Overcoming Writers Block when Writing Your Personal Statement

Almost all of us have experienced having writer’s block. There could be nothing worse than staring at the blank page while your mind continues to be numbingly empty. Fortunately, there are ways for you to defeat the dreaded writer’s block. Get Into MBA shares some tips on how you can overcome this challenge.

Surround yourself with positivity

Stop staring at the blank page. The emptiness of your mind will just continue to go on and on. According to the blog:

Research has shown that negative thoughts are a significant hindrance to creativity. Don’t make this mistake. The key then is to surround yourself with positivity and creativity. How can we do this?

You can actually visit interesting sites on the Internet. Read about the topics you are passionate about, just to wake yourself up from your seemingly sleeping mind.

Listen to music

Some of the most influential music is about significant moments and thoughts in an artist’s life. These lyrics are what you want to grab on to. Pull up a google search of the song’s lyrics and read along.

You can choose any song that has emotional impact to listeners. These songs will rouse your emotion and imagination.

Read people’s blogs before writing a personal statement

There are hundreds of blogs out there where interesting people are writing about their lives. Do the same thing as with the music you were listening to. Take the authors’ stories and relate them to your own life experiences. Don’t worry if yours have trouble comparing; the people reading your essay realize you are only 17 or 18 years old and will adjust their expectations accordingly.

Don’t pressure yourself too much. Try reading other articles or blogs. Usually, entertainment news and interesting scoops about people and events will inspire you to write. Here’s a good tip from another article:

Here’s what you should do – pick up a copy of People magazine and take a look at their articles (yes, there are articles). Actually, don’t read any article in its entirety – just read the first 2-3 sentences. Their articles aren’t brilliant or unbelievably well-written but the writers for People magazine do an outstanding job of grabbing their readers’ attention at the beginning of an article. And while admissions counselors do not read applications while standing in line at the grocery store, it is equally important for you to catch their attention at the beginning of your essay.

Bearing these tips in mind will help you overcome mental block when you write your personal statement. Sometimes, a few distractions can inspire you to write. Don’t stress yourself too much. Some ideas will come naturally to you, or you can just start writing down whatever comes to mind even if they seem non-sense at first. You can always edit later.