Blog 3: Freewriting by Rachel Sharer

     One of the ways I choose to be creative is through observing other people. I like to think of myself as a writer. I want to write books in the future because books are what I grew up on. I loved to read as a child, and now that I am kind of an adult, I still love to read. So, when I try to write books and need to come up with characters or plots, I take a look at those around me. I see people on social media and see what they have been through and take inspiration from that. I watch tv shows or movies and find specific plots that interest me and try to expand on those for my own series. I try to make up lives for strangers I see around me. The girl with the bleach blonde hair and the white and blue sneakers that just walked by? She is on her way to the gym where she is trying to get some abs. She is a fitness influencer and she is about to do a q'n'a on Instagram while she she does a small workout. That boy with the beanie on and the long sleeved band tshirt? He just came home last night from going to see a concert of one of his favorite bands. In his head, he is still there, in the night with loud music and brilliant people around him. In reality, he is on his way to his college algebra class at 10:00 A.M. I find that giving people little stories or taking from people's actual stories helps me be able to create characters and stories of my own. It is kind of like freewriting in a way. While you don't keep writing for a certain amount of time, you still stretch those creative muscles by coming up with random stories on the spot. I think it is somewhat easier for me than freewriting. Freewriting is meant to be non-stressful, but really, this kind of stresses me out. I do not like having spelling errors, so I am being very meticulous about what letters I am hitting. So far, I am doing well, but I am waiting for when I make a mistake and have to just leave it. I think that is somewhat against the rules, but it's okay! The timer just went off, so that is all I have for now!