Use freewriting to pump your verbal muscles

Writing isn’t a talent—it’s a skill. You can get better at it through practice. If you want awesome verbal pectoral muscles:

If you want to get better, you could write a novel, or a textbook. But there’s a much easier way: Freewriting

Freewriting is like a verbal sprint. You write a lot, really fast, and you’re done. It’s a great exercise that:

• Gets you to stop self-editing;
• Packs about an hour of writing ‘thinking’ into 60 seconds;
• Helps you get faster, and more fluid, as a writer.
• Is actually fun, once you get used to it.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Set aside 5 minutes, preferably when you first get to work.
2. Open a blank document on your computer. Use whatever word processor you like, or just a text editor. OR (gasp) get a pen and a piece of paper.
3. Get a timer. On your phone, or an egg timer, or whatever. Nothing fancy.
4. Do not clear your head. You’ll need all the stuff in there.
5. Start the timer…
6. GO. Write. Don’t worry about what you’re writing. Write whatever pops into your head, even if it’s “I can’t think of what to write”.
7. Write for 60 seconds straight.
8. Stop when the timer stops.
9. Save what you wrote.
10. Read it later that day, or the next day. Is there a cool idea in there? Something you want to work with? Great! If not, great anyway!

Freewrite every day. It literally takes 1-2 minutes. Sometimes, you’ll even get a really funny result you stick on Reddit.