Melting Snow

Motivational Monday: Free Write or Writing Improvisation

Monday, January 22, 2018

Just write,
don't worry about spelling,
grammar, or anything else in a Free Write
let your muse or your subconscious write the words.

The Motivational Monday prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 
Jeffrey Townes (also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff  , born on this day in 1965, once said "And more than anything, I like the improvisation of jazz. That's the same thing with DJing. There's so much improvisation you can do with cuttin' and scratchin' that's reminiscent of jazz music, because it's all about how you feel. You're capturing a vibe and just going with it." How often do you think you improvise when you're writing something? Do you have any examples to share? How important is the skill of improvisation when it comes to writing, in your opinion?

Free Write or Writing Improvisation

How important is the skill of improvisation when it comes to writing? I think it is very important, in Dictionary.com the definition for improvisation is "the art or act of improvising, or of composing, uttering, executing, or arranging anything without previous preparation".1 The key phrase is "without previous preparation", which is the way free writing works best. In a free write--whether it is pre-chosen theme/topic or simply the thoughts coming into your mind--the writer sits down at a keyboard, opens a blank document, and begins to write. You write whatever comes to mind, without worrying about spelling or grammar, for a specific period of time. You write--5, 10, 15 minutes or more--all the thoughts that come to mind. You type as fast as you can, which isn't as fast as the thoughts coming into your mind, but that doesn't matter. You continue to write until your time is up or you've written everything you know, think you know, or anything else about a the subject.

After you finish the free write, you can run the spell checker to correct any misspellings before printing a copy. You read through what you've written, and highlight or underline everything you want to keep. Once you've did this, you open a new document, and begin to compose the story, poem, essay, or article that on the subject of the free write. Please note, that I've explained the ideal way to do a free write; however, this usually isn't how most writers do a free write. Many times, you will do the free write, run the grammar-spell check, and begin working on the article or whatever you were planning to write. It is a good idea to save the original free write in a separate document as the first draft of your work.

Footnotes
1  http://www.dictionary.com/browse/improvisation