Resources
Everyone has a valuable life story. No life is ordinary.
Memory Prompts and Writing Topics : What Inspires You?
Check the topics listed below that interest you the most and then write about each one for three pages. You will be surprised at what surfaces.
Then contact Peg Brown for your free no obligation 30-minute consultation on how to continue writing your life stories.
- Memory Prompts and Writing Topics
- My earliest memory
- Family traditions I keep alive
- What I value the most
- Accomplishments that give me the most satisfaction
- The hardest decision I ever had to make
- Things I cherish about my family
- Mistakes I have learned from
- My childhood home(s), bedroom(s)
- Things my family always said about me
- An illness or death in the family
- A flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, accident
- A turning point in my life
Links
American Association of Personal Historians: www.personalhistorians.org
Bibliography
Lifewriting
Atkinson, Robert. The Gift of Stories. Connecticut; Bergin & Garvey, 1995, Practical and spiritual applications of autobiography, life stories, and personal mythmaking.
Hoffman, William. Life Writing: A guide to Family Journals and Personal Memoirs. New York: St Martin's Press, 1982.
Ledoux, Denis. Turning Memories Into Memoirs. Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press, 2003. A complete guide to writing your autobiography.
Nichols, Evelyn and Anne Lowenkopf. Lifelines, A Guide to Writing Your Personal Recollections. Crozet, Virginia: Betterway Publications, 1989. Lists of writing topics.
Roddick, Hawley. Your Memoirs: Saving the Stories of Your Life and Work. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, 2007.
Oral History
Ritchie, Donald. Doing Oral History. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995.
Sommer, Barbara W. and Mary Kay Quinlan. The Oral History Manual. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2002. An excellent guide on how to conduct oral history projects.