The beautiful thing about a personal narrative essay is
that no one could ever write it but you. That is, it's your story to tell, and it's
likely no one else could tell it any better. That being said, the key to narrative
writing--and to all writing, for that matter--is choosing the right topic or issue. In
this case, the topic is something which happened in your life and which you can now
write about with some reflection.
A good place to start is
by brainstorming incidents in your life which have had a significant impact on you for
any number of reasons. Think about some of the following as ideas which generally work
well for a narrative essay:
- Important firsts in
your life (first bicycle ride without training wheels, first time you attended a
funeral, first time you got caught lying, first time you drove the car on your own,
first time you scored in a basketball
game...) - Significant changes in your life (divorce,
moving, changing schools, a sibling being
born...) - Moments of revelation (understanding adults in
your life are fallible, realizing death is nearer than you imagined, being betrayed by
what you thought was a friend...).
Generally
speaking, these kinds of moments will be easiest to write about if they are both
memorable and meaningful. Also, be sure you haven't just "romanticized" the event--be
certain you can recall enough details and insight to make the story meaningful and
interesting to others.
Best wishes on your
essay!
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