Prewritting: Freewriting

Prewriting is a multifaceted process, involving ideas, organization, research, rationalization, and outlining. It also depends on the type of person fromHardcore Outlining, to Pure Pantsing, and everything in between, there’s a tool often overlooked in the prewriting toolbox: “freewriting.” Contrary to any misconceptions, it’s precisely what it sounds like. Let me break it down for you.

Hey there, Neophyte. I know I locked you in what used to be my room, now a broom closet, but we’ll address that later. Today, the spotlight is on Freewriting, the misunderstood child of prewriting tools. Please stop squirming; you’re hurting yourself and derailing our lesson.

Now, Freewriting boils down to “writing whatever the hell comes out of your noggin by letting it flow over the whole damn page.” In simpler terms, it’s just writing. No prearranged plan, no master guide, no ten-thousand-word homemade wiki to meticulously track the continuity of a character’s hair length. It’s just you and your thoughts pouring onto the page.

Admittedly, this might not be the most readable or functional approach initially. However, it serves a purpose. Let me drop a truth bomb, Neophyte. We writers are a perfectionist bunch – I hope that’s abundantly clear by now. Many of us can spend countless hours obsessing over the same scene until it reaches perfection. Even worse, we might find ourselves stuck in the “until I am ready to write” phase and never actually sit down to write. Freewriting is a tool designed to counteract precisely that.

Here is freedom in its purest, undiluted form. Stuck at the beginning of a medieval kingdom hero story? Make him the angered owner of a pastry shop and see where it takes you. Eager to write about dragons? How about dragon herders instead? But, rather than a tale of world domination, explore the world through the eyes of a young herder from a minor clan, witnessing the feats of other dragon herders, traveling distant lands to see what his kin are up to and to explore all the different kinds of dragons. When you’re unsure what to write, sometimes the solution, Neophyte, is to write the very first thing that pops into your mind. After all, you only achieve by doing, not by thinking.

This approach isn’t limited to the start of a story. Let’s say you’re in the midst of a heavy drama or political intrigue, nations hanging in the balance, tension at its peak, yet you find yourself stuck in the middle. Anxiety and stress mount as the clock ticks, indifferent to your feelings. What do you do? Among various options, one is to gather your characters and write about them going on an extended vacation.

Yes, Neophyte, I see you can still laugh, but I’m not joking. The best way to know your characters is to write them into various situations. Thanks to computers and text applications, you can embark on five or ten-thousand-word tangents of your characters on vacation. See how they click and what makes them tick. You may only lose some time, and let’s be honest, that time is better spent than staring into the void of a blank page. Sometimes you may inadvertently fall into it, writing hundreds or thousands of words only to realize it has nothing to do with your story. At that point, you can despair, or you can decide what to do with it. One option is to delete all that work, while the other is to assess its quality and keep it. I have a file named the “cutting floor” where I keep such things for later. Do I know if they’ll be useful eventually? No, but they are there.

So, to recap, freewriting is the act of just letting your thoughts flow onto the page. In the prewriting phase, it can help you get started—maybe you have an idea but don’t know how to shape it, and freewriting can guide you. It can also assist you as you work, whether placing characters in other stories and situations to understand them better or keeping scenes on file for later. In the realm of writing, Neophyte, there are no hard and fast rules. You’ll need to discover your limits and strengths yourself.

Don’t be afraid—afraid is for thinking and rethinking, and this is about doing. Freewriting is the epitome of “you have to do the work.” With no strings attached and no expectations, you can just dive in with no worries and a clear head. Unlike your publishing work, which comes with a freight train of fears and worries, here, you’re free.

At its core, Neophyte, it’s about doing and, through doing, learning. So go ahead, write anything—since there are few rules, there is freedom here. And I’m sorry, but you’re still going to have to write in that room… I mean, in that broom closet.

You still haven’t given me the name of the Corpo.

Until next time.