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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: Gut Feeling
These exercises were written
by IWW members
and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its
members.
You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that
you found
them at the Internet Writers Workshop
(http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/).
Prepared by: Loretta Russell and Ruth Douillette
Posted on: Sunday, December 9, 2007
Reposted on: Sunday, September 7, 2008
Reposted on: Sunday, December 13, 2009
Reposted on: Sunday, May 15, 2011
Reposted on: Sunday, August, 26, 2012
Reposted on: Sunday, June 1, 2014
Reposted on: Sunday, December 6, 2015
Reposted on: Sunday, February 17, 2019
Reposted on: Sunday, June 5, 2022
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In less than 400 words, write a scene in which a
character has a flash of intuition. Show the
character's response to the feeling, and what the
outcome is.
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The dictionary definition of intuition is "quick and
ready insight, the act or process of coming to direct
knowledge without reasoning or inferring." It is
derived from the Latin word "intueri" which means "to
see within." Intuition is a way of knowing or sensing
the truth without benefit of logical explanation.
Most likely you've experienced the sense that something
will happen, or you may have had a prickle of warning
about a person, although there is no logical reason for
you to feel this way. Call it a gut feeling or a hunch--
you may have paid it no mind, or completely changed your
plans based on the feeling.
Here are some examples to prime your pen:
You passed on a blind date, and later discovered the guy
was a killer.
You pulled into a rest stop, but something didn't feel
right, so you drove off just as Highway Patrol vehicles
pulled in.
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Critique by noting how valid the character's response is
to the intuitive feeling. Did the writer *show* us how
the character reacted rather than *tell* us what the
character did?
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Gayle Surrette.
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