Choosing the right topic is an essential ingredient to a successful piece of writing. The writer...
"I was lucky to experience the magical moment of connecting recent events to older ones," says Toby Chen, winner of our Personal Essay Competition. "If you ever come across this sensation, capture it with words and write back to people who impacted you along the way."
Meet the competition winners below and read their fascinating insights on personal narrative and the art of capturing universal human experiences.
Toby Chen, Winner:
In your winning personal essay, you used a conversation with a past teacher to explore the connection between poetry and science. Why did you choose to write about this?
I have stayed connected with Ms. Cohen after coming to the United States. She opened the door to poetry for me. “Is your water bottle a poem?” was one of the earliest questions that she asked me, and it sticks. This essay is not only a written record of my reflections but also a full-circle learning moment where I get to have a second chance to answer her. In this way, the essay was written specifically for her, and I guess that’s what made it personal.
This dialogue across time also witnessed how my perception of poetry and science changed as I learned more about the world. It is a testament to how impactful and empowering teachers are. I was lucky to experience the magical moment of connecting recent events to older ones. The feeling was like how a stable conjugated π system on benzene rings could finally react with a passing electrophile. If you ever come across this sensation, capture it with words and write back to people who impacted you along the way.
What advice do you have for fellow writers approaching the personal essay genre?
Cherish different memories and build creative connections between them. Then, a new synthesis that is deeply personal will emerge. My preference is to use different academic perspectives such as chemistry and literature when experiencing something interesting (for example, the Baltimore rain pouring down my neck). However, we can also use other dimensions such as emotions and sensations, which are also multifaceted, to build connections.
Don’t be afraid to have your own voice. At one point, I was wondering if the numerous “sounds like” and rhetorical questions were overdone, but I included them anyway since I was indeed in a somewhat persuasive mode, eager to share my take on science’s intimate connections with poetry. Another part of this is to be comfortable with explicitly showing your thought processes and conclusions at certain moments. “Seeing beauty in science allowed me to appreciate …” might be too forthright, yet it was exactly what I was thinking.
Most importantly, enjoy the process!
Cordelia Wangen, Runner-Up:
Guest Judge James Marcus commended the "sweet and subtle" way you tackled grief in your essay. How did you go about discussing this universal experience in a personal and nuanced way?
I find the idea of ‘universal truths’ isolating because they make me feel like my thoughts don’t belong to me. One of the things I’ve realized in the past few months, though, is that something being universal is not at the expense of it being personal or unique – my grandmother isn’t the first person I’ve loved who has died, for example, but she is the first person I had that exact relationship with. When you think of it that way, it becomes a lot easier to write about something universal, because that’s not actually what you’re writing about: instead, you’re just writing about a game of crib, and the reader fills in the gaps.
What inspires you to write?
I’m interested in language. The fact that you can take something and explain it to someone in a way that they can understand, without having experienced it, is just so extremely cool. A lot of what I know about myself has been revealed to me because a stranger was able to put words to something I couldn’t identify; I write because I hope that, at some point, I can do the same for others.
Sasha Harden, Best Peer Review:
What drew you to review Abigail's piece?
The element that drew me to review Abigail's work was the title, ‘Unpacking Perfectionism Through Theatre Education.’ I am not the most well-versed in the realm of performing arts, but I know what it's like to be a perfectionist in every sense of the word. I think the fact I was able to offer advice that was well-received, even with my limited knowledge, proves we can all learn from each other despite our diverse backgrounds.
Abigail's piece resonated with me because I used my grades in school as a measure of success, and she adopted a similar system to gauge how well she excelled in the theatre world. For me, learning to liberate myself from the toxic, controlling grip my negative mind has had on me over the years has been a profoundly difficult and emotional process. I found her essay to be relatable, and it reiterated the importance of redefining impossible standards.
In my short life, I have found there's no "formula" to success, but some things that have certainly helped me are putting God first, surrounding myself with family and friends, and writing! I used to associate writing with stress because I hated the deadlines given when assigned essays in school. Never did I think I would find an unparalleled source of freedom in writing creative stories and journaling events in my life.
What book or author would you like to recommend to the Write the World community?
Asking a reader to give one recommendation is nearly impossible, so I've narrowed it down to three. Here is me trying to convince you to read my favorite books with nothing but a quote:
"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you." - C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity).
"She remembered thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black." - Stephanie Garber (Caraval)
"To hide a friendship in something as big as Alaska was like trying to hide a star in the sky; it was impossible." - Kristin Hannah (The Great Alone)
I have enjoyed every book I read by these authors. They have each played a role in motivating me to write my own stories and novels. I hope to release my first self-published children's book by the end of this year. It's a Christmas story about friendship, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Keep writing beautiful people!
