Ask people these 254 questions about moving for storytelling.
I have interviewed hundreds of people about their moving and hometown. Based on the answers I received in those interviews, I have put together a list of writing prompts and questions about hometown and moving to ask people when writing narratives. The hometown and moving series include six categories that explore hometown, childhood, teenager, young adult, adult and senior adult years. Use these prompts and questions to help you.
- Identify events and memories you can write about
- Organize and write your narrative and story
- Develop questions to ask other people about their life’s
- Organize, research and write stories about others
- Know what type of information to include in narratives and stories
- Identify memorabilia, artifacts, photos, documents to include in stories
- Develop ideas for journaling, story starters, poetry, memoirs, and more
Writing Prompts and Questions to Ask People
The “Moving and Hometown” writing prompts and questions to ask people are part of the 28 articles, 108 category series entitled “7,500-plus Questions About Life to Ask People When Writing Narratives.” The prompts and questions are provided to help you look at moving and hometown from as many angles as possible when writing narratives about yourself, your family, and others. The categories and types of topics covered include:
- Hometown. Find 40 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover memories about your hometown, physical features and characteristics, neighborhood, favorite places, your home, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Childhood Moving (Age 0-11). Find 41 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover the reasons behind the move, moving experience, new home and community, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Teenager Moving (Age 11-18). Find 44 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover the reasons behind the move, moving experience, new home and community, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Young Adult Moving (Age 18-25). Find 43 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover the reasons behind the move, moving experience, new home and community, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Adult Moving (Age 25-65). Find 43 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover the reasons behind the move, moving experience, new home and community, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Senior Adult Moving (Age 65+). Find 43 questions and prompts. Use these prompts and questions to gather and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. These questions cover the reasons behind the move, moving experience, new home and community, including your thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Approach each topic from the point of view of the person/lives you are writing about. You don’t have to ask every question. Instead, review the questions and determine which ones are most appropriate to ask. I would encourage you to modify and add questions as you desire.
I have prepared a couple of other resources that will provide value in interviewing for and writing individual, personal, and family narratives: “Complete Guide for Conducting Oral History Interviews” and “Complete Guide to Writing A Personal Narrative.”
Hometown
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Hometown” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- What town or city would you consider being your hometown?
• What state or country is the town located in?
• How long did you live in this community?
• How did your family come to live in this community?
• How was the community founded?
• How would you describe your hometown?
• What did you like or dislike about your community?
• What are your memories of your hometown? - Can you describe the physical features and characteristics of the hometown?
• Where located and terrain? Such as desert, valley, mountains.
• Type of climate year-round?
• Landmarks? Parks?
• Main employers?
• Well, know people?
• Culture, specialty food?
• What types of people live in the community?
• Describe the ethnicity of the community?
• What celebrations were most important to the community? Describe the celebration. How did your family participate in the celebration?
• What is the town be known for?
• Look and feel of downtown and main street?
• Look and feel of your neighborhood?
• Favorite places to go and why?
• Hidden secrets of the community? - How would you describe your home?
• How long did you live in this home?
• How did your family come to live in this home?
• Describe the physical characteristics of your home?
• What part of town was your home located in?
• What did you like and dislike about your home?
• What memories did you have of your home? - Where did you like to go in your community to play, work, gather?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do age 0-11?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do age 11-18?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do age 18-25?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do, age 25-45?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do, age 45-65?
• Where you like to go, and what did you do, age 65+? - What did you like most about your hometown? Describe.
- What did you consider to be the downside of your hometown? Describe.
- How has your hometown changed over time?
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Childhood Moving (Age 0-11)
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Childhood Moving (Age 0-11)” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- Did you or your family move during this time of your life?
• If you moved more than once, answer the questions for each move.
• What were the circumstances behind the move?
• Where were you living at the time? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What year was the move?
• How long had you lived in that location?
• Was the move required or a choice? Explain.
• Who decided to move?
• How was the decision made?
• Where did you move to? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What was the distance of the move? - What was your situation at the time of the move?
• How did you learn about your decision?
• What were you told about the move and the new city?
• How did the family respond to the decision?
• How did you respond to the decision?
• Were you in school? What grade?
• How did your friends respond to the news? - Describe what happened to your move?
• What experiences did you have during the move?
• Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw your new home? - Did you or your family know anyone in the new city?
- How were you introduced to the new school and community?
• What do you remember about the new school?
• Were you able to make new friends?
• What did you like and dislike about the new school?
• What do you remember about the new community?
• What did you like or dislike about the new community? - Describe your new home?
• Was your new home an apartment, house, condominium, other?
• What did you like and dislike about your new home?
• What was the neighborhood like?
• How was the new home different from the old home?
• What was the story behind choosing the home in the new city?
• Describe your neighbors? - Describe what it was like to become acquainted with the new home and city?
- Did you try to keep in touch with friends and the community after the move?
• Describe the experience?
• What did you like and dislike?
• What are your memories? - Looking back on the experience, what do you remember?
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Teenager Moving (Age 11-18)
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Teenager Moving (Age 11-18)” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- Did you or your family move during this time of your life?
• If you moved more than once, answer the questions for each move.
• What were the circumstances behind the move?
• Where were you living at the time? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What year was the move?
• How long had you lived in that location?
• Was the move required or a choice? Explain.
• Who decided to move?
• How was the decision made?
• Where did you move to? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What was the distance of the move? - What was your situation at the time of the move?
• How did you learn about your decision?
• What were you told about the move and the new city?
• How did the family respond to the decision?
