{"id":4039,"date":"2025-11-28T09:27:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T09:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/how-to-write-personal\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T09:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T09:27:55","slug":"how-to-write-personal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/how-to-write-personal\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write Personal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alright, let\u2019s talk about writing personal stuff. You know, the kind that feels like peeling off a Band-Aid to show the scar underneath? I used to think \u201cpersonal writing\u201d meant slapping adjectives onto my feelings like Post-it notes. (Spoiler: My college journal was 80% cringe.) Then I had to write my dad\u2019s eulogy. Staring at that blank Google Doc at 2 a.m., Dunkin\u2019 Donuts cold brew sweating next to me, I realized I\u2019d been doing it all wrong.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing: personal writing isn\u2019t about decorating the truth<\/strong>. It\u2019s about excavating it. That time I tried to write a \u201cquirky\u201d wedding toast about my sister and accidentally made it sound like a Yelp review for her personality? Yeah. Rookie mistake.<\/p>\n

What actually works:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Start with the small shards.<\/strong>
    \nDon\u2019t tackle the whole memory mosaic at once. That time your kid handed you a dandelion like it was the Hope Diamond? Write that<\/em> moment first\u2014the way their sticky fingers smudged your sleeve, how the sun hit the fuzz on their earlobe. Details are GPS coordinates for the heart.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Vulnerability > vocabulary.<\/strong>
    \nMy most-read blog post? The one where I admitted I once hid in a Target bathroom stall to avoid talking to my neighbor about her MLM oils. Used phrases like \u201cfluorescent-lit shame\u201d and \u201cpeach-mango pep talk.\u201d No thesaurus needed. People crave real, not pretty.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Steal from your own life soundtrack.<\/strong>
    \nI keep a Spotify playlist called \u201cWrite Ugly Cry.\u201d When I\u2019m stuck, I play the song that was looping when I got divorced (Fleetwood Mac\u2019s Silver Springs<\/em>, thanks for asking) or the one my toddler demands on repeat (Baby Shark<\/em>, tragically). Music yanks memories out like stubborn drawer handles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Oh, and that eulogy?<\/strong>
    \nI wrote it as a letter to Dad\u2019s 1987 Pontiac\u2014the car he taught me to drive in, windows down, Springsteen drowning out my gear-grinding. When I read it aloud, my aunt snorted coffee through her nose at the part about him using golf tees as toothpicks. Mission accomplished.<\/p>\n

    Practical voodoo that works:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Text yourself voice memos<\/strong> while folding laundry or walking the dog. Your unfiltered rambles are gold.<\/li>\n
    • Write the messy first draft in Comic Sans<\/strong>. Seriously. It\u2019s like sweatpants for your brain.<\/li>\n
    • Read it aloud to your cat\/fern\/mirror<\/strong>. If your voice cracks, you\u2019re onto something.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Last thing: You\u2019ll hate 70% of what you write.<\/strong> I once deleted an essay about postpartum anxiety so fast I gave myself carpal tunnel. But then my niece asked for help with her college essay\u2014something about how volunteering at the animal shelter made her realize \u201cdogs are better listeners than my TikTok followers.\u201d We workshopped it over milkshakes, and when she got into UIC? Felt like we\u2019d won the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

      So grab a notebook. Or your Notes app. Start with the burnt grilled cheese incident, the way your grandpa tied his shoes, the panic attack in the Costco parking lot. Write like nobody\u2019s reading\u2014because at first, they\u2019re not. And when you\u2019re done? Hit save. Pour another coffee. Let it marinate.<\/p>\n

      The world needs your stories, not your synonyms.<\/p>\n

      (P.S. If all else fails, pretend you\u2019re explaining it to a stranger at a Chicago Cubs game. Works every time. \u26be)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Alright, let\u2019s talk about writing personal stuff. You know, the kind that feels like peeling off a Band-Aid to show the scar underneath? I used to think \u201cpersonal writing\u201d meant slapping adjectives onto my feelings like Post-it notes. (Spoiler: My college journal was 80% cringe.) Then I had to write my dad\u2019s eulogy. Staring at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}