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Have you ever just known something without any logical explanation? You just knew but couldn't explain how you knew? Maybe you had a gut feeling to avoid a particular situation, and later you were glad you did because it turned out your gut feeling was spot on. That’s intuition at work. Some people have a heightened version of this that can be called being an intuitive. But what exactly does it mean, and how can this ability shape creative work—such as storytelling?
I'm about to share how you can develop your own intuitive abilities, and how you can use these abilities to help you with your storytelling.
What Does It Mean to Be an Intuitive?
At its core, being intuitive means having an innate ability to understand or sense things without needing conscious reasoning. You just know. It’s like a deeper connection to your spirit, offering insights, hunches, and even warnings without the usual mental processing. In fact, it bypasses your mental processing altogether.
For some, intuition comes in the form of strong gut feelings, random thoughts that pop into your head, or even seeing an idea in picture form in your mind when you weren't even thinking about that particular thing. For others, it can manifest through dreams (this is often how I receive my intuitive hits, although it's not the only way), sudden flashes of insight, or an overwhelming sense of knowing. Intuition often taps into subtle patterns that your conscious mind misses.
Psychologists suggest it’s a blend of learned experience, sensory awareness, and rapid subconscious analysis. However, unlike psychologists and other very rational people, I believe intuition is spiritual. I personally believe that in addition to all the psychobabble stuff, it has to do with a deep connection to all of creation or as some like to say "the universe." Over time, intuitive people learn to trust these instincts, which often prove remarkably accurate. I certainly know mine always have.
How Being an Intuitive Can Shape Your Life
People with strong intuitive abilities tend to excel in areas where emotional intelligence and perception are crucial. They often make strong mentors, counselors, and leaders because they can read between the lines of human behavior.
But it’s not just about reading people. Intuitives may sense opportunities, potential dangers, or creative breakthroughs faster than others. They tend to view situations holistically, quickly identifying solutions to complex problems without knowing how they came to the answers.
One challenge, though, is that intuition is hard to explain to others. Try telling someone, "I just know this will work," or "I dreamed the answer last night, we should do this" and you'll probably get more than skeptical looks. That’s why learning to balance intuition with reason is key. Although this can be difficult at times. Intuition isn't always "reasonable."
How Fiction Authors Use Their Intuition
I think fiction writers are some of the most intuitive creators out there. Think about it: their job is to bring entire worlds, characters, and stories to life. To do that, many authors, including myself, rely on more than just logic—we tap into our intuitive senses to create deeper, more authentic narratives.
Here’s how we do it:
1. Character Development
Intuitive writers often say their characters “talk” to them. This doesn’t mean we're "hearing voices." It’s more like a deep connection to the fictional people we've created. As writers we instinctively understand how our characters will react, feel, or speak in any given situation. This insight makes our characters relatable and human.
For example, I might suddenly feel my protagonist's fear in a suspense scene, guiding me to write it in a way that resonates strongly with readers. This empathy that is part of intuition allows me to not just feel the feelings of "real" people, but I can feel the feelings of my fictional people also.
2. Plot Twists and Themes
Have you ever read a story where a plot twist felt perfectly surprising yet inevitable? As an intuitive writer, I often “sense” the direction of my stories before fully plotting them out. I trust my creative instincts to guide me through twists and turns. Similarly, larger themes in my work might emerge without premeditation, connecting emotionally with readers in ways even I didn't plan.
3. Dialogue and Emotional Resonance
Writers with strong intuition have an uncanny ability to craft natural, emotionally charged dialogue. They know when a conversation needs tension or when a heartfelt pause will create maximum impact. It’s almost like being able to hear conversations that haven't happened yet. I'll admit I've heard full conversations between my characters in my mind as I'm writing them. It's real to me, as it is to other fiction writers. For example, in my book Through a Dark Mirror, the conversations between Summer and Hawk played out in my mind as I wrote them, and I could feel the emotions each was feeling as if they were my own and as such use these feelings to add "color" to the conversations I was writing.
