31 Benefits of Free-Writing

Perhaps you want to write. Your writing burns deep inside you. You know deep in your bones that you have something to say. Perhaps it’s a book that will help get your message out. Maybe your own personal story is burning a hole in your heart, just waiting to be told.

You may not even know what you want to write – you just feel…that…writing…urge.

But you ignore it. You do everything else first: From the big things: taking care of the kids and managing the daily operations of your business. To the small things: making sure your inbox is at zero or scrolling through Facebook.

I get it. We have all been guilty of postponing that thing that matters deeply to us. The small but persistent knowing that we have something to say is easy to drown out with the real and false demands on our time.

Sitting down to focus and get our writing out seems so big and daunting. We think we need a whole day to just get something out. Worse, we are afraid that when we do sit down, we won’t have any idea where to start or what to say. And what if something awful comes out?

I totally get all of these feelings. I have them myself and I see my clients and students process the same stuff. Luckily, I have a simple, fun and effective solution.

Since 2007, I’ve been leading a simple but powerful online class  now called The Devoted Writer. For a month at a time, we all write for at least 15 minutes a day. It is awe-inspiring to watch all kinds of transformation unfold. I’m always blown away by how much can change from such a simple practice.

There are so many things that this writing method can do for any kind of writing – fiction, blogs, books, personal reflections. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of creative practices.

What’s even better, the benefits extend WAY beyond the page. It’s truly mind-blowing and heart-opening.I’ve been paying attention to the life-changing things writers in this class experience.

Here’s what writers reported consistent free-writing did for them.

Make a star next to the things you would like to experience now.
With consistent free-writing, we:
1. Release fear of what others think.
2. Easily find 15 minutes for writing every day.
3. Get out of our own way.
4. Make real progress on writing we can publish.
5. Finally have a reliable way to access and tell our truth.
6. Access inspiration, anytime, anywhere.
7. Develop and enjoy a consistent writing routine.
8. Appreciate that the time we spend on our writing as a gift we give to ourselves again and again.
9. Discover more about ourselves.
10. Release emotions that are holding us back.
11. Connect with a supportive writing tribe, finally.
12. Glean useful insights about our writing process.
13. Untangle sticky life issues.
14. Come back to our truth.
15. Recognize and claim our authentic voice
16. Play with new genres and styles.
17. Clear away the internal clutter preventing us from our good work.
18. Gain confidence.
19. Understand what’s truly important.
20. Make amends with the past.
21. Recognize new possibilities.
22. Eliminate distractions.
23. Build our butt-in-chair muscle.
24. Enjoy a daily no-calorie treat.
25. Become more courageous with our writing.
26. Extend that courage to the rest of life.
27. Learn how to show up even when it’s difficult.
28. Discover that we can create even when life gets busy.
29. Become more present to the simple wonders of the moment.
30. Finally befriend the inner critic so he no longer stifles our creativity.
31. Drop all expectations and just show up for our words.

Wow. I didn’t have to invent any of these gifts. These are all things that writers in my online writing class experience every single time. How many of these did you choose for yourself?

Frankly, even just one of these prizes makes The Devoted Writer an investment of a lifetime. But all of them? And I know that this is only the beginning of the wonderful things that await you in our classroom. These kind of results are powerful and lasting.

I want every single person who wants to write to have access to their creative powers like this.