30 Personal Essay Prompts

Why are personal essay prompts often so . . . blah?

I’ve sometimes found myself scouring the internet trying to find something valuable in the way of a prompt, maybe to share with students, and been disappointed by the results. But after a deep dive into some superb craft books, and some more diligent research, I’m excited to share the following 30 prompts (note: there are going to be more where this came from, so stay tuned!):

Personal Essay Prompts 1-10

1. ABC Segments. Write the alphabet on a sheet of paper. Pick one letter. Make a list of all the things you can think of that start with that letter – ideas, concepts, emotions, objects. Choose one word from that list and write a paragraph. Repeat. Three times works well. You can also use the same approach with colors, cities, seasons, and numbers. – Anne Panning, Rose Metal Press Book to Flash Nonfiction

2. Rewriting a Disagreement. Reflect upon your most recent intense altercation or disagreement with someone in real life. It should be an occasion where you were sure of the rightness of your position. After you ruminate on this experience of discord for a few minutes, write the scene from the other person's point of view.…Often this exercise takes two or three revisions before one understands that they need to let go of their personal sense of right and wrong. Any judgment we bring to the page will dampen the freedom of the prose. And it is this freedom that the writer is after; the freedom to write about what it means to be human. — personal essay POV exercise adapted from Elizabeth Straut. 

3. I'm a terrible person. Think of a time in your life when you behaved less than perfectly. You didn't take the high road. You were mean to the class nerd. You shoplifted a sweater. You read your best friend's diary. But also list why a reading audience or reader might still root for you. Write an essay about what you did, why you did it, how it worked out, what you'd do differently today if you saw others repeat your mistakes and how it makes you feel now. —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

4. Opposing Values. Make a list of opposing values or conflicts that pull you in different directions over your lifetime. For example: 

• money/spirituality

• appearances/truthfulness

• family /me

• Impressing others/pleasing myself 

Is there one conflict of values running through all? Money, appearances, and impressing others are important to your family. But you find they aren't your values. Choose a pair of opposing values to work with. Write down the first time you became aware of the conflict. Write down other times the conflict surfaced. Choose one, and write an essay on the scene and insights you have now. — Adapted from Tristine Rainer's Your Life As Story. 

5. Three Braided Objects. Take three disparate objects randomly from your purse, backpack, or shelves. Set them in front of you and begin writing, allowing fifteen minutes for each object. See if you can use a common image or theme to bind these together.  —Adapted from Brenda Miller, Writing Creative Nonfiction.

6. Rewriting a Scene. Without using first-person pronouns (I, me, mine, my, we, our, ours), write an accurate scene about an incident you witnessed firsthand. Then take the above scene and rewrite it twice, expressing a different tone—anger, fear, humor, sarcasm, etc.—between the lines. —Adapted from Philip Gerard, Writing Creative Nonfiction.

7. Thesaurus Essay. Make a list of words about a particular subject. Words for mountain bikes or international treaties, words for welding or Lauren Bacall– it doesn't matter so long as you're drawn to the topic. Read around, searching out specific verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Or explore the networks between words. Create a word-hoard or group of words that conjure your subject matter in your medium. Muse these words to write your piece. The words will work on you. —Judith Kitchen: Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction.

8. Privacy. What have you kept to yourself — for a few days, a couple of months, your whole life? What makes you lock the door or clear your browser history? Draw the blinds and write.  —The Sun

9. Reality vs. Desire. List three real-life people or fictional characters you relate to. Then list three real-life people or characters you wish you were like. Who do you relate to, and why is there a gap? What characteristics do the aspirational people have that you wish you did? Use this to start an essay with, "I wish I could be more like ___, but instead, I'm more like ___." —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

10. Pressure. Write about a time you were persuaded to do something dangerous or didn't want to do. Or someone you know tried to pressure you into something, and you resisted. What was at stake? What did you win or lose by succumbing (or fighting) to that pressure?  —Adapted from Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration

Personal Essay Prompts 11-20

11. Apologize. Write an apology to someone in your past. Focus not purely on the emotion but on an event, an image, or your own "piece of wood." See where that takes you. When you're finished, look at your opening and ending sentences. Is there a relationship? Can you form one? – Brenda Miller, Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction. 

12. Story told a thousand times. Think of the story you've told most often in your life. Everyone has one. Your friends/family likely beg you to tell it. Now try to identify what's universal about that story. Is it a universal feeling? Struggle? Common misconception?—Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

13. Pain & Joy. Choose a painful period of your life. Now list 12 moments during that period where you experienced joy as human warmth, nature's endurance, inner quiet, or beauty or character—even if you weren't fully aware of those moments at the time. Take one of those moments and write an essay. –Adapted from Tristine Rainer's Your Life As Story. 

3. Quirks & Stories. Write down a list of 10 quirks about yourself. Then, are there stories that explain these quirks? What makes you such a fabulous baker? What was the dumbest thing you've been competitive about? Choose one and write about how the quirk manifests in your everyday life, the earliest memory of that facet of your personality, and why you think you're so weird. —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

14. Odd jobs. Start an essay with "I was a…" and describe the most unusual job you've had, even if it was unpaid or only lasted a day (spoiler: you were fired). Or write about the first day of your last job or the last day of your first job. —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short and Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration

15. On Animals. Pets are a popular topic for essays. Take it a little further than, "I love my dog. He's so cool!" What lessons has your dog taught you? Does your cat's experiences parallel your own in some way? Do you remember your first encounter with a wild or pet animal—how old were you, and what did you think? Is there an animal who influenced the direction of your life? When was your first pet loss, and when was the most recent? What did those experiences teach you about the process of loss and grief?  

• In my family, animals were _____

• My least-favorite pet was ____ but …. 

