We took several ideas from Writing Out Loud by Deborah Morgan (1997). Writing Out Loud is an approach to literacy development that uses free writing as the core to get people back into writing, learning, healing and living fuller lives. The mission statement from their website states that:
Our goal is to promote the use and value of writing in literacy programming. We believe that writing is a fun and effective way to increase literacy skills, feel part of the community and make healthy changes in our lives.
Here is one of our favourite, best used writing activities. You can find more at www.writenet.ca/ideas.htm.
This is one of our favourite warm-up exercises and it is a great way to introduce the idea of free writing to a group, especially a group who are reluctant to write.
Ask participants to write the alphabet down the left-hand margin of the paper. Then on the count of three and writing as quickly as they can, they write a word next to the letter. For example, “apple, bear, cucumber, dog...”
Encourage them to do this as quickly as they can and not to think about what they are writing.
After this is complete we talk about the process. What was going on for you? Was that fun? Was it difficult? Do you notice any themes? Like food, names of people, and so forth.
Then ask if anyone wants to read their list, or part of it. Folks are usually shy at the beginning, but once a couple of lists are read, the rest of group follows.
This is good “first” writing activity because it gets word on a page. It gets women thinking that this can be fun and they won’t be judged on what they write. It also gets us talking about the issue of how we edit ourselves before we even put words down on the page.
It is important for facilitators to also be writers and to actively participate in the writing activities. When we write along side women, we are sharing ourselves and the process.