What if the way to finally finish a stalled piece of writing wasn't planning, but four hours of writing without stopping to think, edit or look back? In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores the developmental free-writing method created by Peter Elbow, the legendary writing teacher who died in 2025 and whose 1973 book Writing Without Teachers changed how we think about getting words on the page. Then she puts it to the test with Jenny Cooke, a railway engineer writing her first non-fiction book, who shuts herself in her writing shed and free writes her way through a stuck chapter, hour by hour. Can refusing to stop, edit, or think be the key to working out what you actually want to say?

Featuring

Peter Elbow (1935–2025): Peter was an American writing teacher and theorist, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in composition studies. His own struggles with writing, including difficulties at Williams College, Oxford, and an unfinished PhD at Harvard, shaped his thinking. He taught at MIT and later became Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Elbow wrote over 10 books, most notably Writing Without Teachers (1973), which introduced free writing and the teacherless writing class that shaped how writing groups and workshops work today. He died in 2025 aged 89.

Jenny Cooke: Jenny is a railway engineer who lives in the English Midlands and recently achieved Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She’s passionate about sustainability and training the next generation of engineers, and found there was a gap in the available literature - so since 2020 she’s been writing a textbook for railway professionals to help them deliver better projects that will help local communities and nature thrive.

For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.

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This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts.

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