What Is Free Writing?

Sometimes just getting started on a piece of writing can feel very difficult, and free writing can prove to be a useful tool to get you started. Free writing is simply the practice of writing whatever comes into your head without stopping to judge the output. To begin, record whatever is going through your mind at the moment, without worrying about grammar, spelling, organization or even making basic sense. If you have to write "I don't know what to say" over and over for 5 minutes, that's OK. The main aim of free writing is to get something on the page and break through whatever may be holding you back.

Function

Free writing is used by both beginning and experienced writers. It is often recommended in books about the practice of writing or in writing workshops. Free writing is used both to overcome writer's block and to generate many creative ideas. While free writing is often associated with creative writing, it can be used in other contexts. For instance, free writing can be done in conjunction with keeping a journal as a sort of self-help tool, and it can be used to generate creative ideas in the workplace for a project as mundane as writing a memo.

Types

Free writing can be theme-based or completely free-form. If you're using free writing to generate ideas for an academic paper or a report for work, you can start by writing a word or phrase at the top of the page. Next, free associate in writing based on the word or phrase. Many writers prefer to do free-form free writing as a warm-up. They simply begin writing whatever comes to mind for a set amount of time.

Time Frame

Free writing can be be timed. Many books on creative writing have you start with 5 to 15 minutes of free writing to get your writing muscles warmed up. You can also choose to do it for an unspecified length of time if you're doing it as a self-discovery tool in conjunction with keeping a journal. Often, professional writers do a short (10 or 15 minutes) free writing warm-up session at the very beginning of a time set aside for writing poetry, a novel or a short story.

Benefits

The benefits of free writing are breaking through blocks and helping you get into a flow. Much of writer's block is fear of getting started and fear of failure. With free writing, the whole point is the process, not the outcome. Free writing helps you let go of judgment and unleash your creativity. Often, once you get started with a free writing session that feels forced, you'll end up feeling like you're "in the flow," and you'll decide to write for a longer time than you had initially set aside.

Theories/Speculation

Those who teach free writing as a tool in creative writing speculate that free writing allows you to bypass your "inner critic." Free writing, they say, is about tapping into the part of your mind that is purely creative, rather than the judging part of your mind that decides if something is right or wrong, good or bad. Free writing has also been explained through the metaphor of cleaning out sludge in the pipes. Allowing yourself a short time to do free writing allows you to dismiss the cares of the day and random intrusive thoughts so that you can allow good writing to flow cleanly and easily.

Considerations

Free writing can be done with pen and paper or on a computer screen. Either way is fine, though each has its advantages and disadvantages. A notebook and pen are cheap and highly portable, with no battery power required. On the other hand, you may be able to type faster than you can write, and writing quickly is part of successful free writing. Also, if you want to later go back to your free writing to mine them for good lines or interesting ideas, it's easier to cut and paste from a typed Word document.

Resources

• More information on free writing, including examples.