Weave Personal Story Into an Article: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #50

If you are a memoirist or an essayist, you can take your desire and ability to write personal stories and put it to use in reported articles. Even if you don’t usually write pieces based on your life experiences, using personal anecdotes and vignettes can provide a powerful way to produce articles for publication.

I have used experiences and issues from my life in articles numerous time with great success. For example, I included my concerns about my son’s and daughter’s experiences in competitive activities, like ice skating and dance, to write a regional magazine piece about the positive and negative effects of competition on youth. I addressed the issues by interviewing coaches and psychologists. I also wrote a regional magazine article called “The Ins and Outs of Changing Schools.” This piece stemmed from my concerns about how often my two children had changed schools. I interviewed psychologists and wove our personal story into the piece. (The article won an award!)

You can write about what you know—and don’t know—in the same manner.

How to Complete Nonfiction Writing Prompt #50

To complete this writing prompt, follow these 8 steps:

1. Brainstorm possible topics by exploring the issues facing you currently or in the past.
2. Evaluate if these issues are universal—everyone struggles with them—or if others like you—parents, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc.—struggle with them as well.
3. Determine if you can find experts to interview to help address the issue at hand.
4. Find three to five magazines that publish articles related to these issues.
5. Research these magazines to discover the most appropriate section in the publication for your piece and the editor who handles that section.
6. Study the magazine’s articles, and then structure your article in a manner that seems appropriate for the publication.
7. Write a query letter to one or all the magazines pitching your idea; include the experts you hope to interview for the article.
8. Once you receive an acceptance, conduct the interview and write the article. (For a prompt on interviews, click here.)

Weave your story into your article. I’ve done this most successfully by including an anecdote or vignette based on personal experience into the lead or first paragraph of the piece. I then mention some of my own issues or concerns as I posed solutions or tips from both the expert and myself. I often end the article with a personal story as well.