Personal Narratives

1. Personal Narratives Getting Started: Hooks Mrs. Elliott

2. Purpose • Personal Narratives allow you to share your life with others. • Your job as the writer is to put the reader in the middle of the action and let them experience what you did.

3. Getting Started • Brainstorm important/memorable people or things in your life. • Focus on one particular part of the experience. • Make a list of details.

4. Hook the Reader • You want the reader to continue reading your narrative. So, hook them with a little action.

5. Does this sentence hook you? • One rainy day I went to the mall? • What will this narrative be about? Are you really anxious to hear about this?

6. Let’s revise the sentence. • I splashed across the parking lot, yanked open the tall glass door, and dripping wet, I stepped into the mall. • Is this better? Why?

7. Try this one. • Hi. My name is Kate. This is a story about the time I went to the zoo. • How can you improve this sentence so it hooks the reader? • Put Kate at the zoo doing something first and see if it is better.

8. Keep trying. • This is a story about the time I built a robot in my basement. • Are you lost as a reader? What could you do to improve this sentence? • Put yourself in the basement doing something to hook the reader.

9. Let’s do another one. • I will tell you about my adventure swimming at the lake. • Why does this not get the reader totally excited about the narrative? How can we make it better? • Put yourself at the lake doing something and try it.

10. Hooking the Reader is Key • A personal narrative is an important piece of writing because it is about you and sharing your life with the reader. • Keep the reader wanting more by hooking the reader, without giving away the whole story. It is just like in Morning Meeting when we share. Give just a little to get people curious.