I write every Thurday with my friend Jenny. We used to always start with a freewrite, where we would choose a prompt and then write continuously for a few minutes, not worrying about spelling or grammar or content, just simply writing what ever came through our fingers and onto the page. Last week, after a few minutes of meditation (a more recent addition to our Thursdays), we decided to re-introduce the freewrite. We opted for “Life” in poetry, and started writing. When we were done, we read to one another and breathed…we needed that.
The freewrite has been added back into our writing routine.
If you’re a writer, maybe it’s time to try another freewrite. If you’re not a writer, give it a shot, you never know what will happen. You don’t have to read it to anyone. You can simply keep it to yourself or toss it away, but the process of letting thoughts out, letting them ramble around on a page, whether they make sense or not, can be valuable, if only as a way to vent and find room for your mind to focus.
With my daughter in Asia near the Coronavirus, several deadly shooting in the Seattle area, non-stop rain and the state of our nation, it felt good to bring my feelings together on the page. I’m no poet, but who cares. My poem found it’s way to what’s important, focusing on the good in life.
Life
Grey skies
Fire
Heat
Congressional smoke and mirrors
Maps
Red dots
A virus gone wild
Death
Fallen bodies
Where I once walked the runway
Fear spreads
Is this the Apocalypse?
Breathe
Think outside yourself
Give
Find the sunshine
Live
WRITING PROMPT: If your not sure where to start, grab a pen or your computer and try writing a poem about life, as we did, or if that doesn’t float your boat, simply open a book, put your finger on the page and write about the word or picture that your finger lands on (or for more ideas try out my past Pen to Paper writing blogs).
Write On!
