Free Write Your Way Out of Writer’s Block

By Maggie King

Writer’s block. Many writers suffer from this condition. I used to scoff at the very idea of writer’s block, regarding it as another way for writers to procrastinate. But the creative slowdown I’ve experienced for several months has humbled me.

I’m not blocked for ideas, I have them by the dozen. The problem lies in creating a story, one people would actually want to read. My writing skills have gone on hiatus.

My solution: free writing. According to Matt Ellis in his post in Grammarly.com, “How Freewriting Can Boost Your Creativity,” freewriting is a technique in which the author writes their thoughts quickly and continuously, without worrying about form, style, or even grammar.

Mr. Ellis extols the benefits of this practice: “The benefits of free writing revolve around organization, brainstorming, and inspiration, as well as beating writer’s block and relieving certain anxieties. Just getting anything written, even if it is imperfect, can jump-start creativity.”

Author Natalie Goldberg also encourages free writing, or “first thoughts” in her parlance. In this excerpt from her classic Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within she explains how to write first thoughts (#6 is a tough one!):

Keep your hand moving. Don’t pause to read what you’ve just written.
That’s stalling and trying to get control of what you’re saying.
Don’t cross out. That is editing as you write. Even if you write something
you didn’t mean to write, leave it.
Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. Don’t even care about
staying in the margins and lines on the page.
Lose control.
Don’t think. Don’t get logical.
Go for the jugular. If something comes up in your writing that is scary or
naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.

Sometimes I write from a prompt (maybe not technically free writing, but who’s nitpicking?); at other times I simply write whatever comes forth. I set a timer on my smart watch for thirty minutes and go, without stopping. At first I went for ten minute sprints, but soon found that half an hour worked best. My thoughts and words flow. When the timer goes off, I pause, then go for another thirty minutes. At that point my hand needs a rest!

My free writing is turning into a memoir. Nothing organized or even chronological—whatever occurs to me ends up on the page. What occurs are often experiences from my past: family, people I’ve known, jobs held, schools attended, challenges faced. I’ve devoted pages and pages to my summers spent with relatives in a rural part of upstate New York.

It’s been an enlightening process, especially as I discover how my perspectives have changed over the years. Frankly, there are memories I’d like to keep buried, but I’ve found it liberating to get them down on paper (See #6 of Natalie Goldberg’s list above).

Since I started this process in July, I now look forward to writing each day. I can’t yet report much creative writing activity, but last week I was invited to submit a short story to an anthology. I have a great idea for a story (remember, I have no dearth of ideas) and now feel up to the challenge of actually writing it.

And now, please excuse me … it’s time to free write!

Handmade Software, Inc. Image Alchemy v1.14

“Off The Top”

by Jackie Houchin

What do I mean when I say, “off the top of my head…”?

Dictionaries say it means derived from the knowledge you have in your memory or impromptu, without previous thought or preparation.

Does it mean the same as “seat of my pants”? Hmm. We often say we are “pantsers” when we sit down and start writing a story without a formal outline.

Although I love outlines, pages of notes, and lists of resources, I often sit down and simply start writing. Some call this ‘free writing,’ and it sometimes begins with a prompt. I did that recently with a short story I wrote using the prompt “The Convenience Store Was a Sad Place.” That prompt made me think of our neighborhood store and gas station. I pictured myself walking into that store, looking around, dealing with a smarty-pants cashier, and away I wrote. The story came to me in a series of vivid mind pictures.

Was it seat-of-my-pants? Or something “derived from the knowledge I had in my memory.” Hmmm.

More recently, in April, to be exact, I joined a month-long Writers Digest PAD Challenge. The idea was to write a Poem-A-Day (PAD) on the daily prompt they gave. You could write any type of poem, from a limerick to a sonnet or free verse. (I liked the shortness of this challenge.)

I did it. For nineteen days, at least. And the poems were totally “off the top of my head.”

April 1 – An optimistic poem.

There once was a gal with a lump.

When first it was found, she did jump.

“Oh, my! I shall die!”

Was her terrified cry!

But a doctor cut out that bad bump.

April 3 – A sad poem.

The rosebud is gone.

Cut from a lily-white breast.

Warm tears down the drain.

April 4 – A mistake poem, one you made or witnessed.

The mistake was mine. I’ll confess

I love whodunnits. But I digress.

I put down the fiver. I looked away

Hmm, stab or shoot? Which way to slay?

Wait! I’m not stealing a book!

Look in my bag? Really, just look!

There’re TWO books by Christie???

Well, I declare. It IS a mystery.

April 8 – A major event poem.

I gasp and stutter and lisp,

For today, I saw an eclipse.

The sun was gone

But not for long

It returned; its edges all crisp.

Off the top of my head – derived from knowledge I have in my memory.

