Most of us have been in situations where we just started drawing randomly on a piece of paper, or doodling. When doodling, we usually don’t have a clear objective and we don’t really care how it turns out. We don’t get all upset or wonder if our doodles are correct. We just doodle.
Sure, it could end up as a completed picture but often it’s just unrelated random drawings created with an attitude of playfulness. Doodling is fun.
You can do the same thing with words. Thinking of writing as doodling can help you stop worrying about whether you are doing it “right” because you don’t concern yourself with writing rules and conventions.
Free Writing
In the writing world this is known as free writing. When free writing, you just let the words flow, with no clear objective except to write thoughts down in an attitude of playfulness. You don’t worry about the end result; you just write.
Free writing is a valuable technique for everyone, child or adult. All you need to do is grab a pencil and paper and start to write. You literally just dictate your thoughts. You can choose a certain amount of time, even if it’s as short as a minute or two and just start writing until the time is up.
With free writing, there is never a reason to be faced with a blank sheet of paper because there are always words and thoughts running through your mind – unless you’re dead. And if you’re dead you can’t hold the pencil anyway.
Push Through Doubts
Even if all you can think of is “I don’t know what to say,” or “free writing is stupid and that Debbie is goofy,” you are still writing down words and thoughts. You will eventually move on to other ideas or at least begin to discover more about why you think I’m goofy. You may like something you wrote or you may just throw it away, it just doesn’t matter. And that’s the point.
If you do go back and read something you like, or see an idea that sparks more thoughts, you may want to continue. Free writing is a treasure hunt, a discovery of what’s going on inside that head of yours. And if your mind is anything like mine, you are going to find lots of strange and wonderful ideas inside.
If you want, you can corral your thoughts by putting a single word on top of the page and start writing about whatever pops into your head when you see that word. Try it right now if you want. Doodle your thoughts about the word “snail.”
Doodling with words can clear your mind. Doodling with words can focus your mind. But most of all doodling with words can be a lot of goofy fun.
