What is freewriting? Mark Levy. Freewriting

And again, I return to the topic of saving energy, finding yourself and the optimal schemes for your life. Today we will talk about freewriting. The freewriting technique is very old, but as a tool for controlling and planning life, it has only recently begun to be used. And it's good that she returned to our mortal world, because through freewriting you can quickly and easily pull important decisions from the depths of the subconscious, relieve stress and normalize your own life.

Freewriting is a modern technique from the past

Freewriting has been used for creativity by many eminent and well-known writers. The simplest examples:

N.V. Gogol - in the absence of inspiration and ideas for writing, he just sat down and wrote. Sometimes just a set of words, sometimes the flight was washed, but inevitably he got out of a creative impasse and continued to create masterpieces.
A.S. Pushkin is also a freewriter from the heart. He constantly made drawings, notes, sketches in the margins - both textual and artistic.

Surely, other authors have tried to write something when there are no practical thoughts and ideas. History has not preserved many names for posterity, but freewriting was definitely practiced by Ray Bradbury, Vladimir Sologub, Tom Peters.

Today, freewriting is a modern technique for finding creative solutions, thinking about current tasks and introspection.

So what is "freewriting"?

Freewriting Practice: Simple and Versatile

Freewriting originated from English combination free writing - free writing. The essence of the technique is simply to write, splash out on paper or a computer electronic sheet all thoughts or ideas.

You don't need to edit what you wrote. It doesn't make sense. But it is sometimes necessary to re-read your work with a fresh mind, because in the stream of thoughts and words, real pearls of brilliant ideas sometimes flash.

Practice can be performed under certain requirements. Be limited in volume or time.

That is, you can sit down and write for half an hour or give yourself Word page for the flow of words and ideas. The restriction is desirable and even necessary, as it allows you to optimize the brain for finding solutions.

The execution of the technique implies the observance of certain rules. Something has already been said above, but systematization has never harmed anyone. So, you need to freeride:

Easily. If there are no thoughts about what to write about, we start writing: “I don’t know what to write. I have no ideas and thoughts.” Usually, two or three repetitions of such phrases are enough for thoughts to jump to something else, and the stream of consciousness becomes more reasonable.
Continuously. No need to stop, think, beautifully formulate. Just write. And that's all.
With frames. Restriction or volume, or time should be. Especially if freewriting is used to find an answer to a question.
Going deeper. Thoughts that arise unexpectedly and spontaneously are worth developing further. Sometimes amazing results are obtained.

The fifth rule usually sounds “set a benchmark”, but I will not single it out as a point, since this is a topic for a separate discussion.

Freewriting tips

For freewriting to bring maximum benefit, it should be used as an assistant.

Ask questions and pose problems. And during the letter to return to the original topic. In places it will look like a whirlpool, as the circles around the base will become duplicated, but very soon each branch will have its own unique feature.
Drain emotions, splash out thoughts. Paper will endure everything, so you can dump the whole bundle of nerves and experiences on it, and even find a solution to emotional problems.
Plan your life. You can divide your life into several areas, and work through each of them with the help of freewriting. Ask questions, raise problems, seek solutions. Reframing - finally.
Arrange brainstorming. The idea combines several of the previous points, but its feature is unlimited creativity and deep immersion in every thought that arises.

How to use freewriting

Who is comfortable.

Use it daily for introspection and planning. Then the ideal option is 15-20 minutes in the morning and evening. Day according to the possibilities and desires. Sometimes only the morning is enough.
Use to drain negative energy, reframe and generate ideas. Done spontaneously and out of necessity. But it helps in the most efficient way.
Periods for the analysis of all life by spheres. Performed once a year or as desired.

The goals of freewriting are rich and varied. But their essence is the same: to put thoughts and emotions in order, to find the best solution for life or the current situation.

Actually, that's all.

It's a good thing, that's for sure. But everyone has their own relationship with freewriting. I recommend trying the system for 15 minutes a day and different situations, and just understand what “free writing” is best for you.

Activate brain activity perfect solution There are different ways to come to correct conclusions. Each person has in stock several ways to get out of a creative block. One such technique is freewriting. Free writing in translation from English means "free writing". This method is a bit like brainstorming. Its main task is to find an original solution to the problem, the formation of new ideas and thoughts. Freewriting is also often in an efficient way to relax. The essence of free writing is to write down whatever thoughts come into your mind. And write down mechanically, do not pay attention to the style, grammar, coherence of sentences. You should just spit out the verbal stream of ideas on paper. You need to write for 10-20 minutes.