4. World-Building Through Feeling
Many writers describe having a "feeling" for their story’s world. Before fleshing out every detail, they might have a sensory impressions—a cold, desolate landscape or a bustling, colorful cityscape. This deep sensory understanding allows intuitive authors like myself to create immersive worlds that feel vivid and alive. In my case, I love writing science fiction romance and I really went nuts when it came to the world building for The Last Jumper, my gay reverse harem romance. This novel takes place on a colony planet where most of the population lives under the ocean. It was necessary to create an entire mythos for their spirituality, as well as a way for them to procreate. I mixed in a lot of my own Native American spirituality into this novel, which is the basis for the mythos, but I also used a lot of my own imagination, and intuitive insights. I could see, hear and feel everything about this world, and I applied this in my writing.
Developing Your Own Intuition as a Creator
Not every fiction writer starts with strong intuitive abilities, but intuition is something that can be strengthened with practice. Even if you were born with your abilities as I was, since mine are hereditary, it's still important to have practices such as those mentioned below to keep your intuition sharp.
Here are a few ways to tune in to your inner voice and harness it in your creative work:
Meditation and Reflection: Spending time in stillness helps quiet mental noise, allowing you to hear subtle insights. Try journaling after meditating to capture intuitive thoughts.
Freewriting: Give yourself permission to write without judgment or planning. Let the words flow, and see where they take you. Often, your intuition will reveal connections and ideas you hadn’t considered.
Dream Journaling: Pay attention to your dreams. Many writers, including myself find inspiration in their dreamscapes. The idea for my first novel Alien Deceptions, about an alien abductee came from a dream.
Trust Small Instincts: Intuition grows with trust. Start with smaller decisions—if you feel like a certain scene should take a different direction, follow that nudge and see what happens. Starting small will make it easier to hear to hear your intuition for all situations in your life.
The Balance Between Intuition and Planning
Some may wonder—how does intuition fit into structured tasks like outlining and editing? The answer is, you have to find a balance between the two. An intuitive writer might rely on instinct to guide the first draft, creating their novel organically. Later, during editing, they can switch gears to analytical thinking, and refine their work. This is how I write my novels. First draft I let my intuition guide me and then I edit what I've written using critical thinking.
Authors like Stephen King have spoken about this balance. In his book On Writing, he mentions letting stories unfold naturally while editing with a critical, structured mindset afterward.
Real-Life Examples of Intuition in Writing
History is filled with stories of intuitive writers. Agatha Christie, for example, trusted her instinctive grasp of human psychology to craft complex murder mysteries. J.K. Rowling famously dreamed the concept of Harry Potter and followed intuitive inspirations throughout her series.
These moments of intuitive genius often come when writers are in flow—completely absorbed in their work and listening to their intuition which is part of their inner creative guide.
Intuition in Other Areas of Business and Creativity
While fiction writing thrives on intuition, it's not just limited to authors. Marketers, entrepreneurs, and freelancers—especially those creating social media content—also rely on their instincts. Spotting trends, creating engaging posts, and connecting with audiences often involve subtle emotional intelligence and pattern recognition.
Even in highly strategic environments, intuition can be a secret superpower for spotting opportunities before they fully emerge.
Final Thoughts
Being intuitive can be a gift that offers deep creative insight and emotional understanding. For fiction authors, it can be a powerful tool that helps build authentic stories and characters that resonate with readers. If you’re a creative or content creator, your intuition can guide you toward new ideas and opportunities you might not have thought of otherwise.
Whether you were born with strong intuition or want to develop it, the key is learning to trust your inner voice. After all, some of the world’s most impactful stories began with nothing more than a gut feeling or a dream.
Sources:
The Intuitive Author with Tiffany Yates Martin
The Secret Sauce for Writers: Intuition
The Intuitive Writer
Intuitive Writing and Marketing with Becca Syme
An Introduction to Writer's Intuition
How to Write a Novel Using Your Intuition
Intuition - It's More Than a Feeling
Intuition: What It Is And How It Works
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