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Where Are You in the Story?
An Essential Part of the Personal Essay
The prompt for our online writing workshop had us look at a scene from a bird’s-eye view, and gradually zoom in closer to get more and more sensory details to describe.
I had chosen to write about a family ceremony for which I could not be present except via Zoom. First I helped my readers to picture the community, then the more direct context of the interior of the church where it took place, and little by little the people involved and the story itself.
After twenty minutes or so, I was considerably satisfied with what I’d achieved.
Then it was time to join breakout rooms and read our work to a partner. Mine mentioned several phrases and sentences that she found particularly effective, and then she asked, “Where are you in the story?”
Well, I had mentioned that I had been watching the gathering from afar, but apart from that, it seemed as if I had only been a distant observer, not otherwise…