This technique is considered quite young, it appeared in the 70s of the last century. Freewriting has been described in detail in the writings of Peter Elbow, who is a professor in English at the University of Massachusetts. He has published a number of books, such as "Writing With Power" or "Writing Without Tears" ("Writing Without Teachers"). In the 90s, the books became bestsellers, so many people learned about the freewriting technique. Then this technique began to gain immense popularity. Also, freewriting was influenced by Mark Levy's books Freewriting: A Modern Technique for Finding Creative Solutions and Julie Cameron's The Artist's Way.

Freewriting Benefits

Many solutions to problems lie deep in the subconscious, and a person cannot consciously extract them. Some ideas are embodied on an intuitive level. With the help of mechanical writing, you are able to voice these hidden ideas, fix them on paper and use them in the future.
Some compare freewriting to defragmenting a computer. This procedure must be carried out regularly. So here, with the help of free writing, we free up mental possibilities and resources. They allow you to acquire new knowledge, get fresh emotions and unknown sensations.
When solving complex and large-scale problems, a person may face a creative crisis, stress and apathy. We don't know where to start, how to start difficult problem. In this case, the freewriting method allows you to return interest in work, motivation and the desire to solve creative problems.
With the help of free writing, a person learns to apply non-standard approaches, improvise, and find unique ideas. Often we get stuck in the need to check everything that we have done or written over and over again. Freewriting allows you to get rid of this habit. You will be able to see solutions that were not available before.
Freewriting Technique Freewriting has a lot in common with personal development techniques. After all, a person not only discovers non-standard solutions for himself, finds original points of view, but is also able to become more flexible himself. Freewriting develops creativity in a person. Our personality gains freedom, and thoughts - awareness.

Free Writing Rules
The effectiveness of this technique can be increased in many ways. In the book of Mark Levy, a number of rules were described:

Don't expect too much from yourself. If you decide to squeeze yourself to the maximum, immediately get original solution problem, nothing will work. No need to force yourself, you should relax and try to use your potential by 90%.
You need to write at a fast pace and not be interrupted. Every person has an analytical side of thinking that makes us check what is written. In the freewriting technique, this is unacceptable. You must generate words and sentences without any barriers in order to release hidden ideas.
Remember that you are not in the business of writing, but are doing it solely for yourself. Therefore, you should never limit yourself. Write whatever comes to mind, even if the thoughts seem stupid and inappropriate to you. It is also impossible to correct - do not cross out words, do not correct spelling and punctuation. Even if you notice a mistake - write further. No need to line up sentences by style. Just be in the flow of your thoughts and fix them as accurately as possible.
Freewriting should take about 10-20 minutes. The limited time will be a good motivation. You can set a timer to keep track of time more accurately. Then you can better focus on the work at hand.
To simplify the task, you can ask yourself questions. Write them down, so you tune in to the right wave, you will see those aspects of the problem that were hidden.
The thoughts that you have must be developed. Develop them, go a few logical steps further. As a result, incredible conclusions await you.
At the end of freewriting, you need to take a break. Then read everything you wrote. It is better to do it out loud so that the information is perceived more correctly. Highlight the parts of your writing that you can use. Be sure to write down any questions that come up after reading. Also analyze the text for fresh and extraordinary ideas that will help you deal with current affairs and problems.

Beginner Tips
Freewriting is Newbies in freewriting should pay attention to the examples of well-known writers. This technique was known to Ray Bradbury, Jay Conrad Levinson, Tom Peters or Al Rice. Even Nikolai Gogol wrote about this to Vladimir Sollogub when he complained about the inability to find inspiration. Gogol advised to take a pen and paper and write "something is not written to me today." And if you repeat this phrase several times, then a good idea will come to mind. After all, constant inspiration is rare, so many people write that way.

Grab a notebook and a pen, and then ask yourself a question in writing. Or formulate an important problem. You can answer the following questions:

What are you thinking about at this moment?
Tell me about your experience or recent affairs that you were doing.
List all received this moment results, all the efforts that have been made to achieve them. Then start describing perspectives.
Get all your feelings out on paper. They can be even the most insignificant. If you do not pay attention to them, then such trifles can create serious psychological discomfort. Tell us about them, then the excitement will be less.
Turn on your imagination. To do this, you can use children's tricks. For example, describe the situation in reverse, what could be happening in a parallel universe. Cats are afraid of mice, dogs run away from cats, presidents choose a country, and so on. This creative and fun method will help get rid of stupor.

