What is a free write? It is essentially writing without conscious thought.
Most free writes go like this:
You write down whatever comes into your mind for 15 straight minutes either as a word purge (no topic at all) or on a prompt.
There is no right or wrong way of doing a free write, but here are some tips with the way I do it:
I find a place where I am comfortable writing
To completely drown out any unwanted sounds, I put on some soothing instrumental music
A timer is very helpful so I set my timer for about 17 minutes
The best time to do a free write is when you are relaxed so I allow myself a little relaxation time of about 2 minutes – a nice short song length
Then I start writing – anything that comes into my mind, remembering that it does not need to make sense
When the timer goes off, I will either round off the sentence or if the thoughts are flowing I will keep going for a line or two more. Remember there is no absolute 15 minute rule, but as a start 15 minutes is a good length and initially it will feel like a pretty long time.
Once I’ve finished. I go back and tidy up the grammar, punctuation and paragraphs but other than that, keep the writing untouched.
I remind myself it’s not a competition. The idea is not to feel ashamed of what I write but to have some fun and maybe a chuckle or two.
Once you get the hang of a free write, it is quite easy to do and it always amazes me how it turns out.
So for today, let’s do a free write either as a word purge (just letting your thoughts ramble) or pick a prompt for yourself – a word, phrase, quote, song, book, anything you want to write on (and naturally the prompts below) and let your fingers fly for 15 minutes. You can add any videos, pictures etc to your post once you have finished so that’s not counted in the 15 minutes.
Some Don’ts
Don’t sanitize your work – post as you wrote it (you can tidy up the grammar, punctuation and paragraphs)
Don’t worry about the length of your post.
Don’t plan or procrastinate on anything, just go for it and let your fingers do the writing.
Don’t worry about how it will turn out – have faith that whatever you write will be great – you’ll be surprised what turns up. Trust me on that.
And some Dos
Do try out free writes as often as you can. You can tag me (Suzy) and Write Tribe on Twitter if you want us to take a look at them.
Do have fun.
PS: We have repurposed this post because it is so good. To learn how to repurpose your old posts here this.
Free Write today with @suzyq1810 and @writetribe #FridayReflectionsClick To Tweet
#FridayReflections
If you are new to Friday Reflections, here’s what it’s about. It’s the end of the week, you’re probably exhausted with work, and all you want to do is sit back, put your feet up, sip on some fancy cocktail or wine, and write away. Sanch and Write Tribe give you writing prompts and all you have to do is choose any one of those prompts to blog about and link up between Friday and Monday. After you link up, be sure to spread the love by visiting other bloggers who have linked up too.
Feel free to add our Friday Reflections badge to your post or sidebar! Follow us on Twitter @FridayReflect and join our Facebook Group. Share your post on social media with the hashtag #FridayReflections.
Our featured writers for last week is Eloquent Mind who shared the sights, sounds and memories outside her window.
Prompts for this week
1. Write a poem that is about a brick wall – whether literally or figuratively.
2. Write about a point in life where things turned for the better or worse.
3. A well-loved toy from my childhood.
4. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, This is my Story. Use this is a post of your own
5. Picture Prompt (copyright Living my Imperfect Life)
Wonderful post. Free write is really helpful. 🙂
Hi – can i link my Free Write post to Friday Reflections? I wasn’t too sure as you guys had separate prompts for Friday reflections…
Hi Shweta – Yes, the #FridayReflections posts are all prompt based. Please feel free to add your post to the #WritingWednesdays post which is meant for posts from the week.
http://writetribe.com/memoir-writing/
Thanks! Per your instructions on the post I tagged you on the free attempt posts on twitter 🙂
Wow ! This post did generate a ton of comments . I’ve never tried a free write. Perhaps I’ll do it this Monday and tag you guys for a feed back. Thanks for these great tips .
Yes, it is a very popular post, Sunita. Look forward to reading your post.
Thanks for featuring my post again.
An absolute pleasure, Suzy!
Yep, automatic writing, it’s great actually, I’ve tried it a while ago and it’s fun.
The prompt was so much fun to write Suzy. Sulekha commented on my blog and I wanted to reach out to her, unfortunately, her blog is not opening. Can you please do something about it, Sulekha? Thanks.
Thanks Vishal. Glad you enjoyed my prompt.
Hoping to surprise myself with your ‘Free Writing’ idea .
