Writing Personal Narrative

January 20, 2009

 

Mary Rosenblum:  Good morning all! Nice to see you this morning! This is a good day to be talking about writing personal narrative...think of all those folk with personal narrative stories that people on the Washington Mall are going to have to tell.
So true many stories there.
Mary Rosenblum:  Personal narrative has always been a strong market with a lot more readers than fiction. It sort of bridges the gap between nonfiction and fiction. Because it's meant for entertainment rather than straight information sharing, it uses more of the technical conventions of fiction.
Is it also called Literary nonfiction?
Mary Rosenblum:  It can be, Pam. Generally, whether it's called 'literary' or 'personal narrative' or 'creative nonfiction' or 'memoir' is a matter of semantics.  Although literary narrative or literary nonfiction generally uses literary style, just as literary fiction does. But that's a small segment of the HUGE personal narrative market. The truth matters to readers. They value it.
How does one develop the characters without offending living people, and not have marshmallow characters?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, you have to decide if the people you're writing about are going to be offended to find themselves in print and if you care about it. Even when you change the names, and you usually should, unless that person is a celebrity or public figure, they and friends will recognize themselves. Give that some thought. There are personal narratives I have not written because it would hurt the feelings of someone I know.  Your call. Legally, as long as you don't libel, you can even use real names. Ethically, you should give some thought to the consequences before you put a real person on the public stage.  Will that person ever read this? What will happen if he or she does?  Although you'd be amazed at how oblivious people can be to their own representation on the page. If they don't want to see that side of themselves.

Where novice writers fall down in this genre  is by not giving fictional technique enough attention. It’s  easy to write what you know...write down the experiences you've had. And because they are vivid to YOU, because you, as a character, are obvious to YOU, the assumption is that you and those experiences are just as obvious to the readers. That is SO not true!
I try to be nice, but develop a real characteristic also. Overall, they end up likable people...but also real people (or so I think).
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, Pam, if you're writing personal narrative you ARE writing about real people, so they do have to seem like that real person.
Do you write in first person POV ?
Mary Rosenblum:  Belinda, you can write in first person or you can describe events involving other people as a strong narrator. You want to make it clear to the readers that you, the author, are telling us this story, that this is not fiction.
Okay thanks.
Mary Rosenblum:  It's not true that you and your experiences will be clear or vivid for readers. Without you working at making them clear. Personal narrative is both the easiest and hardest type of writing.  Easy because you lived these events. Yoiu don't have to make them up. Hardest because it is very difficulit to make them equally clear to readers....just as hard as creating a fictional character who is real to readers.

 It really helps to have other readers point out the confusing parts....or dangling parts.  

Mary Rosenblum:  It is, Pam. And one of the most important skills you develop as a writer is the ability to read your own work like a READER. That is not easy to do.  You know way too much, and everything is so clear....to you.  You have to create yourself for your readers the same way you have to create a fictional character. You do it through your narrative voice. The two most common flaws I see in novice personal narrative are: a boring narrative voice
b: a case of home-movie-itis
What are the important points for a narrative voice....how do you recognize a boring voice?
Mary Rosenblum:  If your voice is monotone, you are not a real person to the readers. So why should we care what happened to you?  It should sound unique, Pam. It should reveal the speaker's world view and background. You 'show' the readers the action. Strong personal narrative is a balance of 'I did this' and we all watch that together.
Give an example please.

A lot of personal narrative has, I this and I that. This becomes boring after a while. How do you get around that? (even changing sentence structure still gives the I impression).
Mary Rosenblum:  Let me see if I can give you and Pam both an example...'showing' in a personal narrative as well as unique voice.

