Free Writing

· the purpose is to generate ideas quickly, to associate and free the mind.  Free writing is a lot like free association.  It generates lots of ideas for you to work with later.

· it is an all-purpose generating technique which is transferable to many different situations.

· set a time limit and stick to it (ten minutes often works well).  You can always write more later.

· write rapidly; try to keep the pen moving on the page.

· Use whatever shortcuts you like (e.g. “&” for “and”).

· Let your words chart your thinking path (which means digressing is just fine--maybe even desirable).

· If you can’t think of anything to write about, write that, but keep writing.

· Don’t edit.  Pay no attention to spelling, grammar, word choice, etc.  This is first-draft writing and thinking.