After you read the “Lives” essay and the New York Times

After you read the “Lives” essay and the New York Times article about writing personal essays, brainstorm a list of personal stories that you might like to write about. As you’re making a list, if you think of any details to add, add them. This is a freewrite, where you don’t censor yourself and just let ideas flow. Then, look it over and pick the story you’d like to tell for the first draft of the narrative. It can be about a time you learned something about yourself or about the world, or it can be a family “legend,” or anything else important that has happened to you.