Ever wondered what they teach at professional content writing courses....read on! Many writers start out with an idea of what kind of thing they want to write and then never stray from that area of writing. That’s a shame, because thinking of yourself as just a novelist, or a poet, or a memoirist, or a non-fiction writer means you don’t get to explore the full range of your writer self.
Free range writing means going off your normal writing tracks and experimenting with new ways of expressing yourself through short forays into different areas of writing.
This is a great boost for your creative spirit because creativity is about breaking new ground, trying new things or doing familiar things in new ways. It also gives you new skills and material to bring back to your chosen area of writing.
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For example, if you normally write fiction, writing non-fiction and memoir can make you aware of the wealth of knowledge and experience you have that you can bring to your themes and settings; writing poetry can help you develop a richer and more lyrical voice, and tap into the emotion of a scene or character.
If your normal area is poetry, writing non-fiction and memoir can help you develop narrative, character and conflict, and writing non-fiction can extend your range of themes and subjects.
If you’re a memoirist, writing fiction can help you distil a lifetime of experiences into a compelling story; writing poetry can boost your ability to express the emotional power of your story, and non-fiction can help you root it in its historical, geographical and cultural context.
If you normally write non-fiction, experience of writing fiction, poetry and memoir will increase your range of narrative voice, so that you can find the right one for each piece to help your readers engage with your subject.
As well as refreshing your creativity and enriching your writing skills, you might be surprised how pleasurable writing in a different genre can be, and decide to develop it further. For example, a short story writer who came to my workshops discovered she was really good at writing memoir, and went on to place several nostalgia pieces in magazines.
Someone else, who came because she was stuck on her novel, found she enjoyed writing non-fiction, and she’s since had several articles in travel magazines.
A third person came on a memoir course because she wanted to write an autobiography, but found she loved writing poems, although that was something she’d never even thought of trying before. Having felt daunted by the task of writing a full-length narrative of her life, she began to play with the idea of writing her story in a collection of poems.
There’s no reason why anyone should stick to one writing identity, and freerange writing will help you break out and think of yourself as a writer, rather than just a novelist or a poet, a nonfiction author or a memoirist.
Personal writing is wonderfully freeing, because nobody else is going to read it. That means you can experiment and play. You can simply immerse yourself in the pleasure of writing, and feel the flow. This isn’t a sidestep from writing; it’s an essential part of the process.
On Becoming a Writer, a writer has to be two people both critic and creator, adult and playful child. The first stage of every creative work is achieved by the child and it’s essential to keep the critic out of the way. We have enormous difficulty with this in our culture, because we learn from an early age to think critically, in order to pass tests.
A personal writing practice is a great way of nurturing your inner child. Because no one is judging, you can come to free-range writing like a child happily playing with toys. Play with ideas, enjoy yourself, and don’t be afraid to fail. You cannot fail.
Here’s how to make it even better. Buy the most gorgeous notebook you can find, or if you’re strapped for cash get a plain one and make it gorgeous. Cover it with gift-wrap, or torn-out pictures from magazines of objects, words, places and faces that attract you. There’s something deliciously subversive in filling a gorgeous notebook with a joyful mess of ideas and, on a serious note, it’s the perfect way of valuing the playful and creative first stage of your writing.
Most of the writing tasks in my books and workshops for writers are timed, because that forces you to get stuck straight in and not over-think. It makes you keep going, and write instinctively. Many people are surprised how much they can write, within this discipline, and also how complete the pieces they produce can be.
My publications include fiction and non-fiction, memoir and poetry, and so do my workshops. I love to mix it up and see how people who may be reticent about engaging with unfamiliar kinds of writing ‘I can’t write poetry’, ‘I don’t want to write non-fiction’, often find it’s exhilarating to go off their normal writing tracks with a bit of freerange writing.
Free-range writing doesn’t only expand your idea of yourself as a writer, taking you into areas you may not have realised you could go in. Exploring your knowledge and experience, your fantasy life and emotions through writing also enriches your appreciation of all these different areas of your life.
Choose three and write about each of them for five minutes. Don’t plan or ponder; just get stuck in and keep going until the time is up. Writing in this way is sometimes called ‘stream of consciousness’. Because you aren’t limiting your ideas with a conscious plan, it always has the capacity to surprise you.
TIP: Stream of consciousness writing is a brilliant preparation for any kind of writing. Try it with your main characters in fiction, five minutes on each. Or with the topic you’re writing about in non-fiction, or as a warm-up for a poem. Just write. Five minutes. See what comes.
