Spontaneous prose is a form of writing that Jack Kerouac credits himself in formulating (or others do, at the very least). But as many composition theorists have noted, it seems to have been around for even longer, but Kerouac gave it more credit as a means to produce genuine writing.

Indeed, spontaneous prose is a fantastic form of writing: it engages the mind, allows the writer to project his/her thoughts quickly without any sense of "interruption," as Kerouac would say. It has been argued by theorists and writers that adhering to a specific format of prose may degrade the writer's authentic thought process and transform the writing process into a formatted document, one that may fit a formula.

Can an essay be spontaneous? For some, it may be easier to write an essay with a format attached to it, whether formed by the writer or the instructor. I myself have found it incredibly helpful to write detailed outlines for papers that are more than 8-10 pages. While I may formulate an outline to organize not only my ideas but assure that I cover the required criteria assigned by the instructor, I do not always abide by it. That's the glorious thing about computers: copy, paste, delete, etc., make it incredibly easy *not* to be faithful to outlines. While it may detract from spontaneous writing, it can also feed it: an outline may be produced to organize spontaneous thoughts and to see how they may be applicable to the topic assigned.

...Dinner time, maybe I'll finish this later....