example of creative writing about family

46+ Family Writing Prompts: Chronicle Your Clan

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on August 14, 2023

Categories Writing

Isn’t it true that family is the heart of every story?

You’re about to delve into the world of family-themed writing prompts. We’ll explore their importance, variety, and how they can enhance your storytelling skills.

Whether you’ve got a little one eager to pen their first tale or you’re an educator seeking fresh ideas, these prompts will inspire creativity while strengthening familial bonds.

Let’s get those pens moving!

Key Takeaways

• Family writing prompts foster empathy, understanding, and dialogue within families.
• They enhance creative expression, improve communication skills, and promote literacy skills.
• Family writing prompts nurture empathy, emotional growth, and shape well-rounded individuals.
• They create lasting memories, improve familial bonding, and provide insights into children’s thinking process.

46 Family Writing Prompts

Childhood memories:.

• What is your fondest childhood memory involving your family?
• What was the best family trip or vacation you took? What made it special?
• What family stories or legends do you know by heart? Why are they memorable?
• What was the most embarrassing family moment you can remember?
• What pets has your family had? What were they like?
• What is your funniest family memory?
• How did your family celebrate birthdays or other occasions?
• What were family reunions like when you were a child? What did you do?
• What funny or embarrassing habits did you have as a kid?
• What songs remind you of your childhood or family? Write about the memories they bring back.

Family Traditions and Rituals:

• Write about your favorite family tradition. Why is it meaningful to you?
• If you could add a new family tradition, what would it be?
• How does your family celebrate birthdays or other occasions?
• What cooking or food traditions does your family have? Any iconic recipes?
• What rituals and routines were part of your daily family life? What role did they play?

Family Relationships:

• Describe your family dynamic. What role do you play?
• Write a letter to a family member you wish you were closer with.
• What do you admire most about your parents or caregivers?
• Pick a family member and describe their unique quirks or personality.
• Describe your relationship with your siblings growing up. What were the highlights and low points?

Family Values and Lessons:

• What is the most important lesson your parents taught you?
• What is the most important value your family has taught you?
• If you could give advice to your younger self about family, what would it be?
• What life lessons or mottos do your parents live by? Do you agree with them?
• What values or ethics guided how your family dealt with money? How did this shape you?

Family History and Heritage:

• What is your family’s heritage? How has it influenced you?
• Are there any musicians, artists, or fictional characters that your family admires? Why?
• What family heirlooms, photos, or keepsakes do you treasure? What’s their history?
• What languages, dialects, or regional expressions were part of your family’s culture? Give examples.
• Did any family members immigrate to the U.S. or move from another region? What adjustments did they make?

Challenges and Hardships:

• What challenging experiences has your family overcome together?
• What health conditions or disabilities have affected your family? How did you face these challenges?
• What were the most difficult times your family went through? How did you cope?
• Did anyone in your family struggle with addiction or substance abuse? What was the impact?
• Write about a time your family fell apart. How did you heal and come back together?
• What is your most painful childhood memory from family life? How have you healed from it?

Hopes and Dreams:

• What are your hopes and dreams for your family in the future?
• How did your family support your talents, interests, or dreams as a kid?
• Who in your family inspired you to pursue your talents or career? Write about how they supported you.
• Looking back, what do you wish your family understood about you as a kid?

Family Structure and Dynamics:

• What unique roles does each family member play in your household?
• Were there any absent parents, divorces, or complex custody arrangements in your family? What was that like?
• What roles did each parent or caregiver play in the family dynamic? Were responsibilities divided equally?
• How did you and your siblings get along as kids? What were your fights about?
• Describe a time you felt a strong generation gap with older or younger relatives.

The Importance of Family-Themed Writing Prompts

It’s vital to understand that family-themed writing prompts aren’t just fun, they’re a tool for fostering empathy and understanding within families.

You see, these prompts can help you explore the cultural significance within your own family unit. Isn’t it amazing how different cultures have unique traditions and rituals? By writing about them, you can gain a deeper appreciation of your roots.

Don’t overlook generational differences either! Your grandparents’ stories may seem like tales from another world, but they’re an integral part of who you are today.

Writing prompts encourage dialogue between generations, promoting mutual respect and comprehension. So go ahead, give it a shot! It’s not just about creating stories; it’s about building bridges of understanding and love in your family.

Types of Family Writing Prompts

There’re various categories to choose from, such as traditional, blended or single parent themes. Each provides a unique lens for family dynamics exploration. Your task is to dive deep into the heart of these relationships, understanding their complexities and revealing their beauty.

Remember, it’s not just about describing events but showcasing how they affect each family member – especially the children. Generational storytelling techniques can be an amazing tool here; they allow you to delve into past experiences and display how they shape present circumstances.

Whether you’re exploring the struggles of a single parent or the harmony in a traditional family setting, always strive for empathy and insightfulness. This approach will help your readers connect more deeply with your characters and storylines.

How to Use Family Writing Prompts Effectively

You’re about to embark on an exciting journey of choosing relevant writing prompts that will ignite your child’s imagination and bring the whole family together.

It’s not just about picking a prompt, but also engaging every family member in this creative activity – transforming it into a fun, shared experience.

And remember, it’s crucial to review everyone’s work and provide constructive feedback; this will encourage growth, promote learning and make your child feel valued.

Choosing Relevant Prompts

We’ll need to focus on selecting prompts that are relevant and relatable to our family’s experiences. This process, known as prompt selection, is essential in understanding our unique family dynamics.

You should strive for prompts that spark curiosity and engage everyone, especially the children. Remember, it’s about their learning too. Try using prompts that foster open conversations about personal experiences or shared memories; they’re more likely to resonate with your young ones.

Don’t shy away from challenging topics either; they can be valuable teaching moments. Your goal is to create a nurturing environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings through writing.

So go ahead, dive into this journey of self-discovery together!

Engaging Family Participation

Engaging everyone’s participation can be a bit tricky, but it’s crucial for the success of your shared experience. Promoting inclusivity and encouraging storytelling is vital in this process.

Promoting Inclusivity

• Make sure the prompts are relatable to all family members. This fosters an environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Give each person a turn to share their story. It not only promotes fairness but also makes every child feel special.
• Encouraging Storytelling
• Provide positive feedback and appreciation for every story told. Kids thrive on encouragement!
• Endorse creativity! No matter how wild or outlandish, let them explore their imagination.

Remember: Your goal is to create an inclusive environment that encourages storytelling within your family. And most importantly, have fun together!

Reviewing and Feedback

It’s important to offer constructive feedback and review each story shared to help everyone improve their storytelling skills. You’ll find that your family can learn so much from each other’s perspectives, especially the kids! The trick is in the method you use for feedback.

Remember, always be gentle – we’re focusing on growth, not criticism. Try using ‘I’ statements like ‘I liked how you interpreted the prompt’. This keeps things positive and encourages more openness in sharing stories.

For little ones who may struggle with prompt interpretation, make it a fun learning experience! Offer clues or ask leading questions to guide them along. Your goal? To foster a love of storytelling while building stronger bonds – all through a simple family activity!

Fun and Creative Family Writing Prompts

You’ll find these fun and creative family writing prompts not only improve writing skills but also strengthen familial bonds. Consider starting with family stories brainstorming, a process that involves everyone sharing memorable tales of laughter, courage, or even mishaps. This activity encourages openness and empathy amongst all members.

Now let’s talk about writing prompt games. These are wonderful tools for getting those young minds excited about writing. For example, try ‘Story Spin’, where one person starts a story based on a prompt, then the next person picks up where it left off. It’s not just fun; it’s a great way to foster creativity and listening skills!

Benefits of Using Family Writing Prompts

You know, scribbling a story together as a family isn’t just about putting pen to paper; it’s an intimate bonding experience that can strengthen your connections with each other.

It’s also an opportunity for your little ones to let their imaginations run wild and enhance their creative expression.

Through this shared activity, you’re not only creating wonderful memories but fostering a nurturing environment where everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

Improves Familial Bonding

Engaging in these writing prompts together will certainly strengthen your family’s bond. It’s a fun and effective way to break down bonding barriers that might be lurking unseen.

You’ll find kids opening up, expressing their thoughts and feelings honestly, which sometimes isn’t easy.

Prompt customization allows you to cater to each child’s interests and level of understanding, making the experience more meaningful for them. This doesn’t just enhance their writing skills; it helps you understand them better too.

So grab a pen or hit those keyboard keys, let your creativity flow alongside your little ones. Remember, it’s not about creating perfect stories but building unforgettable moments as a family while learning from one another.

Enhances Creative Expression

Taking part in these activities will surely enhance your kids’ creative expression and might even surprise you with their imaginative ideas. Symbolic storytelling allows them to convey their thoughts and feelings through characters, settings, or events. It’s like peeking into their little minds – a treasure trove of originality.

Emotional articulation isn’t always easy for children. However, writing prompts foster an environment where they can express themselves freely. They’ll learn to navigate their emotions through words, which is an essential skill as they grow up.

Moreover, seeing them weave narratives from simple prompts could be quite an eye-opener for you too. You’d get insights about their thinking process and emotional landscape that aren’t usually apparent in everyday conversations. Remember, it’s not just about improving creative writing; it’s also about understanding your child better.

Personal Experiences With Family Writing Prompts

Recalling your personal experiences with family writing prompts, it’s clear they’ve played a significant role in enhancing your communication skills. You’ve seen first-hand how the impact of these prompts has made you articulate and express yourself better. Yet, you’ve faced some challenges too.

Prompts Impact : The questions about family history or shared memories have pushed you to dig deeper into your thoughts, opening up new perspectives.

Writing Challenges : Sometimes it’s hard to find the right words or structure your ideas coherently.

Learning Curve : But each challenge is also an opportunity for growth.

In this journey, remember that you’re not alone; many kids face similar struggles when they start exploring their creativity through writing. It’s all part of learning and growing — so keep pushing forward!

Educational Value of Family Writing Prompts

In terms of their educational value, it’s evident that these creative cues offer a unique method for children to explore and express their thoughts. They promote literacy skills in an engaging way. As you watch your child interact with family writing prompts, you’ll see their vocabulary expanding, grammar improving, and ideas flowing like never before.

But the benefits don’t stop at academics. These prompts also play a vital role in encouraging emotional growth. Through writing about family experiences, your child has the chance to process feelings and perspectives they might not have understood before. It’s an empowering process: giving them tools to express themselves while nurturing empathy for others’ experiences.

So remember, these prompts aren’t just about practicing penmanship – they’re shaping well-rounded little humans too!

Creating Your Own Family Writing Prompts

You’re probably wondering how to come up with your own engaging topics that will spark creativity and discussion within your household. Don’t fret, it’s simpler than you think! Prompt customization is key. This means taking general prompts and molding them to fit your family’s interests, experiences, or current events in your lives.

Use collaborative brainstorming as a fun activity where everyone can contribute ideas for new writing prompts. Remember, no idea is too silly or insignificant. You might be surprised at what your little ones can dream up!

This process not only cultivates the kids’ imaginative skills but also subtly teaches them about the value of their voices and opinions in a creative setting. Ultimately, creating your own family writing prompts becomes an enriching journey of discovery for everyone involved.

So, you see, family writing prompts aren’t just fun exercises. They’re tools to help your child explore their feelings and understand their place in the world.

Remember Joe? He struggled with expressing emotions until he started writing about his family’s adventures. Now, he’s happier and more confident.

So give these prompts a try – they could make a world of difference for your little one!

What Is Creative Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 20 Examples)

Creative writing begins with a blank page and the courage to fill it with the stories only you can tell.

I face this intimidating blank page daily–and I have for the better part of 20+ years.

In this guide, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of creative writing with tons of examples.

What Is Creative Writing (Long Description)?

Creative Writing is the art of using words to express ideas and emotions in imaginative ways. It encompasses various forms including novels, poetry, and plays, focusing on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes.

Table of Contents

Let’s expand on that definition a bit.

Creative writing is an art form that transcends traditional literature boundaries.

It includes professional, journalistic, academic, and technical writing. This type of writing emphasizes narrative craft, character development, and literary tropes. It also explores poetry and poetics traditions.

In essence, creative writing lets you express ideas and emotions uniquely and imaginatively.

It’s about the freedom to invent worlds, characters, and stories. These creations evoke a spectrum of emotions in readers.

Creative writing covers fiction, poetry, and everything in between.

It allows writers to express inner thoughts and feelings. Often, it reflects human experiences through a fabricated lens.

Types of Creative Writing

There are many types of creative writing that we need to explain.

Some of the most common types:

• Short stories
• Screenplays
• Flash fiction
• Creative Nonfiction

Short Stories (The Brief Escape)

Short stories are like narrative treasures.

They are compact but impactful, telling a full story within a limited word count. These tales often focus on a single character or a crucial moment.

Short stories are known for their brevity.

They deliver emotion and insight in a concise yet powerful package. This format is ideal for exploring diverse genres, themes, and characters. It leaves a lasting impression on readers.

Example: Emma discovers an old photo of her smiling grandmother. It’s a rarity. Through flashbacks, Emma learns about her grandmother’s wartime love story. She comes to understand her grandmother’s resilience and the value of joy.

Novels (The Long Journey)

Novels are extensive explorations of character, plot, and setting.

They span thousands of words, giving writers the space to create entire worlds. Novels can weave complex stories across various themes and timelines.

The length of a novel allows for deep narrative and character development.

Readers get an immersive experience.

Example: Across the Divide tells of two siblings separated in childhood. They grow up in different cultures. Their reunion highlights the strength of family bonds, despite distance and differences.

Poetry (The Soul’s Language)

Poetry expresses ideas and emotions through rhythm, sound, and word beauty.

It distills emotions and thoughts into verses. Poetry often uses metaphors, similes, and figurative language to reach the reader’s heart and mind.

Poetry ranges from structured forms, like sonnets, to free verse.

The latter breaks away from traditional formats for more expressive thought.

Example: Whispers of Dawn is a poem collection capturing morning’s quiet moments. “First Light” personifies dawn as a painter. It brings colors of hope and renewal to the world.

Plays (The Dramatic Dialogue)

Plays are meant for performance. They bring characters and conflicts to life through dialogue and action.

This format uniquely explores human relationships and societal issues.

Playwrights face the challenge of conveying setting, emotion, and plot through dialogue and directions.

Example: Echoes of Tomorrow is set in a dystopian future. Memories can be bought and sold. It follows siblings on a quest to retrieve their stolen memories. They learn the cost of living in a world where the past has a price.

Screenplays (Cinema’s Blueprint)

Screenplays outline narratives for films and TV shows.

They require an understanding of visual storytelling, pacing, and dialogue. Screenplays must fit film production constraints.

Example: The Last Light is a screenplay for a sci-fi film. Humanity’s survivors on a dying Earth seek a new planet. The story focuses on spacecraft Argo’s crew as they face mission challenges and internal dynamics.

Memoirs (The Personal Journey)

Memoirs provide insight into an author’s life, focusing on personal experiences and emotional journeys.

They differ from autobiographies by concentrating on specific themes or events.

Memoirs invite readers into the author’s world.

They share lessons learned and hardships overcome.

Example: Under the Mango Tree is a memoir by Maria Gomez. It shares her childhood memories in rural Colombia. The mango tree in their yard symbolizes home, growth, and nostalgia. Maria reflects on her journey to a new life in America.

Flash Fiction (The Quick Twist)

Flash fiction tells stories in under 1,000 words.

It’s about crafting compelling narratives concisely. Each word in flash fiction must count, often leading to a twist.

This format captures life’s vivid moments, delivering quick, impactful insights.

Example: The Last Message features an astronaut’s final Earth message as her spacecraft drifts away. In 500 words, it explores isolation, hope, and the desire to connect against all odds.

Creative Nonfiction (The Factual Tale)

Creative nonfiction combines factual accuracy with creative storytelling.

This genre covers real events, people, and places with a twist. It uses descriptive language and narrative arcs to make true stories engaging.

Creative nonfiction includes biographies, essays, and travelogues.

Example: Echoes of Everest follows the author’s Mount Everest climb. It mixes factual details with personal reflections and the history of past climbers. The narrative captures the climb’s beauty and challenges, offering an immersive experience.

Fantasy (The World Beyond)

Fantasy transports readers to magical and mythical worlds.

It explores themes like good vs. evil and heroism in unreal settings. Fantasy requires careful world-building to create believable yet fantastic realms.

Example: The Crystal of Azmar tells of a young girl destined to save her world from darkness. She learns she’s the last sorceress in a forgotten lineage. Her journey involves mastering powers, forming alliances, and uncovering ancient kingdom myths.

Science Fiction (The Future Imagined)

Science fiction delves into futuristic and scientific themes.

It questions the impact of advancements on society and individuals.

Science fiction ranges from speculative to hard sci-fi, focusing on plausible futures.

Example: When the Stars Whisper is set in a future where humanity communicates with distant galaxies. It centers on a scientist who finds an alien message. This discovery prompts a deep look at humanity’s universe role and interstellar communication.

Watch this great video that explores the question, “What is creative writing?” and “How to get started?”:

What Are the 5 Cs of Creative Writing?

The 5 Cs of creative writing are fundamental pillars.

They guide writers to produce compelling and impactful work. These principles—Clarity, Coherence, Conciseness, Creativity, and Consistency—help craft stories that engage and entertain.

They also resonate deeply with readers. Let’s explore each of these critical components.

Clarity makes your writing understandable and accessible.

It involves choosing the right words and constructing clear sentences. Your narrative should be easy to follow.

In creative writing, clarity means conveying complex ideas in a digestible and enjoyable way.

Coherence ensures your writing flows logically.

It’s crucial for maintaining the reader’s interest. Characters should develop believably, and plots should progress logically. This makes the narrative feel cohesive.

Conciseness

Conciseness is about expressing ideas succinctly.

It’s being economical with words and avoiding redundancy. This principle helps maintain pace and tension, engaging readers throughout the story.

Creativity is the heart of creative writing.

It allows writers to invent new worlds and create memorable characters. Creativity involves originality and imagination. It’s seeing the world in unique ways and sharing that vision.

Consistency

Consistency maintains a uniform tone, style, and voice.

It means being faithful to the world you’ve created. Characters should act true to their development. This builds trust with readers, making your story immersive and believable.

Is Creative Writing Easy?

Creative writing is both rewarding and challenging.

Crafting stories from your imagination involves more than just words on a page. It requires discipline and a deep understanding of language and narrative structure.

Exploring complex characters and themes is also key.

Refining and revising your work is crucial for developing your voice.

The ease of creative writing varies. Some find the freedom of expression liberating.

Others struggle with writer’s block or plot development challenges. However, practice and feedback make creative writing more fulfilling.

What Does a Creative Writer Do?

A creative writer weaves narratives that entertain, enlighten, and inspire.

Writers explore both the world they create and the emotions they wish to evoke. Their tasks are diverse, involving more than just writing.

Creative writers develop ideas, research, and plan their stories.

They create characters and outline plots with attention to detail. Drafting and revising their work is a significant part of their process. They strive for the 5 Cs of compelling writing.

Writers engage with the literary community, seeking feedback and participating in workshops.

They may navigate the publishing world with agents and editors.

Creative writers are storytellers, craftsmen, and artists. They bring narratives to life, enriching our lives and expanding our imaginations.

How to Get Started With Creative Writing?

Embarking on a creative writing journey can feel like standing at the edge of a vast and mysterious forest.

The path is not always clear, but the adventure is calling.

Here’s how to take your first steps into the world of creative writing:

• Find a time of day when your mind is most alert and creative.
• Create a comfortable writing space free from distractions.
• Use prompts to spark your imagination. They can be as simple as a word, a phrase, or an image.
• Try writing for 15-20 minutes on a prompt without editing yourself. Let the ideas flow freely.
• Reading is fuel for your writing. Explore various genres and styles.
• Pay attention to how your favorite authors construct their sentences, develop characters, and build their worlds.
• Don’t pressure yourself to write a novel right away. Begin with short stories or poems.
• Small projects can help you hone your skills and boost your confidence.
• Look for writing groups in your area or online. These communities offer support, feedback, and motivation.
• Participating in workshops or classes can also provide valuable insights into your writing.
• Understand that your first draft is just the beginning. Revising your work is where the real magic happens.
• Be open to feedback and willing to rework your pieces.
• Carry a notebook or digital recorder to jot down ideas, observations, and snippets of conversations.
• These notes can be gold mines for future writing projects.

Final Thoughts: What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is an invitation to explore the unknown, to give voice to the silenced, and to celebrate the human spirit in all its forms.

Check out these creative writing tools (that I highly recommend):

Read This Next:

• What Is a Prompt in Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 200 Examples)
• What Is A Personal Account In Writing? (47 Examples)
• How To Write A Fantasy Short Story (Ultimate Guide + Examples)
• How To Write A Fantasy Romance Novel [21 Tips + Examples)

101 Family-Friendly Story Prompts

Do you want to write in the family genre but need help conjuring compelling family-friendly stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple story prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing .

