The piece posted below, (and many that will follow) is an excerpt from my freewrite group. So, a brief history of the group and the process seems warranted.
My Freewrite Group (in Phoenix) is based on a group that I joined in Seattle several years ago. That group was organized by my good friend and fellow writer, Hadiyah Carlyle, who based it on the writing style of Natalie Goldberg.
Natalie combined the notion of freewriting with Zen Buddhist meditation principles to develop writing practice, described in books such as Writing Down the Bones (1986).
Free writing (also stream-of-consciousness writing) is a writing technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw material and helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. Some writers use the technique to collect initial thoughts and ideas on a topic, often as a preliminary to formal writing.
Writing practice is different from freewriting encouraged in undergraduate and creative writing programs. Writing practice encourages the writer to be aware of their thoughts throughout the writing practice, and may be an ends unto itself, rather than a means to produce a more polished piece.
Free writing (also stream-of-consciousness writing) is a writing technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw material and helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. Some writers use the technique to collect initial thoughts and ideas on a topic, often as a preliminary to formal writing.
Writing practice is different from freewriting encouraged in undergraduate and creative writing programs. Writing practice encourages the writer to be aware of their thoughts throughout the writing practice, and may be an ends unto itself, rather than a means to produce a more polished piece.
My process for this piece (our original process format has evolved to encompass several styles now): each member picks a provocative phrase, word, quote or sentence to share. A time limit for writing is chosen (usually 5, 10, or 15 minuets) and then a topic is pulled. The time keeper says begin and each member writes the first thing that comes to their mind after having read/heard the topic. [It's important to note that sometimes members wind up free styling a story which is in its rawest form, for others its just random thoughts, or it can simply be a series of disjointed ideas, there are NO restrictions or judgments as to what flows, that’s the point!].
If you would like a Free copy of The Freedom of Free Write: A How to Guide please email me at kathleen@professionalpunch.com)- the first 5 responses will be honored.
This piece started with the phrase, The milk leapt out of her and took a decidedly dark turn...
[Excerpt]
The milk leapt out of her, it seemed, as the baby suckled at her breast. At least that’s what Marjorie said as she kept prattling on about her baby, baby, baby, blah, blah, blah…Alright already my mind shouted. Quit your baby talk before I feed him to the damn dingos…
“Really, that’s amazing”, I said, reining in my malcontented mind before I let loose my tongue to lash poor fat Marjorie into submission, back to where she was just 10 short months ago. Back to being best friend-confidant- and part of the Tuesday night girls club….back to being mine. Oh, I'm happy for her, really. And I adore baby Ava. I just don't want to see her lose herself completely. Besides- my only thought of babies at this point is the cute little pug puppies that I’m feathering the nest for.
Ahhh, the timeless question, to be milked or not???
“Really, that’s amazing”, I said, reining in my malcontented mind before I let loose my tongue to lash poor fat Marjorie into submission, back to where she was just 10 short months ago. Back to being best friend-confidant- and part of the Tuesday night girls club….back to being mine. Oh, I'm happy for her, really. And I adore baby Ava. I just don't want to see her lose herself completely. Besides- my only thought of babies at this point is the cute little pug puppies that I’m feathering the nest for.
Ahhh, the timeless question, to be milked or not???
