Freewriting: A Strategy That Will Bring Your Writing To Life


Freewriting is a release from the prison of rules. Itallows the fastest and deepest improvements to a writer'screative process. Freewriting shows writers how to overcomepast resistance challenges. Either in writing, control, orother fears. It returns the power of free thought. It alsorenews the energy flow with the universal laws ofattraction.

Let me recommend that for this writing exercise you use penand paper. This way you can accomplish it anywhere -- on ametro, waiting for the plane to take off, before a meetingstarts or when you are waiting for someone. Laptops taketime to boot up, a precious time when memory can become anendangered species.

This process is easy to remember, easy to complete, yetneeds pushing to start. The exercise only requires that youwrite fast for 10 minutes. The goal is to let go of controlor any other block. Give your supraconscious, subconscious,and conscious permission to let anything roll out.

Topic doesn't matter. Even if you start with monkeys, runthrough the grocery or chore list, and finish up startingthe first chapter of a novel that you didn't know you wantedto write. You might even start and end on just one topic.Allow and know all is perfect, no matter what appears.

This stream of conscious writing has few goals except towrite nonstop during the 10 minutes. Writing well, how fastis fast for that particular writing, paragraph division,spelling, grammar, or anything else doesn't matter. Justkeep the pen moving. If you can't remember a person's nameor place, leave a blank, e.g., "______." Return later andinsert. If your mind goes blank, begin the next sentenceusing the last one or two words from the previous sentence.

Let me make two suggestions. First, you will want toremember to breathe normally through the exercise. It isn'tuncommon to hold your breath or breathe very shallow duringthe exercise. Actually, breath reduction is a commonoccurrence during any type of timed writing. Breathingcontrols the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain. Lessoxygen, less clear thinking, and yes, less creativity andpoorer expression.

Second, please be careful not to let this exercise fall intothe category of journaling -- personal writing -- in otherwords, all about you. If you are trying to move away fromjournaling into other types of writing, or productproduction, you will want to give up journaling for a shorttime in order to allow the new process to take hold. Notforever mind you, just a little while, while you learn toopen your writing to a higher level of purpose andpossibility. The freewriting exercise is one of the bestways to transition to another style of writing.

If you prefer your freewriting exercise to have more focus,you can begin with a concentrated statement. I do suggestthat you allow yourself to become comfortable with unfocusedfreewriting before exploring concentrated freewriting. Thistransition usually doesn't take long. Maybe a month or two,if completing this exercise as frequently as once a day.

When beginning with a focus, write a question or statementat the top of the page. Give yourself a minute or two toreread the focus, let it swirl around in your mind, and thenbegin writing. Still you don't want to control the freedom.This means that if the topic begins to go south, give yourwriting the girth that it needs to do so. If the thoughtsstop, you can easily reread the statement or question totrigger the flow again. If you find that you repeatyourself after a stop/trigger/start, let this occur as well.You will find that the repeat usually adds clarity.

A personal preference of mine is to keep my freewritingexercise in a subject notebook. I write "FREEWRITE" on thecover. Previously, when I used single sheets, they becamesomething else I needed to organize. The stack grew. Iwanted to toss them out but just couldn't for some reason.The compromise was the notebook.

In the inside front cover, I wrote my contact information,just in case I left it someplace. I number each page beforeI start to write in the notebook. I also start a reverse(from the back page inwards) table of contents, labeledTOC1, TOC2, etc. in the upper corner. When I begin to startmy freewriting exercise, I record the date in the largemargin at the top, along with a circled 1. Meaning that ispage 1 for that date's freewrite. Then continue the processwith circle 2, etc.

Later, if I feel the material is ready to blossom, I type,usually rewriting at the same time. Afterwards, I markthose pages with a light slash corner to corner and write"typed" in the top margin. After printing I sometimes, butdon't always remember, staple a copy to the page. I do soin a manner whereas I can still read my original writing.Sometimes after I finish my freewriting, and it isn't readyto be typed, it could be ready to outline. Since I'm atrainer in Mindmaping (clustering), I might also outline inthe notebook.

Usually, I have no idea what is going to appear. It usuallytakes more than one 10-minute freewrite to get to whateverwants to shine. Since I purposely wake up three hours earlyevery morning to devote to my writing, there is more thanone segment available for the sun to appear.

Scattered throughout my day I like to add a 10-minutefreewriting session. After a coaching call, reading, orwatching television. TV programs like, "The Associate"trigger ideas and thoughts, but nothing concrete, and withthe freewriting exercise I can pull out what is gnawing atmy gut.

The best part of having my exercises in a notebook is beingable to reread and see my progress. Seeing the changes inmy style, language, and creativity is enough push for me tokeep completing the exercise day after day. Even yearsafter completing this exercise, I'm still delighted with theprogress I'm seeing. Occasionally, I'm shocked with, "Iwrote that." Those are warm fuzzies all writer's need,including me.

Allowing is a major principle under the Laws of Attraction.Here are the 10 gifts that freewriting provides within theprinciple of the Law of Allowing:

1. Allows the use of good time management skills.

2. Allows less negative energy expenditure for worry ordoubt and increases positive energy for creative allowance.

3. Allows separation between the production process and therevising process.

4. Allows dancing around the inner critic.

5. Allows the writer to be in the present moment.

6. Allows the focus to transition from the result to theprocess, thus reducing the pressure to produce.

7. Allows the mind and heart to melt together intounprecedented language.

8. Allows a virgin flow of creativity to materialize.

9. Allows current emotion to manifest in the writing.10. Allows a connection between your knowledge and the universal knowledge field.

Catherine Franz, a Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.comblog: http://abundance.blogs.com