By now, hopefully you will have spent some time free writing in order to open your creative mind. Free writing is probably the easiest and most effective tool in the battle against writer’s block. But what do you do if you need to write a specific piece and you’re stuck?
Say you need to write some ad copy for a product. You know the ad copy needs to make someone feel excited and energetic. This is where emotive free writing can help!
More advanced than straight free writing, emotive free writing involves putting yourself into an emotional state, in a similar way that many actors get into character.
To start with, close your eyes. Think of a time when you were excited and energetic (or whatever emotion you need to convey in your piece). Where were you? Who were you with? What were you wearing? What could you see, hear and smell?
Try to take yourself right back to that moment, and let yourself feel the emotion. Now, open your eyes and begin to write. Don’t let go of that emotion—hold onto it as much as possible while you’re writing. You want your words to come from the emotion and the physical effects of it when you write.
Another way you can bring on an emotion is through music. If you need to write a piece that will make people feel sad, put on some sad music and let yourself get caught up in it. Feel what the musician is trying to make you feel. Then write while you continue listening. (Hot Tip: Stereomood is a great site that lets you find music by searching for an emotion.)
The point of emotive free writing is to let your emotions guide your words. By using these techniques, you should end up with a more powerful piece of writing, all while banishing writer’s block to the far corners of the earth!