Intuition is perception via the unconscious that brings forth ideas, images, new possibilities, and ways out of blocked situations. ~Carl Jung
Intuition is perception via the unconscious that brings forth ideas, images, new possibilities, and ways out of blocked situations. ~Carl Jung
Creativity Prompt #18: Apology Epistle | 30-Day Creativity Challenge
Phyiiocactus flower, Japanese woodblock art. Digitally enhanced from our own 1917 edition of Seiyô SÔKA ZUFU by Tanigami Kônan.
Many of you might be familiar with Brenda Miller’s gem of a flash essay, “Swerve.” I have taught this piece of writing so many times that I bet I could recite it by heart. There’s so much to learn from Miller’s 290 words.
The wonderful thing is that Miller—who is not only an accomplished writer but also a generous teacher—has written about her process of writing “Swerve,” about which she said, among other things:
This little essay is a testament to many things [including] the efficacy of assignments, the resonance of small detail, and trust in one’s own intuition.
And this—“a small detail” + the power of intuition, is what we will be playing with in today’s creativity prompt. And by the way, can you believe we’re on #19 already!? Tomorrow we’re 2/3 of the way to the finish line! I can’t believe how much ground we’ve covered, either—it’s exhilarating. But if you’ve fallen behind, please do not worry. Dwell in the delicious space of possibility, knowing the prompts are all there for you in the archive, in order, awaiting your presence when you are able.
The idea is going to be a carefully stair-stepped approach that guides you through an image-based, intuition-led free write into the unknown. For me, these wilderness expeditions often yield the most powerful work, even if what comes up initially seems strange. As Miller put it:
I could never have written the essay deliberately, trying to work with all those complex emotions head-on. I simply had to trust in that piece of wood. The second paragraph came out in one long line, because I couldn’t risk stopping: I had to keep going to see where we would all end up. I had to let my intuition guide me to that dangerous place …
And while you are not required to go to anywhere literally dangerous today, the point is very much to open yourself to whatever might come, without judgment or censorship. The ultimate goal will be to see if you might be able to pack a giant story into a tiny space (under 500 words). Here are the steps (which today are longer and more detailed than this introductory essay!) to follow as you invite this fruitful pairing of image and intuition under the umbrella of apology.
Note that you can re-use these steps an indefinite number of times to generate new stories, and I give you a few options for alternative umbrellas beyond apology.