Make a Story of It

Now the time has come to turn your journal writings into a draft of an essay. What you need to do is to tell the reader a story.

What is a story? Any sequence of events doesn't necessarily make a story any more than any arrangement of words makes a sentence. Cognitive scientists have found that children, from a very young age, can tell when a narrative is a story and when it isn't. We've all heard people who narrate without ever telling a story. One thing after another happens, but there's no point to it all. It just keeps going without reaching meaning. It's like a joke that has no punchline.

To make a story, you need to include three elements: a protagonist who cares about something, events that touch upon what he or she cares about, and a moment at which some new meaning is made.

Or, in other words, character, plot and theme. Or, in still other words, emotion, action, and meaning.

Since the foundation of a personal essay is your first-hand experiences, you will want to tell the story of your search for the meaning of a place. In an essay, you, the writer, will be the protagonist.

So, you are the protagonist. Tell us the story of a visit to your place. Include clues as to what is on your mind. Include details from nature and from history that let us know what you think is important. Include at least one conversation with another person that moves us closer to understanding what you want us to understand about your place. Use the journal entries you wrote earlier when they fit, but don't hesitate to change them or to write new scenes.

Go here to read essays of place written by other students.
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