As you may remember, I’ve been taking two online writing classes, one on essay writing and one on writing for trade magazines. Both have been very interesting and I’ve learned a lot, including the fact that taking two classes at the same time causes me to let other priorities (like regular blogging) slip.

The essay writing class, which was only six weeks long, is now over and while I’m relieved to have that time back, I’m sad to see it end. Not only was the class material helpful, but I received extremely useful feedback from fellow classmates, as well as the instructor. I’m looking forward to making some final edits on the pieces I submitted for the course and then sending them off to markets over the next couple of weeks.

Some of the lesson material in the class was refresher information, but I did take away some new strategies for approaching essay writing in the future (Example: Write or edit essays with specific markets in mind.), as well as tips for getting those essays published. But more than learning about the general and technical ins and outs of essay writing, I learned about my own essay writing style, some common mistakes I make, and some strategies for improving my essays (and my writing in general).

Here are a few strategies I learned and applied to create more effective essays:

Keep digging. When I first start writing an essay, I generally have only a vague idea of what it will be about in the end. I usually go through several edits before I get to what I think is the real meat of the story. This class taught me that even when I think I’ve gotten there, I might want to keep digging. It’s likely I’ve held back emotion, didn’t provide enough reflection or skirted around the real story entirely.

Be open. Sometimes I avoid including information or experiences in pieces because they’re embarrassing, uncomfortable or unpleasant — not for the reader, necessarily, but most definitely for me. Glossing over or excluding these vulnerable moments leaves an essay feeling flat and impersonal. But including them, as difficult as it may be initially, makes me easier to relate to and brings the story to life.

Be honest. I’ve never blatantly lied in an essay, but I always want my essays to have a perfect ending, to be tied neatly in a bow of resolution. To get it there, I might massage my reflections, pick and choose my reactions, convince myself of conclusions in order to make them fit the mold of the “perfect story” I have in my head. It turns out that my essays are much more effective when I’m honest — about my flaws, my rationale, my thoughts — shaping the story around my own truth rather than shaping my truth to create a story.

They may seem like simple points, but writing personal stories so that they illustrate a universal theme is a lot more difficult than you might imagine. My goal is to make it look easy to the reader. If I can do that, if I can lead a reader through my own experience and have her come away with a message or emotion or connection to my experience, then I’ll have done my job well. I’m looking forward to getting more practice.