Memoir Prompt: Writing about Your Life in Chapters

For this memoir writing exercise, derived from this article by Christian Jarret, start by dividing your life into four ”chapters.”

Her are some examples:

• You might make four chapters of different ages: 5, 10, 15, 20
• You might make four  chapters of friendships you had (family members, friends, romantic relationships)
• You might make four chapters of different educational experiences (elementary school, middle school, high school, etc)
• You might make four chapters of different places or homes you’ve lived in
• You might make four chapters of movies or television shows you watched as James Baldwin does in this excerpt from The Devil Finds Work.

You can write four chapters of any category that fits your life. What this exercise is doing is giving you a way to “shape” your life experiences into memoir.  For each chapter, think about time, place, and people.  Use details. And, because this is memoir, provide a reflection on what each chapter represents.

If it helps you begin to write, make an outline: For example:

Chapter 1
Title:
Date range:
Place (or places)
People involved:
What this overall chapter represents:

Chapter 2
Title:
Date range:
Place (or places)
People involved:
What this overall chapter represents:

Chapter 3
Title:
Date range:
Place (or places)
People involved:
What this overall chapter represents:

Chapter 4
Title:
Date range:
Place (or places)
People involved:
What this overall chapter represents:

Note: this exercise comes from readings we did in class, which are found in this post Writing Memoir to Boost Your Self Esteem