This blog post explores how sustained creative experience strengthens the expressive skills, critical thinking, and creative abilities required in Creative Writing, serving as key evidence to convincingly demonstrate major suitability in your academic plan.
Writing About Academic Experience and Reflections
“It takes ten thousand hours to write well.”
Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers introduces the ten-thousand-hour rule. It states that becoming a top performer in any field requires ten thousand hours of focused practice. I resonated with this book and the author’s perspective, dedicating significant time to writing practice during high school. Calculating ten thousand hours realistically, even investing eight hours daily, takes a full three and a half years. This led me to conclude that even three years of writing study as a high school student would be insufficient. Therefore, I committed to writing at least one piece daily to maximize my practice volume toward reaching ten thousand hours.
When writing, I didn’t restrict myself to any particular format or genre. Since the genre I wanted to write that day, the thoughts that came to mind, and my experiences varied daily, I practiced naturally. And whenever inspiration struck, I didn’t let it pass; I pulled out my notebook and jotted it down, even during class. When I decided to write a novel and the relationships and conflicts between characters came to mind, I would stay up all night to write it down before forgetting it. I showed the poems and stories I wrote this way to friends around me, asking for their opinions on the work, and tried my best to revise parts that weren’t well understood. While writing personal reflections is good, I believed literature that could draw empathy from others was more valuable.
The genre I wrote most was undoubtedly essays. Compared to other literary genres, it has no special format and allows for free choice of topics, which is why I wrote so many. I tend to feel emotions deeply in daily life and overthink even small matters, so expressing these feelings through writing helped me during my exam preparation. Studying made my thoughts more sensitive and caused stress in relationships, but writing them down served as both writing practice and stress relief – a win-win. Furthermore, I didn’t just jot these thoughts down in a notebook; I updated them on my personal blog to share with more people and preserve them as a lasting record.
Writing about major school activities and reflections
“Diverse Creative Experiences in the Literature Club”
I loved literature and writing, and I had a dream of becoming a freelance writer in the future. Reading newspapers often exposed me to the work of columnists and freelance writers. Reading their work nurtured my dream. I believed that to achieve my future goal, I needed to build a solid foundation through extensive practice from a young age. So, I joined the literature club to try writing in various genres, receive guidance from my literature teacher, and broaden my perspective by exchanging critiques with friends. Sharing information and knowledge with others who shared the same interests allowed for greater development.
The first activity I did after joining the club was ‘essay sharing’. Our club established a rule that during regular club meeting times, we must write and share at least one piece of writing. Since I often write essays anyway, I could submit my work comfortably without feeling rushed by deadlines. Our club was a small group with few members, so during each activity session, we had ample time sitting around with our teacher to critique each other’s writing. We passed around each other’s pieces, jotting down our impressions and notes on what we wanted to say, then shared our critiques during the review session.
Through these sessions, I could feel my work gradually developing and becoming more solid. While I had asked friends to read my writing before, those uninterested in writing or literature often found it bothersome. This would make me feel a bit disappointed and discouraged, as if I couldn’t elicit empathy from others. But in the club, everyone was interested in writing, and we could offer each other objective, helpful advice, which was very beneficial. Especially, listening to the teacher’s feedback helped me recognize shortcomings in the formal aspects of my writing. Hearing my friends’ reviews allowed me to gradually improve overly obscure parts or inconsistencies. It was fascinating and helpful to see flaws I couldn’t spot when reading my own work alone become apparent through someone else’s eyes.
There was also growth through praise. I tended to receive more compliments on my diligent attitude than on my actual writing skill. Particularly during our club activities, we had an event called ‘Meeting with the Author,’ where we invited an author who had written an essay collection to give a lecture. Since we only had this lecture about once per semester, I listened with great preparation and concentration. It was nerve-wracking because the author read and critiqued our writing directly. I showed the essayist what I considered my best piece from my previous works. As he read it, he praised me, saying it reminded him of his own childhood. He encouraged me to keep striving to become an essayist and meet again someday. Hearing this, my motivation for writing grew stronger, and I felt a deep sense of fulfillment. Through the club, I experienced this kind of mutual influence with those around me, gradually growing as a person.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
“Creating Video Poetry for Podcast Operation”
In my second year of high school, our club planned a new activity. It was a time when the creative skills of our members had greatly improved through much practice and effort. Our club advisor suggested we open a channel to continuously upload our efforts and activities to the then-popular podcasts and share them with others. Since podcasts, like YouTube, require producing and uploading videos, filming was essential to introduce our club activities. So, we learned video filming and editing techniques from our teacher and collaborated to produce videos one by one.
I was in charge of editing with two other friends. When another friend filmed our club activities or scenes from our overnight reading camp, I received the footage and cut it into appropriate segments. Then, we gathered with our editing partners to add subtitles to parts where the audio was hard to hear and apply effects to areas where the video was unclear. When introducing a work, we sometimes included scenes where the work appeared sequentially on screen or inserted screens displaying the poem’s content. At the end of the video, we listed the producers, editors, cast, and director before finalizing the edit. The process of creating and completing the video was a rewarding activity, much like writing a literary work itself.
The videos we uploaded gradually gained more views. Netizens who accessed them through podcasts watched our club activities and shared their thoughts in comments. Most were supportive and proud of our efforts, which was deeply gratifying. Some who identified as literary critics or scholars provided detailed analyses and evaluations of our works featured in the videos, which was helpful. To produce higher-quality videos, we then created video poetry. Unlike our previous edited activity photos and videos, video poetry centered on the poetic work itself. This allowed us to properly introduce the pieces, observe people’s reactions, and foster development in our creative activities.
My Growth Process and Motivation for Applying
“A freelance writer creating my own essay collections, column books, and essay anthologies”
I grew up with a father who worked as a doctor and a mother who worked as a middle school Korean language teacher. My father worked as a doctor but was also a poet who wrote verse, and my mother was a deeply sensitive person who loved literature. They always read each other’s work and discussed it. Seeing my parents like this had a profound influence on me, and I thought that in the future, I too wanted to become a literary figure and share many conversations with them. Indeed, during high school, while creating literature and writing essays, I received a lot of feedback and advice from my parents, which was very helpful.
I tried writing various genres like poetry, fiction, and essays, but essays suited me best. They offered freedom because of their lack of strict form, and I found it interesting to write about any topic I chose. My daily life was filled with diverse experiences and encounters with many people, sparking numerous thoughts and feelings. Transforming these into essays became a hobby.
These essays, shared not only with my parents but also with friends, club members, and online, allowed me to hear their feedback and gradually improve. While the feedback from those around me was invaluable, I aspire to receive more specialized literary education once I enter university. This is precisely why I chose to major in Creative Writing. Although I learned basic theory and practiced extensively in high school, I still feel there are many areas where I lack attention to detail and have much to learn.
Therefore, I intend to study until I feel there is nothing left to practice, nothing left to learn. I believe such deep, immersive study is possible within the specialized education offered by a Creative Writing Department. After graduating from university, I aspire to publish my own collection of essays, contribute columns to newspapers, and grow into a freelance writer who can depict and express life through photo essay collections.
