Freewriting - what is it and why is it needed. Mark Levy

Hello friends!

I confess that recently the topic of self-development has gone somewhat into the background. Everything telework Yes . It is necessary to correct, because ideas for articles that I really want to implement have just accumulated. Especially when such ideas were filtered by their own experience and supplemented with small nuances that are possible only with their practical application.

Today I will talk about such a tool as freewriting: what it is and how to use it. Perhaps you have already heard about it if you read my reports about the stodnevka passable a little earlier.

In short, freewriting is a writing technique of "free writing" in which the mechanical recording of one's own thoughts provides an opportunity to search for new ideas. non-standard ideas and solving deep problems.

The concept is, of course, as old as the world! It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol resorted to such a free flow of thoughts, scribbling some nonsense on blank sheets. Something from the category “Ass is a fool, ass is a fool. I don't know what to write..." etc.

Following Gogol, Alexander Sergeevich also discovered a direct connection between the activation of the creative sections of the brain and mechanical movement hands on paper. You probably remember his cartoons, which he drew in his own drafts.

This is how I fixed my values

Sin not to use simple tools geniuses in their Everyday life.

Freewriting technique

Freewriting is extremely easy to use. It is enough to open a notepad (paper or electronic), get a writing object (keyboard and pen) and just start writing whatever comes to mind. Without trying to comprehend and bring what is written into a readable form. The main principle is to write without interruption, without expectations and without trying to somehow evaluate these records.

If a stupor occurs, you can write it down like this: “I don’t know what to write about. My thoughts can't gather" or something like that. We do not write a petition or a letter to the president, we liberate the internal censor and give an opportunity to manifest even the wildest ideas.

The main thing is not to overdo it. Let it go the way it goes... Just follow basic recommendations and set yourself free.

Among existing techniques, I especially liked 3 that I spied on as part of his hundred days: “disperse the dregs”, “stenographer” and “ general issues". I will describe them in a little more detail.

Disperse the haze

The goal of this technique is to get out. By analogy with the concept of "speak out." It is great to use it in the morning when you want (or need) to tune in to some activity.

Letting the mental flow take its course, we running water, we clean from all associated impurities, resulting in clarity and transparency.

Dispersing the turbidity, we unravel the so-called. clots of experiences, describing them and pouring out everything that is happening inside on paper.

Stenographer

Some variation of the "dispersal of turbidity" technique. Its difference is quite small: technically, in fixing any thoughts that come to mind, as if they were being dictated aloud; as a result - in a spontaneous collection of ideas. If, dispersing the dregs, we simply dissolve interfering phenomena in the text, allowing clarity and transparency to appear, then in the “stenographer” we, clinging words to each other, fix spontaneous ideas.

For example, the idea to write this article came to me just during one of these sessions.

However, chase mandatory fee no results worth it. This will only distract from the main thing: fixing the internal state, the change of which during freewriting is the main consequence.

Shorthand on the beach in Arambol

There is another technique that can be run for the purpose of self-coaching and even self-psychotherapy. I use it less often, usually to solve some deep psychological issues. Conventionally, it can be called "freewriting on the topic."

Freewriting on a topic (general questions)

Try to write down answers to questions of a more existential nature, such as “how do I feel when I complete this task”, “why did I decide to do this or that action?”, “How will I feel when I achieve this goal”.

Often during such self-therapies, very deep cause-and-effect relationships are suddenly revealed, as a result of which an understanding of certain processes of your own psyche suddenly arises. And this may not always be pleasant! Moreover, often, on the contrary, this can lead to rather painful states, which in turn can give rise to additional questions of the same existential nature.

Of course, it is not necessary to engage in self-digging. Freewriting of this nature can be applied to more innocuous questions, such as “what will change if I buy this car? How will I feel? etc. As a result, there is still the same feeling of clarity, from which there is a great chance of not achieving the goal at all.

The main goal of freewriting

There can be many goals: find a solution, generate ideas, probe for cause and effect relationships. However, in my opinion, the most important goal is to change your internal state.

In contrast to the changeable external beacons in the form of some kind of accomplishments, the internal signal best of all about the truth of the direction of movement.

Because in the end it doesn't matter what you do. The main thing: do you feel sincere happiness at the same time?

In an article about, I wrote about what freewriting and the principles of a hundred days led me to.

The main thing in performing any of the techniques is not to overdo it. No need to think about what you write! On the contrary, you should write what you think. Not “about what”, but “what”. Without trying to analyze and connect what was written in some harmonious way. Let the words flow, quickly, without interruptions and attempts to find something more suitable.

And if the article seemed interesting and useful to you, please share it with your friends in in social networks(the buttons for this are located on the left), subscribe to the blog newsletter and add me as a friend.

Conscious life to you and deep inner transformations!

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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 a 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 benefits 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.

What is this book about

When it comes to generating ideas, we often hold ourselves back. There is an inner censor in each of us, which is designed to endlessly polish our thoughts so that, God forbid, we do not look stupid in the eyes of others. But what if we are faced with complex problems where traditional solutions lead us to a dead end? How to get out of the stupor and find a non-trivial solution?

Mark Levy offers a simple but very efficient technique- freewriting. He has used it for many years to solve business problems, generate ideas, write articles and even books. The essence of freewriting is deceptively simple: start writing as quickly as you can about a subject that is truly important to you, while ignoring the rules of grammar and punctuation. Your inner censor will not be able to keep up with you and will be forced to temporarily shut down. As a result, your thoughts will become more honest and original, and you will be able to come up with truly breakthrough ideas and solutions.

Despite the simplicity of the technique, for its successful application, a number of rules must be observed. The author reveals six secrets of effective freewriting, and also talks about 15 principles that will help you significantly improve your problem-solving skills and develop creativity in general.

