Freewriting is an often misunderstood writing
tool or process. I will take a few post over the next week or so to explore it some.
There is
evidence that freewriting has existed as long as the written word, but in the
20th century, we can attribute freewriting to two primary sources: the
automatic writing experimentations of Surrealist Andre Breton, and
writing-theorist and scholar Peter Elbow. In particular, Ebow's classic,
Writing Without Teachers, is still a must read forty years after its first
publication. A more detailed history can be found is Vivian Wagner's aptly
titled article from Psychology Today, The
Magic of Freewriting.
To start,
lets begin with Elbow's simple conception of freewriting.
"The idea is
simply to write for ten minutes (later on, perhaps fifteen or twenty). Don't
stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to
cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or
thought to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of a
word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write "I can't think what
to say, I can't think what to say" as many times as you want; or repeat
the last word you wrote over and over again; or anything else. The only
requirement is that you never stop."
Perhaps try a freewriting session or two over the couple of days, before my next post.
