You're staring at a blank page with no ideas about where to go or how you're going to get there. The image is so familiar, it's cliché. Yet no matter how many times we write about it, sing about it, or think we've gotten rid of it, we always end up returning to that sheet of paper as empty as our minds.

If you're mid-story and wondering where to go, this guide is unlikely to help you. You may want to try "Beating the Block," which lists a few scene ideas. If you're a visual artist and came here by mistake, try the "Art Block Banisher."

However, if you just want to put something—anything—on that piece of paper, this guide is for you.

What is freewriting?

Return to your blank page there. I don't mean mentally, I mean physically. Pull out a pencil or place your cursor at the beginning of the page. Then do something that may surprise you: start writing.

But you have no ideas! How can you write without ideas?

You can write without deciding a topic ahead of time. Go ahead and try. Write a paragraph about nothing. Set a scene. Describe a random person. Discuss something that happened today and how it made you feel. Write whatever jumps to your brain. You can even write "I have no idea what to write and I'm just scribbling random stuff because MissLunaRose told me to!"

This is called freewriting.

Freewriting helps your brain function well, since it forces you to write despite your inhibitions. Writing is something that can be turned on and off, just like running, so practice to stay in shape! If you're struggling with a particularly nasty case of writer's block, freewriting can keep you writing as you work on figuring out the bigger picture of your story.

When you freewrite, try not to hang yourself up over the details. If you begin to write the word jubilant and realize that the word you're looking for is gleeful, then cross out the first word, write gleeful and continue. Try not to look back on older paragraphs as you write. I know it's tempting to edit in depth, but save it for later. Freewriting is drafting time.

Take risks with your language! Nobody is going to read this, so see if you can create any interesting metaphors. If they sound ridiculous, then let them sound ridiculous! During freewriting, you don't have to worry about the judgment of yourself or others, which is rather... well, freeing.

Look, here are a few strange and creative things I've come up with during freewriting:

This night felt like something that had plopped out from a can.
Summer memories seem softer, like faded photographs on the mantelpiece of our minds.
...the sickly yellow light from my sister's lamp...
My chair is evil.
What am I even doing? I don't know.

As you can see, it's a very random process.

When you feel that the piece is done, go back and re-read it. Does it have potential? Highlight or underline any interesting descriptions. Could you re-work the piece and turn it into something worth showing people?

If you freewrite regularly, you'll receive an added bonus: the ability to look back on your freewriting as a whole. I notice that a lot of my freewriting usually tends on developing a mood or relationship. Upon reflection, I do tend to focus on capturing the essence of things in my everyday writing. Try freewriting for five minutes daily for a few weeks. What can you learn about yourself?

Freewriting doesn't only tell you about your style, it allows you to experiment with it in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. Nobody ever has to see your notebook.

Prompts

While it's a good idea to try freewriting without a prompt, sometimes it's fun to play with a word and come up with something unexpected. Here are some prompts you could use. There are no rules for these prompts. Just write what comes to your mind.

Take the following:

Overripe cherries

Old age

A photograph on a mantelpiece

Autumn

A dark blue-grey cloud swollen with rain

A painter

Waiting half asleep

An open window

She won't answer the door

The long drive home

Sisterly love

A penny in the street

Dust motes

An old man with a sad smile

Everybody has to leave

Changing seasons

An old cat and a kitten

A stream in the forest

"Make your choice already"

Driving through the mountains

September

The oven timer beeping

Microaggressions

A strange lump in his pocket

The smell of tea

Dizziness

A little girl running in the playground

Walking alone

Wildflowers

A young man sitting alone on a bench

Pregnant again

Anxiety

"Are you out of your mind?"

A yearly tradition

A party that was one hour too long

I'm starving

Sharing bitter hot chocolate

A daisy

Old friends who spent years apart

An apple

A summer breeze that tastes of fall


Start writing and see what happens! Each prompt has the potential to unfold into something breathtakingly new. Maybe they can even solve writer's block for a story you've already written!

For fun, try printing off the list and writing one prompt each day, crossing off each list item as you complete it. Where will it take you? When you're done, you should have many pieces that can tell you about yourself as a writer, and perhaps teach you something new.


So... what are you doing right now? Are you about to run off to fulfill your obligations, or are you just sipping coffee and savoring your morning deviantART time? If you're doing the latter, then I have some instructions for you. (Yes, I know. I'm telling you what to do with your precious internet time.)

Finish reading this resource. Then close out of the internet (after faving, watching, and writing a comment about how wonderful I am, of course). Notice that little word processor icon? Click it. Now you'll have discovered that blank page.

But blank pages are cliché, and nobody likes clichés, so let's make it a little more original. Go on. You know you can do it.


Freewriting is like eating fruit. It's good for you, so at first you might resent it. But it's sweet and enjoyable, so soon it'll become the best part of your meal (ahem, day).