So you want to write Pt 2

Hello and happy Monday fam.

I am typing this relaxing on a couch near an open window. The bright Monday sunlight and fresh air is filling entire room as curtains are pulled back. I have not taken a shower in over 24hours. Probably, I may not do it today! And the only refreshment I have done this morning was washing my face, brushing my teeth, sipping a glass of water while brewing a cup of black ginger tea which is right infront of me with steam lazily rising from the grey porcelain cup. I like having slow Mondays and never bothered about killer guru-type routines because really, just like most you, I have little fvcks to give and I'm also a terrible human being in reall life!

Anyway, as promised, today in another short letter, we are going to see how you can begin to master and understand the process of writing. In this particular letter, let us start looking at what we had called; freewriting.

We begin!

Freewriting is the act of exploring your thinking by the way of writing.

Think of it the same way rappers speak on instrumentals when practicing how to create a record. It is explorative, unique and fun!

There's no better way to discover what's on your mind and what you care about most than the act of freewriting! When you are freewriting, you just start writing and keep on writing. You do it even when you're not sure about what you want to say.

Here are some 2 simple rules of freewriting.

1. Start with any idea and let one idea lead to another one.

2. Don't stop to think about grammar or how you sound.

Keep these rules in mind! OK.

Now. Freewriting starts small and always ends up into an amazing, unique and special piece of work.

And please remember this. Freewriting doesn't have to be freestyle really! It can still be a focused thing. It is still an important part of the writing process. When done as a focused thing, it can help you to discover what you think about a particular topic or idea. With focus Freewriting, you don't just write about anything that comes in your mind. No! You begin with a special topic which you are ready to explore and go from there.

Follow these 3 steps in form of questions when you are doing focused Freewriting.

1. Pick a topic. ie writing. Let us say writing is the topic you what to explore through Freewriting. What do you already know about writing?

2. What do you not know about writing?

3. What do you want to know about writing?

Put those answers on paper and you are already well on your way! Do you see how simple it is really?

Anyway, at the end of Freewriting, whether it was focused or not, you will have a piece of work that can be valuable to you.

Freewriting is the foundation of the writing process. Most of if not all written materials out there start by this process. It is also a good exercise to train your mind on how to think better and simply write things. In the end, it sharpens your writing plus thinking skills.

After Freewriting, you may want to come up with a draft, share the draft with someone and seek feedback, revise the work, edit it and then publish it.

All that aside, freewriting is also good for your mental health. You can use it as therapy to quieten the mind and also discover things about yourself.

Don't understand the power of this exercise. I like to think that all great writers who ever lived from Aristotle to Neil Gaiman, all mastered the art of enquiring from the mind using this kind of process.

Experiment this process TODAY if not NOW!

Set aside 25 minutes and do it! Even if 15 minutes is all you have, then do it.

Let me know how it went, and what you liked and discovered about this process by replying to this email

Until next week.

-Nick Osale