15 Prompts To Help You Write a Heartfelt Eulogy
What are Prompts?
Prompts can provide guidance or inspiration for writing. They often take the form of questions or a few words or sentences. They are particularly useful when we don’t know where to start or when we are having trouble finding something to write about. Writing prompts have a way of bringing out our thoughts more easily.
Why Use Prompts to Write a Eulogy
Writing a eulogy can be overwhelming. You may already be dealing with feelings like sadness, anger, guilt, or shock. This may make it even more challenging to gather your thoughts to write a heartfelt eulogy. And sometimes you may just not know where to start. You may be struggling with how to talk about a person’s entire life in a 5-10 minute speech. Or you may be struggling with coming up with ideas, focusing your ideas, or deciding what to highlight. Prompts can help cue you, give you ideas and help your writing start to flow.
Examples of Eulogy Writing Prompts
If I had to describe my loved one in three words…
This song makes me think of them…
One thing I never want to forget about them is… and why…
One thing my loved one would want others to know about them…
A comforting memory of my loved one is…
A funny memory of my loved one is…
My happiest memory with my loved one is…
Their favorite holiday was…
My loved one was passionate about…
One quirky thing about my loved one was…
One smell that reminds me of my loved one is… and why…
One meal that reminds me of my loved one is… and why….
One thing I learned from my loved one is…
One thing I am grateful to my loved one for…
If I saw my loved one again for a few minutes, I would tell them…
How To Use Prompts to Write a Heartfelt Eulogy
Now that you know a little more about prompts and have some examples, let’s talk about how to use them to help you write a heartfelt eulogy.
Avoid trying to complete more than 1-3 prompts at a time. This can be overwhelming. Instead, pick 1-3 prompts that stand out to you. Don’t spend too much time trying to find the “right” answer. This is what often leads us to feel stuck.
Commit to not worrying about grammar, mistakes, punctuation, or having your writing be organized. Simply write whatever comes to mind, even if it seems to veer off topic. For example:
“One thing I am grateful to my loved one for is that they always got back up - life was hard for them - i konw that much. Even as a child - they had it hard. But they taught me to stay down for as long as i need to recovery but i should get back up. Liek that time i lost my job - i was so frfeakd out. I dont know what i would have done with him. They didnt rush me to get back up immediately and they even let me stay with them. They let me cry it out. But then they were there when i was ready to get back up. And life was even better afterwards. They always taughte me to get back up no matter how many times you fall. They said that was the beauty of life and i think that is true. I wish they were here now and next time im down. But i will always remember their words and love and support and care forme.”
Reflect on what you’ve written and decide which stories or thoughts you may want to include in the eulogy. Some prompts may be especially helpful for certain parts of the eulogy. For example, prompts about what you’ve learned or what you are grateful for might be really nice ways to end the eulogy - you can even thank your loved one for what they have taught you.
“Thank you dad for teaching me that life has ups and downs, but that I always have the choice to get back up again after getting knocked down.”
Combine your prompts exercise with a eulogy outline or template. This can help you organize some of your thoughts and get you closer to the final eulogy. If you haven’t already, get our free eulogy writing guide here.
We hope you found these eulogy writing prompts helpful. And if you want some more help creating a custom eulogy, check out our most affordable option:
Wishing you comfort.