Using Personal Experiences to Understand Writing Feature Stories

On multiple occasions we used class time to explore our own experiences and turn them into short feature stories. I think this was a very effective and helpful way of really learning to both notice and convey the details of these experiences to our readers.

Feature writing is all about the details. As a writer, you must be able to observe the details all around you. In addition, you must be able to pull the details from sources so that you can then turn around and convey them back to your audience. By focusing on first-hand experiences we eliminated the source. Instead, we acted as our own source. If we can't notice and describe the detail in our own experiences it is impossible to take the experiences of others and share those details.

One of the first exercises we did consisted of recounting a traumatic experience and then painting that scene full of details for the reader. I really enjoyed this exercise as I tried to recollect the sights, sounds and smells of that experience. Below is my entry for that exercise:

The thud echoes; overtaking the silence that previously filled the room. It sounds as though a hammer just obliterated a pumpkin. The chilling and harrowing sound stops everyone’s activity and the room once again falls silent.

I lay on the coarse turf clutching my face, which now feels as though there is a gaping hole right through it. Blood runs out as if it is water pouring from a pitcher.

Three rows of halogen lights continue to brighten the room; however, all I see is darkness. The pain is intense.

The once green turf is now stained a deep, dark red as the pool of blood continues to flow and puddle up around my head. Only one thought can be plucked out of the countless thoughts rushing through my pounding head.

Will I ever see again?

Not many people have experienced a 90-mile per hour fastball straight to their eye. I am one of the few. I remember the entire ordeal; I never lost consciousness. Some say that’s a good thing, I’m not so sure about that.

Using our own experiences shows us how many details we can recollect about the incident and just how much those details add to the story. Without them, the story would not seem nearly as traumatic as it was for myself.

The same holds true for when as a writer we are telling another person's story. If we don't get the details from them and then portray those details for the reader, we are not fully sharing their story the way it should be shared. In fact, most of the story will be missing as the details are the most crucial aspect.