Wait, What’s a Free-Write?

Basically, you put your pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and write continuously for a set period of time. There’s not much more to it but if you want a little more guidance here are the rules:

1. Don’t edit or concern yourself with grammar, punctuation or even making sense.
2. Do not stop, pause or try too hard to be coherent.

Honestly, that’s it and it’s a fabulous technique if you are stuck or have that writer’s block thing which I have never understood. I have the opposite problem which is that I write too much, too long and can’t write catchy headlines or titles. Even now. See?

Back to free-writes. I learned how from reading Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing Down the Bones. I don’t know where she learned.

My friend Lynn and I used to have free-writing “dates” at Concord Library on Friday nights or at Walden Pond on the weekends writing about any random topic to loosen up, share and make sure we kept writing. That started two and half decades ago. We were some partying hard youngsters raising hell with our backpacks. coffees and journals.

To this day, free-writing alone or with my friend Kathy, my cousin Katie or my eleven-year old daughter is so fun. It’s good if you need to loosen up, brainstorm or your writing is feel formal, forced and as though it’s a voice not your own. You can use it to dump some overheated emotion or to wire up a dead zone in your psyche.

Plus, for me, free-writing helps me lose my inhibitions. I tend to be more honest when I write fast as it gives me a chance to bypass both the critic and the censor who are both worried mostly what others might think.

Anne Lamott suggests “shitty first drafts.”

Julia Cameron writes about morning pages.

Nancy Slonim-Aronie makes people feel safe diving deep in words and sharing them at her Writing from the Heart workshops.

WikiHow will give you a how-to with pictures.

All are useful resources and basically convey the same message and that is that frequent, uncensored and fast timed writing makes you do the writing part of being a writer.

Short version is pick up a pen, look at the clock, put pen to paper and write for ten minutes.

Do that once a day and you will have no problem coming up with ideas, stories and putting your neurosis and brilliance down on paper. Just like vomit, both are better out than in.

Go.