Writing Through Writer's Block
Free Writing
For many of us out there, whether we are prolific writers or just students in school completing assignments, have experienced writer's block. It is an inevitable side effect of the writing process. Whether the writer's block is self created (not wanting to do the assignment, procrastination) or a lack of creative juices, there are many ways to try and bring an end to it. In this hub I will focus on one method that I find extremely useful and effective every time I have writer's block: free writing.
Free writing, also known as stream-of-consciousness writing, is extremely easy to master. It is the process of writing, about anything, for a period of time without worrying about correct spelling, punctuation, changing topics quickly, paragraphs, etc. It is like you are rambling about everything and anything that happens to pop into your brain. For the set time limit you want to be constantly writing.
1. Gather materials, whether it be getting the computer going, pen and paper, marker, crayon. Use whatever. Maybe even change writing mediums every time you free write to see if the results differ.
2. Set a time limit. I like to go for around 5-10 minutes. Any longer than that and I get bored. Any shorter and I find that I did not get that spark of creativity back as strong as I want it. Find whatever time works best for you. You may need to change it up after a while as well.
3. Use an alarm for your time limit. That way you are not distracted looking at the clock.
4. Start writing. Write down anything that pops into your brain. Do not erase or cross out. Just keep going until your alarm goes off.
5. Review what you have written. You will be surprised to find that seeds of creativity are littered throughout. You just never give them a chance since you are always focusing on certain things.
You may want to keep the pages you have generated from this as future inspiration. I hope that this helps you overcome writer's block as much as it helps me. If you have an questions, let me know and I will be happy to answer them.
