Do You Use Freewriting?

So maybe it's just me. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Let's find out. Here's the deal: I feel a lot of pressure to produce a masterpiece every time I sit down and put pen to paper or place my hands on a keyboard. That's when I freeze.


Like I said above, maybe it's just me. If that's the case, then you don't have to read further.


But I imagine a few of you - the aspiring writers still trying to figure this whole writing thing out - are still reading. Hi, there! Let me introduce you to my friend, Freewriting.


Freewriting is a wonderful friend. He (or she) allows you to write about whatever you want. It doesn't even have to make sense. He won't judge. All that matters is that you showed up to share your words - preferably on a daily basis.


Freewriting will help get the words out without pressure. How's it work?


It goes something like this. you just ramble on. what is ist that's coming into my head? well I'm glad I finished my latest installment of the Mall Demons serial. I think I like Meego as a bad guy. I should flesh him out. He an regenerate like a lizard so it'd be cool to have an arm or leg get clippe d;in  battle and then pop! another limb replaces it in amatte rof seconds. talk about intimidating an opponent. here you are thinking you're winning the fight. chopped of f this guy's legs and before you can celebrate bam! he's on two legs again. tough to beat. of course he's gonna need a weakness. can't be invicncible - not that incinvicplbe...or can he? 


There you have it. That's your friend Freewriting at its most real. You notice there's no worry about grammar, typos, etc. You're just getting the message down as it flows out of your creative brain. Tell the logical side of your brain to zip it for awhile. It doesn't matter if you have a singular subject and a plural noun. Dangling modifier? It's all good.


What your write is for you and your Freewriting friend alone. It doesn't even need to make sense to anyone else. So give it a shot. It's best to do it daily. Try every morning right before you have to get ready for work or school. What I wrote above took less than a couple of minutes. You have a few minutes for your writing. Don't you?
You can type it out on a computer, or use a spiral notebook and scribble away. The object is to just keep going. Write. Write. Write. No pressure to produce a masterpiece. Tell that literary critic, that grammar teacher in your head to shut up.

Think of this time as your workout or practice time. Compare it to a professional basketball player practicing that same free throw shot hour after hour after hour. The basketball player is developing muscle memory by repeatedly practicing the same shot. You as a writer must develop your writing muscle memory, verbal muscle memory, or whatever you want to call it. 

Just do it! Not only will Freewriting free up words within you, it will - through your notes - become an important resource for you.
Do you freewrite? Share your techniques, success stories in the Comments Section.