Sigmund Freud on Creative Writing and Day-Dreaming

Freud in his essay, Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming, explores the psychological origins of artistic creativity and the impact of literature on readers. He draws parallels between the imaginative activity of creative writers and the day-dreaming of ordinary people. It is a discussion about the relationship between creative art and unconscious phantasy. In it, Freud talks about the role of daydreaming and fantasy in human behaviour, and how creative writers are able to express their daydreams without shame or self-reproach.

Read the essay below (for academic use only)

Creative Writers and Day Dreaming PDF

Freud argues that the child's play and the adult's phantasies/daydreams share a common element—the desire to alter an unsatisfactory reality and fulfil unfulfilled wishes. The creative writer is like a successful daydreamer who is able to transform their private fantasies into works that provide pleasure to the audience.

Freud suggests that the writer's choice of subject matter is often dictated by unfulfilled childhood wishes as well as recent provoking incidents. The writer's ability to evoke aesthetic pleasure in the audience comes from their skill in disguising the egocentric nature of their daydreams and providing formal/technical enjoyment.

Freud draws parallels between the imaginative process of the creative writer and the construction of myths, legends and fairy tales, which he sees as disguised expressions of the wishful fantasies of entire nations and cultures.

Freud acknowledges that much remains unknown about the mechanisms by which creative writers are able to elicit such strong emotional responses from their audience. He suggests this is the "innermost secret" of the art of poetry or poetic craft.

In summary, Freud uses the psychology of daydreaming and phantasy to shed light on the roots of artistic creativity and the psychological appeal of literary works, while acknowledging the profound mysteries that still surround the creative process.

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