• How did you respond to the decision?
• Were you in school? What grade?
• How did your friends respond to the news? - Describe what happened to your move?
• What experiences did you have during the move?
• Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw your new home? - Did you or your family know anyone in the new city?
- How were you introduced to the new school and community?
• What do you remember about the new school?
• Were you able to make new friends?
• What did you like and dislike about the new school?
• What do you remember about the new community?
• What did you like or dislike about the new community? - Describe your new home?
• Was your new home an apartment, house, condominium, other?
• What did you like and dislike about your new home?
• What was the neighborhood like?
• How was the new home different from the old home?
• What was the story behind choosing the home in the new city?
• Describe your neighbors? - Describe what it was like to become acquainted with the new home and city?
- Did you try to keep in touch with friends and the community after the move?
• Describe the experience?
• What did you like and dislike?
• What are your memories? - Looking back on the experience, what do you remember most?
• Would you consider the move to be a good move? Explain
• If you had to do over, what would you change?
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Young Adult Moving (Age 18-25)
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Young Adult Moving (Age 25-25)” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- Did you or your family move during this time of your life?
• If you moved more than once, answer the questions for each move.
• What were the circumstances behind the move?
• Where were you living at the time? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What year was the move?
• How long had you lived in that location?
• Was the move required or a choice? Explain.
• Who decided to move?
• How was the decision made?
• Where did you move to? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What was the distance of the move? - Did you move to attend school?
• What led you to decide to move about to school?
• What did you know about the school before you moved?
• How did you decide where to live?
• What do you remember about the new school?
• Were you able to make new friends?
• What did you like and dislike about the new school?
• What do you remember about the new community?
• What did you like or dislike about the new community? - Did you move to get married?
• What do you remember about the move?
• Were you able to make new friends?
• What did you like and dislike about the move?
• What do you remember about the new community?
• What did you like or dislike about the new community? - Describe what happened to your move?
• What experiences did you have during the move?
• Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw your new home? - Describe your new home?
• Was your new home an apartment, house, condominium, other?
• What did you like and dislike about your new home?
• What was the neighborhood like?
• How was the new home different from the old home?
• What was the story behind choosing the home in the new city?
• Describe your neighbors? - Describe what it was like to become acquainted with the new home and city?
- Did you try to keep in touch with friends and the community after the move?
• Describe the experience?
• What did you like and dislike?
• What are your memories? - Looking back on the experience, what do you remember most?
• Would you consider the move to be a good move? Explain
• If you had to do over, what would you change?
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Adult Moving (Age 25-65)
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Adult Moving (Age 25-65)” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- Did you or your family move during this time of your life?
• If you moved more than once, answer the questions for each move.
• What were the circumstances behind the move?
• Where were you living at the time? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What year was the move?
• How long had you lived in that location?
• Was the move required or a choice? Explain.
• Who decided to move?
• How was the decision made?
• Where did you move to? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What was the distance of the move? - Were you married at the time of your move?
• How did you share the decision to move with your immediate family?
• What was their response?
• How did you share the decision with extended family?
• What was their response?
• How did you share the decision with friends?
• What was their response? - Describe what happened to your move?
• Did you move or use a moving company?
• Who helped you move?
• What experiences did you have during the move?
• Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw your new home? - Describe your new home?
• Was your new home an apartment, house, condominium, other?
• What did you like and dislike about your new home?
• What was the neighborhood like?
• How was the new home different from the old home?
• What was the story behind choosing the home in the new city?
• Describe your neighbors?
• Describe what it was like to set up the new home?
• When did you feel your new home was home? - Describe what it was like to become acquainted with the new home and city?
- Did you try to keep in touch with friends and the community after the move?
• Describe the experience?
• What did you like and dislike?
• What are your memories? - Looking back on the experience, what do you remember most?
• Would you consider the move to be a good move? Explain
• If you had to do over, what would you change?
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Senior Adult Moving (Age 65+)
Writing Prompts and Questions About Moving and Hometown
“Sr. Adult Moving (Age 65+)” is part of the series for writing prompts and questions about Hometown and Moving. Use these questions to ask, gather, and organize information to help you write narratives about yourself, your family, and others. If you are writing about a deceased person, think of the questions as if you were the person answering the questions.
- Did you or your family move during this time of your life?
• If you moved more than once, answer the questions for each move.
• What were the circumstances behind the move?
• Where were you living at the time? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What year was the move?
• How long had you lived in that location?
• Was the move required or a choice? Explain.
• Who decided to move?
• How was the decision made?
• Where did you move to? Such as location, type of home, with some.
• What was the distance of the move? - Were you married at the time of your move?
• How did you share the decision to move with your immediate family?
• What was their response?
• How did you share the decision with extended family?
• What was their response?
• How did you share the decision with friends?
• What was their response? - Describe what happened to your move?
• Did you move or use a moving company?
• Who helped you move?
• What experiences did you have during the move?
• Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw your new home? - Describe your new home?
• Was your new home an apartment, house, condominium, other?
• What did you like and dislike about your new home?
• What was the neighborhood like?
• How was the new home different from the old home?
• What was the story behind choosing the home in the new city?
• Describe your neighbors?
• Describe what it was like to set up the new home?
• When did you feel your new home was home? - Describe what it was like to become acquainted with the new home and city?
- Did you try to keep in touch with friends and the community after the move?
• Describe the experience?
• What did you like and dislike?
• What are your memories? - Looking back on the experience, what do you remember most?
• Would you consider the move to be a good move? Explain
• If you had to do over, what would you change?
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