Over the past few months, I’ve had the displeasure of assisting my younger sister with her college application essays. My mom asked me to help because I’m “the best writer in the family” and, quite literally, a writing professional. When I tried to protest — I find it incredibly unfair that some students get professional help on college essays — my mom got very mad.
So today, yet again, I find myself towering over my sister’s laptop, making sure she’s actually getting work done. It’s not how I wanted to spend my week off, and my frustration that my flight home yesterday was cancelled grows with every passing minute.
Adding to my disappointment, my sister didn’t submit her application materials to my alma mater, UT Austin, in time. I would’ve loved to welcome another Longhorn to the family… I guess we’ll have to wait until grad school.
If you don’t have a built-in writer in your family, you’re in luck. I’m putting together tips for students writing college applications (or people answering prompts, generally). I’ll probably write a few posts about various parts of writing, but for this first post, we’ll be discussing writer’s block.
Acknowledging writer’s block
Feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Maybe you know what to write, and you can’t think of how to convey it through words. Maybe you don’t even know what to write about. You have a case of good ol’ writer’s block.
The first thing you have to do is acknowledge your writer’s block. If you keep working the same way, as if you aren’t afflicted it, you’re not going to get anything done.
But that doesn’t mean to perseverate on your writer’s block. In fact, you should do the opposite.
Start by taking a break. Do whatever you need to get out of that hellish mindscape. Work on another essay. Go for a walk. Eat a snack.
Done? Good. Now, it’s time to get stuff done. My tips vary based on your stage of the writing journey, so feel free to scroll to whatever is most apt for your situation.
Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say? ― Kurt Vonnegut
Struggle: I have no idea what to write about
Write nonstop for 5 minutes
Set a timer for five minutes, then write without stopping until the timer’s up. The topic is irrelevant. I find this exercise helpful when I’m writing with pen and paper, but feel free to experiment.
Your writing can be messy. It can have spelling and grammar errors. It can be non-linear. That’s ok. Just don’t let your pen stall.
To get started, consider describing your day, the room you’re sitting in, or someone around you.
The more often you practice this exercise, the easier it’ll be to generate ideas on the fly. I’m not sure of the exact science behind it, but I’d guess it has to do with lateral and vertical thinking. Most people struggle to think of ideas because they limit themselves to linear thinking, which is the bane of a good brainstorm.
Get inspired by analogous works
You might be tempted to see how other people have responded to the same prompt. This can be helpful to an extent, but it can also limit your ideas to what’s already been done.
I’d encourage you to seek out things that are similar to, but not quite the same, as college applications.
For example, many college applications ask you to talk about a difficult situation you’ve overcome. Listen to a song about failure and really analyze the lyrics. Read a memoir written by a successful person. Look at a painting that evokes pain, then another that evokes joy.
It sounds a bit woo-woo, but you’ll get some unique ideas out of it.
Struggle: I have an idea, but don’t know how to convey it
Write an outline
Teachers tell you to do this for a reason. It’s a great way to organize your thoughts and solidify what points you’ll make.
I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of outlines, especially for creative writing. However, you may find that it provides the structure you need to get started.
Talk out loud, and record it
Record yourself telling the story to someone. If no one’s around, that’s ok. You can pretend you’re talking to a someone. You can use your phone’s built in voice memo app.
Now, listen to your recording and take note of the major points you mentioned. Rearrange those points to make them more coherent, removing or combining duplicative or unhelpful ones.
Record again, using your newly-arranged points to guide you. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Why does this work? Many people find it easier to talk through things than to write them down. It can also feel less intensive to talk than write, especially if you’re a perfectionist and expect your first draft to also be your last.
Even better, this method brings a natural flow to your writing. If it feels natural to explain something in a certain order, it’ll read naturally, too.
Struggle: I’m tired of editing
Read it out loud
Staring at words on a screen for a long period of time makes it harder to spot errors.
Say every. single. word. out loud. You’ll easily find typos, grammatical errors, and those spots that just feel wrong.
Have someone else read it
It’s incredibly helpful to get a second set of eyes on your work. You’re blind to your own biases, so let someone else point out where things don’t make sense to the average reader.
This is especially important for college application essays. Usually, you talk about yourself with people who already know you, to some extent. Since admissions committees don’t know you at all, you’ll need to add much more context than comes naturally.
Hemingway App
We’re lucky to live in an era with free writing tools galore. I highly reccommmend using Hemingway App. It tells you what parts of your writing, if any, are difficult to understand, and also provides suggestions to increase its readability.