[Leah Perdue]

I just started a new creative writing class and my prof. introduced us to this technique he calls "Fast writing". The point is to not self-edit, to not stop your pen (or fingers on keys) until you have completed a thought or story. We start by choosing a topic and then immediately writing about it for 5 min., then another, then another, for thirty minutes. You usually generate three or four interesting starts to stories. I would recommend that everyone try it. It may not work for you but it can't hurt, right?

[scottVee]

Hi Leah,

Glad you're enjoying it. The "fast writing" a.k.a. "stream of consciousness" is a handy tool, especially for poets. I can start with any bunch of malarkey ("apple cyan lemon twist ...") and find a concrete scene appears after about 20 words, every time. These exercises suggest that our brains abhor chaos, and fill in with organized thoughts at any opportunity. So, the next time a writer thinks there's nothing on their minds, they just need a tool like this to dig a little deeper or breakdown the barrier to getting something started.

= scott

I just started a new creative writing class and my prof. introduced us to this technique he calls "Fast writing". The point is to not self-edit, to not stop your pen (or fingers on keys) until you have completed a thought or story. We start by choosing a topic and then immediately writing about it for 5 min., then another, then another, for thirty minutes. You usually generate three or four interesting starts to stories. I would recommend that everyone try it. It may not work for you but it can't hurt, right?

[Bill]

Sounds like fun, Leah.

Might be a good exercise for a Friday Night Write party one of these weekends...?

*remembers how complicated it is to coordinate time zones across various continents*

[mamawsue]

I do this and call it free writing...just start typing and sometimes actually come up with something I can use.

[Kariel]

This is pretty much how i wrote my NaNoWriMo novel, going back an editing now I am abhorred at the amount of run on sentences this produced. However that is what editing is for.

[mamawsue]

The writing went alright, the editing can be a B!