By Mark Harris
If you write nonfiction essays, you have probably experienced flashes of insight that you rush to express in the written word. At this stage in your writing, attempting to put your thoughts into good order is a misuse of your time.
The purpose of freewriting is to capture ideas with no regard for grammar, punctuation or logical sequencing. Paying attention to structure and precision turns your mind away from the stream of consciousness that is required to capture as many of the ideas as you can, while they are still fresh in your mind.
Unless you are journaling, however, the purpose of writing is to communicate with others. We want to lead our readers, step by step, into understanding and not confusion. And for this reason, you and I must seek to master the science and art of ordering.
The Importance of Ordering
The best teaching follows the order by which people learn. New truth is built on the foundation of already understood truth. When a reader is confused, it is because words and concepts have not been clearly illuminated before building other ideas on top of them. To teach with words is a rational labor, a stairway to comprehension. It is laziness in writing that loses readers.
We need to first give readers an orientation, which, in effect, brings them into a conceptual “room.” We point out where we are standing in relation to other truths and realities, and then envision for them where we are going. This mental orientation sets up our readers to succeed, because they start out standing next to us, trusting us and accepting our vow to prove to them the validity of each successive step.
The Difficult Requirements of Ordering
Order, as described above, is not a difficult concept, but the labor itself is not easy. It requires intense concentration to gather related concepts together, categorize them and then lay them out with clear transitions from point to point.
This labor requires a different kind of thinking from that of creative imagining and contemplating. It includes a stricter attention to laws of rational thinking. It stretches our minds to see patterns, categories and connections. It is a mental strain, especially at first. And the anticipation of this strain is what makes it difficult to get started on the task. It feels constraining and uncreative.
The purpose is not simply to group ideas together in an organized way. Rather, we are guiding readers along the path of wisdom, which often diverts from human conventions. It will do no good at all to please ourselves that the writing is understandable. Wise writers are empathetic instructors.
Solutions
My growing piles of free-written text led me to get serious about finding solutions to my difficulty. The fun work will be useless without the hard work. So, I’ve identified these three rules for myself.
Take Responsibility
I don’t believe that I can depend on editors to do any of this work for me. They don’t understand exactly what I’m trying to communicate, so I can’t hand over disordered insights and request that they put them together. I must plan my writing process, understanding that the work of ordering is the critical labor to which I am aiming myself. I must be both the discoverer and the guide, and only enlist good readers and editors when I have done the 80% that I estimate I am able to do to create the finished product.
Develop Self-Control
Creative thinkers are in sore need of this fruit of the Spirit. It is the right thing that must drive our choices as opposed to the most comfortable, enjoyable or inspiring thing.
These are all good, but they are not the essence of ministry to others. When the right thing is difficult, I must be able to take hold of myself and enter this labor with determination. There will always be temptations to be distracted by the shiny new idea in my peripheral vision, begging to be explored with unrestrained imagination. It is much more attractive than the rational labor of ordering what I had freewritten in the past, and which has lost a bit of its shine.
Make Ordering Attractive
The fact that rational labor is strenuous does not mean it must be drudgery. God is a God of order, but God is also a joyful designer. As a creator made in his image, I must receive by faith that discipline and joy are sisters.
Ordering is beautiful. It just takes more time and focus. But the time will come when, as with bodily discipline (such as stretching, weightlifting or aerobic exercise), the initial pain required to build the muscle will ultimately fade away as the new strength of wisdom emerges to make me a productive laborer.
Conclusion
As creative writers, we need to begin projects with the end product in mind, anticipate the processes along the way and prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for moving between freewriting and organizing. Let’s glorify God by being good stewards who seek to please the Lord at every aspect of our service to Him. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
Mark Harris is the president, editor and chief writer for Spiritual Counterfeits Project. Mark has a Masters Degree in New Testament and a Doctorate in Intercultural Studies, both from Western Seminary. He was a missionary in Russia for about nine years in the 1990s. He and his wife live in Southern California.
Posted June 20, 2025
