Hi Christine.

It depends on the goals of your personal narrative and your audience. I wrote this from the perspective of a writer who is selling or persuading — someone looking to create change in another person. If your goal is to share a personal experience then it doesn’t fit. Still, I find narratives that let me, the reader, figure out what you’re feeling more powerful than ones that take a more heavy handed approach.

Here’s an example where detached writing doesn’t fit. In this case, it works against you.

A political writer addressing people who believe as he does is not trying to persuade. He’s just cheerleading his cause. He can spout all the opinions he wants and his audience will eat it up. The detached approach in this case will leave his readers upset at being too soft.