Prewriting Benefits and a Warning

Prewriting is one of the most important stages of the writing process, in addition to revision. Unfortunately, many beginning (and some advanced) writers don’t spend enough time on these activities, and so the writing is more difficult than it needs to be.

Prewriting involves all the activities needed to prepare for the first draft, starting with that first flash of a book idea, all the way to a complete outline. The prewriting process (at least as I have experienced it) has several steps, each with a few techniques that make the step easier to get through.

So why not just start typing after that first flash of an idea?

Only in the movies does a writer do that. Remember Chevy Chase in Funny Farm (1988)? He had what he thought was a great idea for a novel. He sat down at the typewriter, typed “Chapter 1” and stared at the typewriter, at a loss for his first sentence. He hadn’t done his prewriting. He finally figured it out and produced (in my view, based on the thickness of the manuscript and his wife’s reaction) a paltry attempt at a novel, more of a novella than anything else.

Chase’s character eventually gives up on the novel and becomes a sports writer. I wonder, as a writer and teacher, whether he gave up because he didn’t understand the writing process, or whether he simply wasn’t cut out as a novelist. He seems happy as a sports writer, so the movie does have a happy ending.

Prewriting is a vital part of the writing process. In approximate sequence within the prewriting process, some of the benefits of prewriting are as follows:

* Prewriting can be a lot of fun. Anything is possible at this point. You have your wonderful book idea, still fuzzy and vague but with great possibilities. Your ideas can be freewheeling, even idiotic. It doesn’t matter. Just keep brainstorming, playing with ideas, collecting resources and notes, doing all the activities needed to finish this stage of the writing process.

The only restriction at this point (unless you place more on yourself) is your need or requirement to stick close to the original vision for the book, but even that restriction is false. Your original idea will rarely match the finished product. I know that’s hard to read, but that’s been my experience. Of course, my books are often better, more complicated than the original idea. The vagueness of the vision allows you to begin work on the idea, so you can create the book you are intended to write.

Detours and weird ideas can often lead to gemstones for your book, whether with the content, organization, or whatever. At this point, your book can go in many directions. Explore them all until you hit upon the one that feels right. “Ah, ha! That’s what I’m going to write.”

2. You can work out the true purpose of the book, playing with alternatives until you find the one that’s right for you and for the reader. What benefits are you looking for as the writer? What benefits are you hoping to give the reader? Make sure your book addresses these purposes.

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