules dictated by psychological attitudes:

1. Distinguish between descriptions of events and their interpretation (facts and opinions);

2. Determine what sources of information the compiler of the document used, whether it is primary or secondary;

3. Reveal the intentions that guided the drafter of the document;

4. Consider how the environment in which it was created could affect the quality of the document;

5. Reveal the intentions of the person who supplied you with the document.

As for the investigation, already at the stage of its preparation, it is necessary to use the knowledge of social psychology, for example, in the question of the resonance of the topic. There is no point in resorting to such a dangerous and difficult method to find out facts that do not interest the audience. It must be borne in mind that readers are primarily interested in circumstances that may affect them personally or people close to them.

In the experiment, the object is a means for creating an artificial situation. This is done so that the journalist can test hypotheses in practice, play out certain circumstances that would allow him to better know the object under study. In addition, in any experiment, the cognitive moment is combined with the managerial one.

The ethics of this method have been questioned, but many journalistic practitioners and theorists believe that the method is not only acceptable, but sometimes desirable. Especially in those cases where the situation requires urgent clarification, and its resolution is delayed.

Kashinskaya names the following motivating motives that necessitate the experiment:

1. Insufficiency of information to test or clarify the journalist's hypothesis;

2. Impossibility to obtain such information by other methods;

3. The need to obtain psychologically reliable arguments.

The experiment is connected with the creation of an artificial impulse, designed to show certain aspects of a person. A journalist can conduct an experiment on himself, infiltrated into some situation.

Quite often in journalism the biographical method is used. It is borrowed from related fields of knowledge: literary criticism, ethnography, history, sociology and, above all, psychology.

The method consists in questioning the direct participants of the event on socially significant issues.

From the very beginning, the attitude of journalists towards the biographical method was ambivalent. The researcher could only rely on the subjective opinion of an eyewitness to the events, so a psychological sense was necessary. The factor of subjectivity when using this method is manifested in everything: in the life experience of a person, and in behavior, and in actions, and in value judgments, and in worldview positions. For example, if a person says: “I was so scared that I couldn’t move,” does this mean that the situation was really catastrophic, or is it just an impressive person? Nevertheless, the history of the life of one person can help to reconstruct the dynamics of the development of certain processes.

When using the biographical method, you must adhere to the rules:

1. Compare the history of one person with the history of the society in which he lives;

2. Understand the dynamics of a person's biography, do not take the story out of the context of the biography;

3. To comprehend the behavior of a person, revealing his motivation.

In journalism, various testimonies, observations and memories of eyewitnesses are collected using the biographical method.

2. Stage of text creation

The result of this stage is a finished journalistic product. However, this stage also takes place in stages.

1. Ripening. This stage is characteristic of any creative act. Having received enough information, the brain should spend some time doing what can be defined as the generation of an idea. Usually this stage is invisible not only to others, but also to the creator himself. However, in journalism this stage has its own specifics. And the specificity lies in such a simple requirement as efficiency. A writer, an artist can nurture their idea for years, they can put it off and come back again after a long time. The journalist cannot afford it.

2. Illumination. The level at which an idea is verbalized or visualized in the mind.

The first step in this process is the final formation of the idea. It presupposes the birth of a holistic, although not yet quite clear vision of the future work. Such a vision arises on the basis of the concept obtained during the study of the situation. However, it is not identical to her. A concept is knowledge about reality plus its interpretation, attitude towards it. And the idea is already a mental image of the future work, which includes in a collapsed form the theme and idea, and the principle of organization. That is, the idea is that specific goal, the development of which was devoted to the initial stage of the creative act and which, during its final stage, will have to be embodied in the text.

The transformation of a concept into an idea is a moment associated with intense creative searches, conscious or unconscious. In some cases, they run parallel to the process of cognition, and it happens that the material has not yet been collected, and the journalist knows for sure how it will look like in the end. But the opposite happens. The idea is not generated. Why? If we know that an idea = a theme + an idea + a move (i.e., specific steps to implement the theme and idea), there is a fairly simple way to help ourselves - to resort to logic, realizing each of the terms. Most often it turns out that the reason for the braking is the absence of the principle of organizing the text, the move (it is also called the key, turn). You need to focus on finding it.

At the moment of the final formation of a journalistic idea, an acute problem often arises - when to stop? Sometimes it happens that we clearly understand that this option is the best and we cannot create anything more adequate. But it also happens that everything seems to be clear, there is a good idea, but you can still think, suddenly a better option appears. Here you need to follow a certain rule: as soon as an idea appears that you evaluate as acceptable, you need to fix it on any material carrier. Otherwise, in the process of subsequent search, it will inevitably be “erased”. After writing down the idea, you can continue thinking. But until when? As a rule, the volitional decision is not made by the author himself. Either time is rushing, or the editor, or a new task. And yet there is an objective indicator that the idea is formed, right. The idea is ripe in the event that a heading is automatically and accurately formed for the text, if you do not have to puzzle over it later. The appearance of the name of the material in the mind is a sign of the readiness of the idea. This completes the enlightenment phase.

