In the previous section, you began thinking about one clearly defined event or situation for your personal narrative. Focusing on one clearly defined event or situation that is meaningful to you is crucial to the success of your piece. Have you ever suffered through a friend’s description of an event that seemed to wander through several seemingly disconnected stages, one confusing part after another? If you have, then you know having a clear focus is important for a listener or reader. Without a defined focus, your audience (in this case, your readers) might get confused and lose interest in your story.

Using the graphic organizer in the previous section gave you a jump start on your personal narrative because main ideas such as “friendship” and “personal challenges” were listed at the top of each box. The main idea could also be called the “central idea” because it is the main point of of your personal narrative. Your central idea communicates the essence of the experience you are writing about to your audience.

Having a central or main idea is crucial because it allows you to narrow the focus of your story. Also, the central idea is the unifying element of your personal narrative. In other words, the focus of your story must be maintained throughout the piece, not just in the introduction.

Before you can start writing, then, you need to choose your topic and then narrow your focus. How do you narrow your focus? Let’s look at the chart from the brainstorming graphic organizer again and review the example responses. The goal is to think about (reflect on) each experience. You can try visualizing the event, recreating the emotions you felt, reviewing the people involved, or whatever else stands out in your mind. This is just one step toward ensuring that your topic is not too broad. Here is my chart again. You might want to look at it and then review your own.

Personal Challenges Trying to learn how to play guitar My mom and dad’s divorce	The First Time I Tried . . . to skateboard to swim to speak in front of the class	My First Day of . . . middle school singing lessons
Personal Triumphs Getting help with a bullying problem Making friends with Clarisa, the new girl	Friendships My best friend Danny My cafeteria buddies My study partners	Mistakes Forgetting to turn the hose off Trusting a kid I didn’t know with my backpack
Growing Up The time I thought most of the other kids in my class were smarter than I was The time I thought I was really in love	Family Traditions Family dinners together every night Holiday gatherings and traditional get-togethers every year	Other Important/ Significant Events The time I put off finishing a school-related project The time I went along with my friends and got in trouble

To help focus your topic, try using these sentence stems to jog your memory.

• This event stands out in my memory because it . . .
• I will always regret or remember this experience because . . .
• This event or experience is worthy to share with others because . . .

For example, if you consider the entries in the first box labeled “Personal Challenges,” you might think the following:

If you reflect on the box labeled “My First Day of . . . ,” you might have these thoughts:

The point is to use the reflections you wrote in your chart to decide on one specific event or experience that is particularly significant to you. We will show you another way to do this in the next section.