Author Inspiration: Writing Prompts for Autobiographies and Memoirs

Jump-starting the writing process can be difficult sometimes, which is why writing prompts are so popular. They give spark to the imagination, and provide the starting point to a story road map that only you, the author, can finish drawing out. But did you know that writing exercises can help by providing a jumping off point? Whether you simply use them to get your creative juices going, or the prompt triggers a memory which would serve as a perfect beginning, a little help with your writing topics might be just what the doctor ordered! Check out the prompts below, and then get writing!

(P.S. Feel free to share you a few thoughts on where this writing prompt led you in the comments below!)

Writing Prompt for Biographies

“She was a rebel among her peers, refusing to follow society’s rules of how women should be. When someone told her she couldn’t do something, she’d laugh with her cavalier spirit and prove that person wrong by doing what others thought she couldn’t. She wore her hair short before it was fashionable, shocked others by wearing pants instead of dresses and spoke her mind, as other women meekly watched in wonder. To them, she was Louise, but to me, she was….”
Writing Prompts for Autobiographies

1.) “I sat with my toes exposed, leaning back as I sighed with relief. Relaxing on my front porch has been, and will always be, my little sanctuary. Whether it’s the sling-back Adirondack chairs, the way the trees send the right amount of cool air through, or how every spot on the porch holds a perfect view of the lake, it never gets old being here. It is my home, but for how long, I don’t know…”

2.) “‘Wake up!’ The man’s shouting woke me up from a lackluster sleep in my darkened quarters. I raised my head up to see who woke me up, only to see a gruff-looking guard staring menacingly at me through the bars. ‘You have a visitor,’ he flippantly proclaimed. Getting up quickly with anticipation, I hoped it was my lawyer to tell me this whole ordeal would be over and I could get back to my family. Yet, the one I saw at the visitor’s table was the last person I thought I would see, and truly, the one I needed the most…”