The Coach’s Painless, Patented, 
All-Purpose Process To Writing Your College Application Essays (And Anything Else you'll ever want to write)!


Recently I was asked to lead a series of workshops for high school juniors and seniors on how to approach their college application essays. As I organized my thoughts I realized that this process was applicable to any sort of substantial writing we ever have to do, from a middle schooler's book report, to a senior's family memoir, to a young artist's first script or novel. ("For that matter," I thought, "you could apply this technique to ALL CREATIVE ENDEAVORS OF ANY KIND--" but then my head got so big it slammed into the ceiling, so I decided to limit myself to writing.)  Some of this stuff I've touched on before, but this is the first time I've put it all together into one easy-to-use "How-To!" Let me know what you think.   

The biggest mistake most people make when they sit down to write their college application essays is that they sit down to write their college application essays. They try to write the finished product, to somehow circumvent all the work and struggle, self examination and insight, the searching, thinking and feeling that goes into getting a good story on the page. This just leads to staring at a blank screen feeling worthless, useless, and talentless. Because it can’t be done!

You CAN’T write your last draft first.
You CAN’T write a good essay while counting words.
You CAN'T write a revealing personal statement without getting personal.
You have to loosen up and find it before you can tighten up and write it. 

The first step is to know your audience. Admissions officers aren’t cold hard judges, waiting, arms folded, lips pursed in a superior sneer, to catch you in a mistake. They’re friendly people who just want to meet you. It’s their job to find students who will succeed and be happy at their schools. They can’t possibly interview every applicant, so they assign these essays as a way to get to know you. To see who you are, and how you present yourself. The only question your essay really needs to answer is, “So, who is this kid?”  

But how do you say who you are in 650 words? 

Brainstorm. Well… obviously. But not everybody knows how to do it.  You don’t sit at your computer and desperately rack your brains for something to write about, grasping onto the first thin reed of an idea and then closing your mind to everything else. The object is to open your mind up.  Let your thoughts and feelings bluster and rage without logic or purpose and jot down every idea you have, good or bad.  Don’t decide what to write, don’t concentrate on words—DON’T THINK! You’re not trying to figure something out. You’re trying to find something.  

Think of yourself as a character in a book. (Though this one is a bit college-app-centric, it holds true for any autobiographical writing.) It’s hard to recognize the patterns of our own lives while we’re living them, but if we step back and look at our lives as a story, and ourselves as the main character, the important moments become clear. Ask yourself  “Who is this character and how did he get that way?  What is she into?  What sparked that interest? What were the big events in his or her life and how did those events change them?” Sometimes the best way to get closer is to distance yourself.    

Freewrite.  Simply put, freewriting is the best technique to get you writing without worry, thought, or censorship.  And best of all, without delay.  This technique is so amazing and productive it deserves an entire seminar of its own, but in a nutshell it involves WRITING WITHOUT STOPPING for five minutes.  

The first step is to give yourself a prompt. Don’t use the application prompt; come up with one that is personal to you. It must be an incomplete sentence, written in the first person, and preferably centering on emotion rather than intellect—“I first fell in love with orthodontia when…” Particularly good prompts often start with “I want…” Whether it’s our characters or ourselves, our wants define us. If all else fails, write about your fear of writing. “The thing that scares me most about this essay is…” Remember, you’re only wasting 5 minutes.

Now finish the sentence and CONTINUE WITHOUT STOPPING FOR FIVE MINUTES. Don’t consider, don’t correct, don’t judge and DON’T STOP. Not even for a second.  Let your mind wander where it will, but keep circling back to your prompt. If you draw a blank, write that you have nothing to say. If you’re distracted, write how annoying that barking dog outside is.  Write what an !@#!&!! Charlie, The Writing Coach is for making you do this, but DO NOT STOP WRITING UNTIL YOUR TIME IS UP.   

Now read what you’ve written. Look for the seeds of a revealing story—phrases and insights that truly reflect you, places where you’ve learned, places where you’ve grown. This is the gold you’re panning for. I’ll bet you discover things that you would never have found any other way. Certainly not in five minutes!

Get away from your desk.  A change of scenery can often give your brain the kick in the pants it needs.

Do something physical: run, skateboard, hike… I bike ride whenever I’m stuck on a story.  Physical exertion really gets the ideas flowing.  Be sure to bring a note pad or cell phone so that you can record your ideas as they come. 

