Free writing (also stream-of-consciousness writing) is a writing technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. It is used mainly by prose writers and writing teachers. Some writers use the technique to collect initial thoughts and ideas on a topic, often as a preliminary to formal writing. It is not automatic writing.
Contents |
History
Peter Elbow advanced freewriting in his book, Writing Without Teachers (1975), and it has been popularized by Julia Cameron through her book, The Artist's Way (1992).
Natalie Goldberg combined the notion of freewriting with Zen Buddhist meditation principles to develop writing practice, described in books such as Writing Down the Bones (1986). Writing practice is different from freewriting encouraged in undergraduate and creative writing programs. Writing practice encourages the writer to be aware of their thoughts throughout the writing practice, and may be an ends unto itself, rather than a means to produce a more polished piece.
Technique
The technique involves continuous writing, usually for a predetermined period of time (often five, ten, or fifteen minutes). The writer writes without regard to spelling, grammar, etc., and makes no corrections. If the writer reaches a point where they can't think of anything to write, they write that they can't think of anything, until they find another line of thought. The writer freely strays off topic, letting thoughts lead where they may. At times, a writer may also do a focused freewrite, letting a chosen topic structure their thoughts. Expanding from this topic, the thoughts may stray to make connections and create more abstract views on the topic. This technique helps a writer explore a particular subject before putting ideas into a more basic context.
Freewriting is often done on a daily basis as a part of the writer's daily routine. Also, students in many writing courses are assigned to do such daily writing exercises.
Definition
Free writing is based on a presumption that, while everybody has something to say and the ability to say it, the mental wellspring may be blocked by apathy, self-criticism, resentment, anxiety about deadlines, fear of failure or censure, or other forms of resistance. The accepted rules of free-writing enable a writer to build up enough momentum to blast past blocks into uninhibited flow, the concept outlined by writing teachers such as Louise Dunlap, Peter Elbow, and Natalie Goldberg.[1]
Free-writing is all about loosening and limbering the thought process, not about a product or a performance for a student or a writer.[2][3]
Use in education
Often free-writing workshops focus on self-expression, and are sometimes even used in teaching to elementary school children. There is no common consensus on the acceptance of this technique.[4]
Rules
Here are the essential rules that are often formulated for the beginners or students, often a paraphrase of Natalie Goldberg's "Rules for Free Writing," [5][6] often referred as Natalie Goldberg's first four rules of writing[7][8]:
- Give yourself a time limit. Write for one or ten or twenty minutes, and then stop.
- Keep your hand moving until the time is up. Do not pause to stare into space or to read what you've written. Write quickly but not in a hurry.
- Pay no attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation, neatness, or style. Nobody else needs to read what you produce here. The correctness and quality of what you write do not matter; the act of writing does.
- If you get off the topic or run out of ideas, keep writing anyway. If necessary, write nonsense or whatever comes into your head, or simply scribble: anything to keep the hand moving.
- If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that.
- When the time is up, look over what you've written, and mark passages that contain ideas or phrases that might be worth keeping or elaborating on in a subsequent free-writing session.
See also
Additional reading
- Goldberg, Natalie (1986). Writing down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED410590.
References
- ^ Cole, A.L. (2001). "The Thesis Journey: Travelling with Charley". Brock Education 13 (1): 1–13. http://www3.ed.brocku.ca/ojs/index.php/brocked/article/view/169/216. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Robinson, L. (1967). Guided writing and free writing.
- ^ Ross, J. (1967). "Guided Writing and Free Writing: A Textbook in Composition for English as a Second Language". TESOL Quarterly 1 (2): 58–60. doi:. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0039-8322(196706)1%3A2%3C58%3AGWAFWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Klingman, A. (1985). "Free Writing: Evaluation of a Preventive Program with Elementary School Children.". Journal of School Psychology 23 (2): 167–75. doi:. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ323302. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Goldberg, N. (1986). Writing down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED410590. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Goldberg, N. (1990). Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life. Bantam Dell Pub Group.
- ^ Miller, M.M.. "The Spice of Writing: Extracurricular Projects for Technical Writers". IPCC 92 Santa Fe. Crossing Frontiers. Conference Record. pp. 384-390. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=673061.
- ^ Upitis, R.; Smithrim, K. (1998). "Teacher development and elementary arts education" ([dead link] – Scholar search). B. Roberts. http://educ.queensu.ca/~arts/Ns_Arts_final_word_4.doc. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
