In response to recent success doing freewrite exercises over Twitter, I have decided to share the exercise with you, so that you can try it out for yourself. For those of you that are unaware, a freewrite is a no-holds barred writing exercise where you write anything that comes to mind, no matter what it is. The idea is to write with no inhibitions and no restrictions to stifle creativity.
One of the beautiful things about the freewrite is that you can easily modify your workspace to direct your energy, or leave it as is. The ability to customize your own freewrite experience also gives you the chance to try out new methods for spurring creativity and can be added into your normal writing routine to break things up a bit.
1. Allot Time: Set aside a time when your writing will not be disturbed. This can be a lose period, or a timed session. (I've been shooting for 30 minute bursts of late, which seems to work well.) Don't chicken out at the last minute either. You must dedicate yourself to the activity otherwise you won't get as much reward from doing it.
2. Prepare Your Writing Area: Preparing an area for the purposes of maximizing your writing output is different from writer to writer, so you should create a spot that makes you feel comfortable. This should sponsor a safe environment for you to work in (ergonomics)which includes good posture & lighting, as well as removing any items that might cause you undue annoyance or harm (e.g. power cables).
If you are using a desk chair, which most people will be during this exercise & writing in general, then make sure that it is safe to use. After all, it is difficult to write when you have a broken tail bone. Obviously you need to keep good posture when you're actually writing, and this will help keep you alert and free from drowsiness or lack of blood flow. Note also that even a typically well-lit room that offers lots of natural lighting can be darkened due to cloud cover, so keep another light source at the ready, just in case.
3. Reduce Distractions: Switch off any electronic devices (e.g. TV or Radio) or computer programs (e.g. Solitaire) that you believe will create a distraction for you while writing. Shut down ALL web-pages. Take your phone off of the hook if need be. Make sure that you are hydrated and have gone to the toilet before starting the session. Aware loved ones of this so that they won't interrupt you unless it is an emergency.
4. Added Extras: If you want to direct your creative energy, then feel free to add a variety of different audio & visual stimuli around your workplace. This can range from posters to ambient sounds, and postcards of far-off places to music. I'd also recommend posting quotes on a wall so that you simply have to look up to read it. If you feel so inclined then create a montage of images and a playlist as well. The key thing is to make your writing accessible while you are looking at your imagery or switching between audio with minimal work on your part.
5. Write: Open up your word processor document or bring out the stationary and start writing. If you are doing a timed exercise, then set your alarm, but if you feel like continuing after the timer goes off then keep on going - use that energy while you still have some momentum.
6. Journal: Make sure that you journal your thoughts, feelings, results (e.g. wordcount) and general information about the freewrite, as well as take down details of what stimuli (or lack thereof) you used during the exercise. Keeping a Journal of these details will enable you to further customize your writing sessions, as it will enable you to identify areas that did and did not help the creative process.
For those that are using the timed method, I highly recommend yTimer, a program that allows you to set alarms for certain times, software created by talented author & programmer, Simon Haynes. There are numerous e-journals and Diary programs as well, though these may not be as useful as a spreadsheet that you can customize.
In following weeks I will be producing a writing journal spreadsheet if anybody is interested. If you want me to let you know when its available then why not subscribe to the newsletter on the Writing Tools page, and I'll send out an alert when the spreadsheet goes live. If you'd like to be involved in joint freewrites with yours truly, then follow me over twitter as well (@keikomushi) being sure to let me know that it would interest you, or you can start your own group activity.
Best of luck with your writing endeavors!
RSS Feed