So you mean to tell me, that, with your artichoke story, for example, you literally just saw the prompt, "Artichoke," set your timer for five minutes, and knocked that story out about grandpa... You didn't sit and think about "Oh, let's see... grandpa dying.. calling grandkid artichoke.." what have you/ any "plot points," rough ideas, nothing? Not that I'm saying there's something "the matter" with doing that, or it's any less "free," just that, it would seem to produce a slightly different outcome, than, say, my "story" for example, which, isn't even a story--it's just a ... ya know, a "freewrite" lol more of a "stream of consciousness;" what ever comes to me over that five minutes without changing it (with a few minor editorial blips). That's my question :)
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Nope. I didn't think about it at all. I saw the prompt and thought, "WTF? How am I going to write about artichokes? I don't know anything about them and I'm not interested in writing about a freaking vegetable."
So no, I don't think ahead. I started the timer and my brain went, "Okie dokie, let's write this... OKIE DOKIE? haha... okie dokie artichokie! Sounds like something a grandpa would say" And then I started writing. I don't know why a grandpa appeared in the story. I never even knew any of my grandpas. I don't have a relationship with any grandparent types. I haven't had the experience of visiting someone in a nursing home or even being close to someone who was elderly. I just... write. I never know what the story is going to be until it's out. I write longer stuff the exact same way.
I know it sounds impossible for someone who's brain doesn't naturally do that, but it's just how my brain works. Like I said, I've done it live in front of an audience before (speaking, not typing). It's just a weird quirk of my brain.
**I DO go back and edit typos, but I don't change words, context or whatever. Just correct my dyslexic typing skills.
If I write for longer than 5 minutes, I add a disclaimer clarifying that.
I'm the same way lol I have many dyslexic type typos :) And I have a pretty bad habit of editing posts, not so much with the freewrites, but most other posts--which I have tried to curtail since learning that doing that can eat up one's bandwidth like crazy!
Guess my point is--I think we started form different positions to begin with--in other words, I am sure, if you wanted to, you could probably write a passage in a different style so to speak, right? Like... you could have approached the prompt of Artichoke from a, like you alluded to, more "factual" perspective (what is an artichoke, maybe listing attributes,) or.. maybe more of a poem about artichokes, right? So, in that sense, we must have some kind of predisposition to write in a certain way and there must be some kind of "intention" behind it, is what im getting at... To that point, I am going to "attempt" on my next prompt to use a more "literary," or "story-like" method. Which is, to me, different than a more "stream of consciousness" "freewriting" activity. Guess it just shows how differently one can interpret the "same" thing!! thanks again. And wish me luck on my "story" ;)
As @byn's husband I can assure you that her freewrites come out like magic. It's truly an amazing thing to watch happen. We've taken to calling it 'word vomit' when she gets on a roll :) It's a talent that I surely don't possess.
I think you're right though that a freewrite can take whatever form that you want. Poetry, prose, fiction or non. I've told her a couple of times that I should video the process some day because I don't think people would believe that she writes these things in five minutes with no forethought.
Oh I definitely believe it! Guess it all just depends on how you define "forethought" :) But I am going to experiment myself and see what happens lol. It's quite fascinating to me.