These free writes helped me organize and outline my first essay, the literacy narrative. The first free write, written on August 28, allowed me to pick a novel for my essay and begin to compare myself to the main character, Miri. The second free write, written on September 14, allowed me to plan when I was going to write my essay. Setting a specific time was helpful to me because, similar to writing assignments in a planner, I had a set list of what to do and when.