Who is this book for?

First of all for those who are looking for a solution difficult problems and understands that traditional methods do not work.

Secondly, the book will be extremely useful to copywriters, bloggers, marketers, journalists - everyone who is engaged in writing texts professionally.

Book chip

The freewriting technique has been admired by Tom Peters, Ray Bradbury, Al Rice, Jay Conrad Levinson and many other professionals in their field.

The work belongs to the genre of Economics. Business. Right. It was published in 2015 by Mann, Ivanov & Ferber. The book is part of the series Good translation!]". On our website you can download the book "Genius to Order" for free in epub, fb2, rtf format or read online. The book's rating is 3.7 out of 5. Here you can also refer to the reviews of readers who are already familiar with the book before reading, and get their opinion.In the online store of our partner you can buy and read the book in paper version.

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. Or 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.

Vitaly Kolesnik. The other day I bought Mark Levy's book Freewriting: A Modern Technique for Finding Creative Solutions. There is reason to generalize own experience and author's recommendations.

The meaning of freewriting for me is to condense and fix my scattered thoughts on paper. I write two or three pages in a special notebook. Or, according to my mood, I write using a computer. I designate a certain point of concentration, which is not always expressed by a question or a problem. Sometimes it's just a word from which I start writing.

It is important to start and write, trying not to stop. Then the sentences, as if pulled out of the subconscious, one idea after another. This method helps me to “voice on paper” the voice of intuition, to find solutions that do not lie on the surface, to revive curiosity and the desire to work when the blues attack.

Levy gives 6 secrets of freewriting.

1. Don't overdo it.

For me, this is expressed by the absence of any specific purpose of prescribing. I am only confident from experience in the usefulness of this lesson for me. It is helpful for me.

I limit myself either by time or by volume. In the Write or die application, I set indicators for 700 words in 20 minutes. When I write in a notebook, I try to finish the pages. If it is not written, I limit myself to one or two.

The process is important, not the result, so it’s easy to relax and reduce the importance of classes.

2. Write quickly and continuously.

It's really interesting feature freewriting. We must try not to stop. When I do not know how to continue the previous sentence, I begin to write what I feel in this moment. "It's snowing again and it seems to be getting colder." "Neighbor through the wall, knock yourself on the head with this hammer." “Why the hell am I writing all this” - this is only part of the thoughts that flashed through my head now when I decided to look for examples :)

3. Work to tight deadlines.

I already mentioned the Write or die application. Sometimes I do super-hard freewriting, setting a goal of writing 1,000 words in 20 minutes.

It may seem that this recommendation contradicts the first. This is not true. The time limit allows you to start the process of "cling" one sentence to another. If you take your time and make long pauses for reflection, the inertia that pushes ideas out of the subconscious disappears.

4. Write the way you think.

Freewriting is not pure writing; it is a way of keeping track of your thought process.

The advice is easy to follow. To do this, it is enough for me not to think that someone will read my text.

5. Develop thought.

Again, just cling to the previous thought. I often use the 5 why method.

6. Refocus your attention.

Attention switches are simple questions that you ask yourself (in writing) to refocus your mind on the unexamined elements of the situation.

I use this technique when I analyze an event or a day as a whole. After reading the book by Mark Levy, he began to make his own list of such questions. From those given in the book, I took the following:
How can you make it exciting?
- how to increase value?
What am I missing here?
What did I do wrong here?
What other problems like this have I encountered?
- what solutions to the problems that have taken place before can be used in relation to this one?
If I wanted to make a big mistake here, what would I do?
- what necessary data I do not have here?
How can I best use the information I already have?

Effective tricks.

I only list the ones that I use myself.

Use a piece of paper to consider out-of-the-ordinary points of view and bring together ideas that don't seem to fit together.

Let's get thinking.

You start the session not with what comes to mind, but with a specific phrase (it is called a tip) that determines the direction of the letter.

It's easier to have a hundred ideas than one

Very reminiscent of a quota of ideas from Michael Mikalko's books and lists of 100. We write possible solutions and ideas without criticizing or evaluating their feasibility.

Have a conversation on paper

This exercise is used in coaching when the client is asked to imagine a conversation with an imaginary interlocutor. Everything is the same here, you are just transcribing the conversation.

To effectively have a conversation on paper, a fictional conversation with someone, during which you find out what the imaginary interlocutor thinks about your situation, you need to do two things: 1) put meat on the character (clearly imagine it) and 2) do so that the interlocutor encourages you to speak (answer his short and open questions).

These phrases should be short and logically open. “Two things I could do today to make my life more interesting…”

Using Assumptions to Break the Deadlock

Give written answers to the following 4 questions.

1. What problem am I trying to solve?
(It is desirable that the wording be general. No need for specifics. Here are examples of good problem statements general: "How do I create a permanent contingent of fans of something little known?", "How do I sell a product to customers who mistakenly believe that they have a complete understanding of the product?", "How can I reduce costs while increasing reach?")

2. Who had to solve a similar problem?
3. How was it solved?
4. How can their solution be applied to my situation?

Writer's Marathon

A short freewriting session will help you find the answers. But to get really fresh thoughts, try doing a series of these sessions for a total of several hours. Make sure that each session starts in a new direction - even if it seems unnatural and difficult.

I work on large articles in a similar way when I sit down to write my book. For example, today I have 5 "approaches" to the book for 20 minutes each.

I liked the idea of ​​a "talking" letter.

To create such a document, you can use one of two methods (or a combination of them): write a letter to a friend or colleague about what you are thinking about; make a collage of freewriting fragments. Make sure in advance that the person you are writing to has the desire (and time) to read your document. Tell him what kind feedback would like to receive.

"Stories only happen to those who can tell them." Lou Willetta Stanek