Felt Sense

Perl discusses the idea of recursive writing in which he states is a type of writing process that "writers use to keep the process moving forward", meaning that "there is a forward moving action that exists of a backward moving action".  There are three elements to this process, but the one that struck me the most was the idea of "felt sense".  The idea of felt sense cannot be seen on paper, but instead it is everything that a writer feels and knows about a specific subject.  After reading and re-reading what this certain attribute of the recursive process is, I was wondering, has anybody ever realized that they do felt sense when they write,? If so, do you pay attention to it and stop and go back several times through your writing to express it?

Perl explains that writers tend not to have an awareness of it, and I believe him.  I know that what I write comes from within and it is my words that explains a certain writing topic that is given, but I never took the time to realize that the way I write about a topic reflects my "felt sense".  For example, Perl uses the example of a girl repeating the words "anxious moments".  After allowing herself to think through the topic she realizes that exams give her anxiety.  She is able to take something she has experienced and relates it to those key words given. 

Throughout my education I have been given many different writing prompts on a wide array of topics.  I have always picked out key words to use to think of an image or topic and relate to it.  I never thought that this way of thinking and rethinking was called "felt sense" and was a technique used in a composing process.  However, after reading this piece, I know can understand that I have always possessed "felt sense" without realizing it since it is also referred to as "inspiration" and one's "inner voice".  "Felt sense" is your voice that you project onto paper.