THE
THE NEwsLETTER OF PENNwRITERs INC. NOV/DEC 2019 • VOL. XXVII NO. 6
Bypass Writer’s Block and Fuel Creativity with Freewriting by CHRIsTIANA REULING, AREA 1
Are you feeling blocked? Don’t have the time, or the energy, or the inspiration to work on your novel right now? Do you feel guilty because you know you should be writing, but you just can’t seem to commit to a large body of work? Why not give Freewriting a go? Freewriting is a contemporary and popular way of playing with words. You can use it to prepare for writing, to develop ideas, to build characters or setting, to work through blockages, to keep your mind engaged and your thoughts fluid, or simply to catch ideas when they’re coming too fast to be taken down in a more structured form. There are no rules for Freewriting. Freewriting, by nature, defies all rules and restrictions, allowing you to open up and let go onto the page. But there are a few guidelines to help push you in the right direction, should you choose to employ them. 1. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted for several minutes. 2. Clear your mind completely, and then write whatever comes into it. Try to write for a solid time period or page length. Five straight minutes or one whole page, for example. 3. Forget spelling, grammar, punctuation and logical development for now.
4. Don’t organize your thoughts into sentences or paragraphs, just let the words run out onto the page. 5. Don’t stop until you’ve reached your goal.
An example out of my own notebook using the spark word “murky” looked like this:
murky perky beef jerky rough and tumble mumble stumble trip and fall stall wall bricks and mortar she was shorter childhood friend with raven hair flew away came back again grin sin dark and twisted how i missed it glory days gone by i stop and sigh why i longed to feel the sun again summer days sunkissed hair shorts and tshirts barely there beaches full with passersby sunglint waters squinted eye burning sand beneath my feet friends that came and friends to meet soon i’m walking down the street rainy days and gathered clouds shrouds i lift my hands toward the skies rainsoaked happy wild and wise rise lies i realize keep them to yourself i don’t want any otherwise butterflies dipping soaring feather wings songs to sing that carry them by bells that ring coins that jingle in my pocket oh happy day all my sins were washed away oh love devine give me a sign that I shall see you again someday another day when this whole world has passed away and I shall fly up to your side on feather wings my very own It may end up sounding like a lot of nonsense, but don’t be surprised if you end up with a few gems of usable material mixed in. Christiana Reuling is a writer, soccer mom, and artist living in Area 1. Her favorite day of the week is Thursday, because it’s writer’s group night. To read more of her writerly musings, visit her website and blog at christianareuling.com or find her on Instagram @christiana.reuling.writes.
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