Abstract
This paper discusses how Pierre Bourdieu's framework of field, habitus and capital can help to conceptualise creative writing practice. Using the work-in-progress of one of the authors (Gonsalves) as a case study, this paper shows that writing is a direct result of the interaction between the literary field and the writer's habitus. Notions of what is creative in writing practice have been influenced by the literary field, which in turn has shaped the habitus. The paper describes how these forces partly shape the selection of ideas and words, the creation of sentences, characters and plot, and the process of editing and rewriting.