Guide to Free-writing Techniques
Stream-of-consciousness Writing to Cure Writer's Block
Apr 26, 2009
Free-writing is seen as a way to get started on a piece of writing and does not have as its goal the completion of an essay, story or poem. In other words, the focus is on the process of writing, not the results. Free-writing was first promoted in Peter Elbow’s Writing Without Teachers (1975) and made more popular by Julia Cameron through her bestselling book, The Artist's Way (1992).
How to Free-write:
The technique is straightforward and simple. Begin by choosing a quiet and comfortable place to write. With practice, you can free-write in cafes and other public places, but to begin, it is best to avoid distractions. Make sure to take care of any physical needs before you begin, such as a bathroom break or getting a drink of water.
Once you have seated yourself with your preferred writing tools (notebook, paper, pencil, pen, or computer), determine how long you will write. For beginners, 5 or 10 minutes is ample, although more experienced writers may go much longer. You may want to set a timer to avoid pausing to check the time. Music is optional.
The whole idea behind this technique is continuous writing. Once you begin the exercise, your hand should not leave the paper or keyboard until the time expires. Writing is done without regard to spelling, grammar, or punctuation and no corrections are made. Do not pause to read or change anything you have written. If you are using a computer, you may want to dim the screen to avoid a tendency to glance over your writing.
If you reach a point where you cannot think of anything to write, then continue writing that thought—my mind is blank or nothing is coming to me-- until another line of thought emerges. Feel free to stray off topic and to allow your thoughts to lead wherever they may.
Focused Free-write:
At times, a writer may also do a focused free-write. This simply means that the writer or the writing instructor has chosen a topic or a prompt as a place to begin the writing session. This could be a single word or a concept; it might even be an image from a magazine or postcard, or an object as simple as a shell or paper cup. As a writer’s thoughts expand from this topic or prompt, new and sometimes surprising connections are made.
Free-writing is often done as a part of the writer's daily routine, serving as a warm-up exercise to begin the day’s work. Other writers use the technique as a remedy for the occasional bout of writer’s block.
While the purpose of free-writing is to get the ideas and words flowing, quite often a session will produce a line or idea worth keeping. It’s a good idea to read what you've written and mark passages that interest you. These can be used for further free-writing, or they may become part of a finished piece.
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