This is a method often used to push through writer’s block. It frees you up and can feel quite liberating. It’s often called ‘free writing’.

Nobody will ever read it. You don’t even have to read it over yourself afterwards if you don’t want to. All you need is a sheet of paper, a pen, and a timer (you can use your phone). You can start with a 3 minute workout if you prefer and if it works for you, time yourself in 15 minute blocks.

The rules are: none of the usual writing rules apply. So forget writing in sentences, punctuation, spelling, grammar. Just write down whatever comes into your head. If you feel yourself getting stuck, write down flower names or fruit or animal names. As long as your pen keeps moving across the page, you’re getting it out and that’s the aim of the exercise.

If you want to, you can read it later yourself. You’d be surprised at what comes out. A word, a phrase, a thought may strike you.  If you do read it over you might like to highlight some words. It can be quite powerful to do this and might just end up as part of a poem.

We usually journal in the first person. Again, it’s up to you as to whether you want to free write or follow the rules of punctuation, spelling and grammar.

For this exercise, try some journal entries in the 3rd person.  This allows you to maintain a certain distance from what is, essentially your own story. It can be an interesting exercise.

Instead of e.g. “This morning when I woke the first thing I did was reach for my phone.”
This becomes “This morning when she/he woke the first thing she/he did was reach for her phone.”
Immediately it reads like a story about someone else, which again, can feel quite liberating.

The Way you…

There’s a writing exercise that gives you the beginning of a sentence, then you have to finish the sentence and this sentence then acts as the springboard into a story. You can adapt this to create your own poetry from your memories.

Finishing the memory: The way you…

Putting some memories together can lead to the basis for a poem. This might be an exercise you would like to try at home or with other members of the family.

Writing a letter to the person who you are missing.  What would you like to say to them? What would you like them to know?

This can feel very cathartic and can also help you not only to ‘get it out’ but also get it out in public. It’s possible to keep your blog private but you can choose to share it. Be prepared for comments and bear in mind that you may be taken by surprise to learn that someone you know (or a stranger) is aware of whatever it is you have chosen to blog about.

Can be very helpful and some people find it has a therapeutic value, feeling that by sharing their situation and how it makes them feel, obstacles they encounter and things they find helpful, it might help other people.
There are a number of different blogging platforms on the internet where you can start up a blog for free.