Here’s some advice I put together for one of my nieces, who’s starting college this fall. It applies to all college students, writers, and really, anyone with a voice:
Congratulations! Welcome to the next chapter of your life. Take a moment to imagine all the triumphs, failures, opportunities, and possibilities that await you at college. What most people won’t tell you is this: during the next four years, your real work will be excavating your true Self from your current self. How will you do this? By releasing limiting beliefs and replacing them with more nourishing ones, polishing your rough edges, and revealing the valuable gem you really are and always have been. Think of your college courses as the side project to your actual work. The process of “becoming” will require patience and may, at times, be painful, but will also be full of joyous openings that allow your inner light to shine through.
The tips below are intended to help, not only with all the college writing that’s coming your way, but also with navigating your life and traversing this journey of self discovery you unknowingly embarked upon the day you entered this world.
Brainstorming
So you’ve been asked to write a short story or essay for class. Before diving straight into your first draft, you must brainstorm, and one of the best ways to do that is through freewriting. In order to freewrite, set aside a specific amount of time(5-10 minutes) to - you guessed it - write freely. You can write about anything that strikes your fancy or, for more targeted assignments, with a particular prompt in mind. The catch is, once you start writing, you can’t stop. Your pen must continue to flow across the page; your fingers will keep tapping away on the keyboard. Write with abandon, even if you can’t think of a single thing to write. Write: “I don’t know what to write, I don’t know what to write…abcdefghijklmnop”. Eventually, more words will come to you. Whether you end up venting your feelings or scribbling down your reflections on life, chances are, you will surprise yourself with a few gems along the way - deep insights into who you are or what interests you about the subject at hand.
The point of freewriting is to bypass your Inner Critic, that pesky roommate who shares your headspace and tries to shoot down every great idea you’ve ever had. Your Inner Critic is the arch-enemy of your Inner Creative, who is closely intertwined with your Inner Child, as well as your Intuition. Your intuition is your direct line of communication with the One. Pay close attention to all the voices in your head, so you learn to distinguish them and identify when you are being guided by fear (Inner Critic) or joy and love (Intuition). In time, your listening skills will improve, as will your relationship with your intuition. Learn to trust it, because it will never steer you wrong. Just as with freewriting, give yourself the space to brainstorm all the possibilities for your life, regardless of how crazy some of those ideas might sound. Allow your Inner Child to have a say in what your life’s mission should be. After all, no one understands your joy like she does.
Meaning
When choosing a story or topic to write about, you want to make sure it’s an interesting one that grabs your reader’s attention, while also imparting meaning. Whether it’s a short story that leaves your reader contemplating the nature of love, or a persuasive essay promoting a particular solution to climate change, you must understand the “why” behind why you’ve chosen to share this specific message. The stronger your connection to what you want to say, the better you’ll be able to articulate it, and the more powerfully you’ll be able to share it with others.
Similarly, in life, you must rely on your intuition to guide you towards those activities that are not only interesting, but also bring meaning to your life. Allow yourself to be led by joy, even if it’s along the most unexpected of paths. If you do, meaning will magically materialize, but only if you are actively seeking it. When you choose to search for meaning, you are actually initiating a conversation with the Universe. Everything around you becomes a potential mouthpiece for the Divine - strong feelings, song lyrics, movie lines, unexpected intrusions, synchronous occurrences. Don’t discount anything; keep checking in with your gut, and it will guide you. The more you trust in this ongoing conversation (without psyching yourself out and thinking you’ve lost the plot), the stronger your faith, and the more convincingly you’ll be able to share what you learn.
Planning
Before diving into the task of writing an essay or story, it’s always best to start with a plan. But make sure to keep your outline flexible and leave room for the possibility of changing course. Don’t hold on too tightly to your initial expectations. Often, you will begin a story with the intention of leading your character down a particular path, only to have him/her resist it, and instead, lead you towards a new path you never knew existed. Yes, your words and characters will speak to you! Make sure you listen.
In life, always have a rough plan, but allow room for inspiration, as well as self-compassion. As you progress on your journey, It’s okay to take mini detours or even completely change direction. Change is the only constant in life, so learn to flow with the tide rather than resist it. If you do, your life will turn into a more companionable give-and-take, a soul-nourishing co-creation with the universe, a unifying connection to the One.
First Drafts
Allow yourself permission to write a terrible first draft. As with free writing, you never know what surprises might emerge. Also, it takes the pressure off. Works of art aren’t created overnight. It takes time, effort, and commitment to bring your vision to life. Too often, we aim for perfection straight off the bat. Aim to create a mess instead. Behave like a kid who’s been given the freedom to finger paint all over the house. Be curious, adventurous, creative. Take risks. Dare I say, have fun?! If you can find even a single strand of joy in your project, it will light up your work from within.
When trying out a new hobby or embarking on a new relationship, allow yourself to be an amateur (someone who does something purely for the love of it). An amateur lets her love and curiosity guide her, while a professional is expected to be an expert. Mastering a hobby or building a stable relationship is messy work and takes time. Approach these things as an amateur and you will always be looking to learn, rather than focusing on perfection. Learn to view life through the eyes of an amateur, even after you’ve become an expert.
