Free writing is basically just unstructured, haphazard, nonstop writing. Forget that your pencil has an eraser. Forget that your keyboard has a backspace key.

The goal in free writing is to produce as many words as possible within a certain, predetermined amount of time. Your pen should not stop moving across the page. Your fingers should not stop tapping keys. You should be writing rhythmically and steadily without interruption until the timer goes off.

Naturally that might mean that some of what you produce is incoherent or downright strange. That’s the whole idea.

The product of your free writing session isn’t meant to be presentable. Correct spelling? Not necessary. Sentence structure? Never heard of it. Feel free to type the same word or letter eighteen times in a row, if that’s what it takes—but keep those words coming, no matter what. Try not to censor yourself. Whatever’s on your mind, pour it all out.

It’s a great way to loosen up before you do any kind of creative writing. I suggest you start with about 10 minutes on the clock at first.

Famous variants on free writing include Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, Pat Pattison’s Object Writing, and Andrea Stolpe’s Destination Writing.