Tips for Writing Personal Essays
Last week I was lucky to attend Paula Derrow’s talk at John Cabot about writing the personal essay. Paula is a writer and editor with lots of experience under her belt. She started off by saying that personal essays might be the best way to get your writing published, as there are lots of places that accept such things and even pay for them. Personal essays are also good to start off with because you don’t need to know much beyond your own experience (though, I think, adding in layers of fact adds depth to any essay or piece of writing). Paula preempted her talk by saying these tips might seem rather obvious, but she’s always surprised by the number of writers who do not follow them.
The tips (in no particular order)
- Unlike journal writing, a personal essay needs to have a point and must be crafted. This works best by making the essay hinge on a “shift,” the arc, the conflict, the tension that propels the character (in this case, you) to change and see the world in a different way. Ask: “How has the narrator changed from beginning to end?”
- Don’t squish everything in. Choose your scenes and then string them together. A good way to pick scenes is to sort out the most vivid memories. “Think small” and be specific. More details give writing life and allow the reader to see, feel, inhabit what you want them to see, feel, inhabit.
- Let the reader know in the beginning what the essay is about. Have a powerful lead. Paula said that when she was an editor she often would not read beyond the third sentence of piece. The beginning is your best chance to make a good impression.
- Make the story counterintuitive or give it a twist. This helps your essay stand out from the crowds.
- You, the narrator, “should look worse than the villain.” Like fiction, don’t create characters that are black and white. Let the flaws show through.
- Don’t censure yourself. Even if you don’t remember specifics, it’s possible to stay true to the emotional truth of the story. Don’t make anything up. Paula said it’s always evident when truth gives way to fiction in essays.
- Sometimes you can find your beginning two paragraphs down and your ending two paragraphs up.
- End with action and a hint of what will happen in the future, not a summary. “Lean” in a certain direction, but don’t state this direction outright.
- Get published: know the basic details of who you’re pitching to. Target your market—write the essay for a one magazine, not a bunch of magazines. In your email, pitch your essay in only a few lines (My essay is about…). Paste essay into email and attach. Wait two weeks. If you haven’t heard back, follow up by pasting and attaching again.
I found these tips really helpful when writing my last piece for The American about Fez, Morocco. Bonus: couple them with these tips for creativity by John Cleese to get you in the writing mood.
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