A FreeWriters Call to Play

Yall Miss Me?

Hello? Operator? It's me, Crystal. I need you to get me the president on the phone. No not the old orange, the new guy. I need to tell him all about my latest discovery. It's going to change the world. This was one of the many inner monologues I had with myself after shedding the writer's block that plagued me for the last four years.

Like the election of 2016, the election of 2020 paralyzed me with uncertainty and left me

unable to properly function. Writing was the farthest thing from my mind as the world waited with baited breath for those official results. Once the dust settled, a beautiful idea laid there for me to take home and grow to fruition. How did I get there? I didn't even write the week before. How could I magically have a new idea for a story? The secret? I'll tell ya: Word Vomit.

The Messy, Beautiful Explanation of Word Vomit

Word Vomit is what scholars and businessmen like to refer to as "freewriting towards a first draft", however, it is not simply that. A first draft may have misspellings and grammar mistakes up the buns, but how many times do we censor our thoughts once we sit down to write? How many times have we hit the backspace because we didn't like how that one sentence started. So we restart, jotting down the next thing that we think sounds clever only to hit the backspace again. It's a vicious cycle of judgment and is the total opposite of what Word Vomit is.

Word Vomit is the expression of free thought on the page without judgments, redos, or proper grammar. It takes what's in your mind and spirit in the present moment and hurls it with a loud splat on the page.

Don't Panic, This isn't Journaling

We have all heard at one point in our lives to keep a journal and write about one thing or another. Do it before you go to bed. Do it when you wake up. So we go out and buy a journal with all the good intentions of doing just that. If we are super motivated we might get the perfect journal and do it for a week. If we're lazy, we get a notepad from Dollar Tree and probably stuff it in a drawer somewhere. I have been writing for the last ten years and have found the traditional sense of a journal to be for a select few people that have the bravery to write about themselves every day. I am not one of those people. Hence the word vomit.

Now you can go out and get the perfect journal for all your word vomiting needs, but it doesn't have to be that formal. It doesn't even have to be organized. Hell, take a napkin from the glove compartment of the car and write out whatever you have to say. Want to curse out a parent but don't want the belt? Write that sucker out in Word Vomit Format and rip it up afterward. Need to write a paper for work and can't get the words right? You better go and word vomit your little heart out.

Is Word Vomit Even A Thing?

According to Wikipedia, "Freewriting has traditionally been seen as a prewriting technique in academic environments, in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without worrying about rhetorical concerns or conventions and mechanics, some

times working from a specific prompt provided by a teacher."

Masterclass describes it in one of their articles as "the practice of writing without a prescribed structure, which means no outlines, cards, notes, or editorial oversight. In freewriting, the writer follows the impulses of their own mind, allowing thoughts and inspiration to appear to them without premeditation." Crystal Word Vomit defines it as the ultimate form of expression.

Okay, So How Do I Do It?

I have had the privilege of leading a group of middle school kids in a creative writing workshop. They had no interest in writing when we first began the month. One girl refused to write and only drew on the pages I handed her. They talked and rolled their eyes, but by the end of the month, they had written at least one thing they were proud of. Anyone that has worked or talked with a middle schooler knows they are the most expressive, honest, badest children on the planet. Their emotions are crossed between being an adult and holding onto childhood and being cool is the number one priority. And it is for all these reasons that I love them the most. It was in middle school that I found my love to run fast and free with words, and it is been hell trying to reach that level of play. As an adult, we are more internal than we should be. So here is the question I have for you: Are you ready to Word Vomit?

Whip out your phone (if you're not already on it right now reading this) and open your notes. Pick a clean one, not some old grocery list from 2010. Title it Word Vomit 1 and one word or phrase that comes to your mind. Don't think about it, just write it. Now let's say, for example, that the first thing that came to your mind might be "pudding". So your notes should look a little something like this:

Word Vomit 1-Pudding

I'm not sure why I'm writing about pudding. I dont even like pudding. Wel not chocolate at least. I couldn't even tell you the last time that I had pudding, never mind the last time I bout it. I dont think I've bought pudding since I was in college struggling on lemon chicken as the only thing I knew how to make. Oh how the long day of yonder have gone on. Yonder? What are we English? or old? or racist? Would calling yonder an old English word even be considered rasist. you can never be too careful about that. being rasist. especially being puerto rican. You can just never tell in this world anymore.

Word Vomit is meant to be messy and nonsensical. It is meant to get you out of your mind and into your heart. Even if what you write makes no sense and you maybe go off the rails from your topic, celebrate. You did it. You gave it your best shot. There's no grade or a gold star or even a promotion attached to the triumph. Word Vomit is just that, a freewriting frenzy. Enjoy it. Live in the moment. And see how you feel once you're done. You might just want to phone the president too.

Today's article was inspired by the word vomit from our original site, which you can read in all its glory right here. As long as the world doesn't fall to shambles, I will be back here next week with more ideas for creative play and embracing the messy, beautiful world we live in.

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