We've put together 101 original story prompts that can help inspire your next family-friendly screenplay. Check them out below and then continue on for a deeper dive into how to craft these types of stories.

Note: Because we’re all connected to the same pop culture, news headlines, and inspirations, any similarity to any past, present, or future screenplays, novels, short stories, television pilots, television series, plays, or any other creative works is purely coincidence. These story writing prompts were conceived on the fly without any research or Google search for inspiration.

1. Two treasure-hunting families race against time to find the same treasure in four different potential locations.  

2. Siblings that lost their parents find a portal to heaven and they go on an adventure to find them. 

3. A gamer wakes up in his favorite car racing game and must win multiple races to survive.

4. A young boy searches for his lost father in the nearby mountains.

5. A family of space travelers crash lands on an exotic planet.

6. A family discovers a series of mysterious tunnels underneath their house.

7. A father and son go on a safari and must survive the elements when they lose track of their guides. 

8. A family befriends a monster discovered living underneath the children's bed. 

9. Parents learn that their college-age daughter has disappeared into the jungles of a foreign country.

10. A family struggles to survive a destructive meteor shower.

11. A mother wants to realize her life-long dream and train for the Olympics. 

12. A father is tasked with coaching his son's soccer team, even though he has never played the sport.

13. A family is chosen to be the first to fly in space.

14. A family is chosen to be the first to colonize Mars.

15. A little boy begins to develop superhuman strength. 

16. A family that loses everything in a fire must rebuild their life. 

17. A family is sucked into their favorite TV show. 

18. An estranged family is reunited after one of them makes a wish . 

19. The President of the United States and his family go incognito to live a normal life. 

20. A family of famous superheroes goes incognito to live a normal life. 

'The Incredibles'

21. A family traveling the stars on the space-version of Titanic must survive when it hits an asteroid. 

22. A family travels to the American Frontier to find their new home .

23. A star baseball recruit struggles to decide whether he should take a scholarship or go pro.

24. A family of movie lovers discovers a portal where they can enter their favorite movie worlds.

25. Siblings learn that their parents used to be international spies.

26. A family on a wilderness retreat stumbles upon a group of armed criminals.

27. A rich and affluent family loses everything and must live in the ghetto. 

28. Parents find a way to travel to the future to see how their kids will turn out. 

29. A family of explorers searches the ocean for the lost city of Atlantis. 

30. A family finds a lost city underneath their farmland. 

31. Siblings start a successful business after their parents lose their jobs. 

32. Two brothers do everything they can to ensure that their family gets to keep their house. 

33. Two sisters navigate the difficult world of teen angst as their parents navigate the difficult world of keeping up with the Joneses. 

34. A family ends up searching for a mythical island paradise during their summer vacation.  

35. A family is shipwrecked on an uncharted island. 

36. A family of racecar drivers race across the country in the ultimate race. 

37. A family of pilots discovers a strange city in the clouds. 

38. A robot from the future befriends a family.  

39. A family on a canoe trip is whisked away down the Mississippi River during a horrible storm and flood. 

40. Kids discover an underground world. 

'Bridge to Terabithia' (

41. A bullied boy wakes up as a strong knight in a fantasy world. 

42. A boy dreams that his family is actually a royal family in a fantasy world. 

43. A family must survive when their plane crashes. 

44. A family is willed an old castle. 

45. A family is whisked away to the world of Oz. 

46. A family sailing on the ocean discover an injured mermaid. 

Read More: Character Breakdown: What Makes Ariel More Than Just A Little Mermaid?

47. A sailor decides to sail into the infamous Bermuda Triangle to find his brother that was lost at sea years ago.

48. A town must survive the worst flood in history. 

49. A family of storm chasers must survive a unique weather system that creates multiple F5 tornadoes. 

50. Parents meet their younger selves.

51. Aliens attack a small farm family after the rest of the country has been destroyed. 

52. An outcast nerd discovers that he's actually a revered prince from another planet, hidden by his royal family to escape an evil space lord. 

53. A family of wizards must defeat an old foe. 

54. A family wakes up from cryosleep in a spaceship with no recollection of who they are and how they got there. 

55. A family of toys struggles to find the right human family for them. 

56. Puppy siblings separated by pet adoption escape bad homes to find each other. 

57. Siblings in an orphanage escape to find their beloved aunt and uncle. 

58. After their parents seemingly die in a car accident, teens discover that they may be alive after all.  

59. A family of unicorns struggles to find sanctuary. 

60. A strange family moves into the neighborhood. 

'Addams Family Values' (

61. A boy from a rich and spoiled family wants them to live without their mansion, belongings, and money for a year. 

62. A rich boy and poor girl convince their families to switch places for a month. 

63. A family sailing the ocean waters must overcome the worst hurricane in history. 

64. Middle school-aged friends decide to climb a mountain to bury a time capsule after one of their group dies tragically. 

65. A mentally-challenged student wants to make the football team. 

66. A physically-challenged student wants to letter in every sport in high school.

67. A family of international spies moves to the suburbs. 

68. Peter Pan's mother tracks him down in Neverland. 

69. Competing treasure hunting families race on the open ocean waters to find a sunken treasure. 

70. A character within a Sim City-like game becomes self-aware and wants to escape to the real world. 

71.  A family vacationing in Hawaii unlocks a portal that transports them back in time. 

72. A local town bands together as miners are trapped in the local mine. 

73. A family — the Hoods — steals from the rich to give to the poor deal.

74. A family is transported back to the time of the dinosaurs and struggles to survive. 

75. A riverboat captain and his children attempt the first trip down the Mississippi River. 

76. Childhood friends are reunited after thirty years apart. 

77. The son of a poor couple struggles to attain a sports scholarship so he can go to college. 

78. Alien monsters chase the last living family on Earth across the country. 

79. A World War II-era family starts a minor league baseball team to uplift the town. 

80. A family-owned dog boarding business is shocked when the dogs start talking. 

'Homeward Bound' (1993)

81. A family adopts a puppy that shocks them when he begins to talk. 

82. Families are invited by a mysterious person to partake in the ultimate scavenger hunt. 

83. A girl overwhelmed by middle school drama wishes that she could wake up as a boy. 

84. A family nurses a wild wolf back to health. 

85. Siblings mourn the death of their grandpa, only to discover that he's left them an old treasure map.  

86. A witch curses a group of children, causing them to shrink to the size of ants. 

87. A family must find each other after the worst earthquake in human history. 

88. A family discovers that they are the ancestors of the real Van Helsing.  

89. A family must fend off pirates that take over their vacation cruise ship. 

90. A family of monsters moves to the suburbs. 

91. A female youth athlete tries out for the football as the family deals with the community.  

92. A wilderness firefighter must parachute into a wildfire to find his missing family. 

93. A stay-at-home dad deals with the stigmas.  

94. A successful female executive leaves her career to spend quality time with her husband and children. 

95. A family snorkeling along a reef during vacation finds themselves trapped in an underwater world.  

96. A portal to another world opens during a sleepover. 

97. The parents of a family wake up younger each day as their children wake up older. 

98. A beloved school teacher loses his family as the community bands together to become his new family.  

99. A family of ghosts continues to haunt their old house so they can live in it forever. 

100. A rich family decides to leave everything they know to move to a farm and work the fields. 

101. The local town museum begins to come to life.  

NATM-400 Security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) flees, as a Tyrannosaurus Rex that has come to life at night carves a swath of destruction through a museum's marble corridors.

Want More Ideas? Take a Look at Our Other  Story Prompts !

What entails a family-friendly concept.

Some of the most popular stories of all-time fall under what Hollywood calls the "Four-Quadrant" label.

Four-quadrant stories are those that hit all four demographic quadrants.

• Males Under 25
• Females Under 25
• Males Over 25
• Females Over 25

These types of stories offer the widest audience outreach by hitting all four quadrants. And a majority of the time, they are considered to be family-friendly stories because there's something for everyone.

There's no single formula to follow. Different concepts will allow or call for a different variety of elements, which we will share below. Writing a great four-quadrant story that the whole family can enjoy is about checking off certain boxes that apply to your concept the most.

Before we share what elements you can choose from, let's point out something even more important — what should NOT be found within a four-quadrant story.

Read ScreenCraft's 10 Elements of a Great Family TV Series !

What Four-Quadrant stories should NOT include

Now, let's learn how to write a 4-Quadrant family film.

• No gratuitous human-centered blood and gore . There can be a little blood, obviously. But you want to keep that to a minimum. If you look at the Marvel MCU movies, they very rarely showcase any blood and gore. And anytime they do, it's almost always an alien lifeform.
• No sex scenes . Implied sex can be there (the before and the after), but four-quadrant stories don't showcase sex scenes as a draw because that alienates children and younger adults.
• No foul language . Yes, for movies, you'll get your PG-13-allotted s***s . You may even get an F-bomb. But you should primarily avoid using a lot of foul language in a 4-quadrant script.

What Elements Can and SHOULD be Present in a Four-Quadrant story?

There's no secret formula or checklist. However, you want your four-quadrant story to have at least a majority of these elements.

• A high-concept premise. Whether it’s a superhero’s adventures, an amazing fantasy, a sci-fi quest, or a compelling true story, four-quadrant stories live in this realm — an irresistible story idea that can be grasped in one or two sentences.
• Heroes and villains .  We need someone to root  for  and someone to root  against . And their stories need to be as little complex as possible. Focus on some broad stroke depth and development. Basic stuff that everyone can understand.
• High stakes.  And yes, that likely means  some  violence and/or death. The trick is to find the right edge without crossing into inappropriate territory.
• Universal Themes . Kids and adults both like a story that says something and has genuine resonance, whether they can articulate it or not.
• Humor.   Comic moments always enhance enjoyment, no matter how serious the story might be. Levity is important.
• Nostalgia .  Nostalgia is an easy way to bring in older audiences . Look no further than  Stranger Things , which is a series centered on the adventures of kids. But because it focuses on the 1980s as a setting, older demographics can enjoy the nostalgia as well.
• Kids in lead or major supporting roles.  Including kid characters targets the “young” quadrant and adds new levels of dramatic tension and comedy for adults.
• Hints of romance.   Love is universal. That first crush. The girl/guy that got away. The girl/guy everyone wants to meet.
• "Big-budget" isn't always necessary. For movies, if you can deliver a four-quadrant film that can be shot for under (or well-under) $50 million, studios will circle like sharks amidst chum in the water.

5 Best Four-Quadrant Themes to Use

1. good vs. evil.

The oldest and perhaps most successful  story theme .

Whether it’s Light vs. Dark ( Star Wars ,  The Lord of the Rings ), White Hat Heroes vs. Black Hat Villains (Westerns of the 40s, 50s, and 60s), Innocence vs. Evil ( Harry Potter ), or Superheroes vs. Supervillains (The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Batman movies, Superman movies), good versus evil is the most easily defined story theme in the history of cinema.

It’s easy to know which side to root for. And despite the conflict that ensues, the good side usually prevails. And that makes for a great family film experience.

On par with Good vs. Evil, the  story theme of love  is intriguing because every human being craves it — which makes the plight of the characters within love-themed stories relatable to audiences.

Romantic Comedies  ( Pretty Woman ,  Sleepless in Seattle ,  When Harry Met Sally ,  Love Actually ), Historical Romances ( Titanic ,  Gone with the Wind ,  Casablanca ), and Romance Epics ( Dances with Wolves ,  Last of the Mohicans ) have captured the hearts of audiences since the early days of cinema.

Everyone knows what it’s like to love someone, win someone over, lose someone you love, etc.

3. Perseverance

Perseverance Stories can be better defined in these contemporary times as Underdog Stories because when a protagonist is forced to persevere through conflict, trials, and tribulations, they are clearly the underdog in the situation or scenario.

Audiences love to be moved and inspired . In a world where a majority of the population doesn’t get a chance to chase their ultimate dreams, it’s intriguing to experience a story theme through the eyes of a protagonist that does.

It could be Sports Underdog stories ( Rocky ,  Rudy ,  Major League ,  Bad News Bears ,  Hoosiers ) or Inspiring Dramas ( The Pursuit of Happiness ,  The Karate Kid ).

Whatever the Perseverance or Underdog Story theme is, readers and audiences respond to them.

4. Coming of Age

It’s such a relatable theme because, at one point or another, everyone has that coming-of-age moment in their lives — and more likely a culmination of those types of moments and events throughout their lives.

So these types of story themes stir nostalgia.

Even though  Stand By Me  was set in the 1950s, children of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s can relate.  Note: This film was rated R because of the foul language used. Otherwise, it's a fairly four-quadrant type of film. 

E.T.  offers a coming-of-age experience for Elliot.

The  Harry Potter  franchise is one big coming-of-age story as we watch Harry grow into adulthood.

The Karate Kid  offers a coming-of-age storyline as we watch Daniel overcome bullies and become a man.

What is it like to realize that the real world, beyond the protection of youth (void of responsibility), can be quite scary and intimidating? This is the story theme that coming-of-age movies explore. And this is what everyone can relate it and feel nostalgic about.

5. Human vs. Nature

There is no more ancient story theme than this. Since the dawn of humans, man and woman have been battling the elements. And this story theme can branch out into additional story themes of survival and philosophical quandaries.

The human vs. nature story is as old a story theme as they come. And these stories are especially intriguing because, on the surface, they are tales of physical threats that protagonists face. But, like any great story theme, there lies an emotional and philosophical message underneath that physical surface.

And that is what gives these story themes even more depth for readers and audiences to enjoy.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed , and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies

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Last updated on Feb 14, 2023

10 Types of Creative Writing (with Examples You’ll Love)

A lot falls under the term ‘creative writing’: poetry, short fiction, plays, novels, personal essays, and songs, to name just a few. By virtue of the creativity that characterizes it, creative writing is an extremely versatile art. So instead of defining what creative writing is , it may be easier to understand what it does by looking at examples that demonstrate the sheer range of styles and genres under its vast umbrella.

To that end, we’ve collected a non-exhaustive list of works across multiple formats that have inspired the writers here at Reedsy. With 20 different works to explore, we hope they will inspire you, too. 

People have been writing creatively for almost as long as we have been able to hold pens. Just think of long-form epic poems like The Odyssey or, later, the Cantar de Mio Cid — some of the earliest recorded writings of their kind. 

Poetry is also a great place to start if you want to dip your own pen into the inkwell of creative writing. It can be as short or long as you want (you don’t have to write an epic of Homeric proportions), encourages you to build your observation skills, and often speaks from a single point of view . 

Here are a few examples:

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This classic poem by Romantic poet Percy Shelley (also known as Mary Shelley’s husband) is all about legacy. What do we leave behind? How will we be remembered? The great king Ozymandias built himself a massive statue, proclaiming his might, but the irony is that his statue doesn’t survive the ravages of time. By framing this poem as told to him by a “traveller from an antique land,” Shelley effectively turns this into a story. Along with the careful use of juxtaposition to create irony, this poem accomplishes a lot in just a few lines. 

“Trying to Raise the Dead” by Dorianne Laux

 A direction. An object. My love, it needs a place to rest. Say anything. I’m listening. I’m ready to believe. Even lies, I don’t care.

Poetry is cherished for its ability to evoke strong emotions from the reader using very few words which is exactly what Dorianne Laux does in “ Trying to Raise the Dead .” With vivid imagery that underscores the painful yearning of the narrator, she transports us to a private nighttime scene as the narrator sneaks away from a party to pray to someone they’ve lost. We ache for their loss and how badly they want their lost loved one to acknowledge them in some way. It’s truly a masterclass on how writing can be used to portray emotions. 

If you find yourself inspired to try out some poetry — and maybe even get it published — check out these poetry layouts that can elevate your verse!

Song Lyrics

Poetry’s closely related cousin, song lyrics are another great way to flex your creative writing muscles. You not only have to find the perfect rhyme scheme but also match it to the rhythm of the music. This can be a great challenge for an experienced poet or the musically inclined. 

To see how music can add something extra to your poetry, check out these two examples:

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen

 You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well, really, what's it to ya? There's a blaze of light in every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah 

Metaphors are commonplace in almost every kind of creative writing, but will often take center stage in shorter works like poetry and songs. At the slightest mention, they invite the listener to bring their emotional or cultural experience to the piece, allowing the writer to express more with fewer words while also giving it a deeper meaning. If a whole song is couched in metaphor, you might even be able to find multiple meanings to it, like in Leonard Cohen’s “ Hallelujah .” While Cohen’s Biblical references create a song that, on the surface, seems like it’s about a struggle with religion, the ambiguity of the lyrics has allowed it to be seen as a song about a complicated romantic relationship. 

“I Will Follow You into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie

 ​​If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark

You can think of song lyrics as poetry set to music. They manage to do many of the same things their literary counterparts do — including tugging on your heartstrings. Death Cab for Cutie’s incredibly popular indie rock ballad is about the singer’s deep devotion to his lover. While some might find the song a bit too dark and macabre, its melancholy tune and poignant lyrics remind us that love can endure beyond death.

Plays and Screenplays

From the short form of poetry, we move into the world of drama — also known as the play. This form is as old as the poem, stretching back to the works of ancient Greek playwrights like Sophocles, who adapted the myths of their day into dramatic form. The stage play (and the more modern screenplay) gives the words on the page a literal human voice, bringing life to a story and its characters entirely through dialogue. 

Interested to see what that looks like? Take a look at these examples:

All My Sons by Arthur Miller

“I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you as my father.” 

Arthur Miller acts as a bridge between the classic and the new, creating 20th century tragedies that take place in living rooms and backyard instead of royal courts, so we had to include his breakout hit on this list. Set in the backyard of an all-American family in the summer of 1946, this tragedy manages to communicate family tensions in an unimaginable scale, building up to an intense climax reminiscent of classical drama. 

💡 Read more about Arthur Miller and classical influences in our breakdown of Freytag’s pyramid . 

“Everything is Fine” by Michael Schur ( The Good Place )

“Well, then this system sucks. What...one in a million gets to live in paradise and everyone else is tortured for eternity? Come on! I mean, I wasn't freaking Gandhi, but I was okay. I was a medium person. I should get to spend eternity in a medium place! Like Cincinnati. Everyone who wasn't perfect but wasn't terrible should get to spend eternity in Cincinnati.” 

A screenplay, especially a TV pilot, is like a mini-play, but with the extra job of convincing an audience that they want to watch a hundred more episodes of the show. Blending moral philosophy with comedy, The Good Place is a fun hang-out show set in the afterlife that asks some big questions about what it means to be good. 

It follows Eleanor Shellstrop, an incredibly imperfect woman from Arizona who wakes up in ‘The Good Place’ and realizes that there’s been a cosmic mixup. Determined not to lose her place in paradise, she recruits her “soulmate,” a former ethics professor, to teach her philosophy with the hope that she can learn to be a good person and keep up her charade of being an upstanding citizen. The pilot does a superb job of setting up the stakes, the story, and the characters, while smuggling in deep philosophical ideas.

Personal essays

Our first foray into nonfiction on this list is the personal essay. As its name suggests, these stories are in some way autobiographical — concerned with the author’s life and experiences. But don’t be fooled by the realistic component. These essays can take any shape or form, from comics to diary entries to recipes and anything else you can imagine. Typically zeroing in on a single issue, they allow you to explore your life and prove that the personal can be universal.

Here are a couple of fantastic examples:

“On Selling Your First Novel After 11 Years” by Min Jin Lee (Literary Hub)

There was so much to learn and practice, but I began to see the prose in verse and the verse in prose. Patterns surfaced in poems, stories, and plays. There was music in sentences and paragraphs. I could hear the silences in a sentence. All this schooling was like getting x-ray vision and animal-like hearing. 

This deeply honest personal essay by Pachinko author Min Jin Lee is an account of her eleven-year struggle to publish her first novel . Like all good writing, it is intensely focused on personal emotional details. While grounded in the specifics of the author's personal journey, it embodies an experience that is absolutely universal: that of difficulty and adversity met by eventual success. 

“A Cyclist on the English Landscape” by Roff Smith (New York Times)

These images, though, aren’t meant to be about me. They’re meant to represent a cyclist on the landscape, anybody — you, perhaps. 

Roff Smith’s gorgeous photo essay for the NYT is a testament to the power of creatively combining visuals with text. Here, photographs of Smith atop a bike are far from simply ornamental. They’re integral to the ruminative mood of the essay, as essential as the writing. Though Smith places his work at the crosscurrents of various aesthetic influences (such as the painter Edward Hopper), what stands out the most in this taciturn, thoughtful piece of writing is his use of the second person to address the reader directly. Suddenly, the writer steps out of the body of the essay and makes eye contact with the reader. The reader is now part of the story as a second character, finally entering the picture.

