{"id":162524740,"date":"2025-04-30T10:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/writing-personal-essay\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:07:07","slug":"writing-personal-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/zh\/writing-personal-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Personal Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘The Weight’ <\/h2>
\"silhouette<\/figure>

I write an awful lot about<\/em> writing in this newsletter, but it occurs to me I rarely share my own creative work. <\/p>

So, this week, I\u2019d like to highlight an essay that was published in the literary journal Syncopation<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>

While I trust the writing to speak for itself, there are a few points I\u2019d like to point out: <\/p>

Interwoven scenes <\/h3>

Narrative shouldn\u2019t plod; memory darts like tiny fish: don\u2019t discount something because \u2018it didn\u2019t happen then\u2019. Follow your mind and the reader will follow yours<\/p>

Imagery <\/h3>

Describing the ordinary should not equal ordinary descriptions, craft the surprising image (\u201cpalm fronds rattled skeleton fingers\u201d) and look for unexpected allusions (\u201cDukes of Hazzard denim\u201d). <\/p>

Intimacy <\/h3>

Cultivate a relationship with the reader; confide in them. We read personal narratives to learn about ourselves through others, but that only happens when there is trust. <\/p>

\"silhouette<\/figure>

The Weight<\/h1>

full text link<\/a> <\/em><\/p>

May 12, 2024,<\/strong> my husband Chris and I were at a festival in Valencia, Spain, waiting on Brit postpunk band the Editors. Above us, palm fronds rattled skeleton fingers against moonlit clouds, their allure another soured attraction. We\u2019d calculated our arrival: time enough to have a drink and settle in, but not too much waiting. We shuffled in dust, happy as elephants, as we watched changeover\u2014my husband savoring, for once, not being the man in black rushing to plug and position equipment. This was a treat\u2014a concert with no work attached, a rare night among the punters. <\/p>

Another drink before it starts? <\/em><\/p>

Why not?<\/em> <\/p>

Content in a bubble of Cava, we hooted as the band stepped out. Only, it wasn\u2019t the band. It was a rollicking, ramshackle local crew with Kinks haircuts and Dukes of Hazzard denim: as memorable as a plastic carrier bag. <\/p>

My mood slumped. <\/p>

Twenty, 30, 40 minutes. Every song sounded the same, none of them good. <\/p>

No way an opening set is longer than 45 minutes, we consoled each other. <\/p>

And the band played on. <\/p>

Finally, after an hour, they collected their applause and slouched off. <\/p>

It was after 11; after my bedtime. The charms of palm fronds and dust were obliterated. Waste of time. I am neither gracious nor patient when tired and loathe unexpected turns of event. If I hadn\u2019t paid 100 euros for the tickets, I\u2019d have cajoled Chris, who is professionally inured to waiting for musicians, into leaving. Being too skinflint and stubborn to go didn\u2019t stop me carping and moaning as a new set of black-clad stagehands performed their rites. <\/p>

Sometime after midnight, the stage\u2014empty for an eternity\u2014blazed with blue light. <\/p>

On my phone, earlier that day, another blast of turquoise: \u201cShe really thought it was a girl,\u201d was my sister\u2019s caption. In the photo, Kylie\u2019s blue eyes are Disney Princess-wide; her husband, my nephew Alex, squints at the burst of blue confetti, face split by a lottery winner grin. <\/p>

On May 8, 1999\u2014my last year as a teen\u2014I\u2019d tiptoed into a hospital room to cradle a wellbundled object that was my newborn nephew. There\u2019s a photo somewhere: my face round, pink and shiny as a child\u2019s; Alex, the swaddled center of the universe. <\/p>

On May 11, 2024, as Alex stood beside his wife, park grass unfurled behind them like an emerald train while they learned the sex of their unborn child, I was the usual 5,000 miles away.<\/p>

***<\/p>

Alex is my older brother\u2019s only child. He was our mother\u2019s first grandchild; our first nephew. His nickname is \u201cthe Golden Child.\u201d We are teasing, but not joking. Golden, because everything Alex touches seems to come out right; golden because when it doesn\u2019t, he shrugs, smiles and tries again; golden because he never seems afraid.<\/p>

continue reading <\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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