Imaginative Consciousness in the Creative Process of Adult Fiction Writers for Understanding the Role of Popular Culture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/ishel.v1i1.56239Keywords:
imaginative consciousness, writing process, popular culture, adult fiction writers, narrative phenomenologyAbstract
The creative process of adult fiction writers often unfolds without a clear understanding of how imagination operates—both consciously and unconsciously. Yet storytelling emerges from a complex interplay between personal experiences and the symbolic pressures of surrounding popular culture. This study addresses the need to examine how imaginative consciousness is shaped, activated, and influenced by cultural environments in the writing practices of Indonesian authors. Using a narrative-phenomenological approach, the study explores the lived experiences of six writers active across digital and print platforms. The findings reveal two dynamic modes of imaginative consciousness: reflective and affective. In the reflective mode, writers engage in deliberate planning and narrative structuring; in the affective mode, imagination flows through memories, moods, and unconscious emotional cues. Popular culture consumption—such as online novels, market trends, and digital platforms—serves as both stimulus and narrative resource. This study offers a new understanding of imaginative consciousness as a flexible and adaptive cognitive process, where imagination becomes both a creative instrument and a medium for negotiating between self-identity and cultural symbols. It contributes to the theoretical development of imagination studies in contemporary Indonesian literature.
References
Aistrope, T. (2020). Popular culture, the body and world politics. European Journal of International Relations, 26(1), 163–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066119851849
Aldea, A. S. (2020). Modality Matters: Imagination as Consciousness of Possibilities and Husserl’s Transcendental-Historical Eidetics. Husserl Studies, 36(3), 303–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10743-020-09275-6
Alvarado Gómez, G. E. (2022). Epistemología de la composición escrita: pensamiento, metacognición y escritura en el proceso productivo. PUBLICACIONES, 52(2), 181–194. https://doi.org/10.30827/publicaciones.v52i2.26267
Andrews-Hanna, J. R., & Grilli, M. D. (2021). Mapping the Imaginative Mind: Charting New Paths Forward. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(1), 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420980753
Asma, S. T. (2022). Imagination: A New Foundation for the Science of Mind. Biological Theory, 17(4), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-022-00410-4
Augusto, R. (2024). Two Kinds of Process or Two Kinds of Processing? Disambiguating Dual-Process Theories. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 15(1), 277–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-023-00673-1
Barrett, N. F. (2022). Imaginative Culture and the Enriched Nature of Positive Experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.831118
Bogdanova, V. (2024). Narrative practices as a way to develop subjectivity. Sotsium i Vlast/Society and Power, 3. https://doi.org/10.22394/1996-0522-2024-3-24-44
Borges, C. C. (2020). Criatividade e imaginação: a pesquisa como transformação de mundo!: Creativity and imagination: research as world making! ARJ – Art Research Journal / Revista de Pesquisa Em Artes, 7(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.36025/arj.v7i2.21300
Brčić, T. (2022). Creativity and Higher States of Consciousness. In Medias Res, 11(21), 3429–3451. https://doi.org/10.46640/imr.11.21.1
Brett, G. (2022). Dueling with Dual-Process Models: Cognition, Creativity, and Context. Sociological Theory, 40(2), 179–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/07352751221088919
Brockmeier, J. (2020). Making Language Aware: Writing and Narrative. Interchange, 51(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-020-09394-1
Charley, M. (2022). Integrating Metacognitive Practice as a Strategy for More Equitable Storytelling in Community-Based Learning. Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.31719/pjaw.v6i1.89
Chung, H. H., & Norvell, N. C. (2025). Narrative Reflexivity as Leaderful Practice. Journal of Change Management, 25(1), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2025.2453132
Dhungel, K. U. (2022). Narrative Writing as Reflective Practice: Its Therapeutic Relevance. Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.3126/bodhi.v8i1.46454
Didenko, V., Didenko, N., & Kozlova, T. (2023). Imagination as a fundamental communication of being and consciousness. Philosophical and aesthetic aspect. Scientific Research and Development. Modern Communication Studies, 12(1), 12–16. https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-9103-2023-12-1-12-16
Diedrichsen, E. (2020). Bradley E. Wiggins. The discursive power of memes in digital culture: Ideology, semiotics and intertextuality. Internet Pragmatics, 3(2), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00052.die
Đukić, J. B. (2022). ELEMENTI POPULARNE KULTURE I NjIHOVA FUNKCIJA U „DORUČKU KOD TIFANIJA“ TRUMANA KAPOTEA I BLEJKA EDVARDSA. Nasledje Kragujevac, XIX(53), 229–245. https://doi.org/10.46793/NasKg2253.229D
Feng, Z. (2022). Metonymy as a semiotic resource in fictional narrative. Chinese Semiotic Studies, 18(3), 475–491. https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2022-2076
Furs, V. V. (2023). Semiotics of the fictional worlds: ideological (in)homogeneity of the transmedia franchises (by the example of fantasy stories and stories about superheroes). Bulletin of Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University, 2, 71–83. https://doi.org/10.52512/2306-5079-2023-94-2-71-83
Joshi, S. (2023). The Impact of Technology on English Literature and the Publishing Industry: An Evaluative Study. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN INDUSTRY, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.17762/itii.v7i2.805
Kirkland, K. B., & Price, A. (2022). After Dying Alone: The Restorative Power of Narrative Practice. Anesthesiology, 137(3), 366–369. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004298
