Write Your Slice of Life: 6 Quick and Easy Steps to Writing a Personal Essay

Do you know why the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series is so popular? Aside from terrific marketing and unequaled publicity, readers love the stories and personal essays. They are short, personal and teach a lesson or moral. If you would like to be a better writer of the personal essay, opinion pieces, reports and letters to the editor just follow the suggestions listed below:

1. Be brief. Many written reports or stories are 500 words or less. However, there is a general rule that an essay is between two and twenty typed, double-spaced pages. The most important criteria to remember is that a good piece needs to be an unbroken reading experience. The reader will lose interest if it is too long or wordy.

2. Tell a story. A personal essay is a story that has happened to you or that you know about firsthand. The reader assumes that it is nonfiction and that it will contain details and descriptions with which we are familiar. Structure your story around examples, using a pencil as your paintbrush to evoke images and paint a picture in the reader's mind.

3. Make a point. You will want to illustrate your point, teach a lesson, explain a specific topic, or even support or criticize an idea. Your goal is to win sympathy or agreement. Do not turn it into a sermon or a soapbox to present the superiority of your ideas by including "shoulds" or "musts" aimed at the reader.

4. Use your senses. Enliven your essay with sensuous detail like how it smelled, tasted, sounded or felt. Make the reader feel like they are seeing and experiencing it through your body.

5. Tell about the ordinary. Personal essays are often best when they describe a common but freely shared experience. It doesn't have to be about being a survivor of the Twin Towers. Talk about your reaction to 911. Or tell us about watching a sunset or baking bread. When you talk about walking your dog, take us along.

6. Make it engaging. An essay should arouse curiosity about life. Instead of preaching, invite us to consider your point of view by sharing the particular experience that brought you there, describe what happened, how you reacted, and why you interpret your experiences the way you do.

Think about your own interests and areas of special knowledge, activities, skills, attitudes, problems as well as typical obstacles faced in life. Teach us what you gained or lost in your life lesson. It is much easier to be convincing when you can draw from personal and firsthand information. Write it today. Submit it to Chicken Soup for the Soul or your local newspaper and become a published author. There are readers out there who want to share your slice of life.

© 2005 Judy H. Wright

This article has been prepared for your use by Judy H. Wright, author and life educator. You have permission to reprint it in your ezine or newsletter as long as the author and her web address is included http://www.ArtichokePress.com; 406-549-9813. Check out the website for upcoming workshops, tele-classes and books. You will also find FREE articles and be able to subscribe to the ezine The Artichoke-finding the heart of the story in the journey of life.

---

Essential HTML Skills For Article Authors - 7 Tips

Many successful authors close their mind to learning HTML because... Read More

How to Get Started on Writing Killer Articles

I once wrote an article in which I offered the... Read More

Every Writers Dilemma: How Do You Decide What to Write About?

The sources of inspiration are all around us, in the... Read More

Where to Get Great Ideas For Your Next Article

There are times when I want to write an article... Read More

Microsoft Word Smart Quotes and Article Marketers Dont Mix

By default, Microsoft Word automatically changes straight quotation marks (... Read More

Will This Be Your First How-to Report?

You've got to start somewhere, but once you've created your... Read More

You Can Also Write

I am sure that there would have been a moment... Read More

4 Effective Content Writing Tips

Writing for websites -- content, as it is called --... Read More

5 Powerful Article Writing Tips

Writing articles is one of the most powerful, if not... Read More

Be in the Trade Publications Your Customers Read

Your publicity dreams may include being featured in Forbes, Fortune,... Read More

5 Critical Promotion Mistakes People Make With Articles

Did you realize that writing and publishing articles online represents... Read More

Increase Your Visitors By Writing Articles

If you want to increase the amount of visitors to... Read More

How to Write Articles to Sell Your Book

Selling books online means that you need to get interested... Read More

Checklist for Writing Articles That Get Read

When writing articles for publication, it is important that you... Read More

7 Important Elements of Any Article - Miss Just 1 Element and Your Article is Doomed

These 7 Important Elements are your Blueprint to Article Writing... Read More

How to use Articles to Boost Your Online Presence

Writing articles is one of the best ways to get... Read More

Writing Articles

You say, I can't write an article, I have no... Read More

Article Marketing 101 ? Article Writing Establishes You as an Expert

If you market online, whether it be your own information... Read More

Letters to the Editor: Having Your Say

Writing a letter to your newspaper's editor is a privilege... Read More

Article Syndication for Better Search Engine Position

If you're sick of being #987 for your best Google... Read More

Discover How You Can Write an Article That Will Excite Your Target Market and Make You Money!

I am often approached and asked, how do I write... Read More

How to Create a Viral Lead-Generating Machine

Whether you own your own affiliate website, or subscription website,... Read More

Write a Better Technical Article in Half the Time

Good technical articles are challenging to write. They're time-consuming, demanding... Read More

3 Article Outline Essentials

Most writers I talk with who experience "writer's block" do... Read More

How To Master Article Writing To Get More Traffic

If you are starving for traffic, can't seem to consistently... Read More

Seecrets on Writing: Free Requotable Quotes for Internet Writers

Original quotes, when used at the beginning or at the... Read More

The RIGHT Way To WRITE Articles

As a follow up to my previous article on the... Read More

Finding Time To Write

A true test for many writers that will require your... Read More

5 Plus One Internet Marketing Strategies to Improve Article Quality to Increase WebTraffic

Writing quality articles is time consuming for the very best... Read More

Article Writing: How to Sound Like the Expert You Are

You, too, can become a recognized expert in your specialized... Read More

There is an Article Deep Down Inside of You Just Looking to Bust Out

The Most Economical Way to Advertise online is to Submit... Read More

Article Math: A Multiplying Effect!

Writing for the internet requires that you create a large... Read More

Writing For Dollars -- A Freelancers Guide

If you have writing skills and want to use your... Read More