Short Fiction

The short story is the happy medium of fiction writing. These bite-sized narratives can be devoured in a single sitting and still leave you reeling. Sometimes viewed as a stepping stone to novel writing, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Short story writing is an art all its own. The limited length means every word counts and there’s no better way to see that than with these two examples:

“An MFA Story” by Paul Dalla Rosa (Electric Literature)

At Starbucks, I remembered a reading Zhen had given, a reading organized by the program’s faculty. I had not wanted to go but did. In the bar, he read, "I wrote this in a Starbucks in Shanghai. On the bank of the Huangpu." It wasn’t an aside or introduction. It was two lines of the poem. I was in a Starbucks and I wasn’t writing any poems. I wasn’t writing anything. 

This short story is a delightfully metafictional tale about the struggles of being a writer in New York. From paying the bills to facing criticism in a writing workshop and envying more productive writers, Paul Dalla Rosa’s story is a clever satire of the tribulations involved in the writing profession, and all the contradictions embodied by systemic creativity (as famously laid out in Mark McGurl’s The Program Era ). What’s more, this story is an excellent example of something that often happens in creative writing: a writer casting light on the private thoughts or moments of doubt we don’t admit to or openly talk about. 

“Flowering Walrus” by Scott Skinner (Reedsy)

I tell him they’d been there a month at least, and he looks concerned. He has my tongue on a tissue paper and is gripping its sides with his pointer and thumb. My tongue has never spent much time outside of my mouth, and I imagine it as a walrus basking in the rays of the dental light. My walrus is not well. 

A winner of Reedsy’s weekly Prompts writing contest, ‘ Flowering Walrus ’ is a story that balances the trivial and the serious well. In the pauses between its excellent, natural dialogue , the story manages to scatter the fear and sadness of bad medical news, as the protagonist hides his worries from his wife and daughter. Rich in subtext, these silences grow and resonate with the readers.

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Perhaps the thing that first comes to mind when talking about creative writing, novels are a form of fiction that many people know and love but writers sometimes find intimidating. The good news is that novels are nothing but one word put after another, like any other piece of writing, but expanded and put into a flowing narrative. Piece of cake, right?

To get an idea of the format’s breadth of scope, take a look at these two (very different) satirical novels: 

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

I wished I was back in the convenience store where I was valued as a working member of staff and things weren’t as complicated as this. Once we donned our uniforms, we were all equals regardless of gender, age, or nationality — all simply store workers. 

Keiko, a thirty-six-year-old convenience store employee, finds comfort and happiness in the strict, uneventful routine of the shop’s daily operations. A funny, satirical, but simultaneously unnerving examination of the social structures we take for granted, Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman is deeply original and lingers with the reader long after they’ve put it down.

Erasure by Percival Everett

The hard, gritty truth of the matter is that I hardly ever think about race. Those times when I did think about it a lot I did so because of my guilt for not thinking about it.  

Erasure is a truly accomplished satire of the publishing industry’s tendency to essentialize African American authors and their writing. Everett’s protagonist is a writer whose work doesn’t fit with what publishers expect from him — work that describes the “African American experience” — so he writes a parody novel about life in the ghetto. The publishers go crazy for it and, to the protagonist’s horror, it becomes the next big thing. This sophisticated novel is both ironic and tender, leaving its readers with much food for thought.

Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction is pretty broad: it applies to anything that does not claim to be fictional (although the rise of autofiction has definitely blurred the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction). It encompasses everything from personal essays and memoirs to humor writing, and they range in length from blog posts to full-length books. The defining characteristic of this massive genre is that it takes the world or the author’s experience and turns it into a narrative that a reader can follow along with.

Here, we want to focus on novel-length works that dig deep into their respective topics. While very different, these two examples truly show the breadth and depth of possibility of creative nonfiction:

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

Men’s bodies litter my family history. The pain of the women they left behind pulls them from the beyond, makes them appear as ghosts. In death, they transcend the circumstances of this place that I love and hate all at once and become supernatural. 

Writer Jesmyn Ward recounts the deaths of five men from her rural Mississippi community in as many years. In her award-winning memoir , she delves into the lives of the friends and family she lost and tries to find some sense among the tragedy. Working backwards across five years, she questions why this had to happen over and over again, and slowly unveils the long history of racism and poverty that rules rural Black communities. Moving and emotionally raw, Men We Reaped is an indictment of a cruel system and the story of a woman's grief and rage as she tries to navigate it.

Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker

He believed that wine could reshape someone’s life. That’s why he preferred buying bottles to splurging on sweaters. Sweaters were things. Bottles of wine, said Morgan, “are ways that my humanity will be changed.” 

In this work of immersive journalism , Bianca Bosker leaves behind her life as a tech journalist to explore the world of wine. Becoming a “cork dork” takes her everywhere from New York’s most refined restaurants to science labs while she learns what it takes to be a sommelier and a true wine obsessive. This funny and entertaining trip through the past and present of wine-making and tasting is sure to leave you better informed and wishing you, too, could leave your life behind for one devoted to wine. 

Illustrated Narratives (Comics, graphic novels)

Once relegated to the “funny pages”, the past forty years of comics history have proven it to be a serious medium. Comics have transformed from the early days of Jack Kirby’s superheroes into a medium where almost every genre is represented. Humorous one-shots in the Sunday papers stand alongside illustrated memoirs, horror, fantasy, and just about anything else you can imagine. This type of visual storytelling lets the writer and artist get creative with perspective, tone, and so much more. For two very different, though equally entertaining, examples, check these out:

Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson

"Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine and valleys of frustration and failure." 

This beloved comic strip follows Calvin, a rambunctious six-year-old boy, and his stuffed tiger/imaginary friend, Hobbes. They get into all kinds of hijinks at school and at home, and muse on the world in the way only a six-year-old and an anthropomorphic tiger can. As laugh-out-loud funny as it is, Calvin & Hobbes ’ popularity persists as much for its whimsy as its use of humor to comment on life, childhood, adulthood, and everything in between. 

From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell 

"I shall tell you where we are. We're in the most extreme and utter region of the human mind. A dim, subconscious underworld. A radiant abyss where men meet themselves. Hell, Netley. We're in Hell." 

Comics aren't just the realm of superheroes and one-joke strips, as Alan Moore proves in this serialized graphic novel released between 1989 and 1998. A meticulously researched alternative history of Victorian London’s Ripper killings, this macabre story pulls no punches. Fact and fiction blend into a world where the Royal Family is involved in a dark conspiracy and Freemasons lurk on the sidelines. It’s a surreal mad-cap adventure that’s unsettling in the best way possible. 

Video Games and RPGs

Probably the least expected entry on this list, we thought that video games and RPGs also deserved a mention — and some well-earned recognition for the intricate storytelling that goes into creating them. 

Essentially gamified adventure stories, without attention to plot, characters, and a narrative arc, these games would lose a lot of their charm, so let’s look at two examples where the creative writing really shines through: 

80 Days by inkle studios

"It was a triumph of invention over nature, and will almost certainly disappear into the dust once more in the next fifty years." 

Named Time Magazine ’s game of the year in 2014, this narrative adventure is based on Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. The player is cast as the novel’s narrator, Passpartout, and tasked with circumnavigating the globe in service of their employer, Phileas Fogg. Set in an alternate steampunk Victorian era, the game uses its globe-trotting to comment on the colonialist fantasies inherent in the original novel and its time period. On a storytelling level, the choose-your-own-adventure style means no two players’ journeys will be the same. This innovative approach to a classic novel shows the potential of video games as a storytelling medium, truly making the player part of the story. 

What Remains of Edith Finch by Giant Sparrow

"If we lived forever, maybe we'd have time to understand things. But as it is, I think the best we can do is try to open our eyes, and appreciate how strange and brief all of this is." 

This video game casts the player as 17-year-old Edith Finch. Returning to her family’s home on an island in the Pacific northwest, Edith explores the vast house and tries to figure out why she’s the only one of her family left alive. The story of each family member is revealed as you make your way through the house, slowly unpacking the tragic fate of the Finches. Eerie and immersive, this first-person exploration game uses the medium to tell a series of truly unique tales. 

Fun and breezy on the surface, humor is often recognized as one of the trickiest forms of creative writing. After all, while you can see the artistic value in a piece of prose that you don’t necessarily enjoy, if a joke isn’t funny, you could say that it’s objectively failed.

With that said, it’s far from an impossible task, and many have succeeded in bringing smiles to their readers’ faces through their writing. Here are two examples:

‘How You Hope Your Extended Family Will React When You Explain Your Job to Them’ by Mike Lacher (McSweeney’s Internet Tendency)

“Is it true you don’t have desks?” your grandmother will ask. You will nod again and crack open a can of Country Time Lemonade. “My stars,” she will say, “it must be so wonderful to not have a traditional office and instead share a bistro-esque coworking space.” 

Satire and parody make up a whole subgenre of creative writing, and websites like McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and The Onion consistently hit the mark with their parodies of magazine publishing and news media. This particular example finds humor in the divide between traditional family expectations and contemporary, ‘trendy’ work cultures. Playing on the inherent silliness of today’s tech-forward middle-class jobs, this witty piece imagines a scenario where the writer’s family fully understands what they do — and are enthralled to hear more. “‘Now is it true,’ your uncle will whisper, ‘that you’ve got a potential investment from one of the founders of I Can Haz Cheezburger?’”

‘Not a Foodie’ by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell (Electric Literature)

I’m not a foodie, I never have been, and I know, in my heart, I never will be. 

Highlighting what she sees as an unbearable social obsession with food , in this comic Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell takes a hilarious stand against the importance of food. From the writer’s courageous thesis (“I think there are more exciting things to talk about, and focus on in life, than what’s for dinner”) to the amusing appearance of family members and the narrator’s partner, ‘Not a Foodie’ demonstrates that even a seemingly mundane pet peeve can be approached creatively — and even reveal something profound about life.

We hope this list inspires you with your own writing. If there’s one thing you take away from this post, let it be that there is no limit to what you can write about or how you can write about it. 

In the next part of this guide, we'll drill down into the fascinating world of creative nonfiction.

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How to Write Your Personal and Family Story (Complete Guide)

• Categories: Research for Storytelling , Writing ABC’s
• Tags: featured , Memoir , Writing Narrative

How to write, edit, and publish your personal story and family story.

will present what I have learned from writing personal, individual, and family narratives. This guide is based on my personal and professional experience in interviewing hundreds of people and writing thousands of narratives over the last several decades.

When I first started researching and writing a personal narrative—be it my own or about my mother, family, or others—I wanted to record the profound and thought-provoking experiences that could last for generations. Instead, I found the personal narrative of being about life and how choices determine our course and how our course provides us an opportunity to become the individuals we are and to create the legacy we leave with our ancestral lines. No matter how great or small, every story has value because life was lived, and every life is a gift. The story is about what we did with the gift.

In this “Complete Guide for Writing A Personal Narratives,” I will present what I have learned from writing personal, individual, and family narratives. This guide is based on my personal and professional experience in interviewing hundreds of people and writing thousands of narratives over the last several decades. The following are the topics that will be covered in this guide:

• A Story Worth Writing Begins with an Outline
• Use the “Mapping” Technique for Narrative Outlines
• Writing A Personal Narrative—Draft One
• Ideas for Writing the Paragraph
• Writing A Personal Narrative—Revising the First Draft
• Structure for Writing a Personal Narrativ e
• Support Your Claims in A Personal Narrative
• Include Artifacts, Photos, and Images
• Other Elements to Include in Your Personal Narrative
• How to Organize the Sections of Your Personal Narrative
• Publishing Your Personal Narrative
•   Sharing Your Personal Narrative

Other resources to consider include:

• Complete Guide for Conducting Oral History Interviews
• 7,500-plus Questions About Life to Ask People When Writing Narratives

1. A Story Worth Writing Begins with an Outline

“Why do you need an outline? I already know what I want to say.” These are the words I remember saying in tenth grade as I started my English creative writing course. As I discussed the first writing assignment with my teacher, I assured her that I could finish the story without writing the required outline. She allowed me the opportunity to prove her wrong. After several drafts, I reluctantly told the teacher I could not complete the story in the assigned time. I found myself writing and rewriting. I found myself expanding and deleting sections of each paragraph. It was never wholly what I wanted to say.

The teacher offered me a second chance. This time, I was to use an outline and then write the story. With a new topic, I wrote the outline and finished the story. I don’t remember my grade, but I remember the lesson: a story worth writing begins with an outline.

An outline is a blueprint of your final product—in this case, your narrative. It represents the content of your story, organizing your memories, lessons learned, and supporting details. The outline is all about organization and providing a visual and conceptual design of your writing.

How does an outline help in writing a personal narrative?

The outline helps you expose gaps in your story early in the process and gives you time to fill them in, not to leave out any important events, stories, and ideas that you want to tell. You will understand the full breadth of the story you write, have a clear focus on the detail you want to include with each topic, and always have a reference point to add, rearrange, and delete.

Remember, the outline is a blueprint. Just as blueprints help a builder create a structure, your outline can form the foundation or frame for the first draft.

Writing experience by experience, topic by topic: If your outline is on a computer, you can just click your cursor at any part of the outline you have created and fill in the details. This can help you overcome writer’s block. That is, you can write the third section first if you want. Then simply go back and fill in sections one and two. When you revise, you can make sure all the pieces fit together.

Modifying the design

Outlines are not set in stone. As you write, you may discover that you’ve left out essential information. If you keep a printed copy of your outline handy, you can figure out where in your outline the new information belongs and insert it (don’t be formal about it—just pencil it in). That way, you can see how the addition alters the rest of the story.

Starting again

Sometimes your original outline simply needs to be restructured. If you are careful, this is not a problem, and you can rework the original outline. When you create the new outline (even if it’s simply a sketch), focus on your purpose and who you are writing to.

Using the outline to crosscheck the final draft. Finally, suppose you update your outline as you work rather than abandon it after being created. In that case, you’ll have a handy reference to double-check the organization of the final story. The outline can also provide your section headings and subheadings for a larger story and become the contents table.

What is the outline structure for writing a personal narrative?

Like any good story, a personal narrative has three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. The outline is designed to indicate levels of significance using major and minor headings. You will organize your information from general to specific. For example, the general headings could be as follows:

• Childhood (0-11)
• Adolescence (11-18)
• Early Adulthood (18-25)
• Prime Adulthood (25-45)
• Middle Adult Years (45-65)
• Senior Adulthood (65-present)

And subordinate headings or topics could include:

• Memories of your children
• Community Service
• Health Record
• Physical Characteristics
• Social Life
• Memorable World Events
• Military Service
• Counsel to Posterity

As you create your subheadings, ensure a clear relationship between the subheadings and their supporting elements. Consider the following example:

• Mary Schreiber Attends High School
• High School Attendance
• High School Activities
• Mary Schreiber Summer Work
• Picking fruit (Cherries, Peaches)
• Working at the Midland Cannery

The most important rule for outlining is to be consistent! An outline can use topic or sentence structure, which is explained below.

Sentence Structure

A sentence outline uses complete sentences for all entries and uses correct punctuation.

•  Advantages . Presents a more detailed overview of work, including possible topic sentences, and is easier and faster for transitioning to writing the final paper.

Topic Outline

A topic outline uses words or phrases for all entries and uses no punctuation after entries.

• Advantages. Presents a brief overview of work and is generally more straightforward and faster to write than a sentence outline. Two simple formats seem to work well with creating an individual narrative outline—roman numeral and decimal. They are explained below:

Roman numeral I. Major Topic

A. Main Idea B. Main Idea

1. Detail of Support a. Broken down further

(1) More details (2) More Details

Decimal 1.0 Major Topic

1.1 Main Idea 1.2 Main Idea

1.2.1 Detail of Support

1.2.2.1 More details 1.2.2.2 More details

Regardless of simplicity or complexity, an outline is a pre-writing tool to help you organize your thoughts and create a roadmap for writing your narrative.

Remember, the outline is for you. It exists to help orient you within the individual narrative and to help ensure a complete answer. You can deviate from it if you wish, and as you write, you may find you have more and more ideas. Stop and take the time to brainstorm and write them down, then reassess and adjust your plan.

How do you create an outline for writing a personal narrative?

I have created a simple system for gathering and managing information when you are writing individual narratives. See the article, Easy 7 Step Color-coded File Organizing System for Writing Narratives.” If you have used the system, start with the first folder and move your way back through the folders. The system makes it effortless to create a personal narrative outline

If you didn’t use the system, start at the beginning and outline the significant events of your life. Start with your childhood years and continue through to the present. For example, the following is a very rough outline, using the roman numeral format, of the “childhood years” life stage for Mary Schreiber:

I. Childhood (0-11) (Years covered)

B. Death of Mother

1. Detail of Detail 2. Detail of Detail

C. Life with Uncle Dean and Aunt Janet

1. Detail 2. Detail

a. Detail of Detail

D. Remarriage of Mary’s Father to Step-mother

a. Detail of Detail b. Detail of Detail

Some individuals prefer to pick topics or life stages and answer predetermined questions from each stage of life to help prompt them through.

Return to list of topics for Complete Guide for Guide to Writing A Personal Narrative.

2. Use the “Mapping” Technique for Narrative Outlines

Whenever I need a little bit—or a lot—of extra help developing ideas that I will write about, I use what is called “mapping.” Mapping refers to organizing your ideas visually by connecting one thought with another. Eventually, the mapping will lead you to a list of ideas and a sequence to use them in.

How to use mapping to generate ideas

Use these steps to generate ideas.

• Write the topic in the middle of the page.
• Draw lines that branch out from that topic to other keywords or phrases you associate with that topic.
• As needed, draw more lines that branch out from each of the keywords (subtopics) that help to develop these ideas.
• Now that you have created a few subtopics, evaluate which subtopics go together and can be linked, if any. Connect the ideas that work together with lines.
• If you need to regroup your ideas, write the topic in the middle of the page again and go through the first steps again with the new groupings.
• Continue this process as many times as needed until you can form the topic groupings into the parts of your story or experience. With the bubbles and branches, you can see how they interrelate and work together as a whole.

How to use mapping to sort out stories, experiences, or paragraphs

Use these steps to expand your ideas.

• Write your topic in the middle of a large piece of paper.
• Take your brainstorming list and circle the central ideas.
• Which of those ideas link to other ideas on your page? What would be the main idea? What would be subsidiary or linked ideas?
• Now transfer the main ideas to the mapping page. Draw a circle (bubble) around the idea and then link the ideas with lines, like tree branches.
• By connecting the ideas with branches, you show concepts and ideas interrelate. Continue to add bubbles and branches as the ideas continue to expand. Use lines and branches to show how any of the large or linked ideas interrelate. Don’t be afraid to add bubbles or branches that weren’t in your original preparation writing. Keep those ideas growing!
• When you have completed the exercise, you can see how the ideas fit together. Once you see how the ideas work together, you can list which ideas to use in your writing.

3. Writing A Personal Narrative—Draft One

By now, you should be ready to start writing. Whether you are writing about yourself or someone else, be honest. I have read many personal narratives over the years, and those with the most meaning include true stories about real life. The stories range from the sad and tragic to the exciting, funny, and simple day-to-day.

Gather your resource materials and find a place to write. Gather your outline and any other resource materials near you for easy reference. Now that you are ready sit down and start writing. When you open the doors of memory, you will probably be eager to capture everything just right. Sit in a comfortable place, relax, and take it one page at a time.

Write your first draft as fast as you can, without concern for style and grammar. You may think this contrary to practical writing style but write your first draft as rapidly as possible. The focus of the first draft is to put your thoughts to paper (or keyboard) as quickly as you can. Be yourself—you’ll write faster and more naturally. Don’t think that the first draft has to be perfect—you’ll probably think it’s awful, but if you worry about writing a great first draft, you’ll never finish.

Don’t spend too much time thinking about style and grammar; just write. Let yourself explore the ideas as you go. If you change your mind about saying something, don’t stop to cross it out; write an improved version. You may have a lot of repetition in your first draft. That’s fine. Only if you find you’ve veered far off-course should you revise what you’ve written before moving on. Otherwise, wait until the second draft to make changes in the first part of the book.

Where should you begin in writing a personal narrative?

Remember: you have an outline, so start wherever you like. Start in the beginning, middle, or end. Just start writing. Start writing with the intent of getting some ideas down on paper.

Use memory triggers

A memory trigger can be a question, photograph, letter, or a discussion with a friend with whom you shared an experience. Think about the times you have looked through the photo album and come across pictures and were able to experience a time past as though it was just yesterday. All your memories are still in safekeeping; it’s simply a matter of finding them.

Write your first draft in the way that’s best for you

If you are a good typist, you will probably use the keyboard. If you write longhand, you can write with pen and paper. If you have a computer and use voice-recognition software (like Dragon Naturally Speaking), then use this software to write your first draft. It is essential to write your first draft as quickly and efficiently as possible, focusing on the words but not the way you produce the words. Assume you will be revising anyway.

