stage: pre-writing
Today I want to impress you with the power of free writing to generate compelling ideas.
I find that doing a lot of free writing and imagining, before sitting down to write a story, is the key to not suffering from writer’s block. When we finally write our plot outline, I hope that the words race forth easily. If you already have a story in mind, please take some time to be open-minded and let new ideas percolate. Nurture outrageous possibilities and don’t throw anything away. If you don’t have a story in mind, don’t force it. Let your mind wander as you free write each day.
I free write for at least ten minutes every day.
I think you should too. I keep all of my free writing in specific notebooks that I can later flip through when I am looking for fresh ideas. After each free writing session, I take a highlighter pen and highlight anything that jumps out so that I do not have to read the entire paragraph again. In a typical session I might write 2-3 paragraphs but only generate one key idea that I highlight.
Here are several prompts to get you started. Choose only one per day, put pen to paper and DO NOT STOP. Set a timer, repeat the same words if necessary, but DO NOT STOP writing.
- Alone in a forest
- A childhood memory at the beach
- Running from danger
- A game in the clouds
- A difficult friend
- A moment of clarity
- Someone who made me feel good about myself
- A cold walk home
I continue to free write even when I have already written a premise and a plot outline. Sometimes I do not use a prompt; I just start writing and let it surge forth. The more you practice this simple creative activity, the easier it gets.
Other times I start with the name of a character, a setting, or some other element of a story I am working on, and I simply free associate to start imagining a possible back story to my character. The important thing about free writing is to remain open-minded and do not discard anything.
Brainstorming clouds are a visual way to free write that allows you to follow your ideas with the least possible encumbrances… you don’t even need verbs! Practice by placing a theme or phrase in the middle of a blank piece of paper. Allow yourself to freely associate and add to the word cloud.
Below is a visual brainstorming cloud that I created in nine minutes by free associating on the theme “against all odds”. You’ll notice that this is not just one story, it is a web of ideas that explores the theme and possible story ideas:
Try to aim towards concrete images rather than abstract ideas; lively visual images will inspire you to truly imagine the character. BTW, if you already have a story idea, feel free to swap my suggested theme with a theme relevant to your story idea.
As you begin to home in on a story idea, create different brainstorming clouds about the elements of the story that pique your interest. Have you begun to define the problem that your protagonist will face? Write that problem in the center and brainstorm for 10 minutes. Is there a unique characteristic that makes you interested in your character? Brainstorm it to dig deeper.
As your ideas begin to form, take time to imagine the “story world” in which your characters live. Writers of fantasy talk about creating story worlds because they are imagining distinct cultures, magical realities and completely different social systems. I think it is useful for us all to consider our story worlds so that we do not simply place our characters in a blandly imagined default reality. Is the character living in an urban space? Where, exactly? What is the community like? We can create more realistic fiction if we fully imagine our story world now.
Homework: schedule 10 minutes to free write or create a visual brainstorming web. Do it every day!