Key Messages
Learn How to Use Freewriting to Sharpen Your Problem-Solving and Creative Writing Skills
If you’re looking for a way to develop innovative solutions, come up with new ideas, or write creative stories quickly, then look no further than freewriting.
This is a technique that can be used to tackle problems, think through ideas, free and organize your mind and creatively get your best ideas down on paper.
The Accidental Genius book covers the golden rules of freewriting and how to get the most out of this powerful technique.
From why it’s better to give only 90 percent effort instead of 110 per cent; lying occasionally as part of problem solving; to even publishing a book after mastering your skills – all are valid lessons covered in this book that could help you unlock the potential inside yourself.
Freewriting will allow you to free your thoughts and develop great ideas without much effort or time spent.
Don’t let your creativity go unused again – start practicing freewriting today!
Turn your Big Ideas into Reality with Freewriting
Freewriting is an excellent way to pull together the great ideas you have swimming around in your head, so that they make sense.
We all have those lightning bolt moments where something comes to us and either makes no sense or has the potential to be world-changing – like Newton’s apple moment.
But sometimes we’re unable to organize our thoughts and refine them into a understandable form.
That could be because we often take the easy way out and just leave them as vague ideations.
That isn’t ideal though, since it means that amazing ideas we’ve had can just slip away forever.
Luckily there’s a way to combat this: freewriting.
By following some rules and techniques when you put your thoughts down on paper quickly, you’ll be able to tap into your best ideas depth of brilliance for yourself or for business matters.
It helps keep permanent records of these thought processes, which can assist when you’re making big decisions such as writing a book or undertaking a major project.
The Benefits of Following the Three Rules of Freewriting: Try Easy, Write Quickly, and Set a Time Limit
If you’re looking to get started with freewriting, there are several steps to ensure that it is a successful experience.
Firstly, set your expectations and keep them low.
Rather than striving for perfection with each session of free writing, focus on improving the volume of words instead.
Secondly, write quickly and continuously.
Don’t worry too much about the accuracy or perfection of the content; just ensure that you are always writing something down, even if it doesn’t make sense grammatically!
The key here is to try and build up a head of steam by getting in the habit of putting words onto paper without being wrapped up in the small details.
Lastly, give yourself a time limit when engaging in freewriting.
This will help you stay focused on what needs to be accomplished as well as compartmentalize your thoughts so they can be monitored easily.
An example of this would be Chuck Palahniuk who writes while his washing machine goes on a cycle – allowing him to track the amount of time he has left until his session is complete.
Three Golden Rules for Unlocking the Power of Freewriting
To freewrite successfully, it’s important to remember to write the way you think and explore any ideas that come to you.
Don’t worry about grammar or style, just go with the thought and don’t be bound by false turns.
If you are confronted with a complex problem, pick one path and stick to it while also redirecting your attention if you feel stuck.
This can be done by having questions on stand-by that act as focus changers such as “why?”, “what am I doing wrong?” and “how do I improve this?” These will help you decide whether to continue in the same direction or switch paths.
Following these three golden rules for freewriting – writing how you think, going with the thought and redirecting your attention – will ensure that you are able to approach problems in an effective manner, generating creative solutions quickly and easily.
Freewriting: Exploring Unforeseen Directions with Prompts
When it comes to venturing down new paths of thought and exploration, writing wins out over just thinking every time.
For one thing, if you don’t write things down, chances are those great ideas are going to be lost in the shuffle of your brainwaves.
Think of it like taking a trip to the grocery store – sure, you may have milk on the top of your mental list, but then, when you get to checkout, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll have forgotten something important.
The same is true for ideas and inspiration.
That’s where writing prompts come in!
Prompts can provide the perfect starting gun for an afternoon of freewriting – they warm up your mind so that it’s ready for exploration and idea generation.
Robyn Steely from Write Around Portland has some great tips for the kind of prompts that work best – short and open ended words or phrases such as “After the storm…” or “The best part of my workday is…” When you use these prompts to launch into writing sessions, you’ll start finding yourself going in unforeseen directions with your thoughts – directions you may not have been able to explore just by thinking alone!
