TOPICS FOR A WRITER’S NOTEBOOK

Try writing three or four times a week, twenty minutes a time. Ideas for getting started:

1. What person has had a great impact on your life?

2. What experience did you have that taught you a lesson?

3. What have you done that could be considered unusual for someone your age?

4. What school incident have you never forgotten?

5. What time in your life would you like to live through again?

6. What is the most difficult decision you ever made?

7. What event of national or international importance which occurred during your lifetime will you never forget?

8. What are some of your most important goals in life?

9. What are you especially good at?

10. What news story has recently caught your attention?

11. What invention or technological advance has made a difference in your life?

12. Which has been more important to you, what you’ve learned in school or outside of school?

13. What incident of cruelty or unfairness have you seen or heard of?

14. What have you done that makes you feel most proud?

15. What do you enjoy doing most?

16. What frightening or tense experience do you remember having?

17. Is being a boy or man more difficult than being a girl or woman?

18. What have you been forced to do that you should not have had to do?

19. Were you ever frightened of dating or of the opposite sex?

20. Do you watch television news shows? Why or why not?

21. Is dishonesty ever justified?

22. Is intense competition good or bad?

23. Do you believe in life after death? Why or why not?

24. What would you want people to say about you after your death?

25. What is your philosophy of life?

26. Were you ever unfairly punished? What type of punishment works best?

27. Do you remember a good experience you had as a parent, spouse, student, employee,

athlete, or member of a community?

28. Did you ever have trouble solving a problem but finally found the right solution?

29. Have you ever kept your promise even though it was difficult to do so?

30. Do columnists like Ann Landers give good advice?

31. Would you raise your children the same way you were raised?

32. Did you ever regret a choice of a friend?

33. Which group faces more pressure, people your age who go to college or those who don’t?

34. What’s it like to be in an unfamiliar situation, such as at a new school or in a new job?

35. How do you cope with stress?

36. What are college students afraid of?

37. Have you ever lost or been separated from someone who meant a great deal to you?

38. How important is your family heritage to you?

39. What memories do you associate with certain songs, objects, or places?

40. In what ways are you living up to the dreams or ambitions your parents had for you?

41. Which would you prefer, living in a city or in the country?

42. What kind of life would you like to have five or ten years from now?

43. What do you do when somebody is rude to you?

44. Why do people go to movies?

45. What do you remember about participating in sports and games when you were younger?

46. What are the qualities of an ideal coach? An ideal boss?

47. What experience did you have that improved your skills or self-confidence?

48. What skills does a college student need?

49. Have you ever seen a boxing match or other professional sporting event? If so, what

was it like?

50. What do you think about when your mind wanders?