Write your story in the first person and focus on the things that actually happened. A story that tells the reader how to feel is generally not successful. You need to describe the events in the story and allow readers to have their own reaction. For example, if you are writing a horror story, you can't simply say "it was scary." You need to actually write something scary in order to scare the reader.
Maintain a consistent viewpoint in your writing. Determine before you begin what point of view you will be using in your writing. Are you as the narrator the center of attention or are you reporting the events around you? Is the story intended to inspire, to frighten or to amuse? Any of these approaches is valid but if you alternate between them within a single story you will confuse your reader.
Write the story in an emotionally involved way. Since it is a personal narrative, you are not striving for distance or objectivity. By bringing yourself into the story, you can bring the reader in as well and create an engaging and effective story that makes the reader feel a part of it.
Read through your story when the rough draft is completed and cut out any unnecessary writing. Beginning writers sometimes make the mistake of thinking that longer is better. If longer means repetitive or irrelevant, you will lose the reader's interest. Maintain tight, action-filled prose that moves the story along.
Check your work several times for factual, grammatical or spelling errors. Nothing ruins the authority of a written work more quickly than the reader being distracted by mistakes and poor writing.
Set the work aside when you feel it is finished and don't look at it for a week or so. Then pick it up again, trying to read it as though it had been written by someone else. Be critical and don't be afraid to cut weak sections or to rewrite as necessary. Share it with someone whose knowledge you trust to get an objective opinion.