A white sheet of paper drives the most brilliant writers into a stupor. Getting started is always difficult. The "inner censor" twists his mouth and chuckles at any attempt to start. "Is that all you can do?" he seems to be saying.

People in creative professions face this problem on a regular basis. Yes, almost every day. More N.V. Gogol in his letters to F. Sologub recommended starting work with the words “Something is not written to me today”. This technique helped him overcome his "fear white sheet". The French poet André Breton used "automatic writing" in order to create works that, even today, "blow up the brain" with their freedom and creative courage.

The American writer Kenneth Makrory was the first to introduce the concept of "freewriting", which in English means "free writing". In Russia, they started talking about this technique after reading the bestseller by Mark Levy “Freewriting. Modern technology search for creative solutions.

Freewriting - what is it and why is it needed

Freewriting is a technique of free writing text with a time or volume limit. During the writing process, it is prohibited:

analyze;
criticize;
watch for errors;
correct mistakes;
doubt;
stop;
think;
hurry.

You must throw out on paper your entire stream of consciousness on a topic that excites you, or just like that, without a specific task. Let the text turn out to be stupid, funny or scary. Nobody will read it. No one will take apart what you wrote, poke a finger at punctuation marks, laugh at unsuccessful turns.

The realization that the resulting text you can throw away, burn, erase or even eat will help you:

get rid of the "internal censor", blocks, fears, perfectionism;
overcome the creative crisis;
become more free to express your thoughts;
find a new point of view, techniques, ideas;
deal with the "cockroaches" in your head;
Take a broader look at your options.

Freewriting gives you the courage to express your thoughts. It opens up new opportunities not only for writers or journalists, but also for copywriters who have to write about reinforced concrete structures every day and are in dire need of fresh ideas.

Basic Freewriting Techniques

If you decide to use the “free writing” technique, allow yourself the most important thing - do not try to create a brilliant or even just good text. Allow yourself to be a "loser" who knows nothing about spelling and punctuation. Rediscover the language.

Secret techniques from Mark Levy's book

You will need paper and a pen (or laptop) and a timer. Mark 15-20 minutes and write everything that comes to mind on a topic that excites you.

Mark Levy's tricks will help your brain quickly get to work, find fresh ideas in a short period of time, stop postponing what you started.

Reception "What I see, I sing about"

Start, like Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, your new text the phrase "I don't know what to write about." Let your brain relax and not look for those "magic words" with which your article or sales letter should begin. Write about cacti on your window, about neighbors that keep you from focusing. Make a list of groceries you need to buy tonight. Write rubbish, nonsense, a set of words.

Another secret of experienced copywriters is to start your article with the words “Well, damn it, in short, it was like this ...”. Just be sure to remove them from the final version of your text so as not to stun your customer.

The advantage of this technique is that, by fooling around, you overcome the fear of starting work. Uncertainty in front of a white sheet will disappear, because the sheet is no longer white, it is in your notes, notes, sketches, ideas. And if the beginning is laid, then the end is not far off.

Changed state method

There are legends about the writers who created their "imperishable" podshofe. Do not get carried away with strong drinks, because there are others original ways go to your text.

Dip your feet in cold water like the once German poet Friedrich Schiller. Turn on music that will relax you, make you forget about deadlines or a picky customer. Stand on your head - they say, so the blood rushes to the head better. Start writing the text while balancing on one leg. In a hungry state. In a state close to falling asleep, balancing hungry on one leg.

Routine kills creativity. Getting used to solving the same problems every day, the brain relaxes and stops producing fresh ideas. You need to regularly shake yourself up, set new tasks in conditions that are unusual for your thinking.

For example.You need to describe the Kamaz 5490 model for the fifteenth time. Write the text in an extreme mode for yourself. Wake yourself up at 4 am. Take a contrast shower. Turn on the music you hate and set yourself the task of not having breakfast until you describe all the advantages of this model. Write without thinking, without analyzing, without paying attention to mistakes. So you will definitely get off the ground and discover new facets of your writing skills.

Change of angle of view

We get used to writing about products, services, companies from the bell tower of our experience and the format we are used to. Sometimes a change in the angle of view, genre, style of narration helps to overcome a creative crisis.

For example.You need to write about reinforced concrete structures. Imagine that reinforced concrete structures are you. What do you feel? How would you describe yourself? How are you better than reinforced concrete structures of competitors? What would you like to say on behalf of reinforced concrete structures to your customers?

