Flex Your Writing Muscles With Personal Essays.

Do you have a personal story you want to share, but the thought of writing a memoir is daunting? Or you just don’t have the time and space to commit to it?  Then you could consider, starting with personal essays.  Personal essays wasn’t something that was on my radar until recently, when I started talking to other writers from my course who are experimenting with this form, and it got me thinking.

Wherever you are in the process, flexing your writing muscle with personal essays, can help in a number of ways.  Just trying your hand at different styles of writing will stretch your skills in new directions, benefiting your writing overall.  Through the process of research and using both the creative and rational parts of your brain, you could also uncover new nuggets of insights or ideas that could be used in your manuscript.  And by posting regular personal essays on Medium or Sub-stack, this could be a way of building a community and an online presence.

So what is a personal essay? Personal essays, is a piece of work about a particular experience, reflection, or insight from your life, weaved in with facts, quotes, statistics, cultural references to reflect a broader truth faced by society.  For example I suffered from body dysmorphia for twenty years before social media was even a thing. So I could speak of my experiences and how I recovered while looping it in to the overarching theme, of how body dysmorphia is on the rise because of social media, including facts and statistics on the impact it is having on young peoples mental health. This isn’t a new topic, but my take on it based on my personal experiences is.

9 TIPS FOR WRITING A PERSONAL ESSAY;

1. Choose a Theme or Focus. Start with a specific idea, question, or moment that feels significant to you, like a turning point, a lesson learned, or an unusual observation that you think will resonate with others.

2. Lead with a Hook Draw the reader in with a vivid scene, a compelling question, or a thought-provoking statement. Lead with something that grabs attention. Example: I was twelve when I began spending hours in front of the mirror, hating my reflection, hating myself.

3. Use Personal Experience as the Foundation. Use creative writing techniques, immersive details and emotion to create a connection with readers.  Be honest and vulnerable, but also deliberate about what to include—your story should support the essay’s overall theme.

4. Use Your experience to Explore Broader Themes. Shift from your personal experience to explore universal truths or questions, using your story as a springboard to engage with broader ideas that resonate with readers. After sharing your personal experiences, step back and provide context. Include facts, research, to support your experience with evidence. Example: Today, body dysmorphia disorder affects 1 in 50 people in England, both men and women. It usually starts in adolescence, where a person spends an excessive amount of time worrying about flaws in their appearance, real and imagined, believing that they are ugly and unloveable.

Giving historical, cultural, or social context to your story, adds credibility and shows the universality of your experience. Don’t go heavy on research, use it in a light-touch way to back up your reflections, by weaving in quotes, studies, or anecdotes where it feels natural.

5. Blend Facts with Reflection. Don’t just drop facts into the essay—reflect on them. Show how they connect to your story and what it means to you personally. Ask yourself if this fact matters, in the context of your story? Will it help readers understand the theme more deeply? Example: ‘Understanding I was actually suffering from a mental health disorder changed everything for me. It broke the spell of believing everything I felt and said about myself was true. It never was.’

6. Structure the Essay with a Clear Arc. Introduce the theme or question with a personal anecdote or reflection, then dive deeper into your experience, providing context or analysis. To end, circle back to your personal story, leaving the reader with a final thought or question to ponder. Example: Most compulsive mental health disorders start from trauma and it is only when we face that trauma head-on and do the work to heal from it, that we can break free.

7. Write with Voice and Style. Write as if you’re talking directly to your reader. Not talking at them but as if you are in conversation with them. Be honest and vulnerable, let the reader in.

8. Edit and Refine. Focus on clarity, conciseness, and impact. Cut anything that feels redundant or superfluous.

9. Choose Your Sources Wisely. Use reputable sources to back up your points, but don’t overdo it. The essay should be personal and conversational, not academic and formal.

Personal essays that have the most impact, are vulnerable, relatable, and thought-provoking. They give readers a window into your world,  while encouraging them to reflect on their own experiences. I hope these 9 tips for writing personal essays has been helpful. I would love to know how you get on, please do share in the comments below.

Until next time, love the journey and enjoy the ride.

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