Freewriting Tool

How to Use the Freewriting Tool

1. 1. Choose a goal. Write for a set number of minutes, to a word count, or with no limit. The clock starts on your first keystroke, not when the page loads.
2. 2. Choose how it looks. Show everything is a normal text box. Fade earlier lines dims the top of the box as the text scrolls. Hide my words makes the text invisible until you finish.
3. 3. Decide on keep me going. With it on, Backspace, Delete, undo, paste and editing earlier text are switched off, and the cursor stays at the end. You can turn it off at any time.
4. 4. Write. Do not stop to fix anything. If you stall for the number of seconds you chose, the box gets a highlighted border and a reminder to keep going.
5. 5. Keep or discard it. When time or words run out, the text is yours to edit. Copy it, download it as a .txt file, or clear it and begin again.

Where Freewriting Comes From

The practice is most closely associated with Peter Elbow, who set it out in Writing Without Teachers (Oxford University Press, 1973). His instruction is plain: write for ten minutes, and later fifteen or twenty, and never stop. Do not stop to look back, cross something out or wonder how to spell a word; if you cannot think what to say, write that, as many times as it takes, until something else comes.

Elbow's argument is that most writers edit as they go, and that the constant switching between producing words and judging them makes writing stiff and slow. Freewriting separates the two jobs: first you generate, with no judge in the room, then you revise. His case rests on writers' experience, not on controlled experiments, so treat it as a practical technique to try rather than a proven fix.

What the Settings Do

• Keep me going refuses deletions, undo and redo, pasted or dropped text, and typing over a selected passage. The cursor is held at the end so you can only add. It lifts when the session ends so you can edit.
• Fade earlier lines puts a soft mask over the top of the box. As the text scrolls up it dims, so your eye stays at the bottom where the writing is happening.
• Hide my words makes the text transparent. Many people find that not seeing the words removes the urge to reread and fix them. Everything appears when the session ends.
• The nudge is a reminder, never a penalty. Nothing is deleted if you stop.

After the Session

• Leave it alone for a while. An hour or a day is enough to read it like a stranger.
• Look for the live bits. Underline the one or two sentences that surprised you or said something you did not know you thought.
• Write again from one of them. This is often called focused freewriting: pick a line, then freewrite starting there.
• Revise on purpose. Now judge, cut and organise. Freewriting is a way of finding material, not of producing a final draft.

Your draft is saved in your browser's local storage on this device as you type, and nothing is uploaded. Clearing your browsing data deletes it, so copy or download anything you want to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is freewriting?

Writing continuously for a set time without stopping to edit, reread or fix spelling. Peter Elbow described it in Writing Without Teachers (1973) as a way to get words onto the page and to separate drafting from judging.

How long should I freewrite for?

Elbow suggested ten minutes to start, then fifteen or twenty as you get used to it. Five minutes is a fair trial run. A word goal, such as 250 or 500, works if you would rather measure by output than by the clock.

What do I do if I get stuck?

Keep your hands moving. Write the stuck feeling itself, such as “I don’t know what to write” or “this is boring”, or describe the room, and continue until a real thought arrives. The reminder appears if you pause for the time you set.

Does freewriting cure writer's block?

Many writers say it helps because it lowers the stakes: the text is not meant to be good. The evidence is mostly practitioners' and teachers' experience, not controlled studies, so try it for a week and judge for yourself.

Can I really not delete anything?

Not while keep me going is on and the session is running. The mode blocks Backspace, Delete, undo, paste and typing over a selection, and holds the cursor at the end. It is a nudge you choose: untick the box, or reload the page, and the draft is still there.

Is my writing saved or shared?

It is saved in your browser's local storage so a reload does not lose it, and nothing is sent anywhere. It will not appear on another device, and clearing site data erases it, so copy or download anything you care about.