Personal essays relate some kind of experience you had, but they also show a lesson you learned, or exemplify a universal truth of some kind. Like 'Crime doesn't pay' or 'Money doesn't grow on trees'.
Today's poster says: Forget what hurt you in the past. But never forget what it taught you.
That's pretty simple advice, and they are worthy words for personal essay writers.
Not all personal essays portray something that hurt you. Many show other experiences, perhaps something exciting that occurred when you were traveling. Or, an experience you had at a new job, or something that took place in a classroom. There are so many types of situations about which you can write a personal essay.
What the experience was is secondary to what you may have learned. Your aim in writing the personal essay is to share that lesson or universal truth with others. Some readers will be shaking their head in agreement while others will be surprised at what you learned. But, most likely, they will remember it long after reading your essay.
If all you do is write about an experience you had but add nothing about what you learned, you're less likely to get the piece published. An editor will read it and ask him/herself 'what is the lesson here?'. Without that, you're basically reporting something that happened to you. Even if it's entertaining, editors are looking for more.
Before you ever start the first draft of a personal essay, know where you going as far as what you learned or some universal truth your experience illustrates. You don't necessarily have to spell it out in words, although that's fine and often done, but it must at least be inferred. The reader must have something to take away.
Pick up a book of personal essays at your library or a bookstore. Read through ane ask yourself what you learned from each one. Reading many personal essays will help you write your own.
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