• My favorite pet was ____, but …. 

• If I were a (wild) animal, I would be a _____ 

16. The Moment You Lost It. Think of a time you emotionally snapped. You lost your cool. You freaked out. You worried passersby. Recount the story with details, but find the humor in it now. Was it such a big deal? Why was it such a big deal at the time? Did it trigger an earlier memory or feeling? Do you regret it now? —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

17. Memory chain. Look at an object in the room. Ask yourself what the thing reminds you of, and wait for a memory to arise. Write down details of that memory, even if bullet points. Write fast. Then wait a moment and ask yourself what that initial memory reminds you of. Write down that memory. And what, then, does that memory remind you of? Continue writing quickly for 6-7 chain links. 

Choose one of the memories and write down all details—sensory, thoughts, feelings, dialogue, and what you wish you would've done or said differently.

Next, look over the piece, and think about how a stranger would read it. What do you need to revise to help them understand the importance of this memory? What do you need to rearrange, add, or cut altogether? –Adapted from James Moffett and Writing True by Sondra Perl

18. Use a photo. Look at an older photo of yourself with others from long ago. Write in the present tense about what you were thinking and feeling back then. Describe the setting, who the people are, and the social dynamics using show versus tell, including dialogue. Imagine what others in the photo are thinking and the moment from their point of view. –Adapted from Writing True by Sondra Perl

19. Take the L. Remember a time when you won something you didn't expect to win or a time when you lost something you expected to win. But still took something positive from the experience. This could mean winning the game or getting into college—or not. Think of critical points that would make others root for you. —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

20. Unloved. What's your most unloved possession? How did it come into your possession? Do you need it? Why do you keep it? What does it represent? How does it disappoint you?  —Adapted from Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration

Personal Essay Prompts 21-30

21. Someone else's story. Think about someone else's essay, account, or situation that's long stayed with you. Now find your spin on it. What was your opinion of the situation? Does it remind you of a similar situation where you made a different choice? How would you have handled the situation differently? How do you justify or make sense of what happened? —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

22. Write a letter. Write a contradictory letter, such as a thank-you letter you don't mean. An apology you are insincere about. A "sorry you lost" letter for an enemy. Congratulations to someone you're insanely jealous of. 

23. Twists. Choose a day that was supposed to be the best day of your life but was one of the worst. Or a worst day that turned out to be the best. Which problems or benefits could you have anticipated, and which were impossible? Is it something many people go through? Do you enjoy life's twists and surprises, or do you dread them? What did you learn, or how did that day or experience change you? —Adapted from Margot Leitman's Long Story Short.

24. Discomfort. Write as sympathetically as you can about someone who gives you the heebie-jeebies. Someone you distrust, you dislike, you fear might be a "nice guy who keeps to himself" or otherwise discomforts you. Why is he like this? Why do you have this reaction? How many are like him or her in the world, and have you known people like this before? Do you ever make others uncomfortable or feel as though you don't fit in, and how? —Adapted from Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration

25. Idols. Who did you look up to but don't anymore? Who took their place? What teacher, pop star, family member, or religious leader has been a guiding light in the darkness? Or was it all smoke and mirrors? Tell us your true story. —The Sun

26. Common Folks' Phrases. Recall a phrase common to one of your communities and use it to begin a piece of flash nonfiction. Allow yourself to speak from the persona of the group. Then find a place to step forward and speak more personally. Turn toward the end of the piece, and consider how the persona you've established fits into or separates from the group persona. Be aware of the tensions between different aspects of yourself and how the short piece invites you to explore your character quickly. 

– Lee Martin ("Dumber Than"), Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction Plant

27. It's a Trap. Write about a time you baited someone or something in a trap. A lighting bug, a rat, a lover. What steps did you take? What would you recommend or not recommend to others? Why did you want to capture it? Was it causing harm or bringing joy? Did you keep the object of your desire or lose interest? Or fear the next step? Would you do something similar today? If you wish, compare or contrast with a time you felt trapped. When did you realize it had happened, and what happened next?

28. Conflict. Look for tensions, conflict, and irony in your life and how they illuminate larger themes while being very concrete. 

• A beautiful evening ruined by a joke 

• A day when everything changed

• Someone accidentally destroyed something irreplaceable

• Something you don't know (and don't want to)

• A painful loyalty 

• A time you worked hard toward a morally ambiguous goal

—Adapted from Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration
Multi-Step Essay Prompts

29. Angles. Write four one-page first-person sketches about yourself from different POVs. Write a portrait of yourself or your character from the POV of: 

• Someone who loves you

• Someone who will never understand you

• Someone who despises you 

• Someone who wishes to understand you

—Adapted from Your Life is a Book by Brenda Peterson and Sarah Jane Freymann

30. Digress. Begin writing a scene that contains some descriptions or actions. Produce 4-10 sentences, then stop. This is your first paragraph. Then digress where the thoughts grow naturally out of what you have, then take on a life of their own. Use one of the following prompts: 

That reminds me… (or I am reminded of, along those lines…)

I used to think… (that was before, I realize now…)

But it is also true … (an alternate perspective)

–Judith Kitchen: Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction

Digress Part II. Begin writing a scene that contains some descriptions or actions. Produce 4-10 sentences, then stop. This is your first paragraph. Reuse this paragraph but change the topic in some active way. Or even an abrupt change. 

–Judith Kitchen: Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction

Digress Part III. Begin writing a scene that contains some descriptions or actions. Produce 4-10 sentences, then stop. This is your first paragraph. Then write something that refers to one detail in the opening paragraph, a tangential digression. Imagery or detail association links the sections. Repeat it twice more, creating a three-part piece. 

–Judith Kitchen: Rose Metal Press Book of Flash Nonfiction