Word vomiting, also known as free-writing, is the easiest thing to do once you get started. For some people, it's ridiculously easy from the get-go and they just can't see why anyone can possibly have any difficulty with it. For anyone out there like me on the other side of the spectrum, it may take some time and a few sessions of just sitting there doing nothing but watching the clock until you really get the hang of it. The key to success is just continuing to give yourself that time to try and do it. Eventually, you will be pro and ideas and words will be flowing. Always keep in mind that it will be worth it for the sake of your writing.
The first time I used this technique was actually in a high school class. The teacher gave us all a half an hour to sit down and stare blankly at our composition books with the occasional furtive glance at our neighbors, tapping our pencils and waiting for her to tell us our time was up. No, this is not what she intended for us to actually do but, unfortunately, that's pretty much how things happened. Little did we realize that once our time was up we were going to actually have to share what we wrote. A couple of people actually had some great things to share, while others hunched down and tried to hide in their little desks.
Only time and practice really got me to the point where I could sit down and write my heart out. This teacher had us practice this exercise every day that semester. The first few times, I just didn't get it. I wanted to yell "just tell me what to write about!" I didn't understand why some people were able to just write non stop until the time was up. All I managed to do was sit there with nothing to inspire me and full of frustration as I wrote down a couple of words and incomplete sentences.
Then it hit me. I could write about this frustration I felt and let out all those thoughts I couldn't yell across the room on paper. Starting there, the writing never stopped. No, it wasn't all about my...