Three freewriting exercises to get your ideas flowing

academics freewriting High School writing

The biggest hurdle to crafting a great piece of writing is just getting started. You might find yourself staring at the prompt for a writing assignment or college admissions essay, frustrated that you can’t just pick an idea and run with it. When you don’t know how else to begin, freewriting is a great way to get your ideas flowing and start putting words on the page. 

For some writers, however, plain old freewriting can feel a bit too broad and unstructured. Maybe you’ve tried freewriting as a brainstorming technique before, but all you ended up with was something like: “I don’t know what to write. I’m sitting at my computer, but I don’t know what to write. I’m hungry and I don’t know what to write…” and so on. If that’s all you’ve got, you might end up feeling even more stuck and frustrated than before. 

These three freewriting exercises provide just a little bit more structure for when you need to begin the writing process but truly don’t know where to start.  

Starting small: word association 

Sometimes the most helpful thing for your writing is to focus on the smallest, most granular detail. Starting with individual words can help you get a foothold as you begin the writing process. For this exercise, follow three steps to launch you into writing: 

  • Step one: reread the prompt and underline any keywords that stick out to you. 
  • Step two: set a timer for five minutes and write a list of words you associate with some of the underlined keywords you chose. Write as many words as you can in five minutes. 
  • Step three: set a timer for ten minutes and begin to write in complete sentences. Reflect on some of the words you wrote down in step two. What ideas do they bring to mind? What images do they put in your head? As you write, see if you can slowly make your way back to the big picture of the prompt. 

Starting from a problem: list of questions 

The key to good writing is to begin with a solid question. This exercise helps you brainstorm a whole list of questions that can serve as a launchpad for your writing. This method may be most helpful for argumentative essays, close reading papers, and research papers.  

  • Step one: reread the prompt and underline the central question or problem. 
  • Step two: set a timer for five minutes and write as many questions as you can about the assignment. These questions may be about the prompt itself, about the topic of the essay or paper, or about anything that confuses you. 
  • Step three: Out of the questions you've written, choose one that seems most interesting (don’t fuss too much, just pick the one that sticks out). Set a timer for ten minutes and begin to write in response to the question. You may end up answering the question, or you may just dance around it, but giving yourself space to address your fundamental questions can prime you for the next steps in the writing process. 

Starting from the end: identify your objective 

 When we don’t know what to write, it can be easy to lose focus of why we’re writing in the first place. This exercise helps you refocus your approach to writing by thinking about what you want your writing to achieve. 

  • Step one: set a timer for fifteen minutes and respond to the question: “What do I want this essay/paper/assignment to do for me?” Be totally honest with yourself. Even if the answer is “I want this paper to get me an A in History” or “I want this essay to get me into college,” that’s a solid place to start.  
  • Step two: after you’ve written what your primary writing objective is, start working backward. How might you work with this essay to do achieve that goal? What steps do you need to take to get there? What are some important ideas, skills, or pieces of knowledge you can use to achieve your aim? 

Conclusion 

The most important principle of freewriting is to keep your mind — and body — in motion. Whether you’re using a computer or a pen and paper, be sure to keep your hands moving for the duration of the timer you set. Even if you end up straying from the framework of the freewriting activity, any writing is good writing in the early stages. Because these freewriting exercises provide a framework to begin writing, they can be a great tool to start the writing process without the pressure of focusing on the prompt. 

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