I joined a free writing class this morning, and had a wonderful experience.
The idea is to get a phrase and free-write everything that comes into your mind for a specified amount of time – don’t stop, don’t censure, just write. Usually, there’s a moderator, or someone to give you the phrase and to keep track of the time.
Sounds fun, right? It was!
Then the panic set in…What happens if I can’t think of anything? What if my brain draws a blank? Don’t worry, if you are anything like me, your brain never really stops, so there is always something to write.
We started with a line from a poem, and I was really getting into it. I was brilliant. I was philosophical. I was in the groove. This was good stuff!
Then I was done, but the clock was still ticking. So my writing started to look like this:
Right. Now I wish I was using my computer because my hand aches and I’m anxiously wondering how much longer we have to do this. She just left the room and closed a door so I’m guessing there’s still quite a bit of time left on the clock. I’m running out of things to say and my thumb is beginning to ache from gripping the pen. I wonder if I’ll even be able to read any of this later, the handwriting is getting so bad.
I have mascara running into my left eye and it’s stinging, which probably makes it look like I’m starting to cry… which is actually making me start to giggle now. I’m chewing on the dry skin on my lower lip to keep from laughing. Honestly, this is almost torture for me. Now my left eye is watering… So not good. I hope I’m not disturbing anyone. I know I’d be worried if someone sitting next to me started to cry.
I had no idea how hard it was to actually write with a pen and paper instead of with a computer. This actually kind of sucks. I’m getting the giggles again. I can feel it welling up inside, and I really want to start laughing about it, but I don’t want to disturb anyone.
Oh, thank God, there’s the “just a few more minutes” mark. I just need to hang on a few more minutes and then I’m good. I can blame the eye thing on being allergic to dogs. Maybe? I’m certainly feeling it in my chest.
Oop, “time to wrap up.” Yipee!
So, apparently 30 minutes is maybe a bit too long for me to keep to a steady train of thought, but you get the idea. Right?
Oh, yeah, I’m totally going back!
