Ideasthetic imagining—patterns and deviations in affective immersion

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article builds upon prior research, focusing ideasthetic imagining in acts of narrative making. The concept of ideasthesia is drawn from neuroscience and the term captures the interchange between idea and sensation. I am interested in ideasthesia as it relates to the way writers ‘sense ideas’ in creative writing practice. In previous articles I take an interest in the text as a metaphorical map, plotting the relationship between form and content as a textual pattern, representing the work my mind is doing at a primal moment of narrative composition, and beyond. I propose that ideasthetic practices rely upon experiential knowledge and imagined bodily action, and this plays a direct role in the way writers translate ideas into concrete and specific narrative detail. In this article I reflect upon the evolution of my second novel Like Clay – a work in progress, which began with a short story and has a working title of the same name. I 'finished' the story only to begin again from another perspective, and then another. Reflecting upon this process, I have been contemplating ideasthetic imagining in acts of narrative making as an abiding practice – sensing concepts as a means of opening a question or idea for broader contemplation.