29 Memoir Writing Exercises and Prompts for Your First Draft

Memoir writing is an incredibly powerful tool for releasing, reflecting on, and understanding our personal stories. If you're working on your own memoir, chances are you are trying to find "the right way" to tell your life story.

Good news: There's no right or wrong way! It's all about the best way for you to write that first draft and hone your memoir writing skills. Getting started can be tough—that's why writing exercises and memoir writing prompts are a great way to help get you writing.

Through memoir writing, we can share our life experiences with others and make sense of the different parts of our lives that have shaped us. It allows us to explore how we've changed over time and become aware of patterns in our behavior.

Writing memoirs can also help us to better understand our relationships and how we interact with the world.

Writing a memoir may help heal a relationship you have with certain family members or with yourself, or better understand your first love or life path. Self-exploration through writing can help you better understand the life lessons you've had.

Whether you're writing a memoir for yourself or as part of a memoir project, these writing exercises can help you explore your story in meaningful ways. Through them, you'll be able to reflect on and evaluate key moments in your life, find meaning in your experiences, and gain a better understanding of who you are.

Here are some memoir writing exercises that can help stimulate your creativity and provide insight into your life.

1. Set yourself a memoir writing goal and timeline.

This is the first step to memoir writing success and will help you stay on track as you move through the memoir-writing process. Whether it’s writing for 30 minutes a day, or dedicating an entire weekend to memoir writing, setting yourself a goal and timeline will help you stay focused and motivated.

2. Brainstorm memoir topics

This exercise involves writing down a list of memories that come to mind when you think about your life. Think about moments both big and small, such as the day you graduated from high school or the time you had lunch with an old friend. Write them all down and go through the list to pick out memoir ideas.

3. Collect memoir materials

Go through old photos, cards, letters, or any other memorabilia that you have lying around the house. Put together a memoir box containing these items and revisit them whenever it feels appropriate. Seeing physical reminders of past moments can be an invaluable way to write memoirs. Sometimes holding something tangible helps you unlock sensory details that take good writing and make it great.

4. Write a letter to yourself or to your memory

Writing a memoir letter can be the perfect way to capture your thoughts and feelings in an intimate way. Whether it’s written to yourself, your partner, or even your future self, writing out a memoir letter can help you reflect on your experiences in meaningful ways.

These memoir writing exercises can help you explore your life in new and revealing ways. Writing down your life stories can be hard, but try starting with a short story or a few personal essays and building from there.

If you're experiencing writer's block then try these writing prompts for memoir writers to get the creative juices flowing:

1. Describe a moment that changed the course of your life.

2. Write about a memory you have of one of your parents.

3. Reflect on where you grew up versus where you live now--ask yourself, how has growing up in different places shaped who you are today?

4. Think of a time when someone close to you shared their story with you. How did that impact you?

5. Write about a defining moment in your career.

6. Recall a meaningful experience from your childhood and how it has impacted you today.

7. Describe a time when an act of kindness changed the way you saw the world or a person.

8. Write about a day from your life five years ago, going into as much detail as you can remember.

9. Reflect on a moment when you faced an obstacle that seemed insurmountable. What happened? Did you overcome it?

10. Write about a conversation that had an impact on your life.

11. Write about a time when you chose to take a risk and what happened as a result.

12. Describe a memory from your youth that still influences your decisions today.

13. Write about a moment when you were able to find joy despite facing difficulty.

14. Reflect on a time when your perspective was challenged and how it changed you as a person.

15. Recall an experience where you found strength and courage in the face of adversity.

16. Write about your first best friend. Are you still friends with them? What has changed?

17. Write about the earliest memory you have from elementary school

18. Think about a big event that you either attended or that happened to you in the last five years. Write about it.

19. Describe the different ways you've discovered parts of yourself–have you travelled? Dyed your hair? Changed your name? Moved to a new city?

20. What was your favorite subject in school? What does that say about who you are now? Do you still have the same interests?

21. What is the first thing you think about every day?

22. Did you have a favorite teacher in middle school? Write about them and the impact they had on you.

23. Write about your first crush.

24. Who was the first person to tell you they loved you? Who was the first person you told?

25. Write about a family heirloom you have inherited or that exists in your family.

How are you feeling? Did you pick a memoir prompt that resonated? Did you get stuck? Writing down our personal stories can be tough—especially if this is the first time you're letting yourself process a moment or memory.

Getting in touch with your younger self can be painful, overwhelming, or freeing. The blank page can feel the same way.

A gentle reminder: The only way out is through, and you NEVER have to share your writing. So, even if you're writing a memoir, it can be just for yourself.

If you think I'm done giving writing advice...you're wrong. The last piece of the memoir writing puzzle after writing exercises and prompts is the reading!

There is so much beauty in memoir writing–it's not that it's non-fiction, it's that someone found a way to put words to their voice, to take down their story, to give themself the compassion and recognition of telling their story. I love reading memoirs, and have a few recommendations to get you started.

A few great memoirs to read for inspiration:

This post may contain affiliate links. Marina Crouse Writes may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting this resource. If you’d like to shop these titles from Indie Bookstores, find this list on bookshop.org.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Educated by Tara Westover

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Night by Elie Wiesel

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Honey Bus by Meredith May

Fun fact: The Honey Bus and Wild are two of my favorite books, and whenever I am having a hard time with my own nonfiction writing I turn back to the pages and reread from Meredith May and Cheryl Strayed. Memoir writing (and reading) can help us all to connect with our pasts, finds solace in our present lives, and make sense of the future.

I hope this list of exercises, prompts, and reading recommendations helps inspire and fuel your writing. Let me know if these have helped! Or, join me at a writing sprint for some accountability with your writing.