Examine it more closely and write a description, using all your senses. Two minutes. Ask your object: What do you want? Write for two minutes as the object, in the first person, beginning ‘I want…’ Ask it, ‘What do you fear?’ Write for two minutes as the object, in the first person, beginning ‘I fear…’ That’s the preparation.
For your poem, write in the first person, as the object, describing the experience of being observed by the poet, that is to say, by you.
What does the poet look like? How does it feel to be so closely scrutinised? How does it feel when their attention moves on? Don’t stick to a rigid form or rhyming structure, because keeping it free will help you find the voice and personality of your object. Give your poem a title. Take about twenty minutes.
TIP: Poems are little pieces of writing, made up of little pieces, so they are easy to play around with. Enjoy!
TIP: Fiction plots always work on two levels, the action and the psychological journey of the protagonist. Either way in will lead you to finding the plot.
If you run out of ideas again, make up your own topic and see how far you can get with that.
TIP: Try this exercise as your protagonist, if you normally write fiction. Find out how they feel about the benefits and drawbacks of different aspects of their current situation.
Free range writing means going off your normal writing tracks and experimenting with new ways of expressing yourself through short forays into different areas of writing.
This is a great boost for your creative spirit because creativity is about breaking new ground, trying new things or doing familiar things in new ways. It also gives you new skills and material to bring back to your chosen area of writing.
For example, if you normally write fiction, writing non-fiction and memoir can make you aware of the wealth of knowledge and experience you have that you can bring to your themes and settings; writing poetry can help you develop a richer and more lyrical voice, and tap into the emotion of a scene or character.
If your normal area is poetry, writing non-fiction and memoir can help you develop narrative, character and conflict, and writing non-fiction can extend your range of themes and subjects.
If you’re a memoirist, writing fiction can help you distil a lifetime of experiences into a compelling story; writing poetry can boost your ability to express the emotional power of your story, and non-fiction can help you root it in its historical, geographical and cultural context.
If you normally write non-fiction, experience of writing fiction, poetry and memoir will increase your range of narrative voice, so that you can find the right one for each piece to help your readers engage with your subject.
As well as refreshing your creativity and enriching your writing skills, you might be surprised how pleasurable writing in a different genre can be, and decide to develop it further. For example, a short story writer who came to my workshops discovered she was really good at writing memoir, and went on to place several nostalgia pieces in magazines.
Someone else, who came because she was stuck on her novel, found she enjoyed writing non-fiction, and she’s since had several articles in travel magazines.
A third person came on a memoir course because she wanted to write an autobiography, but found she loved writing poems, although that was something she’d never even thought of trying before. Having felt daunted by the task of writing a full-length narrative of her life, she began to play with the idea of writing her story in a collection of poems.
There’s no reason why anyone should stick to one writing identity, and freerange writing will help you break out and think of yourself as a writer, rather than just a novelist or a poet, a nonfiction author or a memoirist.
Content writing courses: How can you get started?
First steps in free-range writing In the first instance, free-range writing is a personal writing practice, like keeping a diary, notebook or ideas journal. If you don’t already have some kind of personal practice it can be easy to underestimate the benefits and pass it off as a waste of time when you could be doing ‘proper’ writing.Personal writing is wonderfully freeing, because nobody else is going to read it. That means you can experiment and play. You can simply immerse yourself in the pleasure of writing, and feel the flow. This isn’t a sidestep from writing; it’s an essential part of the process.
On Becoming a Writer, a writer has to be two people both critic and creator, adult and playful child. The first stage of every creative work is achieved by the child and it’s essential to keep the critic out of the way. We have enormous difficulty with this in our culture, because we learn from an early age to think critically, in order to pass tests.
A personal writing practice is a great way of nurturing your inner child. Because no one is judging, you can come to free-range writing like a child happily playing with toys. Play with ideas, enjoy yourself, and don’t be afraid to fail. You cannot fail.
Content writing courses: Your free-range writing journal
It stands to reason that if you manage to be truly free in your free-range writing, your journal is going to be messy. There will be crossings out, arrows, notes in margins and probably even extra bits stuck in. This is good; this is beautiful! It means you’re capturing that lovely first draft feeling.Here’s how to make it even better. Buy the most gorgeous notebook you can find, or if you’re strapped for cash get a plain one and make it gorgeous. Cover it with gift-wrap, or torn-out pictures from magazines of objects, words, places and faces that attract you. There’s something deliciously subversive in filling a gorgeous notebook with a joyful mess of ideas and, on a serious note, it’s the perfect way of valuing the playful and creative first stage of your writing.