Read the essay prompts before bed and see if your brain works anything out while you sleep.  Seriously.  This happens more often than you’d think.

Take longer showers.  I know it’s environmentally suspect, but man, it works.  It probably has something to do with being half-asleep.  

There are thousands of ways to get the juices flowing; these are just some that have worked for me.  The idea is to fool your brain into relaxing. To get it to stop judging and have fun. To play.  Because brains at play are really the only ones that ever think of anything new.

Transition To Tight!

Okay, now that you’ve found your topic it’s time to start tightening.  We don’t want to go all the way to tight yet, but we want to move toward it. 

Scribble out a rough outline to give you an idea of what order things go in. This is particularly helpful when you’ve got a lot of ideas but can’t figure out your main thesis. Something about putting your ideas down on paper, in order, lets you see your what your brain is trying to say.  Note: Don’t waste any time or mental effort on making this a “proper outline” that your teachers might approve of. This is your outline, a tool for you to use, based on your brainstorming, to help you write more easily. No one else will ever see it. 

Bomb through a first draft as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. It’s kind of like freewriting, except that now you’re following the rough map of your outline, based on the ideas you had brainstorming. Feel free to use whole sentences and sections from your freewriting. And here’s the key thing: expect it to stink! First drafts always do. So enjoy: it’s much more fun (and much faster) to write badly than to try and write perfectly, and you don’t have to worry because you know you’re going to rewrite.

Tighten Up (At Last)!

Before you do anything else, make a copy of your rough draft and put it safely away on your hard drive. That way, if you accidentally screw something up, you can always go back. Okay, now you can edit. But don’t start counting words or fixing grammar just yet.  First, make sure you’ve told your story well. 

Edit for theme and story, remembering that even a science report is a story with a beginning, middle and end. If there are any parts that seem beside the point, cut them out and see if they’re missed. Focus on emotional moments and see if they need more emphasis or detail (use all 5 senses). And make sure to be clear what your main character (you) has gained from the experience you’re depicting.
     

Now check grammar, and count words.  It will be long. That’s okay.  You had to write all those extra words to get to the good stuff.  But now that you have, be ruthless and cut like Sweeny Todd. As a fellow writer once told me, “You can cut a lot and still have it.” And remember, you still have your long draft tucked safely away on your hard drive if you go too far. I actually love this part; it’s amazing how much better things read after you’ve cut your favorite lines!

Finally, show it to people you trust and see what they think. Don’t do everything they say, but do everything that makes sense to you.

Now there’s only one more step:

Submit your essay, get accepted to the college of your choice (or an "A", or that big studio deal), have an amazing life, get married, have kids, and laugh cruelly as they have to go through all of this themselves!!  

It doesn't matter whether you're writing an essay, a screenplay or a memoir, when a phrase (argument/ chapter/scene) is not working, no matter what you do or how hard you try, and you find it’s all but impossible to move ahead… stop trying! Pull over to the side of the road, and take a look over your shoulder.

In all likelihood you’ve inadvertently turned down a wrong (linguistic, character, or plot) road and that is why you now find yourself facing a dead end (or cul de sac, if you live in the suburbs).  No matter how much you struggle, you can’t clever your way out this one.  You have to go back and see where you made the wrong turn. That’s the moment that needs fixing; the moment where you accidentally sabotaged yourself.

Write what you’re trying to say.
If you’re satisfied that your setup is sound and you still can’t find the words to express what you’re trying to say, pull back, hit return, and write: “What I’m trying to say is… “  Then just spew.  Write down everything that you’ve been attempting to get out, without worrying about making it fit into the sentence or structure or story.  Now look back at your troubling sentence. I’ll bet the answer is in your spew.   

When you don’t know what to say…
If you found yourself unable to finish the sentence “What I’m trying to say is…”, then you probably don’t know what you want to say!  The reason you couldn’t find the “right words” is that you haven’t yet settled on what it is you’re trying to express.  In this case take TWO steps back, hit return and write, “The thing that confuses me about this situation (scene, chapter, moment,) is…” and spew on about that.  An alternative prompt might be, “I can’t decide if… or…”.  

If the wall is still there…
If none of this works, take THREE steps back from your computer, put on a jacket and head outside for a walk (or jog or bike ride) and muse on the topic, “What do I really think about this story (essay, book, script)?  Do I honestly believe in what I’m struggling to say, or am I only saying it to move the plot/argument/theme/character development along?  Is the direction I’m taking somewhere I even want to go?  Is this moment true?”  

