Five-Minute Writing

An exercise in self-discovery.

An academic exercise known to help with creativity and getting students comfortable with writing is called a free-write. The students are instructed to write about anything for a set period of time without worrying about any conventional writing or grammar rules. Over time, it becomes an exercise in self-discovery.

While I’ve used this activity in the classroom, I’ve never tried it for myself. Perhaps, I can learn something, too?

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. ~Louis L’Amour

On a whim, I set the timer for five minutes and begin to write:

I’m told that writers write. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Except for when I wanted to be Lorretta Lynn, and then there were the few years I wanted to be Florence Nightingale. But, the fact remains: I always wrote about it.

I’m supposed to write for five minutes straight. No stopping. Hmmmmm. I feel like I’m cheating.

The TV is on, the washer and dryer are droning in the background, but I am solely focused on the sound of the clicking keyboard, a sound that reminds me of how desperately I need to trim my nails. As you can see, I am not entirely focused.

In my lack of focus, my mind wanders to a memory.

A memory of a dream in which I was a writer in New York City. I had my own apartment, and I lounged around in black leather pants and white cashmere sweaters. I typed at an electric typewriter (it is an old dream), and I made money. My family came to visit me, and they were proud.

These days, I don’t dream about writing in a luxurious New York apartment, I just write. I hope that what I write produces emotion in my reader. The way Brene Brown and Malcolm Gladwell have emotionally impacted me. Other days, I think it would be exciting to write like John Grisham and carry my reader away by correcting the injustices of the world. But today, I am writing to see what hits the page.

It’s hard to enjoy the journey, that road that makes you who you become.

Maybe you don’t struggle with it, but I do. I survived my whole life by always thinking and dreaming about the hope of a brighter tomorrow. Those thoughts and dreams have brought me to a mental space where I practice being in the moment.

Oh, the irony.

At this present moment, my five minutes of freewriting, the journey is about clicking keys on my computer and discovering myself in the words that pour out. I’m good with that.

I think this five-minute thing works.