¶ … start of any writing project can be intimidating, and pre-writing strategies are helpful in moving the writer into the project. People think differently, and may have different opinions about which pre-writing strategy works best. Brainstorming, which is effective for enough people that it is taught starting in elementary school, is one highly effective pre-writing strategy that anyone can employ instantly at the start of a project, or whenever they feel a need to generate fresh ideas. While other pre-writing strategies may be more effective for some people, when faced with the topic of renewable energy and a blank page to fill, I found that brainstorming was easiest and most effective pre-writing strategy for me. I began the pre-writing process by engaging in free writing on the topic of renewable energy. I found that my free writing session generated more questions than answers, such as, "Is wave power a viable source of harvestable energy?" And "Is solar energy ineffective in Seattle? What about in Alaska in the winter?" These questions did seem to be useful lines of inquiry which might have helped me...

Instead, I began to consider whether I should contrast wave energy and other water-generated energy, rather than solar and wind power as I'd originally intended. Free writing did help to open my mind up to fresh ideas, and I jotted down a number of questions about energy I didn't realize I even had. However, it didn't solidify my line of research. Instead, at the completion of my free writing, I felt like I had less information than I started with, and had probably wasted my time because I no longer felt like I even knew what my topic of inquiry would be should I move on to researching renewable energy sources.
After I completed my free writing, I took the time to read a bit about renewable energy and decided to stick with solar energy and wind power to complete the pre-writing exercises. I decided to try brainstorming on a fresh page. This time, I developed fewer questions. My brainstorming results were mostly short phrases or single words, such as "Birds -- squish?," "Windmills!" And…