Prewriting is one of the best ways to generate ideas for a story. The purpose of prewriting is to get words on paper to open the mind to the endless possibilities that lie hidden deep in the network of your brain.
Prewriting Strategies
- 1. Free-Writing
- 2. Brainstorm
- 3. Notebook
1. Free-Writing
For me free writing is a blast, I write down what ever passes through my mind. I do not worry about grammar, structure, plot, or what I’m going to say. I just write what ever comes to my mind, word after word. Sometimes I will write topic sentence and free write from that point, writing each word that comes to head, and soon I will make connections topic. And if I keep writing soon a idea has blossomed and the first signs of a story is born. Free-writing is one the best ways to come up with ideas. It is a good exercise for the mind, helps to prevent writers block. It is fast paced and exciting.
2. Brainstorm
To brainstorm is write a topic that interest you and write every thing that comes to you mind, and let one thing connect to another or the topic. Writers are bad to judge themselves, kind of like the artist curse, no painting is good enough, while you are brainstorming don’t judge any of your ideas until you are done, then go through and delete the ideas that doesn’t make strong connections, don’t work, etc, and when your done you will have the first basic outline of a story idea.</P
Example: Brainstorm
- 1. Topic sentence: Robot that hears voices
- • Robot has synthetic flesh
- • Looks like a human
- • The robot works on a intergalactic starship
- • The human crew think he isn’t alive
- • Robot comes into life and never realized it until the voice told him so.
- • The voice would sing him song
- • The voice makes him do things to sabotage the starship
- • Robot must make a choice either destroy himself and save lives of his crew or destroy the starship and die.
Note: The above example is a very basic brainstorm, but you get the idea. Start with a topic that interest you and write ideas.
3. Notebook
Keeping a writers notebook is a good way to track of ideas. Write down your thoughts, questions, observations, etc. The good part about keeping a notebook is that it can give you material that you have explored in the past. Your mind is already familiar and it is easy to inspirations. But be warned, not all ideas in a notebook are good ideas. The fact is ninety eight percent of the material in the notebook are bad ideas, and must choose carefully when picking it out. Stephen once said, “Notebooks are a good way to keep bad ideas. The good ones stick with yeah.”
Summary
Prewriting strategies are good to come up with ideas, but it is like the notebook, not all ideas are good. In my office I have hundreds of two page prewritten pages, some are brainstorm, but most are free-writing. Some days I’ll do two or three prewriting pages and some day’s just one. And in my personal experience I have discovered the prewriting pages that stick with me without having to read and search make the best stories, because they are the ones I get excited about and don’t forget. Since I am always working on big manuscript I do these pre-writes after I have finished writing for the day to generate future ideas for when I am done with the current manuscript. Some of the pre-write pages turn in novels, some into short stories, and some find a spot in somewhere between. Let me make clear this strategy is what works best for me, as a full time writer I never allow myself to run out of ideas. I am always writing, therefore always thinking and generating ideas.
Prewriting strategies work wonders generating ideas. It fun and exciting, just allowing your mind to roam free. So, my writing friends find what works best for you. Love your craft, cherish your mind, generate ideas, and write.
@smackit