Looping combines freewriting and a form of revision. Many writers like looping because it can save time and it tends to keep writers on-topic.

To do looping, you should have a topic or at least a general idea about a topic. Write your topic at the top of a page of paper.

For the next 5 to 10 minutes, freewrite on that topic. Don’t stop writing until the time limit ends. Then, read over what you have written and underline the thing that seems most important to you. It doesn’t have to be the thing you wrote about most, and it might not be a complete sentence or even a complete idea.

Repeat the process, using the underlined sentence as the first sentence of the new loop. (You don’t need to rewrite it.) At the end of the time limit, reread. Underline the main idea. Repeat the looping process one more time.

At the end of this process, most writers will have a solid idea that they can develop into a larger piece of writing.