Freewriting Friday
Freewriting Exercise: Your Uniqueness, Earliest Memory & a Superpower
Writing prompts to spark your imagination
“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” — Robert Cormier
Welcome to Freewriting Fridays
Most mornings, as soon as I wake, I free write. By hand, as many pages as I can. Or after my kids have left for school, I put on relaxing music and type away.
Each Friday I will post a freewriting exercise. I hope it sparks your imagination.
If you want to share your freewrite or what you wrote because of a freewriting exercise and some editing, feel free to submit to Flint & Steel.
Save this post for when you have 10 minutes to yourself wherever you find inspiration. In bed? At your computer? At a coffee shop?
Directions
Take a notebook, a piece of paper, a back of a receipt, whatever works best for you.
Prompt: What makes you unique? (inspiration found below)
Write sentences. Write words that pop into your mind. Set a timer. Write for one minute. Go!
A rule to remember, do not edit yourself, just let it flow.
Come back after a minute and scroll down.
Today’s music selection
Next write for two minutes.
Prompt: “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”
Go! And come back for one more prompt.
Next, write for three minutes.
Prompt: “What is your earliest memory?”
How did you do? (I shared my freewrite below)
I hope this freewrite inspired you to get your words out. Remember to allow your imagination to go in any direction it may. You never know where you will end up when you start with a prompt and allow wordplay to take hold.
Maybe you will never use the words you just wrote, or maybe only a few. Maybe it sparked something else or unplugged a block you have been experiencing.
I have included my freewrite below to show you how my mind wanders away from the prompts. Use your words as a starting off point for a fictionalized character or your next personal essay.
My freewrite with no edits (read only after you completed your writing)
mama. writer. creative. empath. sensitive soul. feels and takes on the energy of those around me. My son hurt; I am hurt. Dreamer put on hold. Now picking up the pen, finding my way again towards what is frightening. Not caring about what others think. Just do, don’t stop and think so much.
teleport to any time period. Go back to see the last time I hugged my mother. The last time I sat on her lap. the last time my youngest son sat on my lap. i want to hear my mother’s voice besides in my dreams. two nights ago i heard her voice again. i wish i could record her voice in my dream. maybe one day we will. record our dreams so we can relive it over and over again. but that would mean we could record our nightmares. that i would not like.
my earliest memory? at the trailer, so I was younger than 5. Wandering around the trailer park alone, heading to the community park. Why was I alone? i remember swimming at the pool there but with my mom who was afraid of the water. i never knew why she was afraid of swimming. i wish i could ask her. i wish i could ask her about menopause, something we never got to discuss. we talked for hours, before i had children. after children, our talks were limited by feedings and nap time. the last time i saw her i had to go home quickly because my youngest was melting down. i forgot to tell her “i love you” as i left because i was frazzled. we always said “i love you” at the end of a visit or conversation. i emailed her later because something told me to. she replied, “i love you too.” i have kept her emails to reread when i miss her.
Be a writer for Flint & Steel
Inspiration for today’s freewrite
Tre L. Loadholt asking writers, “What makes you unique?” In five words.