These are hard, scary questions, and you can really only face them when you are away from the keyboard, preferably doing something physical. Physical activity allows your brain to relax, gives it room to think.  You’d be amazed at how much you can get done on a simple walk (don’t forget to bring a pen and paper, or a phone with “memo” capability to take down all of your brilliant ideas).  

And if nothing comes, or worse, the realization that you have to throw everything out and start over, well, at least you’re aerobically fit!  

Happy writing everyone, and let me know your strategies for surmounting those brick walls!

Okay, here it is: the coach’s secret weapon.  The one tip that works for all of his clients, whether they’re grinding out a college application essay,  slogging their way through the dystopian wasteland of their Y.A. novel, stuck in the third act of their screenplay, or trying to encapsulate their entire lives into a readable and engaging memoir.  What is this CIA/KGB/Mossad-worthy weapon?  It's called freewriting.  
(I know: some of you have already heard of this.  But unless you instantly fell in love with it and use it all the time, I’m wiling to bet you didn’t do it right.)

So what is freewriting?   Simply put, it's the best technique to get you writing freely, without worry, thought, or censorship.  And best of all, without delay. 

It starts with a writing prompt.  I usually provide my clients with one after interviewing them about their project (or their lives, if they’re working on a college app or memoir), but you can easily come up with one yourself. Just follow these simple rules.

The prompt should be in the first person:  “I first became interested in orthodontia when I looked into my little brother’s mouth and felt…”  If you’re writing fiction, write from the point of view of one of your characters: “Every night when I put on the bat costume and leave Alfred behind in the cave, it makes me feel…”  Whatever you’re working on, your prompt should feature the word “I”.

Focus the prompt on emotions rather than intellect.  We all hide behind words and “art,” to distance ourselves from emotion.  Sometimes it can lead to interesting work.  But right now you’ve got writer’s block and you need to bust through all that thinking to find the emotional core.  So you want prompts that come from the heart.  “What I love about orthodontia is…” “The thing that excites me most when I see the bat signal is…”  “When I faced the Joker I  felt…”   A particularly potent prompt is “I want…”   Whether it’s our characters or ourselves, our wants define us.  

The prompt should be an incomplete sentence.  The prompt’s job is to nudge you down a path.  To get you going.  A complete sentence gives you an excuse to stop.  

If all else fails, write about your fears of writing.  Sometimes the thing that’s keeping you from writing is the very thing that you want to write about.  So go ahead and explore it.  “The thing that scares me most about this project/essay/script is…”  

Okay, so now that you’ve got your prompt, what do you do?  

Write!  
Finish the prompt sentence and CONTINUE WRITING WITHOUT STOPPING FOR FIVE MINUTES.   Don’t consider, don’t correct, don’t judge and DON’T STOP.  Not even for a second.  Let your mind wander where it will,  but keep circling back to your prompt.  If you draw a blank, write that you have nothing to say.  If you’re distracted, write how annoying that barking dog outside is.  Write what an !@#!&!! Charlie, The Writing Coach is for making you do this, but DO NOT STOP WRITING UNTIL YOUR TIME IS UP.   

Now, take a breath.  And read what you’ve written.  

Look for the seeds of a revealing story, phrases and insights that truly reflect you, or, if you’re working on fiction, for windows into your character’s soul, new insights into her quest.  I’m willing to bet that you'll discover things that you would never have found any other way.  Certainly not in five minutes.

One interesting addendum:  The coach showed this blog to his father, a psychiatrist (insert crack about psychiatrists’ kids here), who instantly recognized the technique.  “But that’s Freud’s free association!” he exclaimed, delighted.  “Freud’s idea was that if you let the brain go where it wants, without thought or censorship, it will find the truth.”  

So there you have it. 
Freewriting.  
Endorsed by American Psychiatric Association.  

HAPPY FREEWRITING EVERYONE!!! 

Let me know how freewriting works for you!  Click on the comment button and share your brilliant prompts!

A new client recently greeted me with the lament, “I’m 17, I’ve been in school my whole life--Nothing has ever happened to me.  What am I supposed to write about?”   I thought she perfectly captured the feelings of every high school senior approaching his or her college application essays.  I also knew she was mistaken.  

