Writer's block!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Ekaltadeta

Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2003
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Anyone have any suggestions for defeating the dreaded Personal Statement writer's block? I have so much to say, yet little has made it from brain to paper. Your help is desperately needed. Thx.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I had the same problem when I started. My advice would be to write everything you are thinking down (or type), and then let it be for awhile. Then come back and start looking at what you have and try grouping ideas/activities/experiences/thoughts thematically somehow. The key is to continually distill everything down till it becomes succinct yet cohesive.

When I first started, I had 2-3 pages of random thoughts typed up. It took me a loooong time however to pare that down.

Just write, no matter how dumb or incoherent you believe your thoughts are. At one point I even wrote down how I had all those pharmaceutical pens and mugs with names of yeast infection antidotes since one of my parents is an OB/GYN, and how I had no clue what they meant till I was using one of them at middle school one day and someone said "Diflucan... isn't that... "?
:oops: :laugh:

Of course that didn't make it into the PS ;) but you get my point, it was just part of my indoctrination to medicine, however lame it may be.
 
Yeah, thats what i did too. I just sat down and wrote a ton of stuff because I'm a crappy writer. probably 2% made it in to the final draft. You've gotta get it started or before you know it summer will be over. I think once you start writing, it gets a lot easier to see where you want to take it. also, take your rough draft ps to barbara or linda and they'll help you kind of focus it in. When I took mine in, it was well over the character limit, but they helped me to narrow down and focus on what was important. I didn't get tons of help, but I did get help focusing. good luck.
 
Your personal statement is your first and best chance to reveal your personality to the admissions committee. Lots of applicants write a laundry list of their accomplishments, basically reiterating what they?re listed as post-graduate experiences. A better approach is to write a human interest story, taking an in-depth look at just one of these experiences and showing how you felt about the experience, how it impacted you, and how you grew as a result. Several essay samples using this approach are available at the Accepted website.

Still need help stimulating the creative juices? Here are a few writing exercises that might help you kickstart the process:

* Complete the sentence: "I just wouldn't be me if it weren't for..." Then write about a person, place, or experience that has been crucial in making you who you are.

* Think about an idea that really excites or puzzles you -- something you turn over in your mind again and again. You could then write about a situation where this idea came up and you realized how important it was.

* Make a list of the personal experiences that have had the most meaning for you: travel, people, national or world events, obstacles or difficulties you overcame, books or classes that shaped your ideas. Then write about why you consider these things important (when you realized their importance, what have you learned from them, etc.).

The draft that results won?t be ready to submit to the admissions committee ? for that, you?ll need to determine your theme, select your examples, and revise, revise, revise -- but I guarantee that the time you spend on this introspection will be well worth it as you develop your personal statement.

I hope this helps you get started. There will also be a live chat on May 27th with several admissions counselors available who can answer your questions -- see the chat page for details. Good luck!
 
Top