Freewriting Is All About Problem-Solving Through Abundance of Ideas
When it comes to freewriting, reducing complexity can take you a long way.
Instead of composing symphonies, think in terms of melodies.
Keep things simple.
Overthinking or emphasizing complexity can be an obstacle when trying to come up with solutions.
this is why facts are so useful – they are concrete and starting points for further explanation or exploration.
But getting away from complex thought isn’t just about facts; it’s also about disconnection and spitting out ideas rapidly.
Reject hypotheses if necessary and keep writing without focusing too much on coming up with the perfect idea right away.
A volume of ideas will get the job done better than one perfect one, so challenge yourself to put together 100 ideas in multiple sessions over time.
Lying to Unlock the Creativity of Freewriting: How to Put Your Imagination to Good Use
Lying might sound like something negative, but it can actually be quite beneficial when it comes to freewriting.
Think of it as playing make-believe on a piece of paper: breaking with reality allows you to explore ideas that might seem silly or even absurd at first.
This technique can help you channel your writing sessions in new directions and open up unexpected places.
A simple way to get started is to start by thinking “small” and making it either “tiny” or “gigantic.” Same goes for things like “important” turning into “crucial” or “boring” rebranded as “pathetic” or “super exciting”.
Another way to boost your writing is to imagine fictitious conversations between you and real (or fictitious) characters who hold different points of view and ask you questions.
Looking ahead, create a character representing yourself in the future for motivating ideas too.
But remember not to make them too wise like God or Buddha, and don’t choose famous people who are too successful like Steve Jobs or Abraham Lincoln as these might make you feel intimidated.
Your character should be vivid rather than abstract so that it helps you express yourself better.
Unlocking the Power of Freewriting Sessions Through Collaboration and Finding Inspiration in Everyday Life
As outlined in Accidental Genius, it’s a great idea to share your freewriting sessions with others.
Circulating them can provide you with valuable feedback which may help you to structure your ideas more effectively.
If you do this, make sure you are clear about the kind of feedback that you expect from them and also ask specific questions like, “What works?”, “What doesn’t?” or “Is something missing?”.
In addition to this, as suggested by the book, gathering stories from your everyday life is a great way to inspire yourself when it comes to freewriting.
This can be especially useful if you’re short on material for your sessions and gives the perfect opportunity for writing short episodes – these often only take a few minutes and can be done in one day.
Finally, when tackling complex problems or writing material for a book, longer freewriting sessions are recommended.
These should be broken up into shorter spells interspersed with brief pauses where you reread your notes and flag any interesting points so that when you resume writing again all the inspiration is there!
How Freewriting Can Help Writers Get Started on Their Next Book
If you’ve ever considered writing a book, freewriting can be an invaluable tool.
By engaging in this type of creative thinking, you can thrash out great ideas and brainstorm the best solutions to any problem.
Plus, you’ll produce material that is publishable, but only if you archive it properly!
Freewriting can help clarify your thoughts, but it’s also great for conducting further research.
That’s why it’s essential to build up a filing system containing all your freewriting sessions – grouped by topics like “business,” “writing techniques,” or “love stories” depending on what kind of writing you’re interested in.
You should also regularly review these materials for the possibility of revising them and finding better solutions to problems.
Plus, with time and effort, these tidbits of freewriting can actually be transformed into finished prose suitable for books or dissertations!
To get there, start with warm-up sessions before concentrating on marathons that require more focus and commitment.
Then edit away, joining ideas together until you have the finished piece!
Wrap Up
Accidental Genius is a powerful book that encourages readers to find their best ideas by engaging in practices of freewriting and self-reflection.
The key message of this book is to never stop writing, even if you don’t know what to write.
By consistently trying new things with your writing and actively reflecting on your process, you can uncover previously unnoticed insights and ideas.
The actionable advice from Accidental Genius is to try adjusting your writing processes.
After attempting a few freewriting sessions, take some time to reflect upon what you have written.
Ask yourself new questions to refocus and redirect your thoughts and then start a fresh session with these new ideas in mind – who knows where they might lead!
Throughout this practice, you will inevitably find more great ideas than you may have previously known were right under your nose.