3. Concretization of the idea. For many, this operation comes as a plan. Sometimes written, sometimes oral. For example, Anatoly Abramovich Agranovsky, the well-known master of Russian journalism, always began work on the material by drawing up a plan. Once he was asked if he always follows a written plan. “No,” Agranovsky replied, “then the plan may change. But I can’t start without it…” Such an assessment of the plan suggests that the motivation lies not in the sphere of organizing the text (the plan does not serve as its frame), but mainly in the sphere of organizing the creative process. Why do you need a plan in this case? The fact is that the plan psychologically helps to feel the field of the text - on the sheet, in the lines. The plan also indicates that the process of creating the text has moved off the ground. Our consciousness cannot operate with thought patterns for a long time. The plan is usually a multi-level structure. And consciousness is able to keep in the complex only three thresholds, three levels of complexity.

Another way to concretize the idea is a forward outline, when not the subtopics of the text (as in the plan), but mini-ideas of text blocks are indicated. For example, the same Agranovsky: "Reduction ... of the aircraft."

Consider this surprising analogy. However, note: the apparatus is a mechanism. We are striving to improve the economic mechanism.”

Such a forward summary is usually drawn up when the journalist, as he gets acquainted with the material, penetrates deeply into the problem. He possibly has. Ideas and comments have already been developed that may be forgotten.

Most often, a combination of a plan and an advanced outline is used, when only those points of the plan for which an idea has already been formed receive an extension.

Sometimes journalists make a mosaic fixation: they write out some pieces in detail, and leave the rest of the work for revision. This is especially useful when using the lead method in a news item. (only leads are recorded).

4. Selection of material. This stage may coincide with the previous one, go in parallel. But most often the rigid framework of the material requires separate work. The result of this stage is the selected facts that contribute to the realization of the main idea of the material.

5. Implementation of the plan. In the course of this operation, the structure of the text is formed - a specific composition of facts, images, norms, the methods of their presentation are combined, text elements are formed - micro-meanings, their mounting connections are formed, the composition and vocabulary are specified, the combination of text and video, sound sequence is determined. It uses creative tools that correspond to a specific type of activity. And the wider the toolkit, the less constrained the journalist is in realizing his creativity.

6. Author's editing - work with a creative product. Editing as a component is also included in the previous stage, but it must be given a separate place and time. In this case, we mean a conscious procedure of the creative process, which has a control character. It requires a view from the outside, because discrepancies can be not only with the author's intention, but also with the profile of the publication or channel, with the materials in which this material will go. Even though the text will be reviewed by the editor, the journalist himself needs to edit it as clearly as possible. This is due to the fact that the more raw material you present to the editor, the more he will make corrections in accordance with his own, and not your intention, and this will distort the final version of the text. It is important to remember that the audience is oriented, first of all, to the knowledge of the new, individual and unique. And this is primarily of interest and aesthetic experience. The viewer does not tolerate a template, imitation, copying. L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina names the main criteria for evaluating the manifestation of creativity:

1. Reflection in the concrete universal from new, individual positions;

2. Transfer of thoughts and attitudes to reality in an unexpected and precise form;

3. The presence of all components that correspond to the fundamental spiritual needs of a person - in the knowledge of essential phenomena, in harmony with the beautiful world, in the awakening of new thoughts (co-creation).

Editing allows you to implement these criteria in the material - to clarify the obscure, to emphasize the essential, to highlight the main thing.

7. Translation control (internal and external). It is, as a rule, involuntarily and quite naturally carried out by a journalist when the latter asks members of the audience what the effect of the material is, or corrects the course of the conversation on the air.

Some scholars point out the similarity of the generation of a text with the process of childbirth, bringing us back to psychoanalytic theory. So, A.N. It is no coincidence that the bow reminds us of what psychologists say about the mechanisms of the birth of an idea. And the Canadian physician and biologist Hans Selye (the author of the doctrine of stress and the general adaptation syndrome) divided the creative process into seven stages, similar to the stages of the reproduction process:

1. Love or desire. The first condition for creativity is a lively interest, enthusiasm, and a desire to achieve results. This desire must be passionate in order to overcome difficulties and obstacles;

2. Fertilization. However great the creative potential of the journalist, his mind will remain sterile if it is not fertilized by the knowledge of concrete facts acquired in the course of study, observation and other methods of obtaining information;

3. Pregnancy. During this period, the journalist hatches an idea. This period may not be realized for a long time, as well as pregnancy. However, sooner or later tension is born;

4. Prenatal contractions. When the idea is born and matured, the journalist feels uncomfortable. This peculiar feeling of “proximity of the solution” is familiar only to true creators. For those who have not experienced it, it is easiest to imagine this sensation in a situation where a person painfully recalls someone's name;

5. Childbirth. Unlike real childbirth, the birth of a new idea not only does not cause pain, but always brings joy and pleasure. The process of creating a work begins;

6. Inspection and certification. The newborn is immediately examined in order to ascertain his health. This is also true of a newborn idea: it is subjected to logical and experimental verification. The material is mounted, edited, etc.;

7. Life. After the idea is tested, it begins to live in a new work. Unfortunately, in journalism, as a concrete material, it does not last long, but as a social effect, it can live for centuries.

The correspondence of the process of creativity to the process of birth can partly explain the meaning given to creativity by the creators themselves, and which the craftsman will never understand, just as a man will never fully understand the feelings of a woman who gave birth to her child.