In a world that often demands constant productivity and perfection, our mental health can easily take a back seat. But during Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re reminded of the importance of pausing, reflecting and reconnecting with ourselves. One powerful yet often overlooked tool in this process is free writing.
Free writing isn’t about grammar, structure or even making sense – it’s about giving your thoughts space to breathe. Whether you’re navigating stress, anxiety or just trying to make sense of your day, letting your pen (or keyboard) run without judgment can offer surprising clarity and emotional relief. Our Creative Toolbox lead, Georgia, shares her tips on free writing, exploring what free writing is, how to do it and why it can be a transformative practice for your mental well-being.
I free write in my personal practice and find it a very therapeutic exercise and a great way to empty a busy brain. It also helps to stop your inner critic interfering as the main point is to keep writing no matter what. Don’t edit, don’t scribble out, just let your hand flow across the page. It can reveal new ideas or thoughts as you allow your stream of consciousness to take over without worrying or applying pressure on yourself. It can also be used to dump the contents of your brain on to a page, sometimes reading this back can help you make sense of what’s actually going on up there…Or is that just me?
If you would like to practice this at home, it’s super easy, and all you need is a pen and paper. Please try not to use a laptop or other device as this restricts your flow.
How do you do it?
- Find a comfortable position.
- Choose a set time. Start with 5 minutes a day for a week. Increase to 10, 15 and so on. Could you do an hour of freewriting?
- Always keep writing, your hand should be continuously moving.
- Don’t cross anything out. This exercise is about writing not editing. Even if you write something you didn’t mean to, leave it there. “Mistakes” are allowed.
- Don’t worry about spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is not a spelling test. As long as the essence of your writing is understandable to you, that’s all that matters.
- Lose control. Don’t think, just allow yourself to write.
You may want to choose a prompt to help kickstart you. This could be a particular memory, a dream, your favourite film, a person you look up to or something visual like an image in a newspaper.
You can try playing background music. Note how, or if, different genres of music influence what you write.
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