Personal Narratives How to write your own!

What is a personal narrative? A story about something that happened to you and how you felt about it. Personal narratives allow you to share your life with others. A good story creates a dramatic effect, makes us laugh, gives us pleasurable fright, and/or gets us on the edge of our seats. A personal narrative has a beginning, middle, and an ending.

Your JOB as a writer Your job will be to make the story interesting - as interesting for your reader as it was for you when it happened. Include lots of description, lots of action, and lots of dialogue. This will help your reader feel what you felt. You are the expert on the topic of your life!

Steps to writing a personal narrative: Following certain steps will make writing your story easier for you!!! It also ensures that you won’t forget anything!

Coming up with an idea to write about. Step 1 Coming up with an idea to write about. Think about an experience that happened to you that you think others would be interested in.

Step 2 Choose an experience you want to write about. Think about what you saw, heard and felt. Use an idea organizer to help sort out your thoughts. You will be using a graphic organizer.

“I couldn’t believe what I saw.” Step 3 As you write, use “I” throughout your story. Most narratives are told using the first-person point of view. “I could smell the air.” I “I couldn’t believe what I saw.” I “I remember so many things from that day.” I “I was so scared!!!” I

Step 4 Write an introduction that: gets your reader’s attention tells him or her what your story will be about.

Step 5 Write about the events in the order in which they happened. What happened first, second, third? Beginning The beginning is crucial in a narrative; it sets the stage for everything else that follows. All the following questions should be answered as quickly as the story begins: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Middle This is the heart or the meat of the story - the most important part in the development of the problem or the situation. The middle should be well detailed with lots of action to show what is happening. End At the end of the story the reader should know what happened or what the result of the problem or situation was. You should also express a resolution (problem/situation resolved and how) and a reaction.

Step 6 Be sure to add sensory details, such as how something tasted or what something looked like. This will help your reader feel like he or she was there, too. Draw the reader into the experience.

Step 7 Write a conclusion that ends your story. Tell the reader why this experience was important to you and what you learned from it.

Step 8: Last Step! Once you have finished your personal narrative, be sure to review your work. You will need to WORK on your story to make it your best! Revise and edit!

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