Gardening with a puppy is one of those life moments that feels like a karmic test. You know...the kind where you're either going to blow up and really lose it, and fail, or you're going to be one of those saintly sorts who smiles their way through every one of life's bad moments. Me? I tend to fall over into the blow up and fail category. Specially when I'm trying to plant peas on the one good gardening day we’ve had all month and the puppy is going to help me no matter what. So I’m up to my elbows in soil, blissfully without any assistance for the moment and then that feeling starts growing. It's too quiet. I try to ignore it. Dig harder. But that little voice is whispering in my ear....you'd better go check. So finally, I lay down the fork and go looking. So there's the puppy and she's quiet all right. And happy. And occupied. And my favorite old Pendleton wool jacket, the one that's kind of ragged around the edges (courtesy of about three other pups over the years) is rapidly returning to the fibers from whence  it came.
So there's an example for you. You are going to use I, but if you bury it in enough action and visuals, it's going to be much less obtrusive. And you don't start every sentence with 'I'. You don't do that when you talk with someone conversationally.  Good personal narrative is like a conversation with the readers.
Gotcha, thanks!
Mary Rosenblum:  As to background, Pam, one of the strengths of first person, either fictional or in personal narrative, is that you can reveal a lot of information to the readers quickly.
Thanks.

How do your 'reveal' their background without showing?
Mary Rosenblum:   You TELL them about your character's background. But in moderation and in between you balance that with a lot of visual showing.
Carolyn came over. Carolyn is my neighbor. She's about eighty, set in her ways, and she has a lot of opinions about puppy raising. Of course not one of her dogs has ever minded her, but that doesn't stop her from dispensing pearls of puppy-training wisdom.
And then I'd go on to describe her leaning on the fence, showing her, her expression, her body language, as she talked about the puppy.

Sounds like it's just like writing 1st person fiction, with some tiny differences.
Mary Rosenblum:   Sundale it is exactly like writing fictional first person. Exactly!  And that's what nonfiction narrative people forget.  You have to create the character (that's you) the same way you create a fictional character.

So, instead of saying "I did this" and "I did that," you show the reader what you see happening?
Mary Rosenblum:   Andi, that's it exactly. Let me translate what I already did into what I unfortunately see a lot from novices.
I hate gardening with a puppy. This morning I was happily digging in my garden, when I realized it was too quiet. I didn't want to stop, but I thought my puppy might be getting into trouble, so I did. And I found her up by the house, lying on my Pendleton jacket and chewing it up.
This is alas, pretty typical novice personal narrative. Notice what we have here? It's information.
I see the difference. Thank you, Mary.
Mary Rosenblum:   It includes everything that my first example revealed, and it's short, and to the point.
And a lot of I's
Mary Rosenblum:   And a lot of I’s, Belinda, yes, and it is INFORMATION ONLY. Readers of personal narrative don't want just information. They want to play, too. They want to SHARE your Hawaiian adventure or the frustration of puppy and garden. They want to be there, to see, hear, and laugh with you.
What’s the ending like?
Mary Rosenblum:   Do you mean what's the ending of 'this' piece like or the end of any personal narrative, bss?
In this puppy story
What's the plot theme?
Mary Rosenblum:   LOL, I have no idea! I've been making it up as I go along.  Here, the theme might be putting up with things that go wrong and finding something to laugh at – seeing the larger perspective. And that brings us to part B of my 'novice weaknesses' list.  That's the home-movie-itis part. If I just told readers about my puppy chewing up my coat, it's a home movie. Yeah, some will have been there. Others will not. It's like watching a you tube video of the kid's graduation from grade school. But if I have a theme, if I give readers something to take away from this even if they never have or never will own a puppy, then it's more universal.
How do you avoid a home-movie?
Mary Rosenblum:   Even if you're not totally aware of it, good personal narratives generally encompass a larger idea. Now that's not always true for straight humor.  If you read much of Patrick McManus's stuff, mostly he's out to make you laugh so hard you hurt yourself and often he succeeds.  But he does have a subtle subtext -- he's poking fun at the stereotypes or conventions of a certain group of people, but from a very 'inside' perspective. He's one, too. That makes it not a home movie.

 If you write about your daughter's wedding and it's all details of the wedding, that's a home movie.  If you write about the wedding, but you're also coming to realize that agonizing over the details is getting in the way of the larger picture, that's a personal narrative.

