How Writing for ‘Nothing’ Can Give You Everything

As I unpack and move into my new home, I am faced with a decision: do I put my journals on the shelves or boxed in the closet?
Hundreds and hundreds of pages, billions of words. For what?

These 100+ notebooks full of free writing and journaling certainly aren’t interesting to anyone. They aren’t publishable and they haven’t brought me any money.
But these notebooks full of my scribbles form the foundation of my writing career. Without the pages and pages of meandering writing, I wouldn’t have built the confidence to dare publishable pieces.
You may struggle with being asked to spend hours wasting ink on pieces that will not be lucrative or publishable. Yet when I coach my clients past the initial hurdles of writing freely, they are amazed at how good it feels.
Here are three ways free writing leads you to achieve your writing goals.

Get focus and clarity on what to write 

There are so many ways to write and so many subjects to write about. Clocking these hours privately in your notebooks will help you decide where to focus your efforts.
Free writing can clear the confusion to reveal what you want to write next.

Write right past your inner critic to get at your gems

Free writing works for all levels and genres because it allows you to circumvent the uptight inner critic that’s always ready with a reason why you should be doing something ‘worthwhile’.

Enjoy a sense of surprise and discovery

Much of this will never be read by anyone, not even you perhaps. No matter. As Natalie Goldberg taught us in Writing Down the Bones, free writing is a practice that you show up for with little expectation.
Anything could be waiting for you in your pages. Great boredom or great discoveries, for the simple price of your pen to the paper. Allowing for the element of surprise lets you surpass your known limits.
This is where the fun comes into the writing process, when you allow yourself to be led by your pen instead of trying to control everything.

Writing for nothing yields everything

So you see, writing for ‘nothing’ can lead everywhere – more confidence, more self-knowledge, more clarity…more you.
Free writing can make a huge difference if you are a:

• Professional writer accustomed to working for pay and deadline only.
• New writer who wants to write but don’t know what.
• Seasoned writer wanting to shift gears or start a new book.

I don’t need to have my journals in sight to continue gleaning the benefits from them. I’ve used free writing since 1994 and have written hundreds of words that have been read and paid for.
Putting the journals in the closet doesn’t change all the hours and effort I’ve banked by free writing. All that writing for nothing has given me everything in my writing career.
What results have you seen from free writing or from a regular writing practice? How does this kind of writing impact your other writing?

Write freely in February

Join us in February for the Free Write Fling. Because everyone, no matter how busy, can give 15 minutes a day to write what’s inside you.
Sign up here.
Here’s what recent Flingers had to say:
“I am a happier person from giving myself this gift of writing for fifteen minutes in the morning. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for having completed it every day no matter what. I am more accepting of myself.
I don’t have to write an award-winning piece every morning. I just have to show up. This has taken a lot of pressure off me.
Thank you for providing a safe arena to explore what is possible. It has really motivated me to keep going.” Julia Atwood
“The Free Write Fling has been a wonderful experience for me.  I wrote every day for 31 days (hooray!), and looked forward each evening to it. The free writes became part of my daily comfort routine.” April Lee
The Free Write Fling starts today. Write daily, starting now.