writing

personal essays

January arrives with its familiar inventory—resolutions, anxieties, the mild panic of self-improvement. And with it, a flood of questions.

The New Year’s 30-Day Journaling Project

Love this concept of taking inventory of a month, season, etc.; something that doesn’t traditionally have “inventory” but using this as an alternative for everything the season holds or has to offer or comes with.

A great personal essay doesn’t just tell a story it explores the deeper meaning behind the story. Why did that event matter? What did you learn from it? How did it change you, even in small ways?

It’s the reflections that make your story resonate with readers. Your essay is not only about what happened , but also about why it matters and what it... See more

The open Letters • The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Personal Essays

when i was younger, growing up seemed like hitting the jackpot. i could go wherever i wanted, whenever i wanted, and eat ice cream for breakfast. there would never be rules, and i’d answer to no one but myself. as the one that’s grown up, though, those things all turned on me rather quickly. i can go where i want when i want to, so long as i want... See more

A Requiem For Adolescence

write about the opposite of this hopelessness; the counter part that you can absolutely allow yourself to do these things and indulge in the luxury of doing nothing or eating ice cream for breakfast, because in all reality you’ll not want ice cream the second day and you’ll want to clean up your recycling on a day when you have more energy because you allowed yourself to rest and rot the day prior…

The personal essay shines brightest when you zoom in on small details. It’s not enough to tell the reader that you had a difficult breakup show it through the little moments: the silence on the phone, the feeling of an empty bed, the specific words that were said. It’s the power of these tiny, personal details that makes a story feel universal.

Deta... See more