SPEED,SPEED,SPEED

As an art director I find the idea of writing a credible yet creative piece of copy a fairly daunting task. Writing in a creative way can be hugely challenging and when the skill doesn’t come naturally to us we can be facing an even bigger task to overcome.

Yet fear not. Thanks to Deanna’s introduction / masterclass into speedwriting and the spoken word. She has provided us with a set of creative exercises to get the brain working and the words flowing.

Speedwriting allows us to compose pieces of text much faster than we are normally used to. Allowing ideas to flow naturally from your brain. I guess it’s a bit like when we are relaxed and our minds are allowed to wonder. Subsequently enabling us to make insightful connections and process creative solutions.

Exercise 1:

Set yourself a TIMER for example : 1 minute
Set yourself a certain amount of LINES that you are allowed to write for example : 5 lines Set yourself a TITLE (or it could be the title of a brief) for example : What makes you tick?

Then write 5 lines within 1 minute about what makes you tick. Don’t edit what your writing, just keep going and you will create some crazy stuff. By stopping to think will slow down your writing and interrupt your natural flow.

Exercise 2:
Set yourself a TIMER for example : 2 minutes.

Set yourself a TITLE (or it could be the title of a brief).

Then write as much as you can within the time frame that you have set yourself without stopping. You can repeat this task as many times as you like and then you will have a collection of words related to the title that you have set yourself. Even if what you write doesn’t make complete sense. Go through, review and make note of what stands out to you.

Here’s an example of what I came up with super quickly when Dea set us the title “IN AN EMERGENCY”. It might not be amazing, but I would have definitely not been able to come up with it, if I had just been sat there in front my computer screen.

In an emergency What do you do?

Do you run away
or would you pull through?

As time ticks by
you need to be wise.

It’s an emergency you see. You can’t waste time.

THINGS TO REMEMBER :

• Stopping to think will not only slow down your writing but will interrupt your natural flow.
• Don’t throw anything that you have written away. It may come in handy one day. So store it and

  keep it safe.

• Try and eliminate distractions so that you can focus solely on the task at hand.

On reflection of my first week at SCA. The simple lessons that we have been taught will heavily influence our creative processes. Not only throughout our time at SCA, but indefinitely for the rest of our creative journeys.