Generating Writing Ideas Through Free Writing

Lesson Plan 4

Developing an Idea for Writing through Free Writing

Prewriting encompasses all the activities and strategies that prepare an author to write. The prewriting stage of the writing process is the time when authors find and focus topics, generate and develop ideas, and decide on the best method to express their ideas to readers. Prewriting is an essential part of the writing process.

Authors don’t rely on just one form of prewriting. Authors use more than one prewriting strategy or a combination of strategies. You should always use a prewriting strategy that is most helpful to you as a writer. Any type of prewriting technique will engage your mind with the topic; it will fire up your imagination and creativity. Prewriting provides the foundation for the writing that is to come.

Free writing is a prewriting activity in which the author writes freely to discover and explore ideas. For many writers, topics become apparent only after they have started writing. The surprises in their writing become their ideas. Once the author realizes what the idea is, he can begin organizing and expanding them.

The goal or purpose of free writing is to find as many ideas as possible. In free writing, the focus is on ideas and not form. When you free write, you write as much as you can in the given time. Do not worry about grammar, usage, or mechanics.

A variation on free writing is called “looping.” Here is how looping works. Free write for a shorter amount of time, perhaps for fifteen minutes. Then, read through your freewriting and circle any ideas in your free writing. After wards, free write for the next fifteen minutes on the circled idea.

Essential Rules for Free Writing

·         Give yourself a time limit—five, ten, fifteen, or more minutes. Timers work great for this activity.

·         Keep your hand moving until the time is up. Do not pause to stare into space. Or read what you have written. Write quickly, but not in a hurry.

·         Pay no attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation, neatness, or style. Nobody else needs to read this but you. The correctness and quality do not matter; the act of writing is what matters.

·         If you get off topic, keep writing. If necessary, write nonsense or repeat ideas.

·         If you feel bored or uncomfortable, write about your boredom or what makes you uncomfortable.

·         When your time is up, look over what you have written, and mark phrases or passages that contain ideas that you can elaborate.

Freewriting Example (by me!)

Right now I’m having trouble. I can’t think of anything to write about. I don’t have any ideas. When I look around the room, I see everybody writing and I feel bad. Everyone has ideas except for me. Maybe I will have an idea later. Maybe I won’t have an idea later. This is kind of scary. Writing is scary because I’m not good at it. Actually, I’m scared of a lot of things. I’m scared that I will get choked and die. A few weeks ago, I was at the dentist. The dental assistant had only been working about two months. She put too much goo on my tooth and it squished around the molding. It hardened on the roof of my mouth. When the dental assistant went to take it out, some went into my throat. I got choked and gagged. Then, I threw up all over the place. I threw up twice. It really scared me. I had to have two root canals that day. It was one of the worst days at the dentist.

Minilesson: Clustering

Clustering is also known as mapping or webbing. It is a form of word association that is an effective way to generate or elaborate on ideas. It is similar to brainstorming.

First, select a topic that you are interested in. Write that topic in the center of a piece of paper. Then, branch subtopics off of it. When you cluster, you should do so rapidly in a set amount fo time. The purpose of clustering is to generate as many ideas as possible.

Sometimes, you will uncover new ideas from one of those ideas. Marek any ideas that you find interesting. Remember, your job is to narrow your topic down to a focused idea.