Writer’s block/procrastination on my secondaries

[Justapremedguy]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I prewrote very few secondaries and even now that prompts are out for my other schools I’m working very slowly. I should get verified this week (submitted night of 6/15) so now I’m worried. Looking for advice. My issue is partly writer’s block, partly being burned out and partly not having a template of what a good secondary looks like. Can anyone provide advice or wisdom?

 

[tdod]

I prewrote very few secondaries and even now that prompts are out for my other schools I’m working very slowly. I should get verified this week (submitted night of 6/15) so now I’m worried. Looking for advice. My issue is partly writer’s block, partly being burned out and partly not having a template of what a good secondary looks like. Can anyone provide advice or wisdom?

You need to enjoy yourself. Good writing is emotional - to create it, you must be feeling the right emotions. Ideally you could do something you enjoy that is also related to medicine. This is "finding inspiration." But even if you can't do that, just going out and having a great time will give you the emotional energy necessary to generate strong writing.

 

[Goro]

I prewrote very few secondaries and even now that prompts are out for my other schools I’m working very slowly. I should get verified this week (submitted night of 6/15) so now I’m worried. Looking for advice. My issue is partly writer’s block, partly being burned out and partly not having a template of what a good secondary looks like. Can anyone provide advice or wisdom?

How about talking out your ideas into your phone's voice recorder, and then transcribing the words to text?

 

[M&L]

How about talking out your ideas into your phone's voice recorder, and then transcribing the words to text?

Yeah that’s what I did !!!!! Sometimes I would Also walk my dog or drive and literally talk about the question out loud. It helps so much .

 

[Lifeblood_20]

Fellow applicant here, OP. I've been feeing the same, but I think it's important to remember the cycle itself is a marathon. While it's important to submit early, it is also important to not rush too hard and burn yourself out. Good writing comes from a clear mind.
To quote @LizzyM "the application cycle is equivalent in length to a trip to Mars so don't expect to reach your goal overnight."

 

[Justapremedguy]

Fellow applicant here, OP. I've been feeing the same, but I think it's important to remember the cycle itself is a marathon. While it's important to submit early, it is also important to not rush too hard and burn yourself out. Good writing comes from a clear mind.
To quote @LizzyM "the application cycle is equivalent in length to a trip to Mars so don't expect to reach your goal overnight."

That is true. My concern is not being ready when I get the secondaries, taking a while to make them good and submitting some like 4 weeks after getting them which I hear looks bad...

 

[lumya]

I usually just word vomit all of my thoughts related to a prompt, then copy/paste it into an order that makes sense, trim what is excessive, and then write around my ideas to make it more cohesion.

I'm also a fan of the quote "write drunk edit sober."

 

[ohphew]

I'm also a fan of the quote "write drunk edit sober."

dis cracked me up. i just grabbed a drink to celebrate a not completely wasted day of secondaries, but might try to throw some ideas on a page instead. thank you for an awesome advice

 

[srstudent]

I am struggling with this myself. Lately, this has worked for me:

* Come up with a couple of very basic ideas. No need to fully outline. Example: Homeless shelter volunteering to show compassion
* Just write. Get into a meditative state of mind. Move your phone where you can't access it (turn on the ringer for phone calls). Block the internet on your computer. Open MS Word. Write anything and everything that comes to mind. It will look like brown stuff in a toilet, but...
* you can edit it. Pick the little profound/sparkling sentences, phrases, and ideas, and sew them together.
* Now, you have a nice essay in front of you. Submit that sucker.

Disclaimer: This may not work for you. Another approach is outlining/planning more extensively before writing.
Warning. Cliche statement incoming: You have to find what works for you.

 

[CinnamonA]

To add to all of the great suggestions above with an unusual one that has worked for me for years: I watch an episode of The Office. Right after it ends, I pretend like I’m presenting to an English class about a character’s (usually Michael’s or Dwight’s) motives in that episode. I’ll do a quick talk about why a character did what they did; What they knew of a situation that prompted their actions; How they could’ve reacted better; why were their actions funny or awkward etc.

This strategy helps reset my stress, gives me an excuse not to write, and actually gets me into the mindset of enjoying explaining something that I can translate to most prompts.

 

[Justapremedguy]

To add to all of the great suggestions above with an unusual one that has worked for me for years: I watch an episode of The Office. Right after it ends, I pretend like I’m presenting to an English class about a character’s (usually Michael’s or Dwight’s) motives in that episode. I’ll do a quick talk about why a character did what they did; What they knew of a situation that prompted their actions; How they could’ve reacted better; why were their actions funny or awkward etc.

This strategy helps reset my stress, gives me an excuse not to write, and actually gets me into the mindset of enjoying explaining something that I can translate to most prompts.

Well much of my procrastinating involves watching the office so I like this...

 

[GreenDuck12]

Routines help. Setting aside a block of time to work on secondaries each day. Eventually you get in a groove and churn things out more easily. Remember, having strong written material submitted a week later is better than weaker material submitted early.
Also, since secondaries tend to come in waves, a menor of mine recommended just working in order of receipt unless a school has a shorter window for it to be completed. This wasn’t really a factor for me though...