Use descriptive words

Think about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of each memory. Use your senses to help describe your stories. These details will help bring your stories to life.

Make a note of any ideas

One experience you will have as you write about one topic is receiving inspiration and ideas. Your thoughts will range from a new topic to add to the outline or a piece of information to add to a topic that you just finished. You may get an idea to call Aunt Peggy to ask a specific question or look for a photograph in the scrapbook. Whatever the thought, write it down or capture it electronically. When I am writing, I will keep a digital recorder (or a notebook and pen) with me not to miss those moments.

Bracket the to#ugh to write sections

Put brackets around sections that are tough to write or require further information. When you write your first draft, it’s common to either not has all the information you need or be stumped. You may be writing about a specific memory and think to put in a text from an obituary. Simply use brackets to denote that more information is needed and keep moving. For example, [Need text from Mary Schreiber Obituary] or [Need to confirm the statement made by Uncle George on Midland city project during Depression.] By using brackets, you will save a lot of time and keep your train of thought moving. When you move on to the revision phase of the writing, you can go back and work through the bracketed sections one at a time.

Need help writing?

If you are not confident of your writing ability, join a local or online writers group to learn about the craft of writing or take a writing class at a community college.

4. Ideas for Writing the Paragraph

Sometimes the paragraph you are writing doesn’t seem to want to flow. The following is a simple look at constructing a paragraph, which may help you grow your ideas and write better, easier paragraphs.

A well-written, cohesive paragraph communicates one complete thought. To organize your subtopics into clear, concise thoughts, the following outline of paragraph structure is helpful.

A paragraph begins with the topic sentence, followed by supporting details and ending with closure.

• Topic sentence. The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph but can be in the middle of the end.
• Supporting details . Once you have the topic sentence, it needs to have supporting details, which can be explained, examples, stories, facts, or a combination of these things. The supporting details will develop your topic statement and show your idea.
• Closure. This is where you bring your ideas to a close and link your ideas to the next point or paragraph.

How can I p#lan paragraphs for writing a personal narrative?

You have plenty of ideas, you kind of know what to say, and you know the basic structure of your writing. What do you do now? You need to work out what goes where. Look at all your ideas and identify logical sequences. Consider the following points when planning your paragraphs:

• Choose the first idea. Choose which idea the reader should know first. If all of the ideas seem equally relevant, choose the one you feel will provide the best “hook” for the reader. Choose the idea that will bring your reader into the story and guide them to what you’re thinking and answer. Choose one that will pull the reader in and orient them to your thinking and your answer. Don’t put the most dramatic ideas first. If the idea is the most dramatic, you should build-up to it.
• Choose a second idea. After choosing the first idea, decide which idea should go second. Which one would naturally come after? Is there an idea that belongs to or is an extension of that first one?
• Save the explanation for last. If you have an idea that needs to be explained, save it until the end so that the sentences leading up to that idea can explain your meaning more clearly.

Making the actual plan

Here is a simple outline for planning a paragraph.

• Make a list of the order in which you want the ideas to flow. This can be as simple as one word for each idea.
• Look at your list and ask yourself if the ideas flow naturally. If not, rearrange your thoughts until you have a plan you like.
• Double-check that there are enough ideas written down to support your topic sentence fully.
• If you want a more detailed plan, include smaller ideas next to each idea (subtopic or heading). You’ll use these smaller ideas to expand your thoughts. Also, include any examples you may want to use.

5. Writing A Personal Narrative—Revising the First Draft

Your first draft is done—congratulations! That’s a good beginning. Now it’s time to revise and edit. The difference between a mediocre individual narrative and a tremendous individual narrative often comes in the revising and editing stage. I can’t stress this phase of writing enough! I have had the sad experience of writing and printing a newsletter, brochure, or flyer where thorough editing was not done, and an error (such as a misspelling) slipped by. No matter how great the work, a simple error is like a splash of mud on clean windows. Editing is like hoeing the garden: it may not be pleasant at the time, but the result is wonderful. It’s also much cheaper to catch the error now than after you have printed and bound your work.

Toward the end of my father’s life, he began to reflect upon his life and write his memoirs. He wrote well over one thousand pages in longhand. He desired to have his writings published for all of his family to read. As I read over the lines and pages, I found many beautiful stories, examples, and lessons learned, but the writing was very rough. I was willing to work with my dad to edit and prepare the writings for publication, but it was no use; he was adamant that the first draft is the way it should be because it was his story. The 1000-plus handwritten pages are now filed away and on my to-do list.

Plan on at least two edits for your narrative. In the first edit, concentrate on the organization and content. Is the story in the correct order? Did you include all the characters and events you intended? Is it clear to readers who these people are and why they do what they do? Flesh out the characters, descriptions, and dialogue (if you have included it).

In the second edit, work on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and transitions to polish the story. Edit the story as many times as necessary to make it the best you can, but realize that it will never be perfect. You have to stop editing your work and finish it at some point. You may not achieve the “perfect” individual narrative—there will always be something to add and tweak—but you will have the story you want. Remember, you can always add additional volumes. Complete the individual narrative and share it.

After you’ve edited the manuscript several times, ask other people to read it. A professional editor can make a big difference; if you plan to publish for an audience more significant than your family, professional editing is essential.

Who does the editing?

Editing is a team exercise. You will probably do most of the writing and editing and plan on at least two other people to review and assist with the editing. If you are not interested in or don’t have the skills for editing, then definitely enlist the help of others. Editors can also be for hire.

Consider using Grammarly

One of the tools I use to help me in editing is an online tool called Grammarly. Grammarly’s writing app makes sure everything you type is correct and precise and easy to read. Grammarly’s algorithms flag potential issues in the text and make context-specific suggestions to help with grammar, spelling and usage, wordiness, style, punctuation, and even plagiarism. Our software explains the reasoning behind each suggestion, so you can make an informed decision about whether and how to correct an issue. Grammarly is also easy to use. There is a free version and a professional version. I use the professional version and love it.

Three types of edits

During the revision and editing process, you will engage in the following three types of editing:

• Restructuring or reorganizing—this involves reflecting on what has been written and making significant improvements in the way parts fit together.
• Acquiring new information—adding photos, maps, exhibits, or further research on topics to understand better topics discussed or eluded.
• Sharpening—adding clarity by going over what is written and smoothing it out.

The Revision Stages Requires Restructuring and Reorganizing

Restructuring and reorganizing is the essential part of the revision stage. It requires that you step back and look at your writing with a fresh eye, as if you were a person fifty years from now, reading your narrative for the first time. The following are a few ideas that will help you in the editing and revising process.

Read your narrative aloud and make notes

One of the hardest things you will do as a writer is seeing your work from an outsider’s perspective. “Being too close to the forest to see the trees” is a good idiom to describe what is happening. When I read my writing, I have misspellings and usage errors that I simply gloss over or don’t see. When my wife edits my work, I’m surprised that I missed the errors she finds. I overlook many errors because I remember what I meant to say and don’t necessarily look at what I wrote. Three techniques will help you to focus on the words you have written.

Read your writings aloud at every stage of revision

Read what you have written aloud so you can hear the words. When I read what I have written aloud, I force myself to focus on what I am reading and the flow of my sentence structure. I will often catch grammatical errors or flawed writing styles when I read it aloud. When you first begin your revision, read through the whole draft of a section—start to finish—before revising the parts.

Print out a draft of your narrative before you start editing

If you wrote your first draft on the computer, print it out before editing on the screen. By printing out what you wrote, it is much easier, for example, to evaluate the lengths of paragraphs and overall flow. You can write directly on the draft, make notes, and list changes that need to be made. You can circle sentences and draw a line to where they might fit better. With a printed copy, you can physically note which passages sound weak, need more evidence, or could benefit from more examples.

Read your essay aloud with a pencil or pen in hand

As you read aloud, make notes about what you think might need to be changed. When you read the draft the first time, make notes in the margins. If you see spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, simply circle them so you can come back to them when you start your revision and editing.

Look at your writing through a reader’s eyes

When I first started writing, I became very defensive when someone edited or commented about the writing. I took it very personally. That “filter” was keeping me from seeing how others were receiving my writing. The editing and suggestions others made were minor, but they made a difference in how the writing would be received. Even if I disagreed with the recommendation, it gave me a chance to rewrite a sentence or paragraph and make it much more straightforward. Thus, when you read your writing, you must see the writing through the reader’s eyes. The following are a few techniques to consider:

Read as if you had no interest in the personal narrative

Read your writing from the perspective of someone who has no interest in what you wrote. Writing the personal narrative is something you care about. Your first draft is essentially writing to yourself. It’s easy to skip essential facts simply because you already know them. When you read your writings from the point of view of someone who has no interest in the subject, you start asking questions or making comments—”Where’s the proof?” “That’s a lame statement.” “Why is that important?” “What was the date?” “What was it like to live in the city at that time?” You can more easily see any omissions, and this process gives you a direction of what to do to strengthen your writing.

Read your writing from the perspective of a doubter

Our personal narratives are filled with experiences that are personal, spiritual, and sensitive. When you read your writing from the perspective of a doubter, you find areas where you can add more proof and expand on details. If you wrote something negative about someone, when you read as a doubter, you take on the opinion of defending the person who was not shown in the greatest light. I have found myself “toning down” or simply leaving out my own opinion in some instances and instead just presenting the facts.

Have someone who will give you honest feedback read your writing s

The two techniques above are based on you pretending to be the audience. This technique focuses on giving your writing to someone else and having them give you honest feedback. The first level of feedback that is most important is their reaction to your writings. Were they bored? Intrigued? What did they like the most and why? What do they wish you would have expanded on or simply left out? When you ask people for their genuine, honest feedback, do so to understand that you will take their feedback seriously. You may disagree with what will be said, but you will listen, not be offended, and view it as an opportunity to write a grand individual narrative that generations will cherish.

6. Structure for Writing a Personal Narrative

Your first draft was an exercise of getting your thoughts on paper. One of the first tasks you will address when reviewing your writing is to look closely at the body of the personal narrative and decide if the reader will see and follow the flow. An excellent narrative is not simply a collection of good paragraphs; it doesn’t start and stop at random—it moves in one direction. Good structure comes about through restructuring—moving, deleting, and adding sentences, paragraphs, or even whole sections. When you focus on the structure of your writing, you are not too concerned about transitions before and after the paragraph or even about detail in spelling and grammar because you’re not sure if that word, phrasing, sentence, or paragraph will even be in the final draft.

Reorganize and rewrite personal narratives from the top down

Look at the overall organization of your ideas first, and then work your way down to the details. If your paragraphs need to be moved around, settle on the order, you are going to put them in before you rewrite them. If you need to add new material, decide where it will go before writing it. Do not waste your time revising and inserting sentences until you know where every paragraph for a section of your narrative belongs. It is easier to start revising by inserting a sentence where you need one and correcting errors in your paragraphs.

Look at how the main parts of the body are connected

Whether you developed an outline or simply started writing, look at your writing to see how the information flows. One way to analyze the flow of your writing is to write down the topic sentence and see how the information flows and holds together from one topic to the next. The main task of this exercise is to see if your paragraphs are in good order. Does one paragraph lead to the next, or do you seem to be jumping around? Are you missing material? Are questions left unanswered?

Look at the way your paragraphs begin and end

Once you have the overall flow of your writing figured out, then examine your paragraph transitions. Does one paragraph lead to another? Are you answering the questions that were discussed in the previous paragraph or providing needed information? Or are you just changing subjects at random? Look for accidental or unintended breaks in the flow that are distracting and confusing for the reader.

Look for gaps

Look for those places where your thoughts seem to jump from one point to another without linking information. As a researcher, I find that I left gaps in writing when I chose not to explain or expand an idea that I already understood and knew the background information for. I have to remember that my reader doesn’t know the detail behind the story and that I need to include the information to have the same understanding that I have gained.

7. Support Your Claims in A Personal Narrative

When writing a personal narrative, most individuals will take your word on what you write concerning experiences and stories or about instances that are “common knowledge.” If your narrative is engaging, you should tell the reader something they don’t already know. When you write about other people, you will need a backup—beyond your word—to help develop and support what is being said. This type of backup would include newspaper articles, photos, certificates, letters, and history books. Evidence is information that tells how you know about the claim you have made. It would help if you took this very literally. It is often hard to tell the difference at first between telling readers what you know and telling them how you know it. A compelling narrative is credible by the answers you give, both about what you know and your sources for that knowledge.

Discover what claims in your personal narrative need supporting evidence

It is fair to assume that readers will accept claims about your own experiences—assuming they sound reasonable—without further evidence. If you make a claim that is not common knowledge and is not from your own experience, it requires that you add supporting information. As a researcher, keep in mind that not everyone knows everything you know.

Tell your readers how you know the claim is valid

Your narrative is devoted to answering the question, “How do you know?” When revising your personal narrative, take that question very literally. It would help if you let your reader know why you believe a claim is valid. This can be done by letting them know what you saw, read, or heard. If you believe that a claim you are making is valid, let your readers know what you saw, read, or heard that convinced you it was true. Sometimes you are going to have to do further research to confirm what you believe to be true. The following are a few examples of ways I have told readers how I know something to be true:

•  The experience is based on personal experience. Tell your experience in a way that your readers will understand how you learned what you know. When I wrote about my mother’s physical abuse during her marriage to my father, I described what I observed. If I were to make the statement that my father abused my mother, there would be no reason for the reader to accept my statement or conclusion.
• The experience you relate is not your own direct experience. When you write a personal narrative, many of the experiences you relate will be those shared by others in oral or written format. Simply tell the reader how you found out about the experience and how it illustrates your point and how you found out about it.
• The experience and claims you are making are about a larger group of people or a famil y. If you are making claims about a group of people, it is essential to provide more than one experience to support the point you are trying to make. For example, if I were to claim that my Schreiber ancestry came from a rich history of raising cattle, I would then show examples of how members of the Schreiber ancestry raised cattle from several generations, gather proof of brands, articles from newspapers, photographs of the family with cattle, and so forth.

Explain your sources and cite them where necessary

To tell us how you know something, you need to tell us where the information came from. If you observed the case you are telling us about, you need to tell us that you observed it, including when and where. If you read about an experience, tell us where you read about it. If you accept the testimony of another person, you need to tell us who the person is and why or how she has the information you are providing.

Remember, the question your readers will always be asking is whether what they are reading is accurate. Your narrative will be a compilation of your personal experiences and those of others. You are always answering the question, “How do you know?” When you tell the experiences and stories of others, you are answering the question, “How do they know?” If you care about the truth you are writing about; readers need to have some way to check the reliability of your sources.

Use examples

The easiest—and usually the best—way to keep your readers interested in your writing is to use examples. All other things being equal, examples are more entertaining and involving than generalizations. In almost every case, what readers remember best from an individual narrative is an example, usually a detailed and fully developed one. In such an example, we see and hear something that happened; it shows us people (or animals or machines) acting as we see them act all the time. When I read a detailed example story, it’s like being there. It relates to a personal experience that I haven’t had but that I might have had if I had been in the right place at the right time.

Dates and places don’t have to be dull

You can increase the interest in dates and places by adding a short description. Rather than saying, “Grandpa Jones had an eighty-acre farm,” you could say, ” When he was just 25 years old, Grandpa Jones bought an eighty-acre farm located four miles from town, next to the Spanish Fork River.” Dates can tell stories, but few readers will stop to notice when they are used without the description. When you have an important day you want to draw attention to, add definition. For example: “At the age of 32, his wife died from a black widow bite, leaving him four small children under the age of 7,” or “At the age of 17, just three months shy of his eighteenth birthday, he joined the Navy as a radioman at the beginning of WWII.” These phrases are much more interesting than “His wife died in 1933” or “He joined the Navy in 1942.”

8. Include Artifacts, Photos, and Images

As you write, edit, and prepare your narrative for publication, you will continually refer to or want to include images in your writing. The following is an overview of the types of artifacts, photos, and images you will want to consider in helping to write and tell the individual narrative.

How do I used photos and scanned images for my personal narrative?

As part of preparing your writing for publication and distribution, adding photos and scanned images is a critical consideration. What images will you choose to help tell the story? In addition to photos of people, including photos of significant buildings or other locations, including homesteads, churches, family cemeteries, or places of business. Images of certificates (such as birth, marriage, and death certificates), letters, and other personal documents will add significant value in telling the individual narrative.

I have found that the most challenging part of using images is choosing which one to use. It is a common desire to use as many images as possible, but you should choose the best images to help you tell the story. If you are talking about a family, try to find a photo of the family rather than individual photos of each person. Consider the following list of suggestions when choosing images for your narrative:

• With your digital archive or paper archive, you created such as the one I introduced in the article, “Easy 7 Step Color-coded File Organizing System for Writing Narratives,” in front of you. Review each folder about your written story. I have organized and sorted all my images into electronic folders that match the physical paper organization I have created.
• Place a sticky note on each photo that fits the text of the personal narrative you have written. Mark on the sticky note the section title and paragraph you believe the image would be suitable for.
• Review each item you have tagged with a sticky note and ask the following questions: • Would I find that valuable item or interesting if it were in someone else’s narrative? • Would it be as effective to describe the item rather than include it in the book? • Is the item representative of the period in which it will be included?

Note 1: If the answer to any of the above questions is “no,” remove the sticky note and place the item back into the narrative archive. Only those items with a sticky note will be considered for use in the final, personal narrative.

Note 2: If you are using photos of persons who are still living, it is essential to gain their permission for use.

Note 3: At no time is it permitted to include vital record certificates (birth, marriage) or any related types of records of living persons.

• Choose the best quality and most typical images to use in the narrative. Often you won’t have the opportunity to choose the photo because it’s the only one you have, but if you do have a chance, consider the following when choosing photos:

• Get Close. Choose photos that get close. Photos, where the subjects fill the frame with only the most basic image, are just better.

• Are Not Centered. Choose photos that do not have your subject right in the center of the photo. Photographs are uninteresting and static when centered, so having an un-centered photo lends more interest to the subject.

• Aren’t rushed . Choose from photos where you have a series to choose from. You can choose where the photo will be on the page and then look for the one that best fits the space and is composed well.

• Explore all angles. Choose photos that give you a change in perspective (such as a photo shot up from an angle or down from a higher angle). The photos help eliminate distracting backgrounds, telephone poles, or other obstacles that would otherwise negatively affect your photo.

• Focus on the eyes . If possible, choose photos that have the subject looking directly at the camera. There is nothing more inviting than looking into the eyes of our friends and loved ones.

• Use the richness of the sunrise and sunset. Some of the best photos are taken during the first and last hour of sunlight each day. During these times, the light is warm and soft, lending a beautiful quality to the photograph. Choose photos that are taken during these hours.

• Shoot photos on overcast days . Photos taken on overcast days are great to use because you don’t have harsh shadows, and the colors are overall better. • Don’t use direct flash . Choose photos taken without flash. Direct camera flash often causes flat lighting and red-eye.

• Use window light . Choose photos that take advantage of soft, natural light.

• Don’t have the midday look. Midday photos are among the worst photos because the sun is bright, which creates harsh shadows on faces and objects, squinting eyes, less appealing skin tones, and overall muted colors.

• Stay away from the scrapbook look. This is where you trim images and documents with special cutting scissors, add stickers, and write on the photo or any related activities. While it might look cute, it simply destroys the artifact and is not seen as providing any real value to what you are trying to display. Instead of scrapbooking your artifacts, spend your time writing a good and descriptive caption.
• When you have more than one photo for a specific section, and you can’t decide which one to use, ask others for their opinions about your final selections.

Can I use maps, documents, letters, and other artifacts in my narrative?

In addition to photographs, you can effectively use a wide variety of artifacts to help expand and bring meaning to your writings. For example, you can do the following in your personal narrative:

• Maps. Use maps to show current boundaries for counties, states, or other areas and the boundaries that existed when your family lived there. Use a map to show the migration path of your ancestors. Use different styles of lines and a legend to show historical and current boundaries and routes of migration. When using photocopies of actual historic family documents, also include a typed transcription.
• Grid Format. The use of documents and maps usually fits into the same grid format (explained below) for your photographs.
• Drawing and handwritten documents. In addition to historical documents, you may find it valuable to include drawings or handwritten stories from youth, as well as newspaper clippings or notations about current activities of living family members.
• Blank pages. Add a few blank or lined pages for future family members to make additional notes as the family grows.
• Scanned signatures . Scanned signatures (taken from wills, letters, and so forth) placed next to photographs can be an excellent addition.
• Note: Any works published more than seventy-five years ago are no longer covered by copyright so that you can use the pictures, but you should give credit. Be aware of copyright issues when using maps, illustrations, and other materials that are not your own.

What image layout should I use for my personal narrative?

