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30 Prompts to Start Writing Your Memoir

May 05, 2023 | 2 min read
Woman writing memoir

Everyone has a story to tell. Here at Freewrite, our passion is helping people overcome the obstacles to writing and get words on the page.

Many #FreewriteFam community members use their Freewrite for journaling or to write memoir. But sometimes your own story is the hardest to tell. Where do you start? What’s interesting enough to include?

Our advice: Stop thinking; start writing.

And if you need a little help with the “start” part, here are 30 prompts to get you going. Pick a prompt, set a timer for 15 minutes, and WRITE ON!

  1. Describe yourself as a child.
  2. How did you get your name?
  3. Describe your childhood home. How did it smell? What was the temperature?
  4. Pick a number from 1-20. Write about your life at that age.
  5. What was your favorite book or movie as a child? Why? Do you still like it?
  6. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? How close did you come to pursuing that?
  7. Describe someone you admired when you were young. Did your impression of that person change when you grew up?
  8. Tell the story of the best meal you’ve ever had.
  9. What do you remember (if anything) about your parents’ relationship? Either with each other, or with others?
  10. Do you have any siblings? If so, did you get along?
  11. Describe a hobby you used to have that you no longer do. Why did you stop?
  12. Describe the best day of your life.
  13. What was your worst fear at age 5? Age 15? Age 25? Now?
  14. Describe the very first trip you took away from your hometown.
  15. Write about a historical event that you lived through.
  16. Do you believe in the afterlife? Why or why not?
  17. What was your first job? Did you like it? How long did it last?
  18. How do you define loss? Tell about a time you experienced loss, in any form.
  19. Do you remember your first love? Describe them.
  20. Have you experienced a life-or-death situation? How did you feel?
  21. Tell the story of a moment when you were scared to do something but did it anyway.
  22. What’s more important to you: honesty or loyalty?
  23. At what moment in your life did you feel most loved?
  24. What has been the biggest challenge of your life thus far?
  25. Do you prefer winter, spring, summer, or fall? Why?
  26. Name one insecurity you have about yourself. Now tell a story about where that insecurity was born, or how it has affected your life.
  27. Do you believe people are inherently “good”?
  28. Name one thing you believed as a young person that you changed your mind about.
  29. What are you good at? Be honest and don't sell yourself short.
  30. What is your most prized possession? 
August 22, 2025 3 min read

Most of us are surrounded by screens all day. To get your writing done, take writer Shannon Liao's advice and unplug.

July 21, 2025 2 min read

It’s literary legend Ernest Hemingway’s birthday week, and we’re throwing "A Moveable Feast" in his honor. Purchase a Hemingwrite this week and be entered to have your purchase completely refunded.

July 21, 2025 2 min read

Official Rules for the Promotion

No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your changes of wining. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

1. Eligibility

The Purchase Refund Giveaway ("Promotion") is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees, officers, and directors of Astrohaus ("Sponsor") and its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and/or those living in the same household are not eligible. The Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

2. Promotion Period

The Promotion begins at 8 a.m. EST Monday, July 21, and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, July 27 ("Promotion Period"). Sponsor's computer is the official timekeeping device for this Promotion.

3. How to Enter

There are two (2) ways to enter:

a) Purchase Method:

During the Promotion Period, make a purchase of any product through https://getfreewrite.com/. All eligible purchasers will automatically be entered into the Promotion. Limit one (1) entry per purchase.

b) Free Alternate Method of Entry (AMOE):

To enter without making a purchase, fill out the form here.Limit one (1) AMOE entry per person.

4. Prize

One (1) Grand Prize: A refund equal to the amount of the winner’s eligible purchase (not to exceed $1,099.00 USD). If the winner entered via the AMOE method, they will receive one Ernest Hemingway Signature Edition Smart Typewriter.

Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): up to $1,099.00 USD.

5. Winner Selection

One (1) potential winner will be selected in a random drawing on or about August 15, from among all eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

6. Winner Notification

The potential winner will be notified by email within five (5) business days following the drawing. The potential winner may be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability & Publicity Release within seven (7) days of notification. If a selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize, or fails to timely return the required documents, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner selected.

7. General Conditions

By participating, entrants agree to abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final. The Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, modify, or suspend the Promotion if it becomes technically corrupted or cannot be conducted as planned. The prize is non-transferable. All federal, state, and local taxes are the responsibility of the winner.

8. Limitation of Liability

Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, or illegible entries or for any technical or human error that may occur in the administration of the Promotion.

9. Privacy

Any personal information collected will be used in accordance with the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy located at https://getfreewrite.com/pages/privacy-policy.

9. Sponsor

Astrohaus
1632 1st Avenue #29179
New York, NY 10028