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?
1) being a parent
2) your parent
3) your grandparent
4) a sister or brother
5) a sport or game that's been important to you
6) gardening
7) a trip you took
8) a particular job
9) your career
10) something you collect
11) an unusual talent
12) dieting or fitness
13) your cultural heritage
14) a romance
15) marriage
16) divorce
17) farming
18) your relationship to nature
19) a school you went to
20) your college or university
21) summer camp
22) your house
23) a pet
24) an illness
25) a disability
26) an accident
27) an addiction
28) the death of someone close to you
29) childhood
30) adolescence
31) becoming an adult
32) middle age
33) old age
34) a book or movie that changed your life
35) a work of art that changed your life
36) a teacher or mentor
37) an important friendship
38) a spiritual or religious experience
39) a change in your economic situation
40) a decision to change some aspect of your life
41) a place where you lived
42) a place that was special to you
43) a move to a new place
44) another major life change
45) the effect of war on your life
46) another historical event that impacted your life
47) food
48) chores
49) a dangerous situation you survived
50) something you did to help others
51) military service
52) something you accomplished
53) a topic you research as a hobby
54) discrimination you have faced
55) someone who was a great inspiration to you
56) 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.
Click here for more 38 more memoir ideas.
