College Admission Essays: Gathering Ideas - Free Writing

Free-writing

Free-writing is the pen-and-paper or computer screen version of non-stop chatter. For a set period of time, you write everything that pops into your mind, hoping that something in the stream of ideas will turn out to be an idea you can use. Free-writing, like visual brainstorming (described earlier in this chapter), reaches deep into your mind by tricking the conscious, critical portion of your brain into nodding off for a few minutes. Free-writing also relies on strong finger muscles; guaranteed, halfway through your knuckles will cramp up. Here’s the technique in detail:

• Remove yourself from the hordes of friends or family members you usually hang with, if at all possible. If not, tell everyone to leave you alone for a while.
• If you wish, put some music on — not music you usually listen to, but something different. Or, work in silence.
• Set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes. If you don’t have a timer, put a clock where you can see it easily.
• Boot up the computer and start a new file. Or, take a pen or pencil and turn to a clean notebook page. Be sure that you’re comfortable physically.
• Concentrate for a few seconds on a memory or idea that you’ve been considering as a possible essay topic.  If nothing surfaces, no problem. Just sit quietly for a few moments thinking about nothing in particular.
• Now begin to type or write every thought that comes into your mind. Don’t stop even for a moment until time is up.

 Two nano-seconds after starting to free write, you’ll realize that your mind hurtles along at supersonic speed while your fingers resemble a car in a traffic jam. You simply can’t write as quickly as you can think. Don’t worry! Just write everything you can.

• As you free-write, don’t attempt to make complete sentences, spell words correctly, or punctuate your work. If those things happen naturally, fine. If not, just keep writing.
• During free-writing, the mind hops from topic to topic with no clear links. That’s good! Go with the flow, however illogical it appears at the time. The randomness is what makes this technique work.
• If you can’t think of anything to write, don’t stop writing. Just type or write, “I can’t think of anything” until the thoughts flow again.
• When your time is up, rub your fingers and take a short break. Then reread what you wrote. Do you see why I told you to send everyone away? If you’ve done this exercise correctly, some of the thoughts you’ve recorded will be extremely private. (At some point you should consider shredding all the papers from this exercise. If you’re up for appointment to the Supreme Court one day, you don’t want this stuff entered into the Senate confirmation hearings.)
• As you reread, underline anything that looks interesting. You’re consciously looking for essay material, of course, but if you like something on the paper, underline it, even if you can’t quite figure out how you might use it.

Check out Figure 1, a free-write that starts with a vague idea about a library job. Notice that some of the material relates to the library job, but some doesn’t, like the remark about the fire engine spurred by the sirens the writer heard. That remark, by the way, led the writer to a memory about a child in the library who wanted books about fire engines. Also notice that some words are spelled wrong and the grammar is far from perfect. After rereading this passage, the writer underlined some items, including how hard it was to work on Thursday nights with a chem test every Friday, learning how to do research, story hour, and Ferdinand the Bull. Anyone of those could grow into an essay topic.

Figure 1: An example of free-writing.

After you’ve underlined a couple of items, it’s time for round two:

• Set yourself up as before with a blank screen or page and a timer. Look at one of the items you underlined and think about it for a moment or two.
• Now write the underlined idea at the top of a new sheet of paper (or at the top of a new, blank screen). Begin free writing again. Every once in a while pull your mind towards the underlined idea you chose. Don’t stop writing while you do so; in fact, don’t stop for anything! All the same rules apply to this round: ignore punctuation, don’t censor yourself, write “I don’t know what to write” if you’re stuck, and so on.
• As you reread the second round, again underline the sections that appeal to you. Do you have an essay topic yet? Repeat for as many rounds as necessary until you have settled upon the main idea of your essay.

Take a look at Figure 2, the second round of free writing about the library job. This time the writer concentrated on working Thursday evenings with chemistry tests on Friday mornings. Notice the underlined material. Do you see an essay topic emerging? The job led the writer to become a more responsible student.

Figure 2: A second round of free-writing.

The technique of free-writing can be used over and over again until the writer is satisfied with the topic and the number of details gathered. Each round starts with a moment of concentration on the main idea.

One last example of free-writing about the library job. Read Figure 3, a portion of a free write done after the writer decided upon the main idea: becoming a more responsible person after taking the job. With each round of free-writing, more details emerge. As always with free-writes, lots of the material is clearly useful, and some will probably be left out.

Figure 3: A third round of free-writing.

If you find yourself wandering into a totally new topic during any round of free-writing, you have two choices. You can switch topics, or you can refocus. How do you refocus? Not by saying, “I am going to think about everything but elephants now (assuming that “elephant” is the topic you’ve been drifting into). If you tell yourself not to think about elephants, those big gray animals will sit in your mind and blot out everything else. You won’t be able to think about anything but elephants! Instead, every time you realize that you are drifting away from the main idea, say to yourself, “I am thinking about the time I swam across the Atlantic” or whatever your preferred topic is. Pull yourself back into focus with a positive, not with a negative.