As you begin to combine your writings with images, the following lessons that I have learned will help improve the layout and readability of your narrative:

• Develop a layout grid for your narrative. A layout grid denotes where you will put images and text on the pages to help maintain visual consistency throughout the book. Where possible, place photos near the text (narrative or charts) describing the individuals in the picture. Accompany narratives with photos of the key people in that story.
• Group photos from the same branch of the family tree on the same page or group of pages.
• Create a photographic timeline, such as a series of group shots from family reunions taken over successive years. For example, pair a wedding photo of a couple with a photo from their fiftieth anniversary.
• Enhance an otherwise dull chart with a headshot of the “head” of each primary branch of the family.
• Instead of an initial drop-cap (a large, two- or three-line tall capital letter at the beginning of a chapter), place a photo at the start of a narrative rather than placing it “tombstone” style over the top story.

How do I prepare photos and images for my personal narrative?

You will most likely be using digital images in the final preparation of your personal narrative. Take the time to enhance your photographs using editing software. The following are a few thoughts about photo editing. I encourage you to seek more detailed how-to advice for your specific needs.

Remember. Your original photos are your negatives

Never make changes to these—always work with a copy of the photo. When you load a photo into your image manipulation program, always do a “save as” to make a copy of the photo, and then work with that copy. If you make a mistake, you can always go back to the original and try again.

What to do with photo-editing software

The most common photo-editing tasks you will perform include the following:

• Reassemble large documents that have been photographed in sections.
• Correct the effects of poor lighting conditions or remove shadows from your photos.
• Compensate for distortion of the document photo caused by a poor shooting angle or curled pages.
• Enhance the quality of document photos suffering from low contrast or hard-to-read text.

An example of editing a document

Below I’ve outlined the steps I go through in editing an image with poor lighting. This is a simple process that has worked well for me. (I use Adobe Photoshop or Elements.)

• Import image.
• Create a duplicate image.
•  Rotate image, if necessary.
• Use a cropping tool to trim the image.
• Use an auto level, auto color, and auto contrast. Use the manual versions of these tools if needed.
• Save as a new file with a different name.

9. Other Elements to Include in Your Personal Narrative

Where you are writing your personal narrative, there are no limits to what you can include. For example, you can add

Ancestry or family tree charts

Ancestry charts show family relationships. Careful consideration should be used when deciding to include them in your narrative because they can take up too much space, or their format might not fit the book’s layout. Most individuals will start with a common ancestor, show all descendants, or start with a current-generation and show linkage to the common ancestor. Charts do not have to be extensive. A two- to the five-generation chart can be an excellent addition. There is no right or wrong way to include ancestry charts, as long as they fit the format of your book. As a rule of thumb, use standard, commonly accepted genealogy formats. While genealogy publishing software may automatically format charts and other family data suitably, when formatting data from scratch, consider these tips:

• When listing generations and descendants, it’s a good idea to indent bullets and numbering because it makes the information more readable.
• Use the same formatting throughout the book when listing dates such as birth, marriage, and death.
• When continuing information to another page, end on one individual and start the next page with a new individual.
• Be consistent with the way you connect family lines with boxes and lines.

Chronology sheets

These sheets allow you to detail, in date order, the schools you attended, the jobs you have had, homes you’ve lived in, and so forth, as well as any other details you may wish to include. Remembering exact dates can be difficult, so indicating the year is usually sufficient.

Dedication. You may have decided before you start writing your narrative to who you want to dedicate your work. I would advise that you wait until you have completed it until you decide. Working on your narrative will stir up many old memories, feelings, and emotions, and you may change your mind about your dedication by the time you are finished.

Documentation

The first rule of genealogy is to document your resources. Should you use documentation in your narrative? Many prefer not to use footnotes or endnotes because they find them distracting. However, I believe that you should include documentation in your narrative.

You include documentation because it provides the reader with important information about your source and credibility in your writings. If readers have conflicting information, it becomes easy for them to compare their notes with yours and correct their data. When you talk about families and what they did or did not do, having the source of information makes the truth easier to understand. When you expand your research about separate topics, you give readers a place to go for further reading, such as a book, website, or article. Documentation will save you a lot of argument and time.

Once you have completed writing your narrative, take some time to reflect on the completed project. Write down your thoughts and feelings about the experience in an epilogue.

A preface is a place for you to put a few of your thoughts before you start your narrative, such as why are you writing your autobiography, what you hope to achieve by writing it, what you hope others will get out of it, any worries, fears or concerns about reliving the past, and so forth.

The index is an essential addition to your narrative. An index provides the listing of where to find mentions of topics, people, and images. If you are using a genealogy program to assist with the production of your book, you can also do indexing or use your word processing program to develop and edit it. Note: It’s a good idea to index a woman under her maiden as well as married name.

Table of contents

Next to the index, the table of contents is a necessary element of your writing. The table of contents helps others understand how the writings are organized and provides a map of your work. Use the table of contents to show general sections, such as chapters and subheadings.

Vital statistics

A listing of your vital statistics—such as your name, address, and age—is the information needed to identify the work as your own and serves as a point of reference later on. Anyone who reads your narrative will also know who the writer is.

10. How to Organize the Sections of Your Personal Narrative

The following is an example of organizing your narrative into chapters and sections for a cohesive presentation.

This is the first page after the cover, and it contains the title (and sub-title) in as few words as possible. It may also include the edition number if there is more than one edition. The title page is the place to list your name and the names of other authors and editors, as well as the place and date of publication. Copyright statement. The copyright statement is usually on the back of the title page. It includes information about the publication, such as the publishing date and who to contact for more information.

Example: Copyright 2021 by Author B. Schreiber. All rights reserved.

This is a list of chapters and sections with accompanying page numbers. It provides an outline and guides for readers to find sections that are of most interest to them.

The dedication contains the person or people to whom you are dedicating the personal narrative and why. It is usually written on the page after the copyright page.

List of illustrations

This contains the name and page number of each picture, map, or illustration in the individual narrative.

A foreword is a statement about the personal narrative written by someone other than you or the editor.

This statement, written by you, describes why you wrote the personal narrative, provides an overview of the personal narrative’s scope, content, and organization; and outlines the research methods you used. It also provides an address for readers who wish to contact you.

Acknowledgments

An acknowledgments page is a place to show gratitude to people or institutions who helped you research, compile, edit, or otherwise put together your narrative.

List of abbreviations

This reference contains the abbreviations you have used in your personal or family narrative and their meanings.

Introduction

An introduction contains background or historical information that may be needed to understand the personal or family narrative.

List of contributors

This lists the names of people who helped write the personal or family narrative.

A chronology provides dates and descriptions of important events in a personal or family narrative. It gives readers an overview of the events that shaped the person’s life and provides a quick reference to critical events. Including a chronology is handy if your history is not arranged chronologically.

The main text of your narrative is usually divided into several sections or chapters and can also be divided according to the period. You can use divider pages to separate the chapters. The text may contain footnotes, endnotes, and so forth, as well as illustrations, photographs, maps, or copies of records and certificates.

Appendix or appendices

An appendix contains information that is not essential to the main body of the text but may be helpful to readers who want more specific information about a topic. An appendix can also list the sources used in writing your history.

Family group sheets, pedigree charts, and similar items Bibliography. A bibliography lists the sources you used in compiling your narrative.

This list of individuals, place names, and subjects mentioned in your history, with page numbers of where the topic is mentioned.

11. Publishing Your Personal Narrative

When writing your personal narrative, there are many options of how to publish the narrative. However, before you start talking about publishing, you need to ask yourself a few questions, such as the following:

How good is my material?

• How thorough has your research been?
• Are you satisfied with the accuracy of the information you have acquired, and have you documented your sources?
• If your research contains hypotheses or conclusions that are based only on conjecture, are you willing to state them as such? This will help other researchers put your work in context and, hopefully, encourage additional research.
• If there are gaps or questionable data, you should probably conduct additional research to make your publication the best it can be.

Does the information present a cohesive picture of the family?

• Are there significant chronological gaps in your research, missing individuals, or missing important dates?
• Do the family stories relating to historical events fit with documented historical facts? Can you prove them?

Are you a good writer?

• You may want to enlist the writing or editorial assistance of someone good with words, sentence construction, punctuation, and writing engaging text.

Are you sure you want to share your research with others?

• Suppose you plan to publish material on the Internet (see below). Are you ready to extend your research range and invite other researchers and family members to contribute more material or challenge your publishing?
• You are always sure to receive feedback in some form or another. If you receive corrections to your data or additional data, are you prepared to publish a revised edition of your work?

All of these issues influence your decision about when to publish. As you proceed with the desire to publish, you will have multiple options for publication, including the following formats:

Individuals will sometimes use a blog to publish their narratives or the narratives of their families. The format is much like that of an online journal. The process of posting to a blog is relatively simple. It becomes an easy and inexpensive way of sharing your personal narrative. A typical blog includes the following elements:

• Short, informational entries—generally arranged in reverse chronological order
• A time or date for each post
• Links to other blogs or websites for additional content
• Archives of all previously posted content, sometimes arranged into categories

If you decide to use a blog to publish your personal or family narrative, focus on telling stories about individuals. You can include photographs, video, audio, and scanned images such as a newspaper article or letter. You can organize your posts into individual or family groupings. Include your documentation where appropriate. If you are in the process of researching a family line, you can tell the stories as you discover them.

Family newsletter

Family newsletters usually focus on happenings of the family that is usually spread far and wide. Many family newsletters also become a medium to share family narratives and include documents, stories, photos, and newly discovered facts with all interested researchers. Newsletters are usually published two to four times a year by printing, photocopying, or electronically posting.

Family narrative thumb-drive, CD or DVD

A family narrative thumb-drive, CD or DVD can hold large amounts of data in a small space. It can include photos, sounds, scanned document images, and even video—something a printed personal or family narrative can’t do. And since they are compact and relatively inexpensive, you can easily share them with other personal or family narrative researchers at family reunions, genealogical conferences, or through the mail. One of the biggest challenges in creating a family narrative thumb-drive, CD or DVD is to decide what information you’d like to present and how to organize the information. Suppose you’ve spent years studying the genealogy of a particular family or surname. In that case, you probably want to include the results of that research in the form of lineage-linked family trees or register reports. You may also want to include a written family narrative or photographs of your ancestors, their houses, headstones, and so on. Or perhaps you have video or sound recordings of ancestors or family members you would like to showcase.

What are my options for printing and publishing my personal narrative?

Of all the options, printing and publishing is usually the first option you consider when sharing your research and personal narrative. Self-publishing your personal narrative is a relatively simple process with the available technologies. Options range from a simple printout of a word-processing document to a book layout in a desktop publishing program. If you chose to do a book layout, you can then print your book at a quick-copy, bind it with a spiral ring, or print at an offset press and have it professionally bound. You can print a few copies and distribute them to a few families or publish and sell many copies to the public.

Google search

I would encourage you to do a Google search on “How to self-publish a person narrative or history.”

The following are a few lessons learned by others about publishing their narratives with publishers.

Quick copy versus book publisher

If you plan to print under two hundred copies, you are probably better off going to a quick-copy, although specialty publishers take on “short-run” projects. Most commercial publishers prefer a print “run” of more than five hundred books. Printed books are usually well designed and of good quality.

If you’re publishing a few copies of the book for your family only, you can lay the book out in a word processor and have it printed at a local printer or even print the pages on your home printer and insert them in loose-leaf binders.

If you’re publishing for a wider audience, you’ll need to hire professionals for the interior and cover design and printing. You can contract with individual vendors for the various services you need or hire someone to handle everything. Be wary of publishing companies that charge you hefty fees to publish your narrative and then purchase the book copies. Check the credentials and references of professionals you use and interview them to ensure you’re comfortable working with them.

Talk to publishers before you start. Start talking to publishers when you start writing a personal narrative. They will help walk you through design and formatting options that will affect what you write and format.

Review other personal narratives to gain ideas

Take the time before you start writing your book to browse through other personal or family narrative books to see how others have done it. Photocopy pages from the book you like so you have them as a reference when planning your book. Factors to consider include the paper type and quality, print size and style, number of photos, and binding. A little extra time and money can go a long way toward making your book as attractive as possible—and keep it within your budget parameters.

Compare costs. Call a few potential publishers and printers to compare costs and quality of service and find out their requirements for publishing a personal narrative. To obtain an estimate for a whole life story, plan for a book of two hundred pages, including images, with enough copies to distribute to your parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren (and a few extras). If you want to be more exact, provide the publisher exactly how many pages are in your manuscript. It is always a good idea to take your finished manuscript with you, including the mockup of picture pages, introductory pages, and appendixes. If you want to spend more, you can have your narrative printed by an offset publisher. The quality will be better, but the high additional cost may not justify the additional quality.

How to fund publishing

It is unnecessary to spend a lot of money completing a personal narrative, but it should look good and read well if you are going to do it. It’s not uncommon for individuals writing family narratives to have the total project funded by family members, provided you are doing the work.

Ask for samples

Ask your publisher to see samples of the types of binding they offer. Most publishers will show you a variety of bindings. Having your narrative hardbound with a sewn binding is not a requirement; however, it will last longer than other types of binding. Your goal is to publish and distribute your narrative, regardless of how it is bound.

Work with the publisher

If available, have your publisher archive your narrative for you. Many publishers will offer a one-time storage fee and keep it for you in digital form, which you may use later to make additional copies.

Use electronic files

Use a publisher that prints copies from a file you’ve saved to on your computer. Each copy will then be as good as the original. Contact your publisher to find out what file format they prefer. Most publishers will accept files in recent versions of Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, and other widely used word processing programs. Extra care should be taken to ensure that the end product is acceptable and correct.

Paper makes a difference

20 lb. paper is acceptable (but too thin to print on both sides of the page), but 24 lb. is better and 60 lb. is best. Double-sided printing is preferable. The standard paper will discolor and become brittle within fifty years, so always have your narrative printed on acid-free paper.

Black-and-white photos are bes t

All photographs and images should be copied into black and white images. Black and white images will preserve much longer than color images, and printing black and white images is much cheaper than printing full-color photos.

Layout considerations and options

There will be many details to remember when defining how your narrative will appear on the page. For example, you will need to think about the book’s size. The standard paper size is 8.5 by 11 inches and will be the most cost-effective to duplicate. Smaller page sizes may be more attractive but will require more pages and will be more expensive as the pages will have to be cut to smaller. Other layout considerations include the following:

•  Stay away from trying to use a fancy-type face. Use fonts like Helvetica, Times New Roman, Arial, or members of serif text families. These fonts are easy to read.
• It’s always a good idea to use a large face such as 10 to 12 point types with average margins for one or two-column formats.
• When you align your text, you can justify your text (aligning your text on the left side of the page with a ragged right) or justify the text with a flush left and right.
• There are many different types of binding available for your narrative. Search the one that best fits your budget and at the same time fulfills the purpose you have in mind for the book.
• Remember, you must make the side you will bind to be V4″ more significant than the outside edge when you are laying out the page. For example, your binding edge will need your binding edge if your outside edge is V2″ 314″ wide.
• Take great care in writing the captions in your book. For example, try to the best of your ability to include the name of every person in the photograph. When you have large groups of people and cannot identify everyone, give the photo’s date.

12. Sharing Your Personal Narrative

Throughout the writing of your personal narrative, keep your eyes focused on the completion and distribution. The following are a few ideas to consider:

Publish several extra books for future generations. Posterity should have easy access to your narrative.

• Donate copies to libraries or other institutions.
• Post it on the Internet.
• Donate a copy to your local library.
• Donate a copy to the Salt Lake Family History Library.
• Permit microfilm using the Family History Library’s “Permission to Duplicate” form.
• Send a letter of permission with your manuscript.
• Send an unbound copy as it’s easier to microfilm.
• Plan ahead for the publishing and marketing of your book.
• Be alert for contacts and opportunities for promotion as you research and write.

Keep good records of anyone who has been contacted or helped with the book. You will contact them as potential buyers or persons who will help publish and distribute the personal narrative book.

When I first started researching and writing a personal narrative—be it my own or about my mother, family, or others—I wanted to record the profound and thought-provoking experiences that could last for generations. Instead, I found the narrative of being about life and how choices determine our course and how our course provides us an opportunity to become the individuals we are and to create the legacy we leave with our ancestral lines. No matter how great or small, every story has value because life was lived, and every life is a gift. The story is about what we did with the gift.

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7 Inspirational Examples of Family History Book Genres

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When you consider the type of family history you want to tackle, think of the options as seven distinct genres of genealogical writing. Browse this list for examples in each genre:

1. Technical Genealogical Narratives

• The Langhornes of Langhorne Park by D. Brenton Simons (Newbury Street Press)
• Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts 1742-1998 by Franklin A. Dorman (New England Historic Genealogical Society)

2. Life Story Writing

• Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (Simon & Schuster)
• Dad Was a Carpenter: Blueprints for a Meaningful Life by Kenny Kemp (Alta Films Press)
• Separate Lives: The Story of Mary Rippon by Silvia Pettem (The Book Lode)

3. Family History Narratives

• The Hatch and Brood of Time: Five Phelps Families in the Atlantic World, 1720-1880 by Peter Haring Judd (Newbury Street Press)
• A Scattered People: An American Family Moves West by Gerald McFarland (Ivan R. Dee)

4. Family History Memoirs

• Halfway Home: A Granddaughter’s Biography by Mary Logue (Minnesota Historical Society Press)
• Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (Random House)
• Where She Came From by Helen Epstein (Plume)

5. Genealogical Fiction

• Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley (Dell)
• Sally Hemings by Barbara Chase-Riboud (St. Martin’s Press)
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck (The Penguin Group)

6. Edited Letters and Diaries

• A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Vintage Books)
• Rose Cottage Chronicles: Civil War Letters of the Bryant-Stephen Families of North Florida by Arch Fredric Blakey, Ann Smith Lainhart and Winston Bryant Stephens Jr. (University Press of Florida,)

7. Writing Guidebooks

• Writing Family Histories and Memoirs by Kirk Polking (Writer’s Digest Books)
• Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach (Story Press)
• Writing the Family Narrative by Lawrence P. Goldrup (Ancestry)
• For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History by Charley Kempthorne (Heinemann)
• Bringing Your Family History to Life through Social History by Katherine Scott Sturdevant (Betterway Books)

Genealogy Writing Courses

Check with adult education and community colleges. Many offer courses in life story writing, creative writing and creative nonfiction writing. Writer’s Online Workshops offers courses in life story and personal/family memoir writing.

Last updated: November 11, 2019

FamilyTreeMagazine.com is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. It provides a means for this site to earn advertising fees, by advertising and linking to Amazon and affiliated websites.

Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

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27 Creative Writing Examples To Spark Your Imagination

With all the types of creative writing to choose from, it’s hard enough to focus on just one or two of your favorites. 

When it comes to writing your own examples, don’t be hard on yourself if you hit a wall.

We’ve all done it.

Sometimes, all you need is a generous supply of well-crafted and inspirational creative writing examples. 

Good thing you’re here!

For starters, let’s get clear on what creative writing is. 

What Is Creative Writing? 

How to start creative writing , 1. novels and novellas, 2. short stories and flash fiction, 3. twitter stories (140 char), 4. poetry or songs/lyrics, 5. scripts for plays, tv shows, and movies, 6. memoirs / autobiographical narratives, 7. speeches, 9. journalism / newspaper articles, 11. last wills and obituaries, 12. dating profiles and wanted ads, 13. greeting cards.

Knowing how to be a creative writer is impossible if you don’t know the purpose of creative writing and all the types of writing included. 

As you’ll see from the categories listed further on, the words “creative writing” contain multitudes: 

• Novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, microfiction, and even nanofiction;
• Poetry (traditional and free verse); 
• Screenplays (for theatrical stage performances, TV shows, and movies)
• Blog posts and feature articles in newspapers and magazines
• Memoirs and Testimonials
• Speeches and Essays
• And more—including dating profiles, obituaries, and letters to the editor. 

Read on to find some helpful examples of many of these types. Make a note of the ones that interest you most. 

Once you have some idea of what you want to write, how do you get started? 

Allow us to suggest some ideas that have worked for many of our readers and us: 

• Keep a daily journal to record and play with your ideas as they come; 
• Set aside a specific chunk of time every day (even 5 minutes) just for writing; 
• Use a timer to help you stick to your daily writing habit ; 
• You can also set word count goals, if you find that more motivating than time limits; 
• Read as much as you can of the kind of content you want to write; 
• Publish your work (on a blog), and get feedback from others. 

Now that you’ve got some ideas on how to begin let’s move on to our list of examples.  

Creative Writing Examples 

Read through the following examples to get ideas for your own writing. Make a note of anything that stands out for you. 

Inspiring novel-writing examples can come from the first paragraph of a well-loved novel (or novella), from the description on the back cover, or from anywhere in the story. 

From Circe by Madeline Miller

““Little by little I began to listen better: to the sap moving in the plants, to the blood in my veins. I learned to understand my own intention, to prune and to add, to feel where the power gathered and speak the right words to draw it to its height. That was the moment I lived for, when it all came clear at last and the spell could sing with its pure note, for me and me alone.”

