Freewriting is not for everyone.
First of all, you have to be able to put your thoughts into words as you think them. No second guessing, no stopping to think of the correct word, no time to revise the grammar or spelling, no way you can let yourself delete a paragraph or a text and most importantly, there's no other road for you other than just writing what comes to your mind, no matter how politically incorrect it is or how rude, raw, crude or insulting it may come off. Freewriting is that, exactly that, writing free as fuck - sorry, as a bird, I meant as a bird.
Some people tell me they feel immersion when they read my freewrites, some others have even told me I make them laugh with them, hell, I've received compliments about my freewrites that I would've never imagined I would received. I started to freewrite two years ago and believe me, they were bad not just because of the spelling and the grammar errors but also because once you write something, if you don't revise it, it is most likely that you will realize you made a ton of mistakes - normal - and that it needs a hell lot of editing to become a good piece. Now, I'm not saying my freewrites are good, or even resemble a revised and edited piece in terms of quality and richness but, they are not bad. But I didn't get to where I am in the blink of an eye.
It took more than 100 - maybe even more - freewritten pieces to be where I am today, being able to entertain you and make you keep reading - you're in the third paragraph right now - and I've only spent around 3 minutes writing, just vomiting whatever comes to my mind and just keep on going, trusting my gut, my creativy and my own talent - or lack of it.
See, Freewrites for me are a way of letting my anxiety rest, they represent a form of catharsis for my mind, freewrites let me get rid of my issues and just write about what I'm feeling on that day, about what happened to me or what is troubling my brain tonight. They allow me to express myself without having to talk to someone - not that I don't have people to talk with, or that I feeel comfortable with - because writing is my element, just like a fish feels in the ocean or a feminist in a university safe space, I just feel good writing, it is my therapy.
I usually name my posts after I've finished a freewrite, because you never know where it will take you, and some times, naming a post makes your impartial and the freewrite is blocked exactly by the way you started it, instead of letting your mind flow, you are forcing it to go towards a topic, a conclusion or a path.
My ritual to freewrite has a lot to do with the place I'm writing from. I've done tens of freewrites in parks, benches, coffee shops, beds, vehicles, queues, lakes and many more places. Inspiration - at least for me - regarding topics and fluidity of words - depends greatly on the place I'm writing from. For example, right now I am in my sofa facing my bed and I had to stare at my laptop screen for about 10 minutes until I got some inspiration (it is hard when it comes to thinking of a topic when you've been quarantined for almost 30 days now and your only interaction is with the lady at the store and your familiy, the dogs do not count for inspiration, or perhaps I'm underestimating them, I'll sit with the dogs tomorrow for the daily freewrite). Inspiration came, and I'm writing about this, maybe it's not as interesting as other day's post but, it is what it is and as long as this post is useful for at least one person trying to get into freewriting, I'll consider it mission accomplished.
What about you, have you ever tried freewriting?
You should, the feeling of freedom, power, creativy and just not giving a shit for ten minutes is truly amazing. After all, it's not like you're writing this in a blockchain where nothing can be deleted once you press "publish", right?
See that's the best part of this. You can't edit a freewrite after you posted it nor you can revise it before clicking "publish", you just feel, create, write and the post. You don't give a shit. The bestest part? Some times you come up with amazing pieces and you can be proud as fuck to say, this is my freewrite, top this, MF.
To finishh this writeup, I just want to add that most of the times I include a picture of the place I'm writing the piece from, and some times I add a selfie, depending on if the place I'm writing from is interesting or not. If its a park, I'll include a picture of the park, if it's a van, I include a selfie of myself inside the van. This time, and since it is my bpring sofa and I'm writing this shirtless, you're stuck with a shirtless pic of me in my sofa, sorry about that.