<p>This may very well be the single most common concern of hopeful applicants that I see. </p>
<p>Is it too clichéd if I
Is this topic clichéd?</p>
<p>Brand new concepts are IMPOSSIBLE to invent. And if you THINK youve gone and sparked up something truly original, think again. Someone has already beaten you to the punch. You can bet the farm on it.</p>
<p>Lets say Im gonna write a movie. Id like to write a story about the triumph of good over evil. And then I say, "Meh, thats been done. Its too clichéd."</p>
<p>Well, if its the 70s, and Im about to write Star Wars and I junk the project because I think good versus evil has been done then Im obviously missing a big big point.</p>
<p>Or lets say Im a novelist. And Ive been kicking around this idea for a while about a troubled teen. Meh, how many times have we read THAT book, right?</p>
<p>So I tear up my manuscript called THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.</p>
<p>Or Im the maker of automobiles. And my last name is Mercedes. And I say, Id like very much to make a nice car that has 4-wheels.</p>
<p>Meh, come to think of it its just been done to DEATH this 4-wheel paradigm! Cars with 4-wheels are so clichéd.</p>
<p>Its execution folks.
Not the novelty of the idea.</p>
<p>Mercedes EXECUTED better than most of the competition. No one CARES that it, like mannnny other cars, has 4 wheels and one steering column, and windows, etc etc etc. </p>
<p>Guess what. At its core, Star Wars is about good and evil. Are you kidding me? It doesnt get much simpler and boring than that. But George Lucas captured the minds of millllllions because of the novelty of the design and detail and nuance and overall EXECUTION. </p>
<p>Such that it took THE MOST COMMON CONCEPT IMAGINABLE and made it not so common after all.</p>
<p>You are shooting yourselves in the foot by wondering if your IDEA has been done before or too often. </p>
<p>You wont reinvent the wheel with WHAT you write about.
Youll reinvent it by HOW you write it.</p>
<p>Now. What EXACTLY does that mean . how you write </p>
<p>How has everything to do with what you reveal about your attitude about stuff. The way you write, your style, your tone, your structure, your editorial comments, your rhythms, your phrasing </p>
<p>What are you thinking and feeling?
What are your thoughts on stuff?
What are your reactions to things?
How do you experience things?
How do you PROCESS stuff?
What are your THOUGHT bubbles at any given moment?
Why do you think the way you do?
Do you question things?
Have you ever questioned your own beliefs?
Have you NEVER questioned them?
Ever get really angry about something?
Ever get super jealous?
Ever get super happy?
Ever experience utter confusion?
What was it? And why did it surprise you?</p>
<p>When youre writing and drafting and ideating break it all down. Dissect it to the core. Pull it apart to the what does this all mean level. Analyze, scrutinize, wonder see if you can figure stuff out.</p>
<p>That should be your challenge. To discover something cooool about the way you think.</p>
<p>NOT "what's going to impress an admissions committee reader."</p>
<p>If youre writing about a sob story no one is going to be compelled by the CONTENT of what youre writing about. All were interested in is how you processed it all. What were you thinking before? How did the event ALTER an attitude of yours? Did you ever think something inappropriate and hate yourself for thinking it? Did you ever feel numb? What did that REALLY feel like? Give me an example. Dig. Dont just write at the surface plot exposition level. This happened then this happened and then this happened. None of that is ever exciting.</p>
<p>Some of the above questions [there are MILLIONS like those by the way, that was just a tiny sampling] can help to develop a way of THINKING about things thatll BRING OUT better writing. Writing that goes below the surface.</p>
<p>Thats where you move away from cliché land, guys. Beneath the surface.</p>
<p>No matter how hard you try, if you write honestly and passionately with attention to detail and specificity, its mathematically impossible to be clichéd.</p>
<p>The essays that end up having that trite, boring, uninspired feels are the ones that consciously endeavor to impress. The ones that think theyve gotten inside the heads of adcoms. For the love of God, stop trying. Pretty please? For me? Seriously, its not going to work. And even if it works, itll only sorta kinda work. If youre smart enough to get inside their heads, youre smart enough to write something TRULY spectacular thatll undoubtedly blow people away. </p>
<p>Please please please just let go of the is it clichéd question. </p>
<p>EVERY SINGLE TOPIC has the potential to be brillllllilant.</p>
<p>Expose the mad ramblings of your inner mind.
Thats your ONLY -- and BEST -- chance of coming across unique.</p>
<p>As always, you're welcome to PM me with questions if you got em.</p>
<p>Raj</p>