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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.internetwritingwor kshop.org/).

Prepared by: Loretta Russell and Ruth Douillette
Posted on: Sunday, December 9, 2007

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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 explanations.

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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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.

-------------------------

Critique by noting how valid the character's response is to the
intuitive feeling. Did the writer *show* the character reacting rather
than *tell* us what the character did?


Web site created by Rhéal Nadeau and the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Greg Gunther.