Several of the questions from this list were pulled from The School of Arts and Enterprise, re-posted here with edits. The majority of the questions come from my own experience and brainstorming. The hope is to make this a comprehensive and solidly available resource for those writing personal narratives.
How Can I Choose a Personal Narrative Topic?:
Questions to Help You Discover Your Story
- What was my very first memory? What are other early memories? Why do these stand out?
- What are the most important things that have happened to me in my life so far?
- Who are the most important people in my life? What experiences with these people make them so important to me?
- If I could go back in time to a single moment and make a different choice, what moment would I choose? Would I actually go through with that choice? Why or why not?
- What stories show what my family and I are like? What stories show what my friends and I are like?
- How did my best friends earn the status of “best”?
- What’s the hardest decision I’ve had to make?
- What major life milestones have I reached? What academic milestones? What “growing up” milestones?
- What are some of my firsts? Who was the first person I kissed? Who was the first person I knew who died? What was the first time I saw the ocean? What was my first road trip like?
- What was the worst day of my life? What was the best day?
- What places are significant to me? What experiences make those places significant?
- What are the different experiences I’ve had in a ________? Think of specific but relatively common locations that have had been the setting from important scenes from your life. (e.g., kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, public swimming pools, auditoriums, gymnasiums, attics, basements, etc.)
- What was my favorite vacation? What was my least favorite?
- What’s the sickest I’ve ever been?
- What’s an incident that changed how I think, feel, believe, or behave about something? What convinced me?
- If I had to choose, what would I say was the happiest moment of my life?
- What was the moment I felt most loved? What was the moment I felt most alone? Most afraid? Most lost? Most angry? Most hurt? Most sad? Most hopeful?
- What’s a time or place where I laughed a lot? What did that laughter mean?
- What are the contests I’ve participated in? Did I win or lose? What did that loss or victory teach me?
- What are important things in my life that I’ve lost?
- What are the times I’ve faced the loss of something or someone I care deeply about? How did I handle it?
- What is the thing I’ve done I’m most ashamed of?
- What are the most important things I believe in? Where did those beliefs come from?
- What is an important thing I used to believe in but no longer believe in? How was that belief lost? How do I feel about that today?
- What’s a time in my life I’ve talked about but not written about?
- What situations have been difficult to face? Did I stand my ground or run? Do I wish I’d made a different choice?
- What is my favorite meal? What memories do I have associated with that meal?
- What was a time I felt truly proud of myself? What was a time I felt someone else was truly proud of me? What was a time I felt truly proud of someone else?
- What stories am I afraid to tell?
For more advice on choosing a topic for your personal narrative, check out my follow-up entry.
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