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.And that, I think, is the final element in the successful personal experience story.It begins withPage 360an experience than meant something to you and will also have meaning with readers.Then, in the telling of this experience, the writer must re­create—re­experience—the discoveries and astonishments of the experience.For if the story is not exciting for the writer, it will prove to be even less for the reader.Writer, astonish thyself.(1995, p.34) In addition, feature writer and teacher Nancy Kelton (1988) says personal experience articles should look at the world as honestly as possible, "seeing the truths—both the dark and the light—within our experiences so that we can share them with other people who will nod and say, 'Yes, that's how it is.I've been there, too'" (p.24).Major Components of Personal Experience FeaturesA personal experience article must provide readers with an unusual story, an adventure, or a real­life drama.A personal experience article should also attempt to put that story in context.Often, the context is current trends in the community or society such as those affecting medical care or employment.Yet it could add the dimension of historical context as well.There are three major components of personal experience articles, according to Kelton (1988), a specialist in personal experience article writing:1.A point of view.What is the unique way in which you can present the situation? How are you or your source involved? What perspective do you offer? An inside view will generally be preferred.Usually, Kelton says, this fares better than filling the article with descriptive details of the actions of others at the expense of personal reactions and opinions.You have to tell how it felt, what it meant, and how you grew as a person during and after the experience.This, she says, is the best way to write a personal experience article.2.Arrival at some basic truth.After you have made your trip, been released from the hospital, survived the criminal assault, or floated to the ground after parachuting from an airplane, you should be able to reach a conclusion about what you have learned."[S]omething should become clear to you," Kelton says."You should reach a new level of understanding that you convey to your readers" (p.22).Page 3613.Emotional involvement.It helps readers to share your experience if you can place them in the middle of your emotional reaction to the situation.You cannot afford to hide your feelings in writing such an article.You have to offer a complete description of what you felt.Write in such a manner that you can put your reader next to you, watching the experience all over again.Putting these three main components to work is the key to a successful article, Kelton says.Here's how she does it: 1.Pick an experience you care about deeply.Some writers, Kelton relates, like to say that subjects pick writers, not vice versa.Although you do not have control over the events that you might use for an article, you can control your selection of those that you feel most strongly about.These are the ones to use for your articles.2.Don't make publication your primary goal.Your primary objective should be to discover how you feel about an experience by writing about it.Afterward, in writing, you also try to publish the article, and you have an added benefit."Your initial satisfaction should come from the writing and the discoveries you make in the process," Kelton says (p.22).Her new experiences with motherhood, which she eventually wrote about, were her reasons for thinking about and trying to understand these new emotions she felt.3.Don't write a personal experience article to vent anger, indignation, or other negative emotions.Sometimes you experience things that make you angry.It might be bad service at a garage or an annoying neighbor's lifestyle.Personal experience articles should not be used to vent these feelings.Instead, the anger may make it difficult or impossible for you to express your feelings.4.Have the courage to reveal yourself honestly.You must convey feelings by opening yourself to others, perhaps thousands of others.That takes nerve, Kelton says, and is not for everyone.These feelings are not always positive and bright."You must be courageous enough to reveal yourself honestly," Kelton says (p.22).Page 3625.Don't tell what you went through—show it.To show it means to dramatize it.Reset the scene and put yourself and the reader there together.Often this means telling the story in chronological fashion.This is a simple step­by­step process that takes readers from beginning to end.6.Don't show everything—don't write about the mundane details of the experience.Much of the time, too many details drag the story down.The clutter can get in your way.Is the detail relevant to the story? If so, include it.If not, forget it.Identifying Interesting ExperiencesWhat have you done that makes interesting reading for others? From some of the examples discussed so far, you are aware of successful personal experience articles.Much of it is simple good or bad luck—depending on the nature of the event.Massachusetts­based freelance writer Howard Scott believes feature writers often overlook their own experiences."In the search for subjects, many writers ignore an obvious possibility: their own personal experiences," he says (1992, p.359)."Although these events do need some drama, tension, and a resolution (or solution), they don't have to be earth­shattering or catastrophic.Most of us have such experiences, and writers can make them come alive on paper."A writer may find himself or herself in a place to develop a story by sheer coincidence.Your sound news sense is often be a good guide.The elements that make a good feature become even stronger if you are personally involved in that topic or event.So, instead of a routine story about the problems that people have settling with insurance companies after a break­in, an automobile accident, or natural disaster, the story takes on more meaning if you have had the misfortune to experience such an event yourself and can write about it.Scott (1992), who has written personal experience features for magazines and newspapers, feels you should consider several things when thinking about your own experiences as potential material for features:Think of a personal experience as a series of events that happened to you, and might be worth sharing with others.What else constitutes a personal experience? Have you ever spent time with a famous person, lived through a medical crisis, lived in or visited an exotic place, taken up any strange hobbies? Have you had a close brush with death—an accident or a sickness, recov­Page 363ered from a disabling addiction, attempted and accomplished a difficult feat? (p.359)Sometimes the routine at home makes good material.Many columnists do this.They are not at all hesitant to discuss topics such as sex education by using their own families as the example for others [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]