How to boost creativity with freewriting

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This tool will help you find new ideas in 5-7 minutes, when it seems that there are no ideas at all, or just unload your head.

What is freewriting?

I've already talked about three tools that help solve problems creatively and find cool ideas: associations, empathy maps, and scamper.

Today I will talk about the development of creativity through writing practice - freewriting. The bottom line is that you have to take a sheet and a pen, write a question on the top of the sheet to which you will try to find an answer, and write on a timer in 5, 7, 10 or 15 minutes (by practicing, you will find your ideal time) whatever you think about this … Once the time is up, stop.

This writing practice is a symbiosis of solitary brainstorming and meditation.

The word "freewriting" slowly but surely penetrated our language. It is translated as "free letter". The name of the method is often used as "written practices" or "morning pages".

The tool is very effective. I know people who use freewriting to write books and implement large and complex projects. I have been practicing freewriting myself for several years, with the help of it I launched my online courses on creativity.

I love the quote where Nikolai Gogol answers Vladimir Sollogub, who complains that he “can't write”:

"But you still write … Take a pretty feather, sharpen it well, put a piece of paper in front of you and start like this:" I can't write something today. " Write this many times in a row, and suddenly a good thought will come to your head! Behind her is another, third, because otherwise no one writes, and people overwhelmed by constant inspiration are rare, Vladimir Alexandrovich."

How it works?

In this world, everything has rules. So freewriting has them. There are six of them, perhaps you will have your own personal ones. I love the original set from Mark Levy's book, Custom Genius:

1. Don't overdo it.
2. Write quickly and continuously.
3. Work on tight timelines.
4. Write the way you think.
5. Develop your thought.
6. Refocus your attention.

You can find many sites that provide these rules and explanations for them. I will not write too much, I will limit myself to one or two sentences, as I understand them. Moreover, at the end of the post there will be useful links about freewriting.

1. You need to write quickly, faster than you usually do. But if suddenly your hand starts to close, it means that you are in a hurry. We need to slow down.
2. No rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation can be followed. Don't go back to the already written word. Need a stream, just write. I do not like that they made a mistake in the word - rewrite the whole word. Realized that you need to write something different - immediately start writing something else. You can't stop. The thought disappeared - write the last word several times, as Nikolai Gogol advised his friend.
3. Turn on the timer - start right away. The timer has gone off - stop. There is no need to add anything and complete it logically. Stop right away. If there is a brilliant thought on the crest of your consciousness, you will not get away from it.
4. Mark Levy has a term for "kitchen language": Imagine you are chatting with a friend in the kitchen. I don’t think you are using "zaum" and "clerical" in a conversation. You speak a common language, that's how you should write. Imagine that this is a dialogue with yourself. You will not soar yourself with abstruse phrases and words?
5. In the process of work, you will have new and new ideas and thoughts, cling to the previous one and develop. This is a streaming method. You can use the “Five Whys” technique, which was invented and actively used in Toyota.
6. Start by giving your thoughts. A lead is a specific phrase or question that determines the direction of a letter. Lost in your thoughts? Return to tip.

What is it for me?

It's simple: this tool is suitable for finding ideas and answering questions, for planning your project or just a day, for developing scripts or creating content. It can be used in place of or in addition to meditation. He is always at hand, gives cool results. 5-7 minutes - and you are happy. And if you don't like to write with your hand, type on the keyboard.

How to use freewriting to solve a creative problem?

1. Write down the question you want to answer on the blank sheet above.
2. Set the timer to 5, 7, 10, or 15 minutes (the best time for the test is 7 minutes).
3. Start writing whatever comes to your mind.
4. Follow six rules.
5. If you come across an interesting idea, make a note in the margins with a "!"
6. When the time is up, put everything aside and switch to another matter for 5-7 minutes.
7. Then go back to what you wrote and work through the material. Transfer interesting ideas marked with "!" On a separate sheet of the list - they can become the next topics for freewriting.

How can you change the technique for yourself?

• Handwriting is cool, but if you want to tap the keys, you can.
• As I wrote above, ideas from the previous session can be made as themes for the next one. Such elaborations usually bring very interesting results.
• To write to unload the head: after the timer signal, simply throw out the sheet without re-reading.
• Use associative clues - pictures in magazines, Rory's Story Cubes.
• Write with an unfamiliar hand. This is generally a "2 in 1" practice for the development of creativity, the brain will boil immediately.
• Try "freezing": turn on the recorder and timer, start saying whatever you think. And if you also ask Siri or "Alice" to record for you, you get a cool batch.

Where can you start?

Do the exercise for 7 minutes. Write everything that you think about this: "What can I give up so that I have an extra hour a day for freewriting and meditation."

Are there any helpful resources on the topic?

Of course.

Freewriting Articles

• On Wikipedia →
• In the magazine "Life is interesting" →

Apps and services

• Calmlywiriter →
• 750 words →
• TMDWA →
• Morning Pages →