Have you written a PS? And submitted it, and had a successful cycle?
This sounds like the advice of someone who has never written a PS, especially nos 1 and 2...why do you list #4 as an "after the fact" thing to do - to get advice on how to write a PS after you have spun your wheels?
Most people have no idea what the goal of the PS is in the first place. It is very important to understand what the PS should convey, and what should be left out.
As for #2: writing multiple PS rough drafts at one time is simply not realistic. It is hard enough coming up with one concept, much less writing three different ones at one time and then picking the winner.
This was a process I developed that worked well for me (it helped me put together something I will be proud of for the rest of my life) and I posted it because I think it will be helpful for others. You might not see value in my process, but seriously, no need for an
ad hominem attack. Whether or not I have ever written or submitted a PS or been "accepted - class of 2014", has no bearing on the usefulness of my process. But if it helps you consider what I have to say, I worked writing speeches and curriculum for 10 years before pursuing a career in medicine. I wrote and submitted a PS using this process and I suppose I've had a "successful cycle", whatever the he77 that is. I received 12 interview invites with all acceptances and 1 WL so far (though that could have nothing to do with my PS). A few interviewers said it was the best or one of the best (although a lot of applicants hear this so you have to wonder) PS they had ever read.
As for the rationale behind the process:
#1) As I stated previously in other words, if you follow a formula your PS will be formulaic. You can read the how to posts and write a strong PS. But I want more than a strong PS. I want a grab you by the ba77s PS that is 1 in 1000. To achieve that I think you need to strike out on your own and not be influenced by other people's advice, especially the same advice that 1000s of other premeds are reading before they write their PS. Also, there are no hard and fast rules about what (or how) a PS "should" address, as long as you give a transparent, personal, and moving response to the prompt.
#2) Judging from my own and bobsmith's experience it is realistic to write multiple separate drafts. But why should you? For me, I know that when I sit down to write something this important, the first things that come out are total CRAP-- grandiose, impersonal, cliche, etc. Is that really what you want to start editing, building your entire PS on a foundation of CRAP? Not me. So multiple separate drafts hopefully gets the crap out of your system early on. It also lets you play with format and style, like bobsmith said, to find what most effectively communicates your message. Again, these are stream of contentiousness drafts, maybe even outlines. They shouldn't take more than an hour or two each, and you probably only need a few. Also, you mentioned not wanting to spin your wheels. But playing around with this thing or "spinning your wheels" is really important. Your Personal Statement should be profoundly "personal". That level of introspection, for most people, requires multiple passes and perspectives over a pretty long time period.
#4) The how-to content advice posts (like deepakote's) are indispensable, but are most useful after you have finished writing and editing your PS, for the reasons I have already mentioned. And come on, if you don't have a general sense of what a PS is about, especially after reading the question prompt, you might consider going into a different profession. As far as not reading other people's PS before writing your own, this should be a no brainer. Why would you straitjacket yourself by reading someone else's PS before you sit down to write your own. The more PSs you read, the more generic yours is likely to become.
Again, I am just putting my process out there and hope people find it helpful. The more thought and time you can put into writing a kick ***** PS the better. Good Luck!
And I agree with everything bobsmith said.
