From writing after-action reports to writing about poetry. This transition is killing me

[BartWillis]

Got out after 6 years. Now I'm a freshman. Thought I was prepared. I was wrong.

My English comp class has us writing a personal narrative about a "transformative experience." I have plenty. But every time I try to write, it comes out like an after-action report. "At 1430 hours, the situation became critical." That's not a narrative, that's a briefing.

My professor wrote on my draft: "Where are the emotions? What were you feeling?" Feeling? I was feeling focused. That's what you feel. You don't think about feelings when things are happening.

I don't know how to translate my experiences into words that civilians understand. Everything over there exists in a different language.

Any other vets here? How do you learn to write like a civilian again?

 

[ChakLloyd]

Your professor's comment is actually helpful. "What were you feeling?" is the question civilians need answered.

When you write "the situation became critical," they don't know what that means. Was your heart pounding? Were you calm? Were you scared? Did time slow down? Speed up? Stand still?

Those are the details that turn a report into a story. You lived them. You know them. You just have to let yourself remember them. And write them down.