How to Write a Personal Narrative in Spanish

Quick Answer

Has your Spanish teacher asked you to write about an experience that changed your life? Are you writing a blog post about yourself in Spanish? Whatever your reason, writing a narrativa personal(personal narrative) in Spanish is a great skill to have.

What is a Personal Narrative?

A personal narrative is a true story about yourself. It recalls an event or experience that has personally happened to you, so it’s typically written in the first person.

A personal narrative should focus on a meaningful event that changed your life in some way or taught you a valuable lesson, such as the worst moment of your life, a personal failure, or the best trip you’ve ever taken.

Major Components

A personal narrative is a story, so it should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Let’s break it down!

Introduction

How do you get someone to read your personal narrative? You need to grab their attention! Your introduction should establish the main message of your narrative while piquing your reader’s interest with an attention-grabbing hook. Draw your readers in with an emotional or surprising sentence that leaves them with questions. Let’s take a look at some examples of personal-narrative hooks in Spanish!

examples
La mirada aterrorizada que vi en el rostro de mi madre ese día es algo que nunca podré olvidar. The terrified look I saw on my mother’s face that day is something I’ll never be able to forget.
“¡Rápido, escóndete detrás de las cortinas!” gritó mi papá. “Quick, hide behind the curtains!” my daddy shouted.

Body

The body of your personal narrative should bring your story to life with the following:

Interesting descriptions of your characters (the people involved in your personal experience)
A vivid description of the setting (where and when the experience happened)
A compelling plot that describes what happened
A problem or conflict that builds tension
A climax that satisfies the resolution of the problem or conflict
Other vivid details that will keep your readers engaged and help them picture the story you are telling

Conclusion

To conclude your personal narrative, round off the topic by expressing your thoughts about what happened. Even if your personal narrative is about a negative event, end it with a positive note by describing what you learned or gained from the experience. The goal is to leave a lasting impression in the reader’s mind.

Past Tense

Since a personal narrative recalls a past event, it is typically written in the past tense. Click on the following links to review the past tenses in Spanish!

preterite

imperfect

past perfect

past subjunctive

Transition Words

To sound natural when writing in Spanish, it is important to use transition words. Transition words link your ideas together, allowing them to flow smoothly from one sentence to the next. Click here for a list of common transition words you should use in your narrative!

Sensory Details and Figurative Language

When writing a personal narrative, your goal is to make the reader feel like they were there with you during your experience. To do this, create an image in the reader’s head with sensory details that appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, smell , touch, taste. Click here to learn more!

Check out these articles to learn more about writing in Spanish: