Free writing is the simplest form of writing. It’s also the most private form if you do it in journal format. What I like to tell people is that free writing is something no one would ever see. To me, free writing is like a man’s wife in the morning, the only person who’s going to see her is her husband. So it doesn’t matter how jacked up she looks. To get you started, let me tell you the advantages of free writing and then below, I’ll list the steps I use when I free write. Just put your pen on the paper and allow yourself to flow.
Now here are some advantages of free writing.
- It’s a great way to solve your personal problems. In prison, I found this method more effective than talking to other people about my problems. It allowed me to understand the situation that made me mad and allowed me to understand why it made me mad. It gave me an avenue to solving my own problems.
- Free writing clears your mind for what you really want to write. Sometimes your mind is so overwhelmed with the events of the day. You can put that behind you with free writing.
- Free writing can give you great ideas. Maybe you’re fishing for ideas and you couldn’t think of any good ones, yet after minutes of free writing, you come up with a masterpiece. It has happened to me several times.
Here are my steps to free writing. Whatever comes to mind, allow it to come to paper, but here are a few pointers.
- Find a quiet place or at least a place in which you can concentrate. I suggest libraries or coffee shops.
- Grab a pen and paper. You can free write on the computer, but I find that pen an paper allow you to flow easier. It also helps you to avoid the pitfalls of correcting, as explained below.
- Make sure your pen is full, the pencil is sharp, and have two of either one. You don’t want to run out and have to look for another pen. You also want plenty of paper.
- Write the first thing that comes to mind. Even if it is a thought like, “I need to clean this wall” or “I need to eat something.” Just write it down. This could result in you flowing from there.
- DON’T CORRECT YOUR GRAMMAR. Correcting your grammar during a free write could cause you to have a writer’s block. It does for me all the time. In a free write, all you are trying to do is get the idea out of your head. If you like what you’re writing you can edit it later.
- If you run out of words or get writer’s block, write anything thing down. Even if it’s Um… or Huh… or even scribbles. Just keep your pen moving.
- Lastly, don’t stop until your hand hurts. The best ideas come when you get over your writer’s block.
I hope that helps some of you. If it did please leave a comment below.