Issue 61: Imagination with E.B. White 

We devote each newsletter to one Primal power. This week is Imagination. 

Curious which powers affects you most? Take the diagnostic.

So begins E.B. White's children's classic, Charlotte's Web.   

 

Your prompt is to imagine two more sentences. 

 

First, what sentence would you write next? How would you lead us further into your version of the story?

 

Second, what sentence might come before this opening line? 

 

The goal isn't to guess what White wrote, but for you to imagine the start of a different story. 

 

If you like what you write, please share at the link below. 

It sharpens your imagination, which is your brain's ability to invent new plans, to

improvise effectively and to create strategy.

 

Developing imagination can boost innovation, resilience, decision-making, and leadership.

Last month's prompt was the first line from James Baldwin's semi-autobiographical novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain.

 

Team, you had some fantastic responses! Here are a few, chosen at random. 

 

“Descending into the darkness, the mine shaft eliminated the ability to distinguish day from night. Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father. But the mountain’s calling had been stronger, pulling him down under the earth like it had for so many boys in his town.”
 — Sarah 

 

“She was heard when she spoke but there was something more. People could feel something in her voice something different. Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father. But John knew his path would be different, a different role to nourish a voice. The voice would be hers.”— Cassandra

 

“He was charismatic and could inspire anyone to do better. Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father. But then one day something extraordinary happened.”— Mary Pat

 

Mary Pat leaving us on the edge! I love it.

 

Thank you to all who shared your work.

 

Missed an issue? They're available in our archive.

 

Next week, Emotion.

 

In the meantime, Angus is taking the Primal Intelligence Book Tour to San Francisco where he'll be speaking at the Commonwealth Club on Tuesday, September 23rd. In-person and streaming options available.