59 Memoir Ideas
On this page you’ll find memoir ideas and topics, along with links to even more memoir writing prompts.
56 Memoir Topics
Which of these have been important in your life?
- being a parent
- your parent
- your grandparent
- a sister or brother
- a sport or game that's been important to you
- gardening
- a trip you took
- a particular job
- your career
- something you collect
- an unusual talent
- dieting or fitness
- your cultural heritage
- a romance
- marriage
- divorce
- farming
- your relationship to nature
- a school you went to
- your college or university
- summer camp
- your house
- a pet
- an illness
- a disability
- an accident
- an addiction
- the death of someone close to you
- childhood
- adolescence
- becoming an adult
- middle age
- old age
- a book or movie that changed your life
- a work of art that changed your life
- a teacher or mentor
- an important friendship
- a spiritual or religious experience
- a change in your economic situation
- a decision to change some aspect of your life
- a place where you lived
- a place that was special to you
- a move to a new place
- another major life change
- the effect of war on your life
- another historical event that impacted your life
- food
- chores
- a dangerous situation you survived
- something you did to help others
- military service
- something you accomplished
- a topic you research as a hobby
- discrimination you have faced
- someone who was a great inspiration to you
- a mission or quest
Learn how to write a great memoir with our online course.
3 Memoir Prompts
1) What's a song that brings back memories for you? Listen to the song (if you don't have a recording, you can probably find it on Youtube.com), and travel back in your mind to a time that it makes you remember. Spend a few minutes inside that memory, reliving it in as much detail as possible. Then write about that memory, trying to recreate it on the page.
2) Write about a conversation that had an impact on your life. Show the scene where the conversation happened, and try to reconstruct parts of the dialogue word-for-word on the page so that readers can "hear" it first-hand.
3) Look at a photograph of your family. What memories does it bring back? Focus on one of the memories, trying to recall sounds, smells, and other sensations, as well as what things looked like. Then write about it, recreating the scene for the reader.
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