Share Your Frustrations On The Essay Process! How are you guys doing so far?

<p>The only thing I'm frustrated with is why I'm kind of pitying myself and can't just focus and write.</p>

<p>Any topic can be a good one. It's all about showing who you are within the essay. Im pretty sure most everyone has read the UVA admissions thing about good essays. In there he says that any topic can be done well. the good ones don't tell but show an experience. I think it is also important to make it clear but vague. Make the reader want to read on. Make them remember what you have said. It doesn't need to be a quirky topic. Writing an essay about a trip can be a stellar essay if done correctly. Don't simply talk about how building houses in Costa Rica made you realize the world was in need. show them than...show them why...specific examples that happened during the trip. That one seemingly insignificant moment can be very significant</p>

<p>Whew! Nice to know that I'm not the only one completely stuck. Currently have an idea that I like, but I don't know that it really reveals anything about me. I'm scared to even find out how many different drafts I've started on. </p>

<p>Great advice, though, ace 22 tennis. I'll cross my fingers for you. :)</p>

<p>hec208, I completely agree. My first essay I wrote was for GW, and I hand wrote it completely. I let it 'simmer' a couple days, and then copied it onto the computer. In a sense, copying it onto the computer was my first edit. </p>

<p>Same thing with a play I'm writing. I've got about an act on paper, but I have yet to get the nerve up to type it on the screen.</p>

<p>I'm a big fan of hand-writing. :)</p>

<p>2legit2quit - ur poem thing is hilarious hee hee i think you should totally write your essay about THAT!!!</p>

<p>ace 22 tennis, hec2008 - thank you for ur advice!!! I'm totally going to use it.</p>

<p>I'm so glad I'm not the only one stuck and frustrated. This makes me feel so much better you guys :(</p>

<p>Another thing- One thing I heard someone on here say is that the essays cannot be forced- ideas ebb and flow, and inspiration will strike at the weirdest times. :)</p>

<p>i never seem to have a pen during those times.</p>

<p>ace 22 tennis
you were competely right. I was agonizing over my topics for weeks when one night, it just came to me. I was on the computer also, and the topic just seemed perfect to write. I started writing and finished a rough draft in about 2 hours.
so, don't worry guys. The essay will come. Hopefully, a bit sooner than later.</p>

<p>I am FAILING. I've started six or seven different essays, and none of them go anywhere. I'll write down five or six sentences and lose interest in the topic. I can't seem to get started for real! It's terrible!</p>

<p>I basically know the major topics (moving every 3 years, family ties/ethnicity, music) I'm going to write my essays on, I just need to find the right anecdotes/metaphors/specifics to mention in my essays.</p>

<p>so, i'm not alone after all. there's others who are having a hard time with the essays on the other side of the world. my friends doesn't seem so worried. but i was freaking out. i didn't even know how to start despite the topics are given. it's tormenting!!!</p>

<p>i havne't started, and i dont plan to start until oct after my SAT xD</p>

<p>Hi! i saw someone talking about the first topic of Umich! this is killing me now! who has got some idea about that? share with us! please!!!</p>

<p>yeah the UMich essays are killin me.
i've written my common app essay, but i feel vary between feeling that it's good and that it's absolute crap. I need to do about 3 more drafts.</p>

<p>what do u guys think about taking essays that are school-specific and also using it for the common app essay?</p>

<p>for instance, georgetown's describe yourself essay.</p>

<p>I have had severe writer's block all summer. I don't know what to write. And when I do write, it is pure crap and I get stuck at 200 words.</p>

<p>I just want to bash my head against a wall! Normally I'm a good writer. I can write fiction. But writing about myself? D: D:</p>

<p>hey i know, we should all like write about how gay this essay it</p>

<p>pseudovirus, totally agree with you. I wrote a winning short story in 20 minutes. Yet I can't go past FIFTY words for an essay. I ramble on, and end up talking about OTHER people and not myself.</p>

<p>"I ramble on, and end up talking about OTHER people and not myself."</p>

<p>Tell me about it. Ugh. </p>

<p>I did manage to do the 150 word short answer, though, so starting with that might help. Oh, the anxiety.</p>