Came across an interesting juxtaposition of two interests of mine. In an article title How to Write One’s Life Story in which author Christina Hamlett writes:
Fill out self-assessment quizzes and introspective writing exercises. In addition to personality tests you can find in consumer magazines and on the Internet, books such as Barbara Ann Kipfer’s 4,000 Questions For Getting To Know Anyone and Everyone, Margaret Tiberio’s The Book of Self-Acquaintance and Dr. Gregory Stock’s The Book of Questions will get you thinking about what really makes you tick.
I’ve studied assessments (that measure skills, aptitudes, interests, personality, values, etc.) for a couple of graduate courses, and every couple of years, I update an Assessment Review Chart of free and inexpensive Internet-based assessments on A Storied Career’s parent site, Quintessential Careers (it’s currently in need of updating). I also keep a large 3-ring binder with all my assessment results.
I can certainly see that some of the consistent patterns that always show up when I take these assessments — my creativity, intuition, and introversion, for example — could provide food for thought for life-story writing. Did I always have these characteristics? Are they the product of nature or nurture? Do my parents share these traits? My sisters? What stories from my life best illustrate these aspects of my personality? In what ways have these traits helped me in my life? In what ways have they presented obstacles?
While assessments get you thinking about consistent patterns in your core being, the kinds of question books and sites Hamlett recommends are terrific for stimulating your thinking about all kinds of aspects of your life. These questions generally help you get at more specific bits of your existence.
I did a quick Google search using the terms “life story prompts” and saw promising sets of questions at sites like:
- Family History Products
- Memoirs By Me
- A book: 545 Life Story Prompts
- Sample 100 writing ideas taken from a list of 1,000 that sells for $13.95 (geared to students but can work for others).
What assessments or sets of prompts/questions have you found useful for life-story writing?