A Powerful Way To Escape Writer’s Block
While struggling to put words on paper is frustrating, there are plenty of techniques to combat writer’s block.
Free Writing is one of the most powerful, yet often overlooked tools to help writers to create a great piece of writing.
According to the Collins English Dictionary, “free write” means “to write (something) freely without stopping or thinking.”
This practice gives an author permission to write whatever comes to mind. The writer has the freedom to put down anything and everything without second guesses or judgment, which is a freedom that writers rarely grant themselves.
Screenwriter and actor Steve Martin Has said, “The conscious mind is the editor, and the subconscious mind is the writer. And the joy of writing, when you’re writing from your subconscious, is beautiful — it’s thrilling. When you’re editing, which is your conscious mind, it’s like torture.”
Thus, Free Writing allows the writer to mute their conscious “editor” and fully tune in to the “writer” in their subconscious.
Writer’s block isn’t so much about being unable to come up with ideas, but about being resistant to the difficult process of editing and self-criticism. Free Writing helps liberate the writer from the editor in their mind.
The subconscious mind holds the ideas that you truly want to write about and how you want to go about writing them. If you are stuck engaging with the judgmental editor inside your brain, it is impossible for you to even get a glimpse of what the subconscious mind contains. Free Writing helps writers access ideas that they may never have discovered if they were trying to “come up with” something to write about. Consequently, getting in touch with the subconscious mind can inspire a beautiful and thrilling writing experience.
Free Writing has been scientifically proven to help writers focus and gain confidence in their writing abilities. In 2006, researchers conducted a study at the University of Canberra about using free writing to help develop academic writing.
Additionally, Free writing has been proven to help regulate emotions. For example, writing about a stressful or traumatic experience can help lessen people’s anxiety surrounding those incidents. Regulating emotions through free Writing can help writers clear their heads and get rid of the emotional blockage that is making it difficult for them to focus.
Tips for effective free writing
Write Nonstop
Stopping presents the opportunity for your inner critic to emerge. By writing nonstop, you allow your subconscious mind to fully take over. Start writing the first thing that comes into your mind.
If you don’t know what to write, just write that “I don’t know what to write, my mind is completely blank at this time” but do not physically stop writing no matter what. New thoughts will come to you eventually.
Use A Timer
By using a timer, you will not be distracted by having to decide if and when to stop. Also, you will not be tempted to stop just because you do not know what to write down. Setting the timer for anywhere between 5–15 minutes is a good time frame for new free-writers. Anything shorter might make it hard to fully delve into the process, while anything longer might be too much for your brain to handle at once. You can always do multiple sessions of timed free Writing, but make sure to take breaks in between.
Just Write For The Sake Of Writing
Whatever comes to mind, write it down. Even if something doesn’t seem to make sense or does not connect to the previous idea you fleshed out, write it down anyway.
Here’s the example of Free Writing:
When I woke up this morning, and I don’t know why my brother was staring at me in anger like I stole his chocolates. oh no, wait… yeah, I ate his chocolate last night. I think I need to stop eating chocolates, I am looking really fat. I wish this whole world was made of chocolate, the world looks so delicious.
See, none of this makes any sense, there is no point.
Allowing yourself to write without editing is the only way to free yourself from your own criticism. By doing so, you can unlock new and exciting ideas without worrying about their quality or clarity.
Do Not Think Of It As Brainstorming
Free Writing is similar to brainstorming in that it can help writers discover new ideas. However, brainstorming still involves stopping, thinking, and editing that free writing avoids. Write with the intention that no one will ever see this work. Treat free Writing as an exercise that has no end goal, rather than as an exercise for coming up with ideas. This is simply a practice to get you to tap into your creative process. While free Writing often does help writers find ideas, it is okay and still effective if it doesn’t. Free Writing can still help writers clear their heads and focus.
Use A Prompt
It would be difficult to write nonstop without any guidance. Find a prompt that best suits your needs. If you get stuck during the free write, you can always return to the prompt. Don’t be afraid to experiment with prompts that may not directly relate to your specific project. Seemingly irrelevant prompts may actually lead you to new ideas.
Save Your Free Writing And Look Back At It
You never know when an idea you scribbled out during a free writing session will help you later on. Save your free writing so you can refer to it while working on current and future writing projects. Something that doesn’t stand out to you now might be exactly what you need to help you move forward with a writing project down the line.
I write these two articles With the help of my Free writing notebook:
So save your free Writing, it will definitely help you in the future.
The next time you experience the pain of not knowing what to write or how to write it, don’t let the feeling overwhelm you. Turn to free Writing to conquer writer’s block and open up your mind to new discoveries.