It was fun for those nineteen days last April. There were longer poems, too, and some more serious. I’ve often said I’m a short writer. I don’t think I could actually write a book, although I’ve tried. I admire the Writers In Residence here on this blog for doing just that!

Do you write short or long? Off the top of your head or from detailed outlines?

If you want to see more of my PAD poems, go to my blog, Words and Reviews, and scroll down the right-hand side column to April 2024.

In the week before June ended, there was a 7-day challenge by Writers’ Digest for personal essays. Again, you have a topic, and you write about it. My first one was about “a job experience,” and I titled it “Knick-knack, Paddywhack, Give A Dog a Bone.” You can find that one on my blog site at: Words and Reviews Essays.

Free WRITING For Free

Jackie Houchin is a Christian writer, book reviewer, and retired photojournalist. She writes articles and reviews on a variety of topics, and occasionally edits manuscripts. She also dabbles in short fiction. “I’m a wife (52 years in Feb/2016), a mom, and a grandma (of adults, sigh!). I enjoy creating Bible craft projects for kids; growing fruits, flowers, and veggies; and traveling to other countries. I also adore cats and kittens and mysteries.” Follow Jackie on Morning Meditations and Here’s How it Happened

What comes to your mind when you think of free writing?

Do you think of finding a word, idea, scene or photo, and putting your pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and… writing whatever comes to mind? (I did that once about salt from a photo of a vintage restaurant saltshaker, giving the condiment a personality. It turned out pretty cool, I thought!)

Or does free writing mean penning something “on spec” which is a fancy way of saying that no money is involved. Or, if you are a newbie writer, maybe you volunteer your services for articles, blog posts, interviews, fillers, etc., for experience and to accumulate “clips.”

Freeing Willie

“Free Writing” – that mind-over-matter, staring-into-space writing that begins with a prompt – is often used by writers and novelists who experience writer’s block, as a way to prime the pump. However it happens, once you get your creative juices or muses moving, your other WIP seems to suddenly take on new life. (And no, my muse’s name is not Willie!)

FREE writing3 This kind of free writing invigorates your thought process, sparks ideas that catch fire and burn down forests of paper!! (Sorry, I got a little carried away.)

You don’t have to be “stuck” to make use of free writing. Some writers write from a prompt daily in a journal designated for that purpose. Not only does it kick start their writing, but they archive a huge number of ideas in the process to use later. (See a list of websites at the end that feature prompts for writers.)

Don’t write right

Another method of free writing (I love this one and have recommended it often, but no one ever tries it… or at least has told me they’ve tried it) is to use a left/right brain strategy. (You have to use a pen or pencil for this one.)

Choose a photo, or even an advertisement from a magazine with at least two people in it, and some background. With your dominant hand, write a brief account of what is happening in the scene (other than the obvious ad line). Include background, clothes, colors, expressions, relationship possibilities, etc.

NEXT, switch hands and write about the same scene with your non-dominant hand. I was told that your brain will notice different details and story possibilities from the “other” hand’s POV. I didn’t believe it, but I tried it. I was amazed! I did it again using a painting of a village scene this time and the same thing happened!

Try it. Do. Then email me (or comment below) the results.

Money Ain’t Everything

FREE writing5 The other type of free writing that most wordsmiths don’t like to consider, is writing FOR FREE; not charging a fee, gratis, a lot of work for no pay. Some do it for the experience and to get a name and byline which they can later barter. They think of it as a rite of passage, paying their dues, a necessary evil. (Hey, I love clichés.)

But I bet you’ve done free writing and didn’t even realize it. How about that guest blog? (Okay, you pumped your book.) What about being so wowed by a book you just read, you ran to Amazon or Goodreads and posted a glorious review?

Unless your own blog has a commercial aspect, every post there is virtually free.

FREE editing1 How about volunteering to critique or edit a friend’s manuscript? (I edit papers by seminary students in Africa and it is very gratifying.) Or mentoring a newbie writer? (I’m doing that for a friend who’s attempting her first memoir.) How about writing a note of encouragement to an author who’s just lost her editor or publisher, or gotten a stinky review?

These kind of projects are definitely in the “feel good” category but they are still writing. They are lucrative in a non-monetary way, and sometimes the payoff is astounding.

The Bottom Line

Writers write… however and whenever, for whomever, and for whatever pay. They write. WE write.

So WRITE FREE and see what happens.

Websites with writing prompts: scene setups, situations, words, and photos:

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts – scenes

http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/ – brief suggestions

https://dailypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/365-days-of-writing-prompts-1387477491.pdf – each day

http://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts/creative-writing-prompts/25-creative-writing-prompts – brief ideas

http://writeshop.com/creative-writing-photo-prompts-imagination/ – photos

http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-image-generator.php – very cool! a new photo prompt with each click of your mouse.