Here are some prompts to help those of you who are interested in writing memoir and personal essays out of any creative rut. They are designed to spark a little flame. I really hope they grow into a raging fire and help you start writing again:
Let’s begin simply with a list.
I want you to read the following questions and see what comes to mind. You might think of a word, or a sentence, a memory or even a scene… or maybe nothing at all. If nothing happens move onto the next question:
- Describe your favourite toy as a child?
- Write about your childhood bedroom
- What really mattered to you as a child and how, now, do you see it differently?
- Do you have a secret that you’ve never told anyone?
- Have you ever betrayed anyone? And if so, what did it feel like?
- Write down the most embarrassing moment of your life. Write it from within yourself and then imagine what it must have looked like from outside.
- What is your best quality?
- What is your worst trait? Can you describe it as if you were witnessing yourself from outside?
- What have you forgotten? It might be that there is a story that gets told amongst your friends or family that involves you but you have no recollection of it happening. If so, what is your friend’s version and do you think it’s accurate?
- Tell us something really peculiar about you.
This tip is from Lily Dunn, who teaches our online course Creative Nonfiction: Compelling Memoir.