About blah, blah writing 2

J was one of many boys who joined our BAWP writing camp.  On Day 1, when he was introduced to the idea of Freewriting, I could see that he was not used to writing independently. He sat for a long time staring into space. After some time, the concept of blah blah writing was introduced to the class. He was instantly transformed. At once, he picked up his pen and started writing blah, blah, blah interspersed with an odd word or phrase. Sometimes he added a sentence the teacher was saying.  He wrote all morning and all through break, as if he was possessed. He refused to stop even when he was told that he has written enough. In the end, he wrote three pages of blah blah writing on Day 1. Here is an extract from his journal.

 After the first session, we talked about how to help him and it became clear that in between his blah blahs, there were some lucid thoughts and sentences. We planned to pull out these sentences and put them together into a verse with him the next day if he still could not do anything else.

Day 2 arrived and what a surprise! Blah blah writing just ceased and J seemed to have emerged from his writer’s block. He wrote happily like everyone else and while it did not seem a lot, it was still a gigantic step for him. For the rest of the camp, he turned out to be a most enthusiastic writer and contributed actively to the class and did many pieces of independent writing.  He showed a lot of interest in the pictures used for prompts and stayed behind during break to help put them up and to study them carefully.

Was he the only child who had such a good experience? No. I must confess that I was surprised by the positive feedback we had to Freewriting. Many children chose that as one of their favourite activities in the camp because they said that it gave them the freedom to write what they wanted to.  Again, I must admit that while I understood the importance of choice in writing, I underestimated its value and the crucial role it plays in children’s motivation to write.

What lessons can we take away from this episode? Let me summarise them.

1. Give children choice in writing. They will feel more motivated if they can sometimes write what they want.
2. Don’t overemphasise accuracy and conventions. Let the thoughts flow unimpeded first and respect what children have to say.
3. Practise Freewriting as part of your writing activities. It only takes 10-15 minutes each day and it gives students the writing practice they need.
4. Give students time to get used to the activity. Don’t rush them and don’t worry too much if they are slow to pick up on the idea.
5. Writing every day is better than a long essay once a fortnight.
6. Teach them blah blah writing as a way to overcome writer’s block.
7. Avoid marking or commenting negatively on their Freewriting pieces.
8. Use intriguing prompts to help students think creatively.

Elbow has further described Freewriting as first order writing which is “intuitive and creative and does not strive for conscious direction or control”. When we write fast without censoring, we often are led to new connections and new insights that we have not foreseen.

In schools, we are often focused on accuracy and grammaticality in writing. Perhaps it’s time we gave these a rest and focus on what students have to say. Freewriting helps students develop a writing voice. I have no doubt that young writers can be more creative and thoughtful writers if they learn that they too can have something meaningful to say and in their own voices.