It’s a few years since I brought out my eBook, Write Out Loud, on freewriting, and people ask me if I still write that way? Am I still freewriting? Hmmmm, do ducks still swim?
Of course I am. I don’t know how to write any other way.
The thing is, when you start a writing project you have to begin somewhere and freewriting is a great way to find that somewhere. The first word has to go down, followed by the second to make up the sentence. You may have a rough idea of what you want to say in the body of the piece, or you may have no idea where you’re going when you first start, but where ever it is, a start must be made. Getting those first words is even more pressing when you’re on a deadline.
If I’m writing nonfiction, I might start with research and let that suggest a few angles. For instance, I was recently asked to write a short piece on home insurance. What do I know about home insurance? Being ‘between homes’ I don’t even have insurance at the moment.
But this was a general interest piece for an estate agency (real estate) website. I didn’t have to consult experts, mention particular brands or focus on any one aspect of the subject. I just had to write an SEO article around the general subject.
I started with research and went to one of my favourite hunting grounds, the BBC News website. At this point I had no idea what I was going to write. I only knew I had to write something. I’d said I’d do it. I had a deadline. Between now and then an article on the given subject had to come out of my keyboard.
When I’m writing nonfiction I need a starting place before freewriting can work its magic. Freewriting prompts are great for fiction, but I find not so great for nonfiction at the beginning. On the BBC website I found my starting place within minutes, and a few minutes later, having scanned a couple of articles on the subject, I had enough knowledge to fire up Scrivener and begin freewriting.
I don’t fret about structure at this stage. I have a little corner of my mind on the clock – I’m on deadline remember – and if this writing is going to be profitable to me I can’t afford to tinker and angst over word choice. I trust my freewriting muse to deliver to goods, and with my general subject in mind I just start writing.
And from that point on I let it go where it wants. All the time I’m subconsciously giving it a little direction because the research I’ve just done is fresh in my mind. My muse has plenty of fodder to draw on.
One paragraph in and I’m rolling. A structure of sorts begins to suggest itself and I let it run. What I don’t do is make alternative suggestions to my muse, or worry about whether it’s be the best structure. It’s a structure. That’s all I need. Let it grow and see what happens.
What happens is this. The more I trust my freewriting muse the more it delivers to me. Words are there when I need them. Sometimes the best words don’t pop up until the last minute, and that’s okay too. It’s the popping up that counts, not the moment when they do so.
Having been given a great ending line, right at the point when I hit my given wordcount, I stop writing. Close Scrivener. Shut the laptop. Go and have coffee.
My first draft of the article is in the bag and what I need now is a little distance from it. When I come back, which might be an hour or so later, or given the lead time it might even be a day or so later, I read it with a fresh eye. 9 times out of 10 I’m happy with what I got and don’t need to do more than tighten, correct typos, check for SEO (which Scrivener is great for – see here) and alter accordingly.
For the article in question, my great line at the end was actually a lousy place to end. It was too sudden, had no element of conclusion and left the reader hanging. Not good.
I sort of knew this as I was writing, but because I was freewriting, and this is what you do when you’re freewriting, it had to go down. Always remember, freewriting is first draft stuff. A fast way of getting the ideas down and controlling the internal editor.
When I went back after my break, I realised my rotten ending made a perfect beginning.
It was a couple of minutes work to shift that ending up to the start and rejig the transitions so it read smoothly. A little editing in the body reduced my word count, and having done that tidying up I was more able to see the finished structure and add an ending that rounded off and provided a proper conclusion.
I could have sat for a couple of hours at the start, fighting with myself to find the perfect beginning. I could have refused to start until I had the structure planned out and the ending firmly in mind.
From experience I know this way of writing doesn’t work for me.
I found my perfect beginning only after I’d almost finished. What became the opening sentence of my article was actually the last one I wrote.
In freewriting this happens time and time again. It’s a process you have to learn to trust, and you can only learn to trust it if you try it out for yourself.
I’m not saying freewriting like this works for everyone. We all do things a little differently from each other. But it works often enough, for enough people, that if you haven’t tried it yet, you maybe should.
