An inner conflict of some kind is apparently essential for the process of creative imagination. Biographical studies suggest that the rejected child or the child with bodily defects is more likely to become creative than is the 'normal' child. The energy of the daydreamer is harnessed to creative effort and creative power when he gives up excessive daydreaming with the guilt it engenders. Redistribution of energy, with change from passivity to activity, and the narcissistic impulse to communicate and win an audience seem essential for creation. Biographical studies reveal also that the father is the principal influence, the leader, and inspiration.