How to Succeed in Free-Writing

Many people practice freewriting thanks to the multiple benefits it ensures. Thousands of freelancers apply it to produce their texts. Students can make use of this universal method too. The main purpose of free-writing is to give freedom to your consciousness. A writer is supposed to pour out everything that occurs to his/her mind during a certain period of time. A writer should write quickly without a stoppage. Afterward, one should revise and analyze the results.

This method helps to identify key points, understand the purpose of a paper, and choose the way the paper will be written. It helps advanced writers to understand where their stories will lead. If students use it, they can successfully overcome writer’s block because they quickly record all the associations concerning their topic.

Use a Timer

The main purpose of free-writing is to write without a stoppage for a certain period of time. Therefore, you should use a timer and change your deadlines. Check how fast you are by limiting your time for writing. For example, you may set a deadline of 30 minutes to see how much you manage to write. Remember that you should write everything that occurs to the mind about the chosen topic. Try to manage the same number of words in a few days but setting a 25-minute deadline.

This technique helps to speed up your writing. You should never stop until the time runs out. Compete with yourself and likewise throw a friendly competition with your friends. It encourages people to become swifter and more creative.

Remove All Distractions

Regardless of the purpose of your writing, it’s always important to keep away from all kinds of distractions. Free-writing doesn’t allow you to stop while you write. Consequently, you should remove all the things that may somehow interrupt your creative flows. Here are the main things to avoid:

• Watching TV-set or YouTube;
• Playing video games;
• Chatting with your friends on social media;
• Talking with somebody;
• Doing anything else.

Devote a certain period of time to your free-writing. We are confident that you’ll reap multiple benefits for your creativity. You’ll be able to write without breaks and will become a swift writer.

Learn Three Writing Techniques

There are three universal techniques, which help to develop free-writing. Each has certain benefits and peculiarities. You’re welcome to try any of them, as well as combine them to gain more experience. We’ll briefly highlight them here below.

Focused Free-Writing

This technique is based on a prompt or question. It can inspire a writer while he/she writes. Using a concrete concept, you can focus on that very thing and write down all the ideas related to it. For example, your writing prompt may become:

• Visualization of the favorite place;
• Planning a perfect weekend;
• Organizing your working routine;
• Arranging a party, etc.

This approach is helpful for students who are stuck at some point in writing and don’t know how to continue it. You already have a topic but don’t understand what comes next. Use a certain prompt, which is related to the topic and add ideas. This approach can be likewise used for daily writing. Many students try to enhance their writing skills through daily writing but lack ideas. You should create a list of the most captivating topics and cover one during the day. We recommend Natalie Goldberg’s book, which is called “Writing Down the Bones”. It provides multiple creative topics to cover.

You can likewise use focused free-writing questions. As you have a topic, put questions to its subject. Thus, you may ask about the potential usefulness of the topic or why it may become important to some people.

Writing Morning Pages

The second technique is called morning pages. It’s a “stream of consciousness” you pour down on the paper as soon as you wake up. Yes, you’ve got that right! You must write everything that occurs to the mind right after your awakening in the morning. Don’t try to make it creative or beautiful, but simply be honest and write what you think about at the moment. Oftentimes, people have the clearest and most inspirational ideas when they wake up in the morning. Use this technique to create some new insights for your writing. Mind that your writing should be actually long. You’re supposed to write 3 full long-hand pages. Be ready to withstand that race.

Writing Character Journals

The third approach helps to get into the head of your characters and find their voices. You’re supposed to write from the perspective of a character. If you don’t know who to describe, choose your favorite book and describe its main heroes. Afterward, you’ll learn how to create your own heroes, get into their shoes, and perfectly describe them.

This approach is suitable for fiction writers. However, when students write book or movie reports, or narrations about some literary pieces, this technique is applicable. It helps to plainly reveal the personality traits of the main heroes of books or movies. Here are a few ideas for journal entries:

• Reflections on a character’s past events (backstory).
• Interview questions you’d like to ask your character.
• Viewpoints of the character concerning the events of the story.
• Justification of his/her actions.

Important Skills for Freelance Writing

People rarely use free-writing for recreational purposes, which helps to unwind and reduce stress. Most free writers prefer freelancing that allows for earning money. Commonly, they write different SEO texts, which propose a certain product or service. If you intend to become a freelancer, you’re supposed to master definite skills. We recommend mastering 7 crucial skills:

1. SEO Writing;
2. Graphic Design;
3. Digital Marketing;
4. Communication Skills;
5. Basic Web Design;
6. Blogging and WordPress Management;
7. Data Input and Microsoft Excel.

You should obligatorily develop them all. They will definitely become helpful for any freelancer regardless of his/her specialty. Don’t forget about the writing techniques and smart prompts we’ve mentioned. They help to develop free-writing to become an excellent writer who can write meaningful content without a stoppage.