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Today's writing tip is about my favourite part of the writing process: invention. If you don't already think about your writing practice as a writing process, I recommend taking 9 minutes to watch this Study Hall Composition video. Sometimes we call invention "prewriting", the creative work we do before we sit down to do the organizational work of planning (see the previous CWS tips for some great planning strategies!) or the "actual" work of drafting. However, I think this "prewriting" step limits us from realizing that most of the time we need to write down some words before we can move onto the planning stage. It also can allow us to procrastinate, putting off the dreaded step of opening microsoft word because we are "prewriting" while procrasta-cleaning the kitchen. Freewriting is the most common form of invention work. The basic idea is to pick a prompt, set a timer (start small, say 10 minutes), and JUST KEEP WRITING. If you get stuck, you can write HELP IM STUCK HELP IM STUCK until you get unstuck. You don't need to worry about punctuation or typos, the idea of the freewrite is not to create content that will go in your draft, but to realize what you even think about your topic in the first place, including what questions you have, and therefore what further research might be needed. Free yourself from the idea that your professor or editor will ever read this content, and take some time to understand your own thoughts.