Jenni and I recorded our latest podcast episode this week, and in it we talk about free writing. Personally, I don't know much about it, but Jenni talks about how she used the technique in a creative writing course from a few years back.
According to Google, the definition goes like this...
"Free writing is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. It is used mainly by prose writers and writing teachers."
...and there was me thinking it was just another way to write a story. Well, I guess in some ways it is.
I set the timer on my phone for five minutes and just wrote, so here is my first ever go at free writing...
It was strange. He was my Dad, but it didn't look like him. He asked me where we were going. I didn't know. We just drove. I looked out of the passenger window at what looked like an industrial estate. We drove in, and through a barrier towards a car park. The winding ramp up towards the top floor left my head feeling giddy. Dad asked me if he looked different. I told him he did, but I didn't mind. He parked the car at the edge of the car park. The sunset glowed pink and orange, like a fruit salad sweet. We have to go. Dad started the car. This was confusing, we had only just arrived in the car park, I was about ready to get out of the car to see the sunset without the barrier of the window, but instead the car was put into reverse and off we went, back down the ramp. What's going on, I asked. You just needed to see that, he pointed to the sunset. The view's better up there, and I needed you to see it. Sometimes it's important to see things. We were up there for such a small amount of time thought. It doesn't matter, it's not the amount of time you spend somewhere doing something, it's the fact that you now have another memory to draw on, another sight to behold, another image for you mind to think about. Remember it. We often take for granted the little things. Never forget the little things. They shape us.
I think I may have cheated slightly as before I found the definition of "what is free writing", I kinda edited it with a few commas and changed some spellings. As soon as started writing, I recalled a dream I had a few nights back, so just wrote that without really thinking about it.
Hmm...well, there you have it. Have you ever used free writing as a technique to get yourself writing?
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See ya next time,
Marc x
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