From The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: 

“‘I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination…. ” 

The shorter your story, the more vital it is for each word to earn its place.  Each sentence or phrase should be be necessary to your story’s message and impact. 

From “A Consumer’s Guide to Shopping with PTSD” by Katherine Robb

“‘“Do you know what she said to me at the condo meeting?” I say to the salesman. She said, “Listen, the political climate is so terrible right now I think we all have PTSD. You’re just the only one making such a big deal about it.”

“The salesman nods his jowly face and says, “That Brenda sounds like a real b***h.”’

From Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (collection of short stories)

“Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to talk to each other again.” (From ‘A Temporary Matter’)

Use the hashtag #VSS to find a generous sampling of short Twitter stories in 140 or fewer characters. Here are a few examples to get you started: 

From Chris Stocks on January 3rd, 2022 : 

“With the invention of efficient 3D-printable #solar panels & cheap storage batteries, the world was finally able to enjoy the benefits of limitless cheap green energy. Except in the UK. We’re still awaiting the invention of a device to harness the power of light drizzle.” #vss365 (Keyword: solar)

From TinyTalesbyRedsaid1 on January 2nd, 2022 : 

“A solar lamp would safely light our shack. But Mom says it’ll lure thieves. I squint at my homework by candlelight, longing for electricity.” #vss #vss365 #solar

If you’re looking for poetry or song-writing inspiration, you’ll find plenty of free examples online—including the two listed here: 

From “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

“How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

From “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons

“I wake up to the sounds

Of the silence that allows

For my mind to run around

With my ear up to the ground

I’m searching to behold

The stories that are told

When my back is to the world

That was smiling when I turned

Tell you you’re the greatest

But once you turn they hate us….” 

If you enjoy writing dialogue and setting a scene, check out the following excerpts from two very different screenplays. Then jot down some notes for a screenplay (or scene) of your own.

From Mean Girls by Tina Fey (Based on the book, Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman

“Karen: ‘So, if you’re from Africa, why are you white?’

“Gretchen: ‘Oh my god, Karen! You can’t just ask people why they’re white!’

“Regina: ‘Cady, could you give us some privacy for, like, one second?’

“Cady: ‘Sure.’

Cady makes eye contact with Janis and Damien as the Plastics confer.

“Regina (breaking huddle): ‘Okay, let me just say that we don’t do this a lot, so you should know that this is, like, a huge deal.’

“Gretchen: ‘We want to invite you to have lunch with us every day for the rest of the week.’ 

“Cady: ‘Oh, okay…’ 

“Gretchen: Great. So, we’ll see you tomorrow.’

“Karen: ‘On Tuesdays, we wear pink.’” 

#10: From The Matrix by Larry and Andy Wachowski

“NEO: ‘That was you on my computer?’

“NEO: ‘How did you do that?’

“TRINITY: ‘Right now, all I can tell you, is that you are in danger. I brought you here to warn you.’

“NEO: ‘Of what?’

“TRINITY: ‘They’re watching you, Neo.’

“NEO: ‘Who is?’

“TRINITY: ‘Please. Just listen. I know why you’re here, Neo. I know what you’ve been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone and why, night after night, you sit at your computer. You’re looking for him.’

“Her body is against his; her lips very close to his ear.

“TRINITY: ‘I know because I was once looking for the same thing, but when he found me he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer.’

“There is a hypnotic quality to her voice and Neo feels the words, like a drug, seeping into him.

“TRINITY: ‘It’s the question that drives us, the question that brought you here. You know the question just as I did.’

“NEO: ‘What is the Matrix?’

Sharing stories from your life can be both cathartic for you and inspiring or instructive (or at least entertaining) for your readers. 

From The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

“It was in fact the ordinary nature of everything preceding the event that prevented me from truly believing it had happened, absorbing it, incorporating it, getting past it. I recognize now that there was nothing unusual in this: confronted with sudden disaster, we all focus on how unremarkable the circumstances were in which the unthinkable occurred: the clear blue sky from which the plane fell, the routine errand that ended on the shoulder with the car in flames, the swings where the children were playing as usual when the rattlesnake struck from the ivy. ‘He was on his way home from work—happy, successful, healthy—and then, gone,’ I read in the account of the psychiatric nurse whose husband was killed in a highway accident… ” 

From Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt: 

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

From Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s by Jennifer Worth: 

“Nonnatus House was situated in the heart of the London Docklands… The area was densely-populated and most families had lived there for generations, often not moving more than a street or two away from their birthplace. Family life was lived at close-quarters and children were brought up by a widely-extended family of aunts, grandparents, cousins, and older siblings. 

The purpose of most speeches is to inform, inspire, or persuade. Think of the last time you gave a speech of your own. How did you hook your listeners? 

From “Is Technology Making Us Smarter or Dumber?” by Rob Clowes (Persuasive)

“It is possible to imagine that human nature, the human intellect, emotions and feelings are completely independent of our technologies; that we are essentially ahistorical beings with one constant human nature that has remained the same throughout history or even pre-history? Sometimes evolutionary psychologists—those who believe human nature was fixed on the Pleistocene Savannah—talk this way. I think this is demonstrably wrong…. “

From “Make Good Art” by Neil Gaiman (Keynote Address for the University of Fine Arts, 2012):

“…First of all: When you start out on a career in the arts you have no idea what you are doing.”

“This is great. People who know what they are doing know the rules, and know what is possible and impossible. You do not. And you should not. The rules on what is possible and impossible in the arts were made by people who had not tested the bounds of the possible by going beyond them. And you can.”

“If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do. And because nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.” 

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From “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TEDGlobal)

“…I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family. My father was a professor. My mother was an administrator. And so we had, as was the norm, live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages. So, the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy. His name was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor. My mother sent yams and rice, and our old clothes, to his family. And when I didn’t finish my dinner, my mother would say, “Finish your food! Don’t you know? People like Fide’s family have nothing.” So I felt enormous pity for Fide’s family.

“Then one Saturday, we went to his village to visit, and his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket made of dyed raffia that his brother had made. I was startled. It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family could actually make something. All I had heard about them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor. Their poverty was my single story of them.” 

Essays are about arguing a particular point of view and presenting credible support for it. Think about an issue that excites or angers you. What could you write to make your case for a specific argument? 

From “On Rules of Writing,” by Ursula K. Le Guin:

“Thanks to ‘show don’t tell,’ I find writers in my workshops who think exposition is wicked. They’re afraid to describe the world they’ve invented. (I make them read the first chapter of The Return of the Native , a description of a landscape, in which absolutely nothing happens until in the last paragraph a man is seen, from far away, walking along a road. If that won’t cure them nothing will.)” 

From “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale ” by Kate Bernheimer (from The Writer’s Notebook) : 

“‘The pleasure of fairy tales,’ writes Swiss scholar Max Lüthi, ‘resides in their form.’ I find myself more and more devoted to the pleasure derived from form generally, and from the form of fairy tales specifically, and so I am eager to share what fairy-tale techniques have done for my writing and what they can do for yours. Fairy tales offer a path to rapture—the rapture of form—where the reader or writer finds a blissful and terrible home….  “

Picture yourself as a seasoned journalist brimming with ideas for your next piece. Or think of an article you’ve read that left you thinking, “Wow, they really went all out!” The following examples can inspire you to create front-page-worthy content of your own.

From “The Deadliest Jobs in America” by Christopher Cannon, Alex McIntyre and Adam Pearce (Bloomberg: May 13, 2015):

“The U.S. Department of Labor tracks how many people die at work, and why. The latest numbers were released in April and cover the last seven years through 2013. Some of the results may surprise you…. “

From “The Hunted” by Jeffrey Goldberg ( The Atlantic: March 29, 2010)

“… poachers continued to infiltrate the park, and to the Owenses they seemed more dangerous than ever. Word reached them that one band of commercial poachers had targeted them for assassination, blaming them for ruining their business. These threats—and the shooting of an elephant near their camp—provoked Mark to intensify his antipoaching activities. For some time, he had made regular night flights over the park, in search of meat-drying racks and the campfires of poachers; he would fly low, intentionally backfiring the plane and frightening away the hunters. Now he decided to escalate his efforts….. “

It doesn’t have to cost a thing to start a blog if you enjoy sharing your stories, ideas, and unique perspective with an online audience. What inspiration can you draw from the following examples?

#21: “How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise, and Get Paid to Change the World” by Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger (Problogger.com):

“After all, that’s the dream, right?

“Forget the mansions and limousines and other trappings of Hollywood-style wealth. Sure, it would be nice, but for the most part, we bloggers are simpler souls with much kinder dreams.

“We want to quit our jobs, spend more time with our families, and finally have time to write. We want the freedom to work when we want, where we want. We want our writing to help people, to inspire them, to change them from the inside out.

“It’s a modest dream, a dream that deserves to come true, and yet a part of you might be wondering…

“Will it?…. “

From “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” (blog post) by Mark Manson :

Headline: “Most of us struggle throughout our lives by giving too many f*cks in situations where f*cks do not deserve to be given.”

“In my life, I have given a f*ck about many people and many things. I have also not given a f*ck about many people and many things. And those f*cks I have not given have made all the difference…. “

Whether you’re writing a tribute for a deceased celebrity or loved one, or you’re writing your own last will and testament, the following examples can help get you started. 

From an obituary for the actress Betty White (1922-2021) on Legacy.com: 

“Betty White was a beloved American actress who starred in “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

“Died: Friday, December 31, 2021

“Details of death: Died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 99.

“A television fixture once known as the First Lady of Game Shows, White was blessed with a career that just wouldn’t quit — indeed, her fame only seemed to grow as she entered her 80s and 90s. By the time of her death, she was considered a national treasure, one of the best-loved and most trusted celebrities in Hollywood…. “ 

From a last will and testament using a template provided by LegalZoom.com : 

“I, Petra Schade, a resident of Minnesota in Sherburne County — being of sound mind and memory — do hereby make, publish, and declare this to be my last will and testament…

“At the time of executing this will, I am married to Kristopher Schade. The names of my (and Kristopher’s) four children are listed below…

“I hereby express my intent not to be buried in a cemetery. I ask that my remains be cremated and then scattered at the base of a tree.

“None will have any obligation to visit my remains or leave any kind of marker. I ask that my husband honor this request more than any supposed obligation to honor my corpse with a funeral or with any kind of religious ceremony.

“I ask, too, that my children honor me by taking advantage of opportunities to grow and nurture trees in their area and (if they like) beyond, without spending more than their household budgets can support…. “

Dating profiles and wanted ads are another fun way to flex your creative writing muscles. Imagine you or a friend is getting set up on a dating app. Or pretend you’re looking for a job, a roommate, or something else that could (potentially) make your life better. 

Example of dating profile: 

Headline: “Female 49-year-old writer/coder looking for good company”

“Just moved to the Twin Cities metro area, and with my job keeping me busy most of the time, I haven’t gotten out much and would like to meet a friend (and possibly more) who knows their way around and is great to talk to. I don’t have pets (though I like animals) — or allergies. And with my work schedule, I need to be home by 10 pm at the latest. That said, I’d like to get better acquainted with the area — with someone who can make the time spent exploring it even more rewarding.”  

Example of a wanted ad for a housekeeper: 

“Divorced mother of four (living with three of them half the time) is looking for a housekeeper who can tidy up my apartment (including the two bathrooms) once a week. Pay is $20 an hour, not including tips, for three hours a week on Friday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm. Please call or text me at ###-###-#### and let me know when we could meet to discuss the job.”

These come in so many different varieties, we won’t attempt to list them here, but we will provide one upbeat example. Use it as inspiration for a birthday message for someone you know—or to write yourself the kind of message you’d love to receive. 

Happy 50th Birthday card:  

“Happy Birthday, and congratulations on turning 50! I remember you telling me your 40s were better than your 30s, which were better than your 20s. Here’s to the best decade yet! I have no doubt you’ll make it memorable and cross some things off your bucket list before your 51st.

“You inspire and challenge me to keep learning, to work on my relationships, and to try new things. There’s no one I’d rather call my best friend on earth.” 

Now that you’ve looked through all 27 creative writing examples, which ones most closely resemble the kind of writing you enjoy? 

By that, we mean, do you enjoy both reading and creating it? Or do you save some types of creative writing just for reading—and different types for your own writing? You’re allowed to mix and match. Some types of creative writing provide inspiration for others. 

What kind of writing will you make time for today? 

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13 Narrative Writing Prompts About Family

Help students reflect upon family and identity..

With Thanksgiving on the horizon and the winter holidays soon to follow, many of us will be spending quality time with our families.

As your students get into the holiday spirit, use these narrative writing prompts to help them examine their family history and culture and reflect upon the impact of family in their lives.

Prompts for Grades 3-5

Writing prompt: Consider your favorite family vacation. What made it special? What role did your family members play in making it so special?

Writing prompt: Is there a movie that you and your family like to watch around the holidays? What draws your family to that movie? Why is it the type of movie that everyone can watch together?

Writing prompt: Make a Top 10 list of things you are thankful for in your life. Maybe you are thankful for your parents, or your dog, or your best friend, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Think about the things that make your life special.

Writing prompt: Explain Thanksgiving to a person from another country who has never heard of it. What do people in America do on Thanksgiving? Why do we celebrate this holiday?

Prompts for Grades 6-8

Writing prompt: Consider there is one extra space at your family's holiday table. You can invite anyone from either current or historical times. Who would you invite and why? How would that person's presence impact the meal?

Writing prompt: Consider the best gift you ever gave to a family member. What made it the best? What was your family member's reaction? How did giving the gift make you feel?

Writing prompt: Write about a time when your family prepared and shared a special meal together. What foods did you eat? What were you celebrating? Describe the sounds, smells, environment, and overall feeling.

Writing prompt: What does “being thankful” mean to you? What does it look like and sound like? How do you show gratitude and appreciation with your actions or words?

Prompts for Grades 9-12

Writing prompt: Imagine you have to describe your family to someone who’s never met them before. What makes your family unique and different from others? What are your family’s most important traditions, values, and stories? What do you most love about them, and what frustrates you the most about them?

Writing prompt: Consider a challenge you and your family went through. How did it affect your family? How did your family manage to cope with this challenge?

Writing prompt: Interview one of your oldest relatives about their life. What were they like as a child? What are their fondest memories and most significant experiences? What advice would they give to the younger members of your family?

Writing prompt: Describe an unusual family tradition of yours that continues today. What are its origins and significance? Why is it important to your family to do every year? Will you carry on the tradition?

Writing prompt: You can only keep one memory about your family. Which one would you keep and why?

Continue Your Learning:

9 Writing Prompts for Your Family History Stories

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• family history , family stories , preserving discoveries , story crafting , storytelling , writing prompts

“I can’t write my family history stories because…”

How would you finish that statement? Would it be that you can’t write your family history stories because you:

• Aren’t creative or a writer
• Don’t know where to start
• Have research discoveries but no stories
• Are overwhelmed by what’s required.

Or maybe it’s all the above?

You aren’t alone. Each of those points is something that thousands of family historians think or say when they contemplate writing their family history stories. I get it. Writing about your ancestors is a lot. You have to leave your happy place of digging through the archives to learn new skills or sharpen up rusty old ones. It’s much more fun to keep researching, isn’t it?

Now for the good news. Crafting your family history stories is less writing and more compiling what you know in your own words. After all, the story already exists, so your job is to give it a voice. Using the information you know and have discovered as writing prompts will help you make it happen.

Writing prompts come in all shapes, sizes and types. They can be questions you answer, pictures you describe or theories you have. You collect them with every discovery, interview or question you ask yourself. And right now, you have several different types ready for use. That’s not a general statement, either. I’m talking to you when I say that you have multiple writing prompts at your fingertips.

Curious? Let’s unpack 9 prompts you can use to start writing your family history stories.

Writing prompts for your family history stories

1. research discoveries.

The first writing prompt on the list is one you’ll recognise immediately. After all, these are a cornerstone of your genealogy research. Yes, I’m talking about the historical records you discover on your journey.

You can capture the foundation of your ancestor’s story through vital records such as birth, death and marriage certificates. Then, use other documents to build on that base to show more life experiences such as education, employment, military service, property ownership, and places they lived or visited.

Each historical record prompts you to write what you know about it. You don’t want to simply transcribe the document but put the story it tells into your own words. For example, a birth certificate will tell you where, when and who was involved in the event. While a census record will tell you about their living situation, employment and household relationships.

2. Family photos

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” or so the saying goes. And when it comes to family history stories, that’s true. Photos are your window into the past. Not only can you see what your ancestors looked like but also the areas where they lived and travelled.

“Show, don’t tell” is popular advice from writing coaches to create vivid and engaging narratives that transport your reader into the story. Using photos, paintings or sketches as writing prompts helps you to achieve this goal.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have family photos, look for streetscapes or pictures that capture people from the era and area where your ancestors lived. You’ll then be able to describe what people wore, how they got around, plus what the towns and countryside were like.

3. Local newspapers

Until time travel is possible, the best way to step directly into your ancestor’s world is through the newspaper. Specifically, the same paper that your ancestors would have read or had access to during their life.

Newspapers aren’t only for the social column or birth, death and marriage notifications. They’ll give you a picture of your ancestor’s community, including:

• Local and global events
• Weather reports
• Store advertisements
• Government notifications
• Employment opportunities
• Property prices
• Accommodation options
• Letters to the editor.

And so much more.

Newspapers allow you to immerse yourself in a different era’s social and cultural framework. They’re a wealth of writing prompts enabling you to add depth to your ancestor’s story. Plus, there is the fantastic bonus that you may get lucky and come across a previously undiscovered clue about your family.

4. Family lore

Tales, legends, and rumours passed down through generations are the start of many a genealogy journey, including mine. These are the stories that spark imagination and can invoke curiosity to prove or disprove the tale.

While these legends may not always be entirely accurate, they are fantastic writing prompts for your family history stories. Recreate them in your own words or build a story around them. One way is to include all the versions you’ve heard of that story to show the multiple perspectives that filtered down through the generations.

Or dissect the rumour and dive into how it impacted your genealogy journey. Then, take your reader on the adventure through how you worked to prove or disprove the tale. Of course, don’t forget to let them know what you determined as a result of all that research!

5. Your speculation and insights

No matter how determinedly you research or how vast your treasure trove of family photos is, you’ll still be left with gaps. This space is an opportunity for creativity, intuition, and analytic thinking. As the author of a non-fiction piece, you can offer insight or speculate on what happened and why.

Using your insights as writing prompts is a way to give your readers clarity and reasoning instead of leaving them hanging with unanswered questions. Including your speculation offers emotional depth, dialogue reconstruction and cultural immersion to your written work.

Kick things off with the general notes and questions you’ve jotted down during your research journey. Why? Because including your questions in your narrative gives voice to what your reader might be pondering too. Next, let your analytical thinking take the lead as you speculate on what might have happened. Remember to make it crystal clear that these are your thoughts and hypotheses based on other events happening at the time. 

6. Heirlooms

Heirlooms are hidden gems waiting to be discovered by anyone passionate about history. Each of these items carries with it not just one story but potentially multiple tales. After all, they’re not just relics of a time long past; they’re a part of the family.

They’re helpful as writing prompts because you can approach their story from multiple perspectives, such as:

• Historical value
• Original purpose
• First owner
• Current caretaker. 

And even the future of the item. 

These tales will help your reader understand the emotional and financial value as well as the journey it’s been on with the family members who have cherished it over the years.

Always start with what you know to create a foundation for the story, whether proven or unproven. That can be a description of the item, stories your family shares about it or a recollection of your earliest encounter with it. 

7. Family recipes

Kitchens are often the heart of the family home, especially in the past generations. So, it’s little wonder that food plays such an essential role in preserving memories and traditions no matter our nationality or location.

Family recipes make an incredible writing prompt because they are a treasure trove of memories and cultural heritage. They trigger vivid recollections of family gatherings and special occasions. Not to mention that they engage multiple senses, making for some descriptive storytelling.

Writing about family recipes or gatherings can be a creative outlet, a source of reflection and healing, and a means of preserving personal history. Start with your own memories of recipes and celebrations, then use these as interview questions to build out the story with your relatives’ recollections. 

8. Traditions

Any recurring and meaningful practice, custom, or ritual passed down within a family can be considered a tradition. They typically hold great sentimental value and can provide a sense of continuity and connection across generations.

Using traditions as writing prompts is a powerful approach to storytelling because they encapsulate the essence of family life, culture, and identity. They can be:

• Cultural traditions
• Based on a holiday or celebration
• Family rituals
• Skill-based education such as cooking, woodworking or mechanics.

Exploring the origins behind your family traditions is also a valuable creative outlet. Capture the emotion and memory of yourself and other relatives as you identify why and how these acts became such unifying moments. Another approach is to focus on who the tradition keepers in your family are and, where possible, share why they chose to continue the practice.

