at Florida State University

I’ve used this as an invention exercise with the literacy history paper and the significant personal experience, but it could work for many others.

Students open a word document and turn off the monitors. I tell them to write for five minutes about (for the literacy narrative) their first memories of reading—whether that means reading by themselves or reading with someone. What book was it? Where were they? Inside? Outside? What was the weather like or the decor of the room? Who were they with? I ask them several questions like this to keep them writing, telling them to just type without stopping and not worry about correct grammar or punctuation or going back to fix mistakes, since they can’t see what they’re writing. This keeps their mind visualizing the scene they are trying to recall, not focused on what they’re typing.

Because students can usually type faster than they can write, they are able to generate more material and the twist of not being able to see what they’re writing lets them get into a memory-zone prime for creating.