Freewriting

Too often writers focus entirely on the goals of their writing projects and forget about the process of writing. The drive to finish that story or chapter or report are so strong that writers are in automatic pilot and missing out on the "experience" of writing. There is much to be learned and enjoyed by focusing on the process of writing instead of the goals. The process is where the true art resides, so to move it to the background is to miss out on the most rewarding aspects of writing. To help you stay in touch with the process, work intermittently on writing that has no goal other than to write. In other words, you are just exercising your writing muscle for the pure purpose of enjoying the act of writing. The best way to do this is freewriting. This is a technique often used by writers to warm up before beginning a writing project or to regain momentum during a block or stalemate in the middle of a writing project. It involves setting a timer or using a watch or clock to track the time and simply writing about whatever comes to your mind for a specified period of time. The trick to freewriting is to not let the editing part of your brain kick into gear. Your task is to write non-stop, using free association of ideas, until the time is up. You will find that this periodic exercising will not only keep your writing skills in good shape, but it will also help you stay attuned to the many nuances of the writing process that make it such a rewarding endeavor.