Do you have a hard time setting your ideas free whenever you write? Even the best writers have gone through the phase so don’t feel so bad about your predicament.
What is it that’s holding you back? Do you have an internal critic that has a snide comment for every sentence you construct? Do you have this nagging fear that your ideas may not work or that you don’t have the necessary chops to express them correctly? Even though you don’t feel like you were born with the knack for writing, you shouln’t let that deter you from being able to express yourself capably. Those worries are even less valid now, with a huge amount of tools (like grammar software) available to help you fashion your writing in more attractive forms, regardless of your skill level.
Freewriting is probably my single, most favorite technique for learning to loosen up your capacity for expression. Using this technique, you can practice putting down your ideas without fear or apprehension. Here’s the basic rules of freewriting:
- Write non-stop for 10 minutes
- Write quickly, without pausing for thought
- Never read back to check what you’ve written
- Refuse to correct previous text, just keep plodding forward
- If you pause, trying to come up with ideas, return to writing immediately, putting down gibberish if that’s all you can come up with.
During the ten minutes of freewriting without letting thought get in the way, your internal critic is shut off, with your focus solely on the task of writing. Do it daily and, soon enough, you’ll get used to letting your inner voice flow freely, without having to filter it every step of the way.
