Getting Personal with Personal Narratives
By Katherine Chung, written July 2021
from the creative nonfiction summer 2021 series
We often forget how important events and celebrations can be. Sometimes we forget to write things down or take a photo of an event. Oftentimes, we do not realize how important something, or someone, is until we lose them. While this last sentence describes my life perfectly, it also sounds like something that we may hear from our parents or mentors.
Personal narratives are like short chapters of an individual’s complete memoir. This specific style of writing allows people to recall a memory and share a personal experience through writing. Such short stories can be about a specific experience and can be intense and hard to comprehend. And wonderful.
Typically, authors write in the first person when they are describing personal experiences. And by writing from their unique point of view, authors can use their five senses to vividly describe a scenario to their audience. This descriptive language also allows the audience to step into the authors’ shoes. Authors are able to set a rich setting so that the audience knows when and where (and why) the personal narrative took place. Some authors like to add quotes and photos to their narratives to make their stories feel more personal. And sometimes some authors use their photos as cover images while others may put a collage of photos at the end of the story. Each author who writes a personal narrative can be as specific or general as wanted to tell a story.
Most personal narratives are written in prose and are 1–5 pages long. They do not need to be exceptionally long since most events written about occur in a quick instance, such as a few hours.
The most common technique used for personal narrative writing is storytelling, which allows authors to retell a story that has made them who they are today or allowed them to overcome a life obstacle. It may even be difficult for an author to recall a memory from the past to write about, but the storytelling element allows an author to add a fictional aspect to a personal story. For example, some authors choose to change a person’s name for the sake of privacy. In another example, an event could be boring so fictional additions might spice things up.
By reading more personal narratives, readers can discover more about others, whether different or alike. Grow as readers and learn about new topics and events that they never knew about before. And as we know, it can sometimes be easier to read an excerpt or a chapter rather than an entire biography about an individual. No one’s life is ever happy and easy. Oftentimes, it is easier to read a person’s story in small, narrative doses.
As a writer, I believe that it is important to write personal narratives, even though they may not be for everyone. I have been through a lot in my short lifetime and believe that it is important to share the darkest (along with the brightest) moments so that others do not have to feel alone. I find it is difficult to write about the saddest and most tragic moments that have happened to me. It is also hard to read about those moments.
But writing personal narratives helps me gain a better mindset about how I want to share my story. And knowing that some people relate to my stories while others may learn something entirely new about themselves is incredible. That is the power of sharing memories and narratives, whether through a short vignette or a longer memoir.
Even the most famous writers struggle to write their own narratives. Here are a few of my favorite personal narratives and memoirs if you are interested:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (from The New York, 2018)
Disability Visibility: First Person Stories From the 21st Century edited By Alice Wong
Peach: an Exceptional Teen’s Journey for Universal Acceptance by Jenevieve Woods
Katherine Chung is a Senior at Towson University studying English and Creative Writing. She will graduate in December 2021. Katherine currently lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland with her parents. During her free time, she loves to write short stories and memoirs, read young adult books, and update her blog. To read her blog, visit katchung13.wixsite.com/website.
******
Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.