Content writing courses: Why not try it right now?
The playful child is spontaneous. I know you didn’t plan to take an hour out of your day today to do some freerange writing but, if you have the time, why not give it a go? You might not have a writing journal or diary, but any scraps of paper will do. If you enjoy it and decide to do some more, you can always stick them into your gorgeous new writing journal when you get it. In fact, what better way to begin? There is only one rule, but it’s important: Stick to the timings.Most of the writing tasks in my books and workshops for writers are timed, because that forces you to get stuck straight in and not over-think. It makes you keep going, and write instinctively. Many people are surprised how much they can write, within this discipline, and also how complete the pieces they produce can be.
On being a free-range writer
I’ve always been a free-range writer. It seems natural to me that as every person has such a wealth of knowledge, experience, imagination and emotion then every writer will want to express the richness of their life in a wealth of different ways.My publications include fiction and non-fiction, memoir and poetry, and so do my workshops. I love to mix it up and see how people who may be reticent about engaging with unfamiliar kinds of writing ‘I can’t write poetry’, ‘I don’t want to write non-fiction’, often find it’s exhilarating to go off their normal writing tracks with a bit of freerange writing.
Free-range writing doesn’t only expand your idea of yourself as a writer, taking you into areas you may not have realised you could go in. Exploring your knowledge and experience, your fantasy life and emotions through writing also enriches your appreciation of all these different areas of your life.
Try the following:
Memoir: Your childhood places
Go through this list and jot down the first place that comes into your head for each one. They may come from different times in your childhood.- Grandmother’s/grandfather’s kitchen.
- Friend’s house
- Classroom
- Garden
- Playground
- Where you ate
- Where you played
Choose three and write about each of them for five minutes. Don’t plan or ponder; just get stuck in and keep going until the time is up. Writing in this way is sometimes called ‘stream of consciousness’. Because you aren’t limiting your ideas with a conscious plan, it always has the capacity to surprise you.
TIP: Stream of consciousness writing is a brilliant preparation for any kind of writing. Try it with your main characters in fiction, five minutes on each. Or with the topic you’re writing about in non-fiction, or as a warm-up for a poem. Just write. Five minutes. See what comes.
Poetry: The poet
Wherever you happen to be sitting, choose an object you can see around you an ornament, perhaps, a book, a fallen leaf. Write three words to describe it, the first ones that come into your head.Examine it more closely and write a description, using all your senses. Two minutes. Ask your object: What do you want? Write for two minutes as the object, in the first person, beginning ‘I want…’ Ask it, ‘What do you fear?’ Write for two minutes as the object, in the first person, beginning ‘I fear…’ That’s the preparation.
For your poem, write in the first person, as the object, describing the experience of being observed by the poet, that is to say, by you.
What does the poet look like? How does it feel to be so closely scrutinised? How does it feel when their attention moves on? Don’t stick to a rigid form or rhyming structure, because keeping it free will help you find the voice and personality of your object. Give your poem a title. Take about twenty minutes.
TIP: Poems are little pieces of writing, made up of little pieces, so they are easy to play around with. Enjoy!
Fiction: Moody
Write a list of bad moods for example, sulky, angry, anxious. Jot down as many as you can think of. Choose one. Picture a person who is in that mood. Why? Something happens that breaks the mood. What? Write the story. Take twenty minutes.TIP: Fiction plots always work on two levels, the action and the psychological journey of the protagonist. Either way in will lead you to finding the plot.
Non-fiction: Benefits and drawbacks
This task is about the benefits and drawbacks of being your current age. Start straight in and keep going until you can’t think of any more benefits and drawbacks. Begin with ‘The good thing about being (your current age) is…’ Start the next sentence, ‘But the bad thing about being (your current age) is…’ Reduce the prompts for the second two things, to ‘The good thing/ The bad thing’, and again for all the subsequent ones, to just ‘Good/Bad.’ Keep going for twenty minutes. If you run out of ideas before the time is up, repeat the exercise with a different topic: the benefits and drawbacks of living in the place you live.If you run out of ideas again, make up your own topic and see how far you can get with that.
TIP: Try this exercise as your protagonist, if you normally write fiction. Find out how they feel about the benefits and drawbacks of different aspects of their current situation.
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