A college admissions essay reveals the power of storytelling

A student’s essay about grief, endurance and a climb up Cotopaxi shows how great storytelling works in fewer than 600 words

This article was originally published by Nieman Storyboard and is republished with permission.

There’s a famous quote about creative inspiration, attributed on the internet to songwriter Sammy Cahn, who was asked in an interview, “What comes first, the melody or the lyrics?” He answered: “What comes first is the phone call.”

For many artists, and most definitely journalists, it is often the assignment and the deadline — not inspiration — that launches the work. Such was the case when the publisher Little, Brown called and asked if I’d be interested in writing another writing tools book, but this one for high school students who have to write their college admissions essays.