Freewriting

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Freewriting

• A way around Writers Block

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What is Freewriting?

• A popular technique used by writers to practice
  writing in general
• A preliminary step to more formal writing.
• Continuous writing, usually for a set period of
  time, without stopping.
• Writing that is done without regard to spelling,
  grammar, etc., and no corrections are made.

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Why Freewrite?

• It is a way of getting the brain in gear
• It makes you more comfortable with the act of
  writing.
• It helps you bypass the "inner critic" who tells
  you you can't write.
• It can be a valve to release inner tensions.
• It can help you discover things to write about.
• It can indirectly improve your formal writing.
• It can be fun.

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How do we Freewrite?

• Usually begins with a topic or a statement to
  respond to (Like Dentists, or Why do I
  exist?)
• Write down things that seem to be related to the
  topic.
• Do not worry about order of ideas or grammatical
  correctness.
• Do not stop writing. If you get stuck, write that
  you are tuck until you think of something.

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More Tips

• Allow yourself to stray off topic, and to just
  let your thoughts lead you wherever they may.
• Do not judge or censor what you are writing.
  Instead just go in the new direction.
• When time is up, look over what you have written.
  Pull out ideas and phrases you can use later.

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Dentists

• Looking back over this paragraph, do you see any
  ideas that might lend themselves toward an essay
  on dentists or at least the beginnings of one?
  Why would one want to become a dentist? or some
  other "unpleasant" line of medical work (even
  worse than dentistry)? How have attitudes toward
  going to the dentist changed over the years? Will
  better toothpastes, etc. eventually make dentists
  obsolete? How do dentists cope with the threat of
  AIDS? Is it a real threat?

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Dentists

• I hate going to the dentist. I'm always afraid
  that they're going to hurt me, and I'm not very
  good at pain, at tolerating pain, I mean. I
  remember the first time,w hen I was a kid, going
  to the dentists, it seemed I never went to the
  dentist when I was a kid until I had a toothache,
  that's my parents fault, isn't it, I guess. They
  should have taken better care of my teeth when I
  was little, and then I wouldn't have so much
  grief now with my teeth. But back then I would go
  to the dentists and he would have this godawful
  drill that would make this awful noise and it
  seemed like it always hurt. I remember there was
  this sign in his office that said PAINLESS
  DENTIST, UPSTAIRS, but there was no upstairs in
  his building.

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Dentists

• Some joke, huh? I can't think of anything to say,
  and I can't think of anything more to say. Oh, I
  wonder how come anyone in his right might mind
  would ever want to become a dentist, putting his
  fingers into other people's mouths all day, all
  that spit and blood and not there's the fear of
  getting AIDS from your clients that they have to
  wear those rubber gloves and I hate the feel of
  those things in my mouth, too, and the sound of
  that thing that draws the spit out of your mouth.
  I wonder why my folks didn't take me to the
  dentist BEFORE i had trouble. Probably because
  when they were growing up it was bad times and
  they didn't have any money for things like the
  dentist and it was just taken for granted that
  you were going to get cavieties and lose a lot of
  teeth before you were even an adult.

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Dentists

• I can't think of anything more to say. I can't
  think of anything more to say. all I know is that
  when I have kids, they're going to the dentist
  every six months whether they want to or not and
  maybe by then they'll have invented some way to
  absolutely prevent cavities and maybe there won't
  even be any dentists or if there are it'll just
  be to clean your teeth and make sure they're
  straight and pearly white and we won't worry
  about cavities and stuff like that that causes
  pain anymore. DENTISTS, MY ATTITUDE HAS CHANGED
  AS I GOT OLDER

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Practice Freewrite

• Prompt A hot day
• Describe what a hot day is like.
• Use lots of adjectives like blistering or dry
• What does it feel like, look like, sound like,
  etc
• How does it make you feel?
• How does it affect other things like the grass,
  the air, the concrete, time, etc

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Practice Freewrite

• Prompt A diner on the edge of town
• Paint a picture of the diner with words
• Include the building, the people (if any), the
  smells, the surrounding lands, etc
• Avoid action and plot, focusing instead on the
  describing what you see

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Practice Freewrite

• Prompt A menacing man
• Give a full description of the man
• Focus on the image you get of this man
• Consider his body shape, his facial features, his
  demeanor, etc.
• Add possible reasons for his appearance and
  demeanor without telling a story

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Practice Freewrite

• Prompt A frightened woman
• Give a full description of the woman
• Focus on the image you get of this woman
• Consider her body shape, her facial features, her
  demeanor, etc.
• Add possible reasons for her appearance and
  demeanor without telling a story