Write a romantic letter about reinforced concrete structures. A story in the style of Stephen King. A note on the fridge to your first grader. Experiment, look for new approaches to the most common topics.

Method "View from the future"

This method is recommended by psychologists for finding solutions in difficult situations. When you face a problem and don't know how to get out of it properly, ask yourself, "If I knew what to do, what would I do?"

Also with text. If you knew what to write about, what would you write? If the article had already been written, what would it be about? What would be its structure, headings, conclusions? Imagine that an article (a book that sells text) is already ready, you have just read it. What is it about?

This technique will allow you to write as if from the future, starting from the final result, and not from that blank sheet that teases you with its emptiness. You immerse yourself in a situation of success, the end result. The text is already there, ready and interesting, it remains to put it on paper. Open your laptop and start writing, as if remembering. Don't let your inner critic interfere. Let him talk when the text is ready.

Conclusion

The most important thing in freewriting is to stop judging yourself, give freedom to your wings and look beyond the horizon of your possibilities, and they are limitless. And even if it seems to you that you have written yourself out and are no longer capable of anything, this is not so. Allow yourself to make mistakes, experiment, write platitudes, stupidity, nonsense in drafts. After all, brilliant ideas sometimes overtake us in the most unexpected circumstances.

So, freewriting is an immersion in a free, uncontrolled flow of words on paper. The goal is to get rid of internal barriers, to get rid of the "internal censor".

Freewriting can be used for different purposes:

to write an article on a complex topic;
to get rid of excess intrusive thoughts interfering with work;
to remove the internal censor who constantly evaluates our activities;
to find new original .

The main "trick" of freewriting is that the text that we write cannot be moderated, changed or controlled until it is completed. All this concerns not only words, the logic of presentation or the use of certain (perhaps even obscene) expressions, but also punctuation marks, spelling errors, etc.

Since the goals of free ratting can be different, then it can be used different ways. Someone buys special notebooks for freewriting and writes all their thoughts there every convenient second. Someone keeps a diary, and every evening he writes down all his innermost experiences there. For example, I am just beginning to realize all the delights of freewriting. I've used it a few times in my life (although I didn't know I was a freewriter at the time, I just had to talk it out, and paper, as you know, will endure everything). In my case, freewriting always took on a form of confession, when I, tormented by emotional experiences, poured out my whole soul on the word "a sheet and I instantly felt better.

How do you force yourself to write the first thing that comes to mind? It's not as easy as it seems at first glance. From school we got used to the fact that if we write something, it should be perfectly “licked” in terms of grammar, style and logic of presentation. It is important to stop controlling yourself and write down every thought that comes to mind.

Depending on the goals of freewriting, further work with written texts is built. If you wrote a text in order to find new ideas or develop old ones, then it makes sense to return to it, reread it thoughtfully, correct errors and arrange everything in a logical sequence. If the text was written with the aim of simply “pour out the soul”, then the meaning further work with no test. Unless you're suffering from some form of self-flagellation and don't like to relapse into negative inner states.

In December, it is customary to sum up, choose the best film, book. If I were asked to choose best tools for development, I would give second and third place to lists and conscious reading, and the main podium to freewriting.

The best Russian-language book about freewriting that I recommend to everyone is "Genius to Order" by Mark Levy. I will share my experience with what I have read.

Secret #1: Don't overdo it

I have already taught myself that freewriting is a daily routine. Readiness for a zero result helps to relax. Rather, I tune in to a completely different, not quantitative, measurable result, but to a qualitative one, expressed in sensations.

It's the feel of the game. How to go fishing You enjoy nature, silence, the unusualness of the situation and at the same time hope for a catch, which you can then release. You do not hunt for a living or a living. This is excitement, research, testing your skills and good luck.

Relaxation is attention to the current state, without fear for the lack of a result. Think about how you feel, look at the handwriting. You try to change it, compare how your efforts affect the text coming out from under the pen. You try to guess what the next word will be like it's not up to you.

This is how disidentification appears, the skill of observing oneself “from the outside” is trained. This result does not require extra effort.

Secrets #2 & 3: Write fast and continuously. Work to tight deadlines

Freewriting seems to me like a fishing trawl thrown into our subconscious. When we write quickly and continuously, we seem to create a network of lines that we tow in the thickness of our thoughts, ideas, experiences. If we pause, the network breaks, and we lose even what we wrote before.