We write toward our best ideas, but we rarely reach them. With this simple awareness, you can now get where you need to go.
When traveling, it's the journey that counts. When reading a novel, I’m all journey. In life? Journey = Everything. But with college essays, I want your destination out in front.
Don't expect your admissions reader to stick with you as you wind your way through a confusing narrative. Don't bank on them enjoying the suspense you're trying to build. Don't count on their patience. Give them what they want, and give it from the get-go.
That means write into your best idea in early drafts, then edit, edit, edit until your best idea hits them at the start (then over and over again).
What does writing into our best idea mean?
Writing into our best idea means we are engaged in the writing process before we are able to unearth our most convincing central theme. When we start an essay (or paragraph or sentence), we hint at or hover near our best idea, but we don't get where we need to go, at least not in the early drafts.
Some writers begin by circling their best idea like hurricane winds. That energy is exciting. Some writers creep toward their best idea. That’s less exciting. In both cases, the writer, and, therefore, the reader, are not yet in the eye of the storm. In the early drafts, a writer may think they've hit upon their best essay topic, but I doubt it. Finding your best idea takes a lot of time.
Discover your most compelling idea
Maybe this comparison will help you understand what I'm talking about.
In most of your academic writing, I can almost guarantee your paragraph’s concluding sentence would make a better topic sentence. As a writing teacher, I patiently wade through paragraphs until I reach the final sentence, then say, “A-ha! There’s the point!”
The quick editor can cut the concluding sentence and paste it at the start, make a few minor adjustments, and voila!
The slow editor (the one I hope you’ll be when writing your college essays), doesn’t simply move the concluding sentence into the topic sentence slot. This thoughtful, deliberate editor looks long and hard at each concluding sentence. They notice that they've arrived at each paragraph’s central point, but they don’t stop there. They wonder if they’ve discovered their best idea — the essay's central point. The best idea is often hidden in those concluding sentences.
Committed college essay writers aren’t satisfied until they’ve hit their most honest, most profound, most compelling idea. Then they wrestle with ways to package that idea in stories that show (don’t tell!) who they really are.
Getting your reader to care
If and when you’ve finally written into a keeper, you'll need to shape and reshape the idea in your mind and on the page. Press out the air bubbles. Ask yourself questions like: Is this what I've been heading toward all these weeks? Do I love this idea? Will my reader think it’s interesting? Will I win them over from the start so they stick with me as I unpack it?
If your best guess is yes, then sit with the idea. Walk away from it for days. Then when you return to it, decide if you still care about the idea as much as you originally did. And ask yourself the more important question: will my reader care about it? You want your reader to care about your idea as much as you do.
What you really want is your reader to care about you. Your best idea is merely the vehicle. We tell our story to let our reader in, to show them who we are. We invite them to know us, to care about us. Our best idea illustrated through our best stories allows our readers to do just that.
Time to process
Give your writing the time it deserves.
When I brainstorm topics with college essay writers, I give them time to process their ideas aloud. I sit quietly. I listen carefully. I welcome the silence, knowing writers need time and space to think and talk. I honor that space.
Then I ask questions: What does that mean? Why did it matter? How did that unfold? What language best captures it? This process takes time, deep thought, and honest reflection.
I also tell college essay writers when I, too, am excited about their ideas. With enthusiasm, I exclaim: Now I’m starting to care! Here’s where it gets interesting! I love this!
If you are writing your college essays without a cheerleader or coach, you can still employ these techniques. The key is to give yourself time and ask yourself probing questions. Start early, brainstorm thoroughly, compose thoughtfully, question yourself honestly, and give your writing days and days to simmer.
Taking control back
Getting to your best idea is no small feat. It requires time and thought, and often a deadline wrests control from the writer, so their best idea is never pinned down. I want writers to take control so they have time to reach their best idea. Then I want writers to find stories that best illustrate their best idea. Finally, I want them to discover how to package the story in language that sings.
Blow your reader away
Don’t let your best idea remain out of reach. Don’t let it swirl in a gust that goes nowhere. Reach it, isolate it, capture it, contain it, sculpt it, and release it so your reader is blown away. I want you (and your reader) in the eye of that essay storm, not waiting on shore drenched and disappointed.
Read more tips HERE.
Photo credit: Kristopher Roller
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