I often find it hard to transition from the personal to the takeaway part without losing the flow of the piece or sounding preachy.
Mary Rosenblum:   That's where subtlety comes in Jane.  You have to let the READERS find the point.  YOU have to make the point, you're preaching.  If the point is there to be perceived (or missed...not everybody will get it but most should) then you are not preaching.  Let the readers get it. Don't you pound it into their heads. It is the same way that you reveal characterization without 'telling'.
Makes sense. Thanks.
Is there any circumstances that you 'summarize' at the end...to let them know what the character/narrator is thinking (unique perspective)?
Mary Rosenblum:   Sure. In my puppy example, say, maybe I'd take this to the point where I retrieve my chewed up and now muddy coat and am mad for a minute, but then read the history of past dogs in the other chewed spots, realize that in the context of life, a frayed sleeve is not such a big deal, and go back to work with a better sense of perspective.
So there, Pam, I might end the piece musing about all the good years of dog companions that coat represents as the puppy enthusiastically helps me dig the pea bed.
Thanks. What would be a bad way to end?
Mary Rosenblum:   It’s a good way to wrap up.  I wouldn't lecture the readers on it. I wouldn't point it out to THEM, I would realize it myself within the context of the narrative. Does this answer your question?
Yes, thanks
Mary Rosenblum:   The other thing to keep in mind as you're working on personal narrative is dramatic arc.  While you're not dealing with a fictional plot arc, you still want that arc of energy....rising to a high point, then slacking off a bit to the end, most of the time.  The high point in my puppy example might be the moment I find the puppy and chewed coat and am about to smack the puppy and grab the coat away. That would be the peak energy.  If I then went on and on about puppy training, this puppy, more description of going back to the tool shed for a different digging tool, that sort of thing, the piece would flatten out and get boring.  I need to reach my conclusions and wrap it up quickly after that high point.
"Just the facts mam," sort of?
Mary Rosenblum:   Well, it's facts plus your interpretation of them. It's a balance, of course. Like everything in writing. Enough but not too much..  You balance visual action (showing) with interpretation (telling) but you try to let your readers figure out the 'subtext' on their own, without spelling it out for them.
What if there is the usual ending everyone, including the narrator assumes....and then the real and unique ending occurs afterwards? How do you keep the story flowing without going flat.?
Mary Rosenblum:   Well, that's up to you to adjust what you include in the piece, Pam.  You use real events but you don't have to describe every moment. You are not a video camera.
It would also depend on the length of the article needed, too, wouldn't it? And where to put the peak.
Mary Rosenblum:   Of course, Julia. Just as you create either a 1000 word flash fiction story, a 7000 word short story, or an 18,000 word novella.

So, personal narrative is written like any good fiction piece, but just happens to be true.
Mary Rosenblum:   There you go, last! You just defined it quite nicely.
Is a reoccurring theme throughout different stages of life or a dated piece of time...adolescence or the Vietnam war era a good idea?
Mary Rosenblum:   Yes, Straight. Your theme ties together the various segments of a larger piece, just as the plot ties together the scenes in a novel.

What about describing your characters? that's where my stories drone on. what's the best way to describe them without being a video camera?
Mary Rosenblum:   Andi, most novice narrative writers 'list' descriptions.  Just as with fiction, add visual details sparingly and only as needed. In my puppy example, all I might mention as my neighbor Carolyn comes over to lecture me is her wispy white hair blowing in the wind and her bony elbows as she leans on the fence. Readers will fill in everything else.
I've read stories where there was no physical description at all, but you know the character by how he acts or speaks.
Mary Rosenblum:   Yep.
Thank you
Mary Rosenblum:   Readers will quickly create a visual character. As long as you don't shock them later with a description that doesn't fit theirs, you're fine.

 So remember some basics:

 Create the narrator (you) as a character by using a strong narrative voice.
Show us the action, don't just relay information.
Give the readers something to take away from this -- a theme, a message
Don't spell it out. Let the readers figure it out for themselves.
That's good personal narrative in a nutshell, whether you're writing the family memoir, 'what I did on my summer vacation' or what have you.

 So let's talk marketing in these last two minutes! Most nonfiction magazines will accept personal narratives. You simply match content to the mag.  I might send my puppy narrative off to dog mags and gardening mags. The theme --take the larger view -- works for gardeners and dog owners.  And since it includes both dogs and gardening, it will suit both markets.

Well, I hope this helps! Good personal narrative is a lot of fun to read, and everyone can find moments in their lives that make for a fun narrative. Even planting peas with a puppy.