9. AI-generated prompts

For a modern twist on storytelling, try AI-generated writing prompts for your family history stories. So, you won’t have these at your fingertips ready to use, but you can in a matter of seconds. AI-generated prompts from apps such as ChatGPT allow you to explore your family history from new perspectives.

Using ChatGPT to generate prompts is a way to take a diverse and creative approach to your family history stories. It’s:

• An opportunity to see your information from different perspectives
• To explore fresh angles 
• To engage readers in new ways.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all process, but it can be adapted to suit the way you work. For example, generate personalised prompts based on your knowledge and discoveries. Or get generic questions based on an era, occupation, or location. You’re limited only by your imagination and how you frame your requests.

Craft your family history stories

That wraps up the list of writing prompts you can use to craft your family history stories. You don’t have to spend hours determining an approach to take because you can use the knowledge and materials at your fingertips to start crafting stories. Are you feeling inspired by all the possibilities?

Family history is like a jigsaw puzzle. One where you don’t know how many pieces there are or what the final picture looks like. You research to discover the pieces, create a framework and write the story to see the picture.

Therefore, crafting your family history stories is less writing and more compiling what you know in your own words. After all, the story already exists, so your job is to give it a voice. Using the details you know and have discovered as writing prompts will help you make it happen.

Next steps in writing your family history stories

Are you looking for help to convert your writing prompts to stories? Check out my non-writers mini-class on  Writing Family History Stories with ChatGPT . It’s a crash course in getting started with ChatGPT to generate writing prompts and stories. 

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Family History Narrative

A little more than a decade ago, genealogists like me started to get the hang of nonfiction storytelling. This might not sound like a big deal, but it marked a significant change in the field: professional genealogy, after all, is dominated primarily by those of us who conduct research, provide clients with research reports and produce family tree charts. Until fairly recently, genealogists who published research results for clients or for themselves assembled facts into what we call “compiled genealogies”—tomes reciting only names, dates and places: “Delia Gordon was born 29 April 1860, Ardvarney, County Leitrim, Ireland; died 19 April 1925, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Conn.; married about 1886, likely in America, David Norris. They had the following children. . . .” These books were intended as references, so readability wasn’t an issue.

Then, in 1976, Alex Haley published “Roots,”a fictionalized version of his ancestry. Prior to that, having a genealogy traced was primarily for the status-conscious, those wishing to prove descent from America’s founding fathers and Old World gentry and royalty. Haley’s work sparked an interest in genealogy for the common person, descended from everyday, working-class folk. Haley also inspired genealogists to consider writing family history in the same storyteller fashion—while keeping the narrative true to the documented facts.

Early attempts in the 1970s through most of the 1990s often read like “Who’s Who” biographical sketches. Writers presented life events—beyond being “hatched, matched and dispatched”—chronologically: “Between 6 June 1900, when the 1900 U.S. federal census was taken, and the fall of 1901, David and Delia Norris and their children returned to Ireland. Then on 6 November 1901, the family came back to America on the ship Oceanic, sailing from Queenstown on 31 October 1901.” Readable, perhaps; interesting, no.

With more clients requesting compellingly told, factual family histories, a few professionals looked at what literary journalists and other creative nonfiction writers were doing. How were authors like Gay Talese, John McPhee and Joan Didion crafting life stories about people? How did they bridge gaps that remained after researching and interviewing? More important, where and how did they draw the line between fiction and nonfiction?

What emerged in the late 1990s was a genre a colleague and I dubbed “family history narrative,” a nonfiction story about ancestors’ lives. Rather than a cradle-to-grave approach, these narratives began with a dramatic event or life-altering decision in an ancestor’s life, such as leaving the Old Country or the death of a loved one. Some writers also used other creative writing devices—a narrative arc, scenes, imagery and metaphors—to bring an ancestor’s story to life on the page. These days, a few of us professional genealogists make a living turning skeletal names, dates and places into creative nonfiction narratives of ancestors’ lives. To attract clientele and to be able to show an example of their abilities, some professionals began by writing narratives about their own ancestors. This is what I did when I wrote “My Wild Irish Rose: The Life of Rose (Norris) (O’Connor) Fitzhugh and Her Mother, Delia (Gordon) Norris,” the story of my maternal Irish ancestry.

Most family histories are self-published, often with a limited distribution to family and to key research repositories such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the world’s largest genealogical collection. Nowadays, many such histories are self-published through print-on-demand publishers and are for sale on Amazon or other booksellers’ Web sites. Most genealogical writers and their clients are not concerned about commercial publication or sales, though; their primary audiences are their families, not strangers. Even so, there is satisfaction in well-researched, compelling and fully documented narratives.

John Philip Colletta is another pioneer in melding sterile genealogical facts with creative writing techniques. In his 2000 book “Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and Its Aftermath,” he turns his ancestors into “characters” by developing them through their actions as revealed in court documents, newspaper articles and other records. Using land records, county histories and historic maps, he writes descriptive scenes of a given place in time. He begins the story unconventionally, with a prologue that vividly imagines an 1873 event and draws in the reader:

I can see it now, the Ring & Co. store, blazing like a funeral pyre in the swampy desolation of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. Through the enormous flames lapping the walls and clawing across the roof, I see the outline of the two-and-a-half story building as though I were standing there, right in front of it, that Tuesday night, March 4, 1873. The heat sears my face and the smoke stings my eyes, though behind me the air is cool and filled with drizzle. . . .

Starting with Chapter 1, however, Colletta steps out of the story, reporting events and making inferences based on his ancestors’ actions and behaviors. He never enters the characters’ minds unless to speculate on what a person might have been thinking or feeling.

Because we genealogists often write about the distant past, with no living memory on which to rely, family history writing projects entail exhaustive research. We seek every potential document an ancestor, his family and his associates might have generated or created. This meticulous fact-finding enables us to write a fuller and more accurate account of an ancestor’s life and to feel comfortable recreating events we didn’t personally witness.

Even then, there is more historical background to uncover, more layers of necessary research. Colletta, for example, did extensive research on his ancestors as well as the historical context for his book, but discovered after it was published (isn’t that always the case?) that he had missed a few details. He painted this scene:

Attorneys, litigants and witnesses exit the courtroom, descend the long iron staircase and step out onto the portico. Lighting a cigar or pipe, or tucking a plug of tobacco inside the lower lip, the men watch the starlings poking in the rain-saturated lawn.

Sounds perfectly plausible, doesn’t it? But there’s a wee flaw. Colletta knew from the newspaper account that it had rained on and off during the proceedings. He had visited the Mississippi building where the trial had taken place and had seen starlings on the lawn. But he received an e-mail from an ornithologist who informed him that starlings weren’t introduced into the United States until 1890; the first sighting of a starling in Colletta’s setting wasn’t until the late 1890s, two decades after the event he describes. That is to say, most readers of narrative family histories expect a high degree of historical accuracy, not only with respect to the lives of ancestors but for the historical minutiae, too.

Like most creative nonfiction writers, genealogical writers draw an unbendable line between nonfiction and fiction. If a record or person hasn’t detailed an event that occurred or how something happened, we use speculative wording: perhaps, probably, likely, almost certainly. Peter Haring Judd, the author of “More Lasting Than Brass: A Thread of Family from Revolutionary New York to Industrial Connecticut,” used the qualifier probably, for example, when a person’s identity in records was uncertain: “In 1865, a William Clark was listed in the Minneapolis directory, identified as a grocer and flour trader—occupations in the family tradition. He was probably Julie’s first cousin once removed. . . .”

Genealogical writers also use supposition to fill in research gaps. Speculation isn’t produced simply for the sake of the story, however; there must be sufficient historical evidence to support the assumption that an ancestor likely did or did not do something. For example, in a family history I’m writing for a client, I don’t know for certain that the client’s ancestor Thomas Hillman was at the courthouse in Wise County, Virginia, on the morning of Sept. 2, 1892, for the widely publicized hanging of Talton Hall, a murderer, allegedly of 99 men. Because few in the area would miss out on such free entertainment, however, and because Thomas lived the majority of his life in Wise County and had regular dealings at the courthouse, recording land transactions, I’m almost certain he was there. From eyewitness accounts reported in the newspaper, I’m able to dramatize the scene and to place Thomas at the event, albeit using speculative language.

There are several types of family history narratives. They can be like Colletta’s; he reports as a historical literary journalist, employing numerous creative nonfiction devices: active verbs, scenes and a narrative arc. Or it can be a family biography, like Judd’s book. He writes in the style and voice of a traditional biographer, with less attention to making the prose pop on the page: “George was not an innovator like his father, nor was he mechanically minded. He slipped into the management of the family businesses and worked under his father for nearly 20 years. . . .”

Julie Foster Van Camp’s family history narrative, “Searching for Ichabod: His Eighteenth-Century Diary Leads Me Home,” might be called a family history memoir. She narrates her personal quest to learn about her ancestor: “The scent of freshly mowed grass seeps into my nostrils. Damp blades stick to my shoes as I walk alone, reading inscriptions, watching the September sunlight ripple across the graves in the pioneer section of Fairview Cemetery.” As a memoirist, she reflects and muses: “Rain pounds on my windshield, like the rat-a-tat of a hammer hitting small nails. Headlights blur my vision. My mind is a muddle. What do I expect to learn by driving across New York that I don’t already know about Ichabod? I feel foolish following his route. . . .”

Writers’ styles and approaches to the material may vary, but what almost all good family histories have in common is meticulous documentation. Genealogical standards require that every fact be cited in an endnote. The field of genealogy conforms to the current edition of “The Chicago Manual of Style” and to guides specific to genealogical records, such as Emily A. Croom’s “Genealogists’ Guide to Documentation and Citing Sources.” Because a genealogy is never “done”—there is always another branch or ancestor to explore—genealogists consider their work as springboards for other researchers. Tomorrow, next week or a decade from now, there might be more records available to supply additional information, or another writer may choose to take a different approach or write about a connected ancestral line. One thing is certain: There is never a lack of ancestors or material for writing family history narratives.

20 Engaging Essays About Family You Can Easily Write

Discover 20 essays about family for your next essay writing project.

From defining the family to exploring problems within modern families, this personal topic lends itself well to essay writing. If you are preparing a personal essay or were assigned to write one on this topic, good news. You can easily draw on a wealth of sub-topics and themes about the family, as you develop your piece. But if you have trouble getting started, here are 20 ideas for essays about the family.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

1. Why Siblings Should Be Your Best Friends

2. what is a family, 3. how family culture is established by a nuclear family, 4. the importance of family in child rearing, 5. how my family made me a better person, 6. why i love my family, 7. why my mom/dad/grandparent is my role model, 8. the effect of dysfunctional families on teenagers, 9. a sociological approach to defining family, 10. the influence of extended family on a child’s life experiences, 11. how popular culture portrays the happy family, 12. how my dysfunctional family defined my character, 13. how family has changed in american society, 14. is family changing or facing a state of decline, 15. the role family holds in everyday life, 16. comparing the family dynamics between two different cultures, 17. how my multi-cultural family gave me the best of both worlds, 18. unique challenges faced in single-parent families, 19. my most vivid family memory, 20. the challenges of being the youngest or oldest in the family.

A loving family is a beautiful gift, and with it often comes the gift of siblings. You could develop an essay on why siblings should be an individual’s best friends. When the relationship between them is loving and supportive, siblings are always around and able to help individuals through challenging life experiences.

This stands in stark contrast to the friends made in high school and even college. While some people will walk away with lifelong friends, life’s circumstances often pull friends apart. Family is forever, and people should work to develop those relationships. Looking for more? See these essays about brothers .

The dictionary defines a family as “a social group made up of parents and their children” or “a group of people who come from the same ancestor.” Yet this is a very narrow definition of family. Could you define it in another way? Are there people who you consider “family” who are not actually related to you by blood?

This essay idea gives you quite a bit of room for interpretation. Decide how you will define family, and then use the essay to support your choice. Then, discuss different ways family can look in society.

If you need some inspiration, check out our guide to the best parenting books .

The nuclear family is the most basic family structure: parents and their children. This family system is critical to developing a family culture and passing it down to the next generation. Do you find that you highly value having a family night on Fridays? It is likely because that is something your parents showed you in your own family when you were growing up.

Your essay can define family culture and show how family life helps establish that and pass it down to children. This family essay can discuss the nuclear family’s role in teaching children about cultural and religious values. Finally, the essay can establish why family culture and passing it along to children is so important.

For more help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

Can children grow into reasonable and ethical grown-ups without a family? While it is possible, the reality is the most stable adults typically come from loving and supportive families. One of the primary roles of the family is the development and rearing of children.

The family is the child’s primary social group . Through the family, they develop socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. In some ways, the family is the first school that teaches them the most important principles of life for young children. In your essay, establish the fact that family is the foundation for strong adults because of its role in child-rearing and child development.

If you need to write a personal essay, you can look at your family’s role in making you who you are. Your family played a vital role in your upbringing, from teaching you your core values to supporting you as you developed into the adult you are today.

Remember that you don’t have to have a happy family to write this essay. Even if your family circumstances were challenging, you can find ways that your family of origin helped you improve yourself and become a better person.

This is another personal essay topic. On the surface, it seems easy, but if you are going to write a quality essay, you need to dig deep. What makes your family unique and special, and why do you love that?

Keep in mind that all families have quirks and even problems. Yet you love your family in spite of these and sometimes even because of them. Don’t be afraid to include these in your essay.

Think of your family and the leaders in it. Is there one that stands out for a particular reason? Have you modeled some of your own life on how that person lived theirs?

Whether you choose a parent or a grandparent or even an extended family member, look more closely at what makes that individual so important in your life. Then, in your essay, you can outline how you are trying to emulate what they did in their life to make you more successful in yours.

When families go through difficult times, the effect is not limited to those struggling the most. The whole family will suffer when parents are fighting or financial problems arise. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to dysfunctional family dynamics. They may act out, experience depression, or feel pressured to lead the family when their parents are facing conflict.

This essay explores the effect of family problems on teenagers and their emotional or social development. Consider providing solutions that can help teens manage their challenging emotions even while dealing with the unique challenge of a dysfunctional family.

The definition of family is constantly evolving, but what does sociology say about it? This question could lead to an exciting and engaging essay as you dig into sociology to find your family definition. Based on most sociological definitions , a family is a group of related individuals connected by blood, marriage, or adoption. It may also mean people who live under the same roof.

Based on this definition, the word family has a distinct boundary. While close friends might be something you consider as family personally, sociologists will not define family in this way. Looking at the way sociologists, specifically, define family will give you quite a bit for your essay.

Much has been written about the nuclear family and its impact on the child’s development, but the whole family can have a role to play. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members can contribute to the life experiences of a child, and you can turn this into an interesting essay topic.

Use your essay to explore what happens when the extended family lives close by and what happens when they do not. You can look at how much of an influence the extended family has on a child’s development, and what increases or decreases that influence.

What does the happy nuclear family look like in television shows and movies? Is it usually a mother, father, and child, or are same-sex couples shown regularly? Do single-parent households get equal representation, or not?

This topic could be a fascinating one to explore in your essay. Once you establish the facts, you can discuss if this portrayal reflects real life or not. Finally, you can talk about whether or not the cultural portrayal of the family represents the type of family values the average family embraces.

Not everyone grows up in a happy, stable family, but sometimes bad times can improve someone’s character and give them the drive to be better. If you grew up in a dysfunctional family, you could show how that helped define your character.

In this essay, work to make a positive spin on your difficult situation. This topic can work well for a personal essay for college entrance or employment purposes.

Is the definition of family changing in American society? Some would argue that it is. While the mother, father, and children style family is still common, many other families exist now.

For example, we have an increasing number of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren . Single-parent families are also on the rise, as are families with a single parent who was never married to the other parent to begin with. Families with same-sex parents are becoming more common as well. Take your essay and define this change and how the nuclear family may look in the future.

Another take on the idea of the changing family dynamic s discussing whether or not families are changing, or if the state of the family is in decline. This essay topic will require some research, but you can explore whether families are breaking down or if they are simply changing.

If you decide that the family is breaking down, you can explore the reasons for this breakdown and its impact on society.

From bringing in the income that the family members need to live on to giving direction for the growth and development of children, the family holds a significant role in everyday life. You can explore this role in your essay and talk about the different components of life that the family controls.

For people who grow up in a stable environment, the family provides emotional support and improves overall well-being. It is also the source for moral development, cultural development, and work ethic development. It also provides for the physical safety and needs of the children. All of these lend themselves well to an essay topic.

While the main definition of family is nearly universal, the nuances of family dynamics change significantly from one culture to the next. For example, some cultures are highly patriarchal in nature, while others focus on maternal leadership. Pick a very different culture from your own, and then compare and contrast them in your essay.

For this essay, make sure that you look at differences as well as similarities. Do not disparage either culture, either, but rather focus on their differences positively. This essay works well if you have contact or knowledge of both cultures so that it can be a great choice for someone growing up in a multi-cultural family.

This essay topic is a twist on the previous one. In addition to comparing and contrasting the family dynamic of the two cultures, you can look at how that directly impacted you. What did you gain from each of the two cultures that merged in your home?

The personal nature of this essay topic makes it easier to write, but be willing to do some research, too. Learn why your parents acted the way they did and how it tied into their cultures. Consider ways the cultures clashed and how your family worked through those problems.

Single-parent families can be loving and supportive families, and children can grow well in them, but they face some challenges. Your essay can expound on these challenges and help you show how they are overcome within the family dynamic.

As you develop this family essay, remember to shed some positive light on the tenacity of single parents. There are challenges in this family structure, but most single parents meet them head-on and grow happy, well-balanced children. Remember to discuss both single fathers and single mothers, as single-parent families have both.

You can use this personal essay topic when writing essays about the family. Think back to your childhood and your most vivid family memory. Maybe it is something positive, like an epic family vacation, or maybe it is something negative, like the time when your parents split up.

Write about how that family memory changed you as a child and even in your adult years. Discuss what you remember about it and what you know about it now, after the fact. Show how that memory helped develop you into who you are today.

Are you the family’s baby or the oldest child? What challenges did you face in this role? Discuss those as you develop your family essay topic.

Even if you were the middle child, you can use your observations of your family to discuss the challenges of the bookend children. Do you feel that the baby or the eldest has the easier path? Develop this into a well-thought-out essay.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

Nicole Harms has been writing professionally since 2006. She specializes in education content and real estate writing but enjoys a wide gamut of topics. Her goal is to connect with the reader in an engaging, but informative way. Her work has been featured on USA Today, and she ghostwrites for many high-profile companies. As a former teacher, she is passionate about both research and grammar, giving her clients the quality they demand in today's online marketing world.

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21 Top Examples of Creative Writing

By Rofida Khairalla

Let’s be practical: anyone can be a writer.

Sure, practicing the skill and perfecting the art takes a certain modicum of natural interest in the profession.

But the thing that so many people can often overlook is that being a “writer” isn’t defined by how much you write.

So many times we can get hung up on trying to write a bestselling novel or groundbreaking book that we can forget that there are so many other types of writing out there.

Take a step back for a moment and think about it this way:

Whether you have a blog, a social media page, or spend all day texting that special someone, there’s probably an inner literary genius inside you waiting to burst out on the page.

Maybe you don’t have the time or the patience to write a novel, and that’s okay. There are plenty of different types of writing out there and you can most likely find one category, or several, that allow you to get your thoughts on paper in a way that works for you.

If you’re curious to know more, or are just interested in trying out a new writing genre, we’ve made it easier for you by compiling a list of the top 21 examples of creative writing.

1. Novel Writing

A novel is probably the most popular example of creative writing out there. When you think “creative writing” an image of Stephen King typing madly at his computer is probably the first thing that pops into your head. And that’s okay. Given that novels have been a popular form of entertainment for centuries, it’s not surprising.  Typically what distinguishes a novel from other forms of writing is that novels are usually works of fiction that are longer in length and follow a set of characters and plot structure.

2. Short Stories

When it comes to examples of imaginative writing, not unlike its longer counterpart, the novel, short stories also follow a set plot and typically feature one character or a selection of characters. However, the thing to keep in mind about short stories is that they typically resolve in fewer than 50 pages.

3. Flash Fiction

If you’re up for a real challenge, try your hand at some flash fiction . This type is similar to a short story or novel in the sense that it follows some form of a plot. However, flash fiction usually resolves within a few hundred words or less. There are a few kinds of flash fiction that exist: the six word story, the 50 word story, and the hundred word story. Additionally, flash fiction also has another faction known as sudden fiction, which usually tells a full story in about 750 words.

As an example of imaginative writing, the incredible thing about poetry is that there are so many kinds. From narrative to lyrical and even language poetry there’s so many different ways you can express yourself through a poem. You might be especially interested in pursuing poetry if you enjoy word play or experimenting with the musicality behind words.

