Do you wonder how you can improve your writing? Maybe you're like me and struggle with (on a regular basis) the number of thoughts and emotions that swirl around in my head at any given time.
I'm not always able to get these thoughts down on paper when they are happening, which can lead to difficulty in getting to sleep. Or being woken up in the middle of the night because my thoughts have gotten so loud I have no choice but to write them down.
[Tweet “I'm not always able to get thoughts down on paper when they are happening…”]
Does any of this sound familiar to you? God, I hope so, otherwise, I might actually have a problem, lol!
What I've been doing recently to combat this is a form of freewriting in a journal.
I'm still not always able to get my thoughts out at the times they come to me, but what I am doing is making sure that I commit to free-form writing for at least 10 minutes every night before laying down to sleep. I also do this as part of my morning routine.
Improve Your Writing With Free Writing Strategies
Using Free-Form Writing Skills
This term was something I'd heard mentioned a number of times by writing groups I belong to, but I'd always just pushed it aside, thinking that it was more suited to those writing fiction rather than non-fiction, which is where the majority of my writing sits.
This all changed when I read an article from Writing Through Life that explained the benefits of freewriting.
It would help me not only get those thoughts out but also help me to recognise the emotional issues that I was not facing or dealing with head-on.
As writers, it can be super difficult not to self-edit, in fact, even as I write this, the annoying red squiggly line showing a few lines above is telling me that there is a (perceived) spelling mistake.
This is distracting and I have to actively NOT go and fix it.
Freeform writing can help with this.
Here're the ‘rules' for free-form writing:
- Set a time limit, 10 minutes is a good place to start.
- Start writing
- Do not stop until the timer finishes
- Do not edit anything you write during this time
- Keep the words flowing, and flowing and flowing…
That's it. It's pretty simple but very powerful to just write without thinking about what you're writing.
I've found that since I've actively been free form writing, I don't self-edit anywhere near as much as I used to.
How Free Form Writing Improves Your Writing Craft
[Tweet “It's pretty simple but very powerful to just write without thinking about what you're writing.”]
Freeform writing is a great way to improve your writing skills, both from a writing and editing perspective.
As a writer, when you're freewriting, you just write whatever comes to mind, no matter whether it makes sense or not. The more your free write, the more your thoughts will come together more coherently. 
Freewriting also allows you to develop and generate new ideas for future books or projects. This is a benefit that I wasn't exposed to before.
Sure, I'd have ideas here and there, but since free-form writing, I find that I actually have more ideas coming to the forefront of my consciousness.
One of the cool things about freewriting is that no-one else actually sees what you're writing — you're not writing for a client or your fans, you're writing just for you.
Freeform writing helps you to connect with your innermost thoughts, and this helps further develop your craft.
From an editing perspective, it helps to develop this skillset further too. You can quickly identify separate ideas, sentence structures, and grammatical mistakes because, let's face it, if you're freewriting, these are going to happen!
Next Steps
So if you want to improve your writing in just 10 minutes a day, start free-form writing now.
All you have to do is grab pen and paper, set a timer for 10 minutes and start writing.
I'll admit, it can feel a little ‘clunky' initially, but give it a few days and you'll feel the flow better and actually enjoy what you're writing.
I've already discovered I have a few fiction stories up my sleeve, which I hadn't thought about before starting the freewriting exercise, so who knows, maybe my next book will be a fiction piece!
Watch this space!
And if you want to take things to the next level, try attending writing conferences, where you can network with other writers, learn more about improving your writing, and figure out your next book idea!
15 replies to "How to Improve Your Writing in 10 Minutes a Day"
Lise, I’m pleased and honored that my post about freewriting helped you develop your own path to self-expression (getting the words out) and to enhance your writing practice in general. Freewriting is so simple, it’s easy to dismiss, yet its effectiveness has been proven. Happy writing!
It really was an eye-opener – I know that I have heard this before, but you’re article really helped me see the benefits, so thank you!
Thank you for this insight into free-writing, I had already been doing the odd journal entry here and there, really opening myself up to what was floating around inside this creative and yet at the same time indecisive brain. I appreciate this post tremendously, thank you for creating it!
No problem at all Jason, sometimes it helps to get things down on paper, get out of our heads so that we can make room for more!
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A great article indeed . The biggest hitch that a beginner comes across is the acuracy of writing. This hampers his confidence of writing down . The free form writing will be a great way to pen down his thoughts freely n later on do the required editing.
Hi Rubal, yes, free writing is definitely a great way to clear the cobwebs before starting any major writing project 🙂
As a relative beginner to the big wide world of creative writing for proposed publication, instead of for myself, I found your article both interesting and helpful. I often find myself procrastinating. Now I can allot a little time and write. Just for me, but maybe I will find ideas or projects flowering from my pen.
Hi Irene, I’m glad you found it helpful, let those ideas flow!
I find myself approaching later life with the feeling that I have writing to do. More than just the few odd pages here and there that I have so far managed. Your words made me sit up, figuratively, and take note. Procrastination, be gone!!!!
Thank you for sharing this post! It’s late night right now but it just gave me a kick in the ass to turn off my laptop, make some coffee and continue writing.
Yay, you can do it!
Dear Lise,
Thank you for this article – it really did resonate with me and my writing adventures.
Taking your introductory a bit further, I would like to ask you whether or not ( I hope you do! ) you have
any suggestions on discerning between what could be valuable and what’s not.
My problem is, that I easily writ over 4000 words and really do enjoy the process of watching how my feelings and
thoughts fall beyond my own input together. Weeks afterwards, I am totally overwhelmed by the avalanche
of information .. that I feel compelled to leave it behind, forget about it and start on the next one.
Do you have any advice about how to forge this chaos into something ‘digestible?
Thank you – Katinka.
P.S – I am from the Netherlands and my native language is Dutch
Hi Katinka, so lovely to meet you! What type of writing are you doing? Is this for your blog? It really depends… if it’s your blog post, then I would recommend using something like The Hemingway App! http://www.hemingwayapp.com <-- but this is for English use only. So if you're writing in Dutch, it might not work for you. It also helps to review what you write, and then ask yourself "What is helpful to my reader?" Feel free to ask more questions 🙂 I hope this helps!
Hi Lise, your article is really great. Thanks for sharing. Write based on what you know this is an important advice when it comes to writing fiction, but many authors seem to fail in following it. To produce good fiction stories, you need to write based on what you know.
Read my blog about How to Improve Your Fiction Writing Skills?
Hope this will help.
Thanks,
Collete Jackson Fink