Writing Hint #28: Try Free Writing
Writer’s Block
Dealing with writer’s block can be a real hassle for some writers. You know you should be writing (or blogging) but the ideas just will not come. The words seem to be stuck somewhere and just can’t get out.
Egg Bound
I guess it’s a bit like a hen who is egg bound. The egg is there – but it just cannot get out, no matter what the hen tries to do. This serious condition can result in death, and I’d imagine it would be a rather painful way to go. What we do not want is the death of our writing.
Try Free Writing:
How about trying free writing.
- Bring up a blank screen on your monitor or take a blank piece of paper.
- Set a timer for five or ten minutes – you choose.
- Now write.
- Anything.
- Everything.
- Just random words.
- Meaningless drivel.
- Make it a list.
- List the things you can see.
- Write down what you can hear, smell, feel.
- Make a list of your favourite foods, songs, movies, books or whatever.
- Forget about grammar, punctuation and spelling: just write.
- Cover the page.
- Fill the monitor screen.
This activity tricks the brain into thinking that you are actually writing, and before long the ideas will start flowing, the words will come and you will be off and writing again.
Warm up the brain
Some writers use this technique as a warm up exercise for the day. They do this like an athlete warms up for the main event. When their brains are ready, they then launch into the real writing they have in front of them for the day.
Stretch your writing muscles
I sometimes use this technique in a modified way; I write in my journal. My journal has an audience of one: me. It is not perfect – far from it. It records my thoughts, my feelings, the recent events in my life and my reactions to them. When I have written for ten or fifteen minutes I am often ready and warmed up to get on with other writing tasks. My writing muscles have been stretched and are ready for action.
Good writing.
Further reading:
- Writing hints – another 27 writing hints to help you.
Just a thought – about cups and words
“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.”
~ Ray Bradbury
I’ve never thought of myself as a cup.
Until now.
Life is constantly filling us with experiences, images, ideas, thoughts, emotions and a constant barrage of words, spoken and written. From that amazing hotchpotch stew can come “the beautiful stuff” that can inspire, amuse, instruct, entertain and even bring tears to the eyes of the reader.
What a wonderful privilege to be a writer.
And what an awesome challenge for the writer serious about the craft.
Good writing.
Writing Hint #27: Use your memories
I went to a funeral last Monday. It was in my old home town of Loxton, South Australia. I grew up on a farm and went to a one teacher school about twenty miles from Loxton.
The funeral was for an dear old lady who ran a combined store, post office and telephone exchange in the small town where I grew up. She had reached the wonderful age of 102 and was very active until a few weeks ago. Her funeral was a celebration of a full and interesting life. Her daughter and I went through school together always in the same class. She now lives only a short distance away from us.
After the funeral most of the family and friends gathered in the church hall for lunch. It was a wonderful time of renewing friendships and acquaintances from fifty years ago. A group of us started reminiscing about our school days together. I had forgotten some of the stories of what we all got up to during those carefree days. The memories came flooding back. It was a special time.
Using your memories:
Memories can be a goldmine of resource materials for writing, whether that be in articles, stories or novels. Here are just a few hints for writing activities from memories:
- Write a series of articles about your school days. Compare your school experiences with school of today.
- Describe the community you lived in as a child.
- Interview an elderly person you first met when you were very young. Write down their memories of days when you were young.
- Write an account of how one person influenced your early life. (For example, one of my primary school teachers inspired me to become a teacher.)
- Make a list of the schoolyard games you played at primary (elementary) school.
- Describe what you liked (or disliked) about school days.
- Think about the home where you grew up. Write a story imagining you lived there all of your life.
- I grew up on a farm near a small country town. Write about growing up in a small town – or visits to a farm or small town when you were young.
- Write about someone from your childhood who scared you – or made you laugh.
- Think back to when you were young. Write about a person who took a special interest in you, looked after you, took you to special places or taught you special skills.
From this list I hope you can see that the scope for using memories from earlier days and childhood are a rich source of writing ideas. They are limited only by your own memory and imagination. If your memory is failing, get together with former classmates and reminisce. You never know what gem stones they will come up with!
Related articles:
- Use your inbuilt story antenna
- Writing opportunities
- Short story Starters – links to articles listing over sixty ideas for writing short stories.
Writing Hint #26 Set a minimum target each day
No Comments »14th August, 2007; Category: Writing Hints
Successful writers set goals.
The most successful writers set firm goals that they almost always meet. They allow themselves to be diverted or distracted only by extremely important matters – things such as the house being on fire, or the flood waters rising so quickly the computer is in serious danger of floating out the window, or an earthquake has opened a gaping hole in the wall allowing a bitter wind to chill the writer to the bone.
Keep Goals Simple
These writing goals should be simple and easy to remember through the day and are achievable. This means that they need to be realistic. If you set a goal to write 5000 words a day but you’ve never written more than 200 in one day ever, your goal might be set a little too high. Five hundred words might be more realistic. If you are working at a full time job to support your writing addiction, 250-300 words a day might be all you can realistically achieve.
My suggestion is to set a minimum number of words or pages that you WILL write every day. No exceptions. Extra words or pages on any one day do NOT count towards the next day’s goal: they are a bonus. Stick to achieving your goal every day. You will be surprised how quickly the words mount up. A modest 500 words per day adds up to a massive novel-length manuscript of 100,000 words in a little over six months.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing Hints -the above article is number 26 in a series of writing hints worth reading.
Quick Blogging Tip: check all links
I made a small mistake in one of my posts last week. One of the links I included in the body of the text didn’t work. It was a crucial link too, one than took the readers to a vital page which would help then to do what I was suggesting.
I am grateful to one of my readers who pointed out that the link didn’t work. I was quick to correct it for the benefit of future readers.
Quick Blogging Tip: check all outgoing links from your blog to make sure that they take your readers somewhere – preferably to the page you intended – or they may end up somewhere else.