Kovalenko, I. I., Melyakova, Y. V., & Kalnytsky, E. A. (2020). THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF CREATIVITY IN DIGITAL ERA. The Bulletin of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. Series:Philosophy, Philosophies of Law, Political Science, Sociology, 1(44), 157–167. https://doi.org/10.21564/2075-7190.44.195922
Kuška, M., Trnka, R., Mana, J., & Nikolai, T. (2020). Emotional Creativity: A Meta-analysis and Integrative Review. Creativity Research Journal, 32(2), 151–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2020.1751541
Laquintano, T. (2010). Sustained Authorship: Digital Writing, Self-Publishing, and the Ebook. Written Communication, 27(4), 469–493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088310377863
Lavrysh, Y., Leshchenko, M., & Tymchuk, L. (2023). Development of Metacognitive Skills through Digital Narratives in Higher Education. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 25, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.24320/redie.2023.25.e07.5028
McKee, A. (2022). ‘Popular culture’ in popular culture: academic and vernacular usage. Annals of the International Communication Association, 46(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2022.2046127
Nobles, S., & Paganucci, L. (2015). Do Digital Writing Tools Deliver? Student Perceptions of Writing Quality Using Digital Tools and Online Writing Environments. Computers and Composition, 38, 16–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2015.09.001
Parnell, C. (2021). Mapping the entertainment ecosystem of Wattpad: Platforms, publishing and adaptation. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 27(2), 524–538. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520970141
Pedroso Pereira, P. M., Costa Paxiúba, C. M., & Pantoja Lima, C. (2021). RELAÇÃO ENTRE EMOÇÕES, FORMAÇÃO DE MEMÓRIAS E APRENDIZAGEM: uma revisão sistemática. Revista Exitus, 11, e020163. https://doi.org/10.24065/2237-9460.2021v11n1ID1576
Perchtold-Stefan, C. M., Papousek, I., Rominger, C., & Fink, A. (2022). Creativity in an Affective Context. European Psychologist, 27(3), 216–226. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000448
Peterson, D. R., & Pattie, M. W. (2024). Think Outside and Inside the Box:The Role of Dual-Pathway Divergent Thinking in Creative Idea Generation. Creativity Research Journal, 36(2), 272–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2110738
Petrelli, D., & Wright, H. (2009). On the writing, reading and publishing of digital stories. Library Review, 58(7), 509–526. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530910978208
Polyakov, A. M. (2016). Exploring the Development of Symbolic Function of Consciousness: A Technique. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 12(2), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2016120206
Pulvirenti, G., & Gambino, R. (2022). Einbildungskraft (Imagination). Goethe-Lexicon of Philosophical Concepts, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/glpc.2022.59
Rae, G. (2025). All power to the imagination: Sartre and Castoriadis. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 51(2), 242–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537221145665
Rantala-Lehtola, K., & Ruohotie-Lyhty, M. (2022). Bachelor’s thesis writing as an emotional process. Writing & Pedagogy, 14(1), 49–72. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.21145
Safonova, M. A., & Safonov, A. A. (2021). Transformation of Academic Writing in the Digital Age. Vysshee Obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia, 30(2), 144–153. https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2021-30-2-144-153
Sartre, J. P. (2002). The Psychology of the Imagination. Routledge.
Sassi, K., Martens, S., & Louth, R. (2023). The Virtual Writing Marathon Ecosystem: Writing, Community, and Emotion. College Composition & Communication, 74(3), 446–484. https://doi.org/10.58680/ccc202332363
Storey, J. (2018). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315226866
Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. Routledge.
Sundquist, D., & Lubart, T. (2022). Being Intelligent with Emotions to Benefit Creativity: Emotion across the Seven Cs of Creativity. Journal of Intelligence, 10(4), 106. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10040106
Suryadi, F. S., & Suswanto, D. (2024). The Influence of Digital Media on Creative Writing. Jurnal Syntax Admiration, 5(5), 1783–1789. https://doi.org/10.46799/jsa.v5i5.1163
Suzic, N. (2021). Emotion as the Foundation of Creativity. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(4), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejsocial.2021.1.4.30
Tavares, T. (2024, October 12). Paradoxical Realities: Embodying cultural and storytelling concepts in an Interactive Digital Narrative. LINK 2024 Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.24135/link2023.v5i1.243
Volkova, V., & Kamin, A. (2023). Рhenomenon of Fantasy as a Form of Human Consciousness. Философская Мысль, 2, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-8728.2023.2.39517
Volkova, V., Malakhova, N., & Volkov, I. (2020). Imagination: from the image to symbol, from the symbol to text. Философская Мысль, 8, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-8728.2020.8.33491
von Thienen, J. P. A., Weinstein, T. J., & Meinel, C. (2023). Creative metacognition in design thinking: exploring theories, educational practices, and their implications for measurement. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1157001
Wellner, G. (2022). Digital Imagination: Ihde’s and Stiegler’s Concepts of Imagination. Foundations of Science, 27(1), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-020-09737-2
Werner, V. (2022). Pop Cultural Linguistics. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.999
Zacks, O., Ginsburg, S., & Jablonka, E. (2022). The Futures of the Past The Evolution of Imaginative Animals. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 29(3), 29–61. https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.29.3.029
Нurova, I. (2022). Popular Culture as the Practice of Creating Meanings. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MANAGERIAL STAFF OF CULTURE AND ARTS HERALD, 3. https://doi.org/10.32461/2226-3209.3.2022.266071
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fachri Helmanto, Endry Boeriswati, Novi Anoegrajekti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