Focus and Further Research
When writing an essay, always have a clear focus. First, identify the theme, then research it, come to your own hypothesis, and finally, communicate your findings effectively. Similarly, when you discover something you’re passionate about, or which brings a sense of purpose to your life, commit to learning about it in depth. Take your time figuring out which aspect of the activity you enjoy most and why, and how best to approach and incorporate it into your life in a way that fulfills you. Perhaps you might consider integrating it with your other interests, and creating an altogether new endeavor from the one you were originally pursuing. Cultivate new ways of thinking. Ultimately, you can spread awareness of what you are doing and attract the help of other like-minded people, who are meant to become part of your tribe.
Perspective
Many short stories are told from a third person perspective (he/him, she/her, they/them). You already know that you are the main character of your own life story, but remember, you are also the narrator. There is a part of you that witnesses and narrates everything you do. Too often, your character becomes so embroiled in her thoughts, words, and actions, she forgets to check in with her narrator (or consciousness).
In order to lead an intentional and balanced life, you must check in with this part of yourself regularly, whether through meditation, prayer, yoga, journaling, or any other activity that encourages reflection. It’s important to stay connected to both these sides of your Self (indeed, to connect them to each other!) and to reflect, not only on what your character is doing, but also, on who she’s becoming. Your narrator is more powerful than you know. She has the ability to change the entire course of your story.
Voice
Writing in the active voice is much more effective than using the passive voice (eg - “I read the book” vs “The book was read by me”). It’s more direct and utilizes fewer words, thereby packing more of a punch. Similarly, if you are clear and confident about your goals, you can actively pursue them, rather than passively waiting for things to fall into place on their own.
However, just as there may be times when you feel the passive voice will suit your writing better (such as to slow down the pace of a story or enhance dramatic tension), so, too, will there be moments in life when you prioritize “being” over “doing”, or when you’re forced to play a waiting game and surrender to the will of the Universe. At times like these, learn to listen with humility to what the Universe is trying to tell you about the desired direction of your life and the steps you must take to get there.
Avoid Unnecessary Fillers
Avoid using filler language to fatten up your writing. It serves no purpose other than to dilute the message you’re trying to convey. Common filler words and phrases are "needless to say," "for what it's worth," "basically," “just,” “probably,” “really,” and “very”. Re-read your work without using these words and you will find, each sentence still stands (and most likely, sounds better).
Similarly, avoid doing things unconsciously “simply” (another filler word!) to fill time. If you feel like binge-watching a show on Netflix, go ahead, but make sure you acknowledge it as an activity with a purpose (i.e. to relax). Don’t be mindless in your actions, like scrolling through social media only to realize you’ve wasted two hours of your life. Mindfulness with your words, thoughts, beliefs, and actions requires discipline, but grants you more control over your time and responses. You’ll then be more likely to speak with substance and behave with purpose.
Figurative Language
One of the most popular literary devices is figurative language, such as similes (eg - She ran like the wind), metaphors (eg - She is an early bird), and personification (eg - The wind whispered for her to wake up). Such language is used for effect, allowing the story to resonate more intimately with the reader. When writing figuratively, you are, in essence, comparing two different things (like a girl and the wind), which nudges others to notice the common patterns that exist in all of creation. This is the kind of thinking that makes for great interdisciplinary work. Once you begin to realize that everything you know began from a singular source, the differences between all the categories and compartments the world has created begin to dissipate. Your creativity will flourish, as you imagine all the possibilities for your life and this world.
Impact
Once you’ve gained a sufficient level of mastery over the aforementioned rules, you can focus on the most important one of all: sometimes you have to break the rules to create the greatest impact. Not supposed to start a sentence with “and”? Go ahead and do it! Always been taught not to write in sentence fragments? Like this one. Short and sweet. Magnets for readers with short attention spans. Try it and see what happens! Not supposed to blend poetry into your persuasive essay? What’s the harm in trying? Innovation stems from trying new things and sometimes that means re-writing the rules, or getting rid of the rules altogether.
Once you know how to work the system, it’s easier to spark a revolution from within. The best and most inventive creators have come to be known as disruptors, visionaries, artists. They are the ones who spark change and help this world level up on the scale of evolution. Follow the rules at first, but always keep your eye on the end-goal. When your intuition is so loud, it drowns out all the other voices in your head, that is the time to strike in whatever way feels right. Be fearless!
You have one, short life to live and no one else - not your parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, or society - can live it for you. They may have an array of expectations from you, and good intentions for you, but only you can decide what feels right. Be true to yourself and the guiding principles you’ve developed on this, at times arduous and complex, other times simple and serendipitous, and always beautiful journey of “becoming”.
At the end of the day, your writing represents your unique voice, which represents the essence of who you are. By strengthening your writing skills, you’re actually discovering and flexing your voice and growing as a human being. In time, your voice will become your strongest ally, your artistry will express the collective feelings of a generation, your words will create a ripple effect heard around the world, and your consciously articulated beliefs will be the spark for lasting, global elevation.
No pressure though. Here’s wishing you loads of luck at college and beyond!😁
I needed to read something like this 16 years ago! But so glad I got to read this today. Something I think I will continue to refer to because, wow. Powerful.
How blessed your niece is to have you in her life!💛