Although rap is somewhat of a subcategory of poetry, it’s one of the few forms of poetry that can often get over looked in academic classes. However, it’s probably one of the more contemporary types of poetry available while still sticking to many of the classical rules (or tools) of poetry, including rhyme. Also, it’s one of the areas where the best writers are really produced. The reason for that is because rap forces writers to think on their feet in a way that many other genres don’t.

Playwriting is another great writing style to experiment with, especially if you enjoy the idea of seeing your work come to life. Typically, playwriting involves developing a script that both clearly sets the setting, plot, and characters while also minimizing the amount of description used. One of the key elements of a play is that it’s a collaboration of minds, even though they often don’t work together at the same time. Yet the final product, the performance, is always the end result of work done by the playwright as well as the director, actors and even set designers.

7. Scripts (T.V./Movies)

Like traditional plays, movie or T.V. scripts are often the result of collaboration between a team of people including the cast and crew. However, the big difference is that when you’re writing a T.V. or movie script , you’re often working together with the director and the actors as part of the production team.

Not a fiction writer? No problem! You probably have a unique story worth sharing: it’s called your life. Here’s the deal when it comes to memoirs: the biggest thing to remember is that not everything in your life is considered readership-worthy. In fact, most things probably aren’t. But, most likely, there is a unique angle or perspective that you can take when examining your life.

For example, if you have a really distinctive family history and you’re looking into exploring it, that could be a great subject for a memoir. Maybe you have a really interesting job that exposes you to lots of different people and events on a regular basis; you could write a book about your experiences in that field. The key to writing a good memoir is knowing what angle to take on any subject.

9. Non-Fiction Narratives

Of course, a memoir is just a subsection of a category known as the non-fiction narrative. But not all non-fiction narratives are memoirs. Take for example author Tim Hernandez, who wrote the book Mañana means Heaven . Hernandez writes in a style that is inherently descriptive and interesting, despite the fact that the book’s narrative is mostly based on research and interviews.

10. Songs/Lyrics

Another sector of poetry, songs and lyrics are also a great place where you can express your thoughts and emotions not only through words, but also through music. Whether you’re writing a love ballad or a hymn, there are lots of reasons to enjoy working in this genre. While a lot of this genre is relatively unrestrictive in terms of what you can create, it’s a really good idea to get familiar with the basics of song writing. Especially in an era where so much of the music we hear is impacted by technology, the more you know about the art of song writing, the freer you will be to experiment.

11. Speeches

Speech writing is another great way to express yourself and also reach a wider audience. The thing about speeches is that they are both a form of oral and written text, so the key to writing a really good speech is to take into consideration your phrasing, word choice and syntax. More importantly, the way a speech is delivered can really make or break its success. Practice strong enunciation, confident body language and invoking a clear voice.

12. Greeting Cards

You might hear a lot about greeting cards when people talk about how to make easy money as a writer. But the truth is, being a greeting card writer is anything but easy. You have to be able to keep the greeting card expressions short, catchy and, in a lot of cases, funny. However, if you’ve got the chops to try your hand at a few greeting cards, practice writing limericks and other forms of short poetry. More importantly, read lots of greeting cards to get an idea of how the best writers go about creating the really fun cards that you enjoy purchasing.

It used to be that blogs were the place where teenagers could go to express their teenage angst. But nowadays, blogs are also a great place to be if you’re a writer. There are an unlimited amount of topics you can successfully blog on that will garner attention from audiences. You can use your blog as a forum to share your writing or even reflect on current events, the stock market—really anything! The possibilities are endless, but the key is finding a subject and sticking to it. For example, if you decide to start a blog dedicated to rock music, stick to rock music. Avoid long tangents about politics or other unrelated subjects.

14. Feature Journalism

Feature Journalism is a great place to start if you want to get your feet wet if you’re interested in reporting. Why? Because there are a lot more creative aspects to feature journalism compared to news journalism. Feature stories typically allow you more flexibility with the kinds of details you put into the article, as well as more room for creativity in your lede.

15. Column Writing

If you like the idea of journalism but feel you could never be a journalist in light of your strong opinions, column writing is another avenue you can take. The thing about columns is that they’re typically based in ideas and opinions rather than fact. Yet, because columnists are considered experts in their respective fields, their opinion tends to hold more sway with readers.

As part of the non-fiction narrative family, the personal essay, or even the academic essay, has plenty of elements that are creative. Whether you’re writing about personal experiences or a science project, there are lots of opportunities you have to be creative and hook your reader. Even the most mundane reports have the opportunity to become interesting if you know how to present your topic. As with a lot of non-fiction writing, the secret to writing a good essay is all about your framing. When you begin writing, think about explaining the issue in the most engaging way possible. Just because your writing should cut to the chase doesn’t mean that it should be bland, boring or bogged down in technical jargon. Use anecdotes, clear and concise language, and even humor to express your findings.

17. Twitter Stories

With only 140 characters, how can you tell a story? Well, when you use Twitter, that’s exactly what you’re doing. However, a new phenomenon that’s currently taking over the site is a type of flash fiction called Twitterature, where writers tell a full story or write a poem in 140 characters or less.

18. Comic Strips

If you have a knack for writing and drawing, then you might be especially interested in working on a comic strip. Comic strips are harder project to tackle because they require a lot of preplanning before you start writing. Before you begin drafting you need to know the plot and have a strong outline for how the graphics will look.

19. Collaboration

This is typically a writing exercise that writers do with other writers to expand on their creativity. Essentially the way the exercise works is that one writer will start a story and another will finish it. You might be especially familiar with this kind of work if you’ve ever read the work of an author that was completed AFTER their death. However, collaboration is just another way you can bounce ideas off another person. You can also collaborate with other writers for world building , character development and even general brainstorming.

20. Novella

An example of creative writing, a novella is essentially the love child of a short story and a novel. Although the novella does feature a plot, the plot is typically less complicated compared to that of a novel. Usually novellas are about 50 pages.

21. Genre Writing

Another type of writing that fiction writers can do is genre writing. If you think of popular writers like Stephen King, Nora Roberts and James Patterson, then you’re probably familiar with genre writing. Essentially, genre writing is when a writer explores different stories in one particular genre, like romance, fantasy, or mystery. There’s a huge market out there for genre fiction, which makes it definitely worth pursuing if you a have preference for a particular kind of literature.

The important thing to keep in mind as a writer is that experimentation is never a bad idea. If you’re genuinely curious about one or more items on this list, give it a go! Some of the best literary works were created by accident.

What did you think of our list of 21 creative writing examples? Do you have experience in any of these types of creative writing? Do you know of any other creative writing examples? Please tell us more in the comments box below!

21 Top Examples of Creative Writing is an article from Writing Tips Oasis . Copyright © 2014-2017 Writing Tips Oasis All Rights Reserved

As a graduate from the University of Arizona in English and Creative Writing, Rofida Khairalla’s love for classical literature and post-modern fiction extends beyond the realm of books. She has provided her services independently as a freelance writer, and wrote on the news desk for the student-run newspaper, The Daily Wildcat. As an aspiring children’s book author, she’s refined her craft amongst the grand saguaros of the Southwest, and enjoys playing with her German Shepherd on the slopes of Mount Lemmon.

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#5onFri: Five Tips for Writing About Family Dynamics

Oct 09, 2020 by Erin Tyler published in Writing

So, you want to write about your dysfunctional family. Well, good for you. (And if you’re one of the lucky few who wants to write about your functional family, I’m not your Huckleberry).

Family dynamics are difficult enough to grasp, let alone write about. But when properly explored, they make for powerful stories.

Here’s a few rules I follow when writing about my family:

1. Empathy, Always

My number one rule for writing about family dynamics is: always do it with empathy .

Human beings are seldom monsters. They do harm each other because of unresolved trauma, emotions they were never permitted to feel, and pressures that were too much too soon. When we fail to acknowledge this in our stories, we’re only telling them by half.

You don’t have to dive into the details of Grandpa’s PTSD and subsequent struggle with substance abuse to explain the nuances of your father’s self-absorption, but Grandpa’s inability to be emotionally present with him must be a part of your explanation of who he is as a human being.

You don’t have to reprint every malignance Grandma used to whittle mom’s soul down so that she always feels less than. But if you’re going to tell us that mom perceives everything said to her as some thinly veiled slight meant to rob her of confidence, you have to explain why.

Empathy is the practice of standing hand in hand with our characters—allowing them to be human and relatable—and no story about family dynamics is even decent without it.

2. Write Angry, Then Refine

Families aren’t designed to be fair. They can be infuriating, and they can leave you feeling bitter and bruised. When we deny we’re angry, we kiss our truth goodbye. 

I always write my rough drafts with as much anger as I can muster—even if I know it’s irrational—because I believe anger is respect for self. And without self, you just don’t have a story. When I refine that rough draft, and edit out the irrational bits, what’s left behind is just the right amount of vulnerability.

3. Avoid The Clinical

If you’re writing about your family, odds are you’ve already sought therapy to deal with them. You may have picked up diagnostic terms from your therapist. Don’t use them.

It’s all well and good to know your Aunt Grace is codependent with her son, your mother is slightly borderline, your Dad is a narcissist, and your brother has bipolar disorder—and it can be comforting to lean on a therapist’s knowledge when the holidays are nigh—but fact is: clinical diagnoses are boring, unemotional, and reductive. People are more complex than the collection of traits they embody when stressed.

Your Thanksgiving story packs more punch if you simply retell what you saw and felt. Your mother threw a tray of green bean casserole at your father over a perceived slight, and your father was more upset over the stain on his expensive shirt than the emotional impact the outburst had on his loved ones. Your Aunt Grace launched into a rant because everyone upset her nearly 40-year-old son who still lives her basement, and your brother laughed maniacally at it all because he was stoned on pills and had been awake for three days straight. As a result, you felt [insert emotion]. That’s good writing.

4. Dig Deep

What do you really want to say about your family? Don’t ask your prefrontal cortex. Ask your gut. That’s where the answer to that question really lies.

How did your gut feel when your mother threw the beans and huffed off? What went on in there when your dad stormed out the back door to go play with his toys like an infant?

So often we control the way we feel with our thoughts, rationalizing them into something more acceptable (and controllable) when the real story is roiling below. Nobody wants to read the acceptable story. They want the meat. Give it to them.

5. Follow Your Fear

Have you ever written about your family with nausea in your stomach, typing out sentences, deleting them out of fear and then typing them again? Have you ever thought, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly say that. You’re not supposed to say things like that about family.”

Good. Who gives a crap about what they’re supposed to say?

Family dysfunction feeds on our secrets. It is nurtured by our silence. It rolls, storm-like, through generation after generation—feasting on souls and leaving a wasteland in its wake—and the only thing that stops it dead in its tracks is truth .

If there is fear in the pit of your stomach when you write about your family, then follow it. Honor it. That fear means that what you’re writing about is honest and therefore relevant. And if you’re not interested in relevance—if you’re only interested in saying what has already been said—then don’t bother writing about your family.

We don’t need to read it.

Over a celebrated twenty-year design career, Erin Tyler has designed book covers for multiple New York Times bestselling authors, such as James Altucher, Ryan Holiday, David Goggins, and Tucker Max. She is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and is currently the creative director at Scribe Media. Erin is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, The Bad One: A Memoir About Growing Up a Goat .

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• Essay Database >
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• Essay on Business

Family And Friends Creative Writing Examples

Type of paper: Creative Writing

Topic: Business , Social Issues , Relationships , Family , Life , Friendship , Love , Marriage

Published: 01/08/2020

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A good family is one which can make and keep friends. This kind of family will be able to prosper since they will find ways of coexisting with their neighbor. Additionally, a family should be willing to co reside together with people, and in the process they develop friendship. Deeper analysis of traditional families points out how our fore fathers valued oneness to the extent that they considered everybody as a family. This meant that the friends whom they interacted with were part of their family; they traded, played and even intermarried. Indeed, friendship was valued to the extent that a family business continued to exist even after the death of the founders. However, today this is lost, because people don’t value friends any more. Families have got no time for friends and even for individuals within that particular family. This implies that pressures within the family to work and look for means of living have kept people at bay. These days it is hard to find family friends because the individual members of the family just meet their personal friends when they go to work or during socialization time, but really nobody makes an attempt of ensuring that the family friendship structure is maintained and supported the way it used to be sometimes back. This implies that the importance of friendship has been ignored in the today’s family and must be addressed if meaningful steps are to be made towards rejuvenating the earlier relationship between families and friends. The reason why families need friends is because friends will continue believing in your strengths even when you do not believe in yourself. This implies that friends are important and they play important roles in our lives. They understands us deeply to the extent that when we have good times they are there with us and when a family is going through hard times the friends will be there for them. Good family friends understand every circumstance the family is going through and the good thing with these friends is that they will understand and stay by the side of the family in good and hard times. In deed friends are one of the biggest supports in families and individuals life and with them people share some of the hard times they have as well as the darkest secrets. Friends are the family’s truest treasures, with them the family can be assured of success in their dreams because whichever the dream, how embarrassing it is, the friends will take it in and get positive outlook from it. Friends will always be there for a family and they will accept to share the most embarrassing secrets. This implies that friends can help stop a marriage from breaking by just being there to listen and find out how to help the family make their marriage work. This implies that a business family will never topple when they have good friends who are dear to their hearts. This implies that friends are very important for a family because they like us regardless of our weaknesses and they tell us the truth, they are there to support our decisions and choices as well as to tell us off when we are making foolish decisions without shying and feeling like it’s not necessary. Friends laugh with the family at fun time and share with the family grief. Indeed friends are the best companion for a family since they share with the family interests argue with the family and help stimulates the family thinking and way of living. That is why they are special people to a family, and nobody in the family will fear telling their truths and their concerns to family friends. Family is free with friends and every top secret and idea in the family is always shared with friends, what good people friends are.

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8 Creative Writing Examples That Will Spark Your Writing Genius

Jane Ng • 15 Nov 2023 • 6 min read

Looking for some creative writing examples to ignite your imagination? You’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re an aspiring writer searching for inspiration, or a student aiming to enhance your creative writing skills, we’ve got you covered. In this blog post, we’ll provide creative writing examples, explore different styles, and techniques, and showcase some truly inspiring pieces. 

So, let’s begin our adventure into the world of creativity and expression.

Table Of Contents

What is creative writing.

• Types of Creative Writing Styles

Key Takeaways

• FAQs About Creative Writing Examples

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• What is Systems Thinking?

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Creative writing is the art of using words to express thoughts, ideas, and emotions in imaginative and unique ways. It’s a writing form that goes beyond the technical and conventional aspects of writing like grammar and structure, focusing instead on capturing the essence of storytelling and personal expression.

In creative writing, writers have the freedom to invent characters, settings, and plots, allowing their creativity to flow without the constraints of strict rules or guidelines. This form of writing can take various forms, including short stories, poetry, novels, plays, and more which we’ll explore in the next section.

Types Of Creative Writing Styles

Creative writing encompasses a variety of styles, each with its unique characteristics and purposes. Here are some common types of creative writing styles:

• Fiction: Storytelling with invented characters, plots, and settings across genres like mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, flash fiction and literary fiction.
• Poetry: Expressive writing using rhyme, meter, and figurative language to convey emotions and imagery, including forms like sonnets, haikus, and free verse.
• Drama/Playwriting: Crafting scripts for theatrical performances, incorporating dialogue, stage directions, and character development for stage productions.
• Creative Nonfiction: Merging facts with narrative storytelling techniques to create engaging personal essays, memoirs, and travel writing.
• Screenwriting: Developing scripts for movies and television, adhering to a specific format, and including scenes, dialogues, and camera directions.
• Short Stories: Concise narratives exploring single themes with well-developed characters and plots within a limited word count.
• Blogging: Creating conversational and relatable content, combining personal experiences, opinions, and information, covering a wide range of topics and formats.
• Songwriting: Crafting lyrics and melodies to convey emotions and stories through music, blending language with melody in a unique creative form.

1/ Flash Fiction – Short Creative Writing Examples:

Ernest Hemingway’s Six-Word Story:

“ For sale: baby shoes, never worn. “

This poignant six-word story is often attributed to Hemingway, although its true authorship is debated. Regardless, it showcases the power of flash fiction to convey a complete narrative with just a handful of words. In this case, it tells a heartbreaking story of loss and unfulfilled hopes in a remarkably concise manner.

2/ GCSE Creative Writing Examples:

Here’s a GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) creative writing example. GCSE creative writing tasks often require students to demonstrate their ability to craft engaging narratives.

Task: The Unexpected Visitor

“Imagine you are at home alone on a rainy evening. Your parents are out, and you’re engrossed in a book. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. You weren’t expecting anyone, and the hour is late. Write a short story (around 300-400 words) about what happens next.”

3/ Haiku Poetry – Creative Writing Examples:

Haikus are a traditional form of Japanese poetry known for their brevity and focus on nature and the changing seasons. Each haiku typically consists of three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5, making them a concise yet evocative form of creative expression.

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694):

“An old silent pond…

A frog jumps into the pond—

Splash! Silence again.”

4/ Screen Writing – Creative Writing Examples:

Screenwriting is a unique form of creative writing that brings stories to life on big and small screens. Here are a few famous examples of screenwriting from iconic films and TV series:

1/ Movie – “Get Out” (2017) Script – Written by Jordan Peele:

Jordan Peele’s screenplay combines horror and social commentary, making “Get Out” a thought-provoking and chilling cinematic experience.

2/ TV Series – “Breaking Bad” (2008-2013) – Created by Vince Gilligan:

Vince Gilligan’s screenplay for “Breaking Bad” masterfully portrays the transformation of a high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, into a drug lord. The series is celebrated for its character development and moral ambiguity.

5/ Playwriting – Creative Writing Examples:

These plays represent a diverse range of styles and themes within the world of playwriting. They have had a significant impact on the theater and continue to be performed and studied worldwide.

1/ “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare:

This timeless tragedy explores themes of love and conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets. It’s one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, known for its poetic language and unforgettable characters.

2/ “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller:

Arthur Miller’s classic play delves into the American Dream and the disillusionment of a traveling salesman named Willy Loman. It’s celebrated for its exploration of the human condition and the pursuit of success.

6/ Personal Essay – Creative Writing Examples:

Personal essay examples showcase how writers can draw from their own life experiences to create engaging narratives that resonate with readers.

1/ “A Journey to Self-Discovery”

In this personal essay, the author reflects on a transformative backpacking trip through the mountains. They recount the physical and emotional challenges faced during the journey and how these challenges ultimately led to profound self-discovery and growth. The essay explores themes of resilience, introspection, and the power of nature to inspire personal change.

2/ “Lessons from My Grandmother’s Kitchen”

This personal essay takes readers into the author’s childhood memories of spending time with their grandmother in the kitchen. Through vivid descriptions of cooking rituals and family gatherings, the author reflects on the valuable life lessons and cultural heritage passed down through generations. The essay touches on themes of family, tradition, and the importance of preserving cultural identity.

7/ Blogging – Creative Writing Examples:

Here are a few famous examples of blogs known for their creative and engaging writing styles:

1/ Wait But Why by Tim Urban:

Wait But Why is known for its in-depth articles and entertaining infographics that explore a wide range of topics, from science and technology to philosophy and human behavior.

2/ Cup of Jo by Joanna Goddard:

Cup of Jo is a lifestyle blog that features thoughtful and relatable content on relationships, parenting, travel, and more. Joanna Goddard’s writing style is warm and inviting.

8/ Songwriting – Creative Writing Examples:

Here are three famous examples of songwriting known for their creative and impactful lyrics:

1/ “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen:

Queen’s epic and operatic “Bohemian Rhapsody” features intricate lyrics that tell a complex narrative and create a timeless rock masterpiece.

2/ “Yesterday” by The Beatles:

“Yesterday” by The Beatles is a classic ballad with introspective lyrics that explore themes of nostalgia and lost love.

3/ “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye:

Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is a socially conscious song with lyrics that address issues like war, racism, and environmental concerns.

Through the power of words, writers can transport readers to distant worlds, evoke deep emotions, and share profound insights. Throughout this exploration of creative writing examples, we’ve witnessed the diverse tapestry of possibilities, from captivating personal essays to timeless poetry, from gripping screenplays to enchanting song lyrics.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting your creative journey, the key lies in unlocking your imagination and letting your ideas flow freely. So don’t forget that AhaSlides provides a dynamic platform for creative writing, offering interactive features that can enhance your storytelling. Whether you’re crafting a captivating presentation, conducting a workshop, or seeking feedback on your work, AhaSlides empowers you to engage with your audience in new and exciting ways.

FAQs About Creative Writing Examples

What is a good example of creative writing.

One famous example of creative writing is the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’ novel “ A Tale of Two Cities “: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Is a verse example of creative writing?

Yes, a verse can be a good example of creative writing. Creative writing encompasses a wide range of forms and styles, and poetry or verse is certainly one of them.

Ref: Study.com

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