The benefits of free writing (2024)

There’s no doubt about it: writing is tough. It’s a craft built on deep thought and self-discovery, both of which are emotionally draining and time consuming.

A few days ago I wrote a piece on why I think writers’ block is a myth, and how those that claim to be experiencing writers’ block are in fact just intimidated by the piece of paper in front of them. How they’re afraid of writing badly (which consequently stops those people from writing at all).

But writing is a learned skill, and like anything, learning requires patience and the ability to accept that you’re going to be bad at something, for a very long time.

When I started writing — now more than 5 years ago — I realised the best way to practice the craft was to free write, which is to say, I’d pick a subject or theme at random, consider the lede and go from there with no direction or end in sight.

Free writing is like getting into a car and just driving. There’s no destination to reach or goal to achieve, it’s all in the process, and process is everything.

Even bad writing is educational. It teaches you the art of patience and the act of thinking clearly and deeply. Free writing, then, is to the mind what yoga is to the body.

Here’s why you should do it, and regularly:

  • It helps you develop your abilities as a writer
  • It builds confidence
  • It drives inspiration
  • It helps excavate emotional themes and barriers
  • It promotes process and not outcome
  • It develops muscle memory and good habits
  • It helps you discover just how committed you are as a writer
  • It generates honesty in your writing

I implore you to free write daily, and to do so away from technology. Find a notepad and pen and get to it, it’ll change everything about the current way you work.

The benefits of free writing (2024)

FAQs

What are the benefits of free writing? ›

Freewriting can reduce writing anxiety. You don't have to worry about it being “correct” or in complete sentences, or flowing from one thought to the next. It's just a collection of random thoughts. Freewriting is also just a great, low stakes writing practice!

What is the purpose of freewriting answers? ›

The purpose of freewriting in English is to generate new ideas. It is a technique that involves writing continuously without worrying about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. By allowing the thoughts to flow freely, freewriting helps to overcome writer's block and stimulates creativity.

What is a key benefit of free writing is that learners? ›

In freewriting, a learner is engaged in ​expressing ideas without giving much attention to spelling and grammar. Free-writing Approach: Freewriting is used at the beginning of a writing session. It helps to increase fluency i.e., the ability to produce written language easily.

Which of the following are benefits of freewriting? ›

The Benefits of a Free Writing Practice. Reduces expectations of perfection. Provides unimpeded release of your thoughts and emotions. Builds self-confidence.

What are 3 benefits of writing? ›

It has been demonstrated, across a variety of investigations, that writing activities yield a number of intellectual, physiological, and emotional benefits to individuals. These bene- fits include improve memory function, decreased symptomatology, and greater feelings of happiness.

What are 3 rules of free writing? ›

Freewriting Rules
  • Keep your hand moving the whole time. Don't pause to reread the line you have just written. ...
  • Don't cross out and especially don't erase. That's editing, not writing. ...
  • Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar. ...
  • Lose control. ...
  • Go for the jugular.

What is the power of freewriting? ›

By freewriting, you develop the habit of outrunning your conscious mind. If you can't stop and edit what you're going to say, you're forced to start working with the first idea that comes to mind.

What is free writing answer? ›

Free writing is a useful technique whereby you write down your thoughts as they come to you, without regard for grammar or any other rules of writing. Free writing is similar to stream of consciousness, where you allow your mind to go where it will, from one idea to another, while recording your thoughts.

How does freewriting help writers? ›

It is an exercise in bringing together the process of producing words and putting them down on the page. Practiced regularly, it undoes the ingrained habit of editing at the same time you are trying to produce. It will make writing less blocked because words will come more easily. . . .

What is free-writing strategies? ›

Freewriting. Freewriting is a process of generating a lot of information by writing non-stop in full sentences for a predetermined amount of time. It allows you to focus on a specific topic but forces you to write so quickly that you are unable to edit any of your ideas.

What is the goal of focused freewriting? ›

The goal of most writing is to produce a polished, organized piece of writing; focused freewriting can help you generate ideas or narrow a topic to one aspect that interests you. As in freewriting, the purpose is to generate lots of ideas so you have something to work with and choose from.

Why should students free write? ›

It promotes process and not outcome. It develops muscle memory and good habits. It helps you discover just how committed you are as a writer. It generates honesty in your writing.

Is free writing a strategy? ›

Freewriting is a writing strategy developed by Peter Elbow in 1973 that involves writing in sentence and paragraph form without stopping, without editing and without worrying about mistakes.

Which best describes free writing? ›

The best description of freewriting is: Writing quickly to generate new ideas. Therefore, option D is the correct answer. Freewriting is an exercise in which a writer writes continuously for a specific time without worrying about grammar, spelling, or topic coherence.

Why is freewriting also? ›

The answer to why free writing is called automatic writing is as under: Free writing is what a writer does on his own. That is he chooses his own topic, does his own research, and gives his own findings. He is not under any contract to provide only what the contract prescribes.

Is free writing good for Mental Health? ›

While freewriting helps to explore all sorts of issues including ones that will upset us, it can help us move beyond anger or grief to figure out a new path. Writing can help us make sense of difficult and traumatic experiences.

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