Everything happens to you by the time you’re 17.  Most 50 year olds are still talking about high school.  Past glories, painful traumas, risky adventures, inspiring (or appalling) teachers, the obsessive rush of finding that thing you love to do, the horrible realization that your parents are at least as fallible as you… the problem is not that you haven't lived.  It’s unearthing the gems that are already buried in your brain.  

Well, have no fear—the coach has a shovel! ...In the form of 7 tips:    

1) Know your audience.  The admissions officers reading your essays aren’t cold hard judges, waiting, arms folded, lips pursed in a superior sneer, to catch you in a mistake.  They’re friendly people who just want to meet you.  It’s their job to find students who will succeed and be happy at their schools.  They can’t possibly interview every applicant, so they assign these essays as a way to get to know you.  To see who you are, and how you present yourself.  The only question your essay really needs to answer is, “So, who is this kid?”  

2) Brainstorm.  Well… obviously.  But not everybody knows how to do  it.  You don’t sit down at your computer and desperately rack your brains for something to write about, grasping onto the first thin reed of an idea and then closing your mind to everything else.   The object is to open your mind up.  Let your thoughts and feelings bluster and rage without logic or purpose and jot down every idea you have, good or bad.  Don’t decide what to write, don’t concentrate on words—DON’T THINK!  You’re not trying to figure something out.  You’re trying to find something.  

3) Think of yourself as a character in a book.  It’s hard to recognize the patterns of our own lives while we’re living them, but if we step back and look at our lives as a story, and ourselves as the main character, the important moments become clear.  Ask yourself  “Who is this character and how did they get that way?  What are they into?  What sparked that interest?  What were the big events in his or her life and how did those events change them?”   Sometimes the best way to get closer is to distance yourself.    

 4)  Get away from your desk.  A change of scenery can often give your brain the kick in the pants it needs.

5) Read the essay prompts before bed and see if your brain works anything out while you sleep.  Seriously.  This works more often than you’d think.

6) Do something physical: run, skateboard, hike… I bike ride whenever I’m stuck on a story.  Physical exertion really gets the ideas flowing.  Be sure to bring a note pad or cell phone so that you can record your ideas as they come. 

7) Take longer showers.  I know it’s environmentally suspect, but man, it works.  It probably has something to do with being half-asleep.  

Those are thousands of ways to get the juices flowing; these are just some that have worked for me.  The idea is to fool your brain into relaxing.  To get it to stop judging and have fun.  To play.   Because brains at play are really the only ones who ever think of anything new.

How do you get your brain to play?  What are YOUR favorite techniques for getting the juices flowing? Click on “comment” and let us know!  

Ok, here goes: My first blog post on the new website.  It has to be great.  And since this is a writing website, it has to be perfect, too.  And inspired; it needs to feel real and exciting—the kind of instantly involving post that will not only rope the reader in, but leave them with something of true value.  That's why I’m writing this last: I wanted to give my ideas time to germinate, to coalesce into that great, perfect, inspired, real, exciting, and involving post of true value that I know I need. 

Only they didn't. 
My ideas.  They just laid there.  Dead.  

It was actually fairly predictable.  You see, I had forgotten my own first rule of writing: Write Badly.  It doesn't matter if you're working on a book report, a college application essay, a screenplay, or a blog: If you want to write truly well, write as abominably as you can. 
 
I don’t mean write a rough draft.  I mean, really write badly.  Write before you're prepared to write.  Write something you wouldn't show to anyone.  Something so bad even you don’t want to look at. 

For most of my clients this doesn't come naturally.  We've been taught all our lives to write as well as we can, to put in our best effort, to live up to our potential.  The idea of writing badly just seems… wrong.  But it is the first and most essential step to writing well.  And it’s sooooo much easier.

It only takes a minute or two to spew out a bad paragraph.  And usually that leads you to another.  And another.  Along the way you may stumble upon some new idea or a scene that you'd never thought of before.  Since you're writing badly, it's no big deal to just toss this in without worrying about making it fit.  Before you know it, you have a finished first draft. 

A truly terrible finished first draft. 

But the funny thing is, it's not really that bad.  Everything you wanted to say has somehow found its way into the thing.  Sure, it’s all out of order and unfocused, and surrounded by a lot of irrelevant stuff, but at least it's there. It's on the page.  Now you have something to work on.  Now it's only a matter of editing-- 

...but that's a subject for another post. 

In the meantime, go off and write badly!  Have fun with it, and don't forget to let me know how it works out.