“Freestyle Friday”

or “Monday Madness”

Freestyle writing revolves around the belief that being able to get words down on paper is a central step in the writing process. Understanding exactly what freestyle writing is and how it may affect your writing highlights its important role in writing.

Freestyle writing is a form of writing that requires you to write your thoughts and feelings about a specific topic down on a piece of paper for a certain length of time without stopping.

You can do freestyle writing for any length of time; however, for it to be most effective, you should set a timer to help keep yourself focused on your writing and not constantly looking at the clock or your watch.

Freestyle writing allows you to experience success in writing Freestyle writing allows you to experience success in writing. Writing can be an overwhelming task, especially if you’re not used to doing it or if you’re experiencing writer’s block. Freestyle writing helps you stop stressing over writing by doing it.

When you first try freestyle writing, concentrate on just getting your random thoughts down on paper. After you’re familiar with the process, you can assign yourself specific topics to write on during your freestyle writing.

Freestyle is used by writers to gather their thoughts and ideas before they begin a document, with the result being an endless, non-punctuated, and free-flowing paragraph that'll be immensely helpful in the preliminary writing process.

Set a timer or use the clock on your computer screen Set a timer or use the clock on your computer screen. Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to write continuously. This is so you get going and write quickly. Spend the time writing, not worrying about the time.

Select a topic for your free writing Select a topic for your free writing. If you've chosen to do focused free writing, write this topic at the top of your page. If you just wish to write without a topic, go ahead without one. You may be surprised at what you write even on days when you begin with "I can't think of anything to write here."

Write down whatever comes to mind Write down whatever comes to mind. It can be in relation to your topic if you have one or if you are doing unfocused free writing because you are trying to come up with an idea or topic, just write down every random thought that crosses your mind as quickly as possible.

Continue writing until the designated time has run out Continue writing until the designated time has run out. Do not stop until that point. Do not pay attention to grammar or typos. If there are any incomplete sentences or misspelled words, don't worry. Just keep going.

If you run into a dead end or draw a blank, keep writing the same word or phrase over and over again until something else pops into your mind. One idea is to take a quick glance around the room and choose one object to describe. When the time has run out, look over what you have written and circle or underline ideas that you like or that you think that might be useful for your project.

Writing Prompts 12 Days of Christmas Gone Wrong An anonymous friend has been leaving you gifts at work to celebrate each of the 12 days of Christmas. All was fine and good for the first 11 gifts, which were thoughtful. But the 12th gift isn’t actually a gift at all— I want you to tell me, what was this 12th gift? How did it change the way you think about this person? (anonymous or not). Write the remainder of this scene.

Writing Prompt 2 Neighbor Steals Your Christmas or Hallowe’en Decorations Your neighbor started hanging her Christmas decorations. You smile, wave and say, “Looks good,” as you pull into your garage. Suddenly, you take pause and notice that her decorations look very familiar and, are in fact, yours. To confirm you dash to the basement and see that all of you Christmas decorations are missing. You decide to steal back your good in the middle of the night but it doesn’t go as planned. Write this scene.

Writing Prompt 3 The Journal Flipping through your library books for research, you find one of the books you incorrectly checked out. It’s a handwritten journal authored by someone you know. Who wrote it and what does it say?

Writing Prompt 4 You are sitting in class and you suddenly realize that once you catch the eyes of a classmate you can read their thoughts…

Writing Prompt 5 Any topic of your choice

Lets begin!