Welcome to F1GMAT’s #askAtulJose series. I am Atul Jose. Today’s question is related to storytelling. The question is: 
 

Q) My storytelling skills are not that great. How can I improve my skills in the shortest time so that I am ready for the Round 1 deadline in September?

Atul Jose (Founding Consultant, F1GMAT): Start a blog.

Writing freely and capturing your authentic self requires writing the good lines, the mediocre lines, and even the lines you won’t be proud of in a few months. If you write with your actual name, the creative expressions could be misinterpreted by your friends, family, and, worse, the MBA admissions team. A better strategy is to use a pseudonym and make sure that your primary network has limited access to the blog.

Why the strange strategy?

Just like essays, when shown to family and friends, writing a personal anecdote that features them won’t invite honest opinions about your writing. Also, they don’t want to hurt your feelings and would hesitate to offer constructive criticism. They will be excited about appearing in a story more than judging you on the quality of storytelling.

Writing a Blog is a creative exercise that will sharpen your writing and give you a unique flow for the MBA application essays.

If you want the time invested in writing a blog to be relevant for your MBA admissions essays, here are 10 blog topic lists that you can use:

1) My First Failure

2) The moment I realized that (my_current_profession) is for me

3) The moment I realized that (my_current_profession) is not for me

4) My First big success professionally

5) My First big success personally

6) A life philosophy that has helped me cope with challenging circumstances

7) A conflict with a friend/co-worker I regret

8) How I see myself 5 years from now

9) How I see myself 10 years from now

10) 10 Things I would change in the society

I am Atul Jose. If you want to learn about storytelling for MBA application essays, Download the Winning MBA Essay Guide.

Or if you need help directly from me in creating a narrative, editing or guiding you through the writing process, subscribe to F1GMAT’s Essay Review Service