Pebblepup's Writing Den

One excellent way to practice writing is to write a personal essay. These are non-fiction writing pieces, also known as narrative essays. They can be formal, informal, thought provoking, or humorous. They can even be blogs.

They have three main parts, the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. They are often short, about eight hundred to twelve hundred words. The writing is conversational. It helps to imagine yourself telling a story of sorts to someone.

You can find topics on the internet by searching the term personal essay. Then look at the examples that come up.

One of the usual topics is to write about yourself. I find this topic difficult as I don’t like to talk about myself. Depending on the topic, you start writing, or introduce the topic. Then you explain the topic in the body of the work. Then you write a wrapping up paragraph or two to conclude the piece.

The opening paragraph of a personal essay should hook the reader. This is the same as in writing fiction. It should make them want to read more. You want to entice your reader to read more of the piece.

The personal essay can be instructional, teaching the reader something. You should have good facts to present. That’s what follows the hook or opening. Expand and expound on your topic. Then wrap it all up.

You can write it in a formal five-paragraph form, or something a little more casual. I view my blogs as short personal essays. They take the form of my opinions as well as informative.

It’s not an exact analogy, because my blogs are shorter than the average personal essay, but you get the idea. Learn about your topic and write it down in your own words.

It can be autobiographical in nature. Keep in mind that it is a short, nonfictional piece of writing. You can write about yourself. You do one on how to grow roses. You can use a personal essay to answer the question of what kind of animal you would be. Another good topic would be what animal you were in a previous life.

You can write your thoughts on traveling to Mars, or give reasons why we shouldn’t. Topics are everywhere. All you need to do is sit down and begin writing.

If you are writing about yourself, start with the basics, who you are and why you are writing this essay. The why isn’t as important as the who here.

In any case, it can be an excellent form of writing practice or exercise. All you need do is sit down and write a personal essay. You may surprise yourself. Whether you write about yourself, or give instruction on something you know well, is for you to decide. Keep in mind that you are doing an exercise.

Exercises can help you get better at writing. They says practice makes perfect because it’s true. Writing exercises can help you get better at writing. So give the personal essay a try. Even if you think what you wrote is garbage, it expands your writing muscle. And that is priceless.