Free-write

A loosening-up creative exercise is to get comfortable somewhere beyond reach of a cell phone or other interruptions, and write nonstop, never lifting pen from paper for half an hour — a surprisingly tiring length of time. No censoring of thoughts. No rewriting or polishing. Just freely associating all over the page. When the time is up, put the writing away untouched. After a couple of days, reread it. Much will seem aimless and dull. However, wherever parts catch attention, mark them off. Later, recopy these sections and see if they might not be a single poem or a poem sequence in the rough. Edit to remove what is repetitive and too general or abstract, but keeping whatever original detail evokes the texture of experience, all the while staying open to new dimensions that may appear.