Personal Narrative: A Place In Non-Creative Writing

Years ago, when I started niche blogging, I used to keep my storytelling skills confined to the 'creative writing' label and I used nothing but cold, objective, descriptive words in my first articles.

The mere thought of writing for a niche gave me shivers. It made me anxious. I didn't like that ice-cold sensation writing descriptive paragraphs gave me. The storyteller in me itched to take the lead and turn that boring piece of copy into joyful writing that would make my readers smile, laugh, frown and cry.

You know, move from lifeless to life-filled copy.

Things started to change for me when I finally gave the storyteller in me free rein and realized that YES, storytelling has a place in non-creative writing, too!

That's why I wrote this
An object. A place. Use words that speak to the five senses and help the reader "see" the story you're about to tell.

A leading paragraph that creates a mental image lures the reader to go on, read more and follow your points better. No flowery language to distract the reader, but a scene that sucks him in and fills not just his mind, but his whole self.

Example (topic is 'flowery fragrances'):

My nose tingled as I stepped into the grocery shop.

Scent of roses and gardenia enlightened my moods and I stopped to breath it in. Then I looked around the place, expecting to see the flowers, but I saw none.

The shop keeper looked at me and chuckled. "It's not real flowers, just this home fragrance from ABC Brand," she said.

I held my breath in surprise. "What fragrance?"
Tips:

If the right image doesn't come to you, or you need more inspiration, think of movies, short stories and even TV ads. Watch and read some and take note, trying to use words that match the images.

Another technique I use often is to find an image using Compfight or Pixabay (or just using a search engine's image tab) and use it to help my senses to connect with my brain to come up with the right words, or I may just describe what I see using sensory
But you are not destined to stay a dark object forever.

See what Katy Perry sings about it:

http://youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw

You are a firework, you are unique, so make the best of you shines through.

Let nobody dictate who you should be.

How can you turn your dark, timid, fearful blogger image to a lively, original, sparkling personality your readers love (and that really reflects you)?

Here are 6 tips for you: (...)
Tips:

You can either use a video-first approach or a message-first approach when you decide to use a video as a storytelling device in your blog post.

Will Blunt used the Beatles' music video with a message-first approach - the message in the video matches the message he conveys in his post and complements it, but the post stands alone even without the video.

The example I wrote above uses Katy Perry's videoclip with a video-first approach - the video introduces the topic and gives an overview of the core message of the post, then the post itself builds upon the story told in the video.

The choice of the approach is yours and it depends on the types of hook your audience reacts more favorably