Thanks Jeyannathann. Look forward to your post.
Such an amazing idea for bloggers to keep writing and over come the much dreaded writer’s block.
Looking forward to meet fellow bloggers here. Much to learn and the much to cover on this long winding road.
Fabulous tutorial Suzy. Free writing can sometime surprise your own mind!! Weekend will give some time to just let go and let it flow. Looking forward! 🙂
Thanks Aditi – Yes free writes produce amazing posts. At least for me my best writings are free writes. Look forward to yours.
Wow! That’s a nice idea. Will try it out over the weekend.
I look forward to your post Rekha.
Thanks Suzy for introducing such a wonderful idea…It was relaxing…really. Hope to have many more.
Hi Sheela, so glad you enjoyed the experience and a free write is relaxing as there is really no pressure to make it sensible!
I came across this website when browsing through blogs.. and just loved it! 🙂
I have written my first “Free write” and loved the experience..
Hoping to write more..
Hi Sumi, glad you stumbled upon this website and so glad you loved the free write experience. Will be visiting your blog shortly.
hi suzy…wow!! great concept. tried it for the first time. submitting my post too 🙂 never thought i could do it…thank you 🙂
I free write every morning. I start by writing the date, where I am, the time and the number of days I’ve written consecutively. Today was number 290 for me. If I miss a day, I have to start over with Day 1. Freewriting jump starts me each morning. Sometimes it leads to a blog or short story. Sometimes not.
Oh wow Talya that’s quite a commitment Free writing is fun.
I just tried mine…it was nit actually a free spree of thoughts but a running commentary of what my daughter was doing…unfortunately I nowadays don’t have the luxury of shutting of unwanted noise and to write undisturbed :)…yeah I have added an incident or two from my memory lane…but i loved the prompt..may be I will try doing a serious from the heart rant later this week….may be when my little one is sleeping
So glad you liked the prompt Confusedhumanity. Loved your very sweet post.
I embark on free write almost every two weeks and send the writings to some friend whom I know will make some sense of it. Its one of my favourite writing activity! Excited!!
Glad you enjoy it too Richa. Look forward to reading your post.
Excellent Suzy!! Surprisingly, I do most of my posts as a free write….I did’nt even know that’s what they are called 🙂
Thanks for the tutorial!
Thanks Kajal. Good to hear you also do free writes. So much easier than planned writing.
You had me right the moment I read the post. What a novel idea (at least for me, as this is the first time I’m doing a free write, after knowing that this form of writing is called free write 😛 ) Thanks for this great write up Suzy. As for my post, I have not read it after I wrote, submitting it raw, just like most of my other posts 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the prompt Bhavya. Loved your post and thank you for sharing your day and for taking part. Hope it was therapeutic for you.
Done!! 🙂 Had fun Suzy. Do not know whether what I wrote makes sense. But the point is I enjoyed.
Thank you
Glad you had fun Bhagyashree = that is really the point of the free write and wow what an awesome write you did.
It is fun Shilpa. I’m looking forward to reading all the posts. We’ll be amazed at what turns up.
I free right a lot. As a matter of fact, I free write everyday. I have made a habit to free write at least one page a day.(I believe that ‘one page a day, goes a long way’) A journal is specially bought for that purpose. Today morning I wrote my 125 page and it really really helps in honing your writing skills. I mean, sometimes I’ve found ideas to blog from my free writing stuff. My submission for ‘Truly Alive’ was a free write too. 🙂
I love free writes too. It’s a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Thanks for joining in. Loved your post.
This sounds so much fun! Thanks for sharing about Free Write, Suzy.
Am looking forward to write freely… 🙂
Look forward to sharing my uncensored post 🙂
I look forward too Sulekha – the uncensored version – that made me chuckle.
Wow… This is Niiceeee..>Free flow of thoughts.. I am already excited..Thank you Suzy
Thanks Shiva. I can feel your excitement. Have fun with this one.
Suzy , loved the free writing idea and the wonderful tips of do’s and do not’s.
Glad you liked it Kalpana. Look forward to reading your post.
Very nice. My big takeaway tip here is “Don’t sanitize your writing”. 🙂 Looking forward to participating, Suzy!
Thanks Vidya. I’m looking forward too, to read all the posts. Yep, the trick is not to sanitise. It’s great fun sometimes a nice giggle too.