Find the story only you can tell.
After two decades reading submissions, I know when an essay comes alive.
It's the sudden feeling there's a real person on the other side of the page. — A.M. Arden, Founder & Literary Editor
Most essay advice begins with the prompt. Rising begins with the student.
"Everybody is original, if he tells the truth, if he speaks from himself. But it must be from his true self and not from the self he thinks he should be."
— Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write"The scariest moment is always just before you start."
"Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open."
"If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people."
"After the fiftieth essay of the night, admissions officers are not looking for perfection. They are looking for a reason to keep reading. The essays they remember are the ones that feel unmistakably alive."
— A.M. Arden · Founder & Literary Editor
I came in with a list of topics my college counselor helped me put together. None of them felt like mine. By the third exercise I had an essay I actually wanted to read. My teacher ended up asking me to share it with the class.