Cathy A.
Cathy A.

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics and Ideas

24 min read

Published on: Mar 22, 2023

Last updated on: Jul 21, 2023

narrative essay topic ideas

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Are you ready to take your readers on a journey through your personal experiences and insights? Narrative essays provide a unique opportunity to do that. 

Want to write a narrative essay but don’t have any good topic in your mind? We understand!

The possibilities for narrative essay topics are endless. Selecting a good topic can be challenging, but its importance can not be denied. In this blog, we have covered an extensive list of topic ideas to help you get started.

So, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and get ready to embark on a journey of storytelling with these engaging narrative essay topics.

Let's get started.

What is a Narrative Essay?

Do you love getting lost in a good story? Well, a narrative essay is just that - a chance to lose yourself in a compelling tale, often based on the writer's personal experiences. 

It is a type of writing that tells stories from your life and how it has impacted you. The narrative essay is a great way to show your creativity and imagination. It usually has one main idea, but the characters in stories can serve many different purposes at once.

This type of writing often includes feelings, a few sensory details, as well as an engagement with what you're experiencing that will make them read your essay. 

Want to know more about narrative essay writing? Check out our complete guide about narrative essays right now.

How to Choose Narrative Essay Topics? 

Planning your essay is crucial for making it a success. It's like laying a strong foundation for a building - the more effort you put into it, the more impressive the end result will be. That's why even seasoned writers take the time to brainstorm and find the perfect theme for their essays.

When choosing a topic for your narrative essay, keep in mind that the idea should present experiences, events, stories, and personal opinions. Unlike other writing types, it solely depends on how strongly your thoughts and experiences are portrayed. 

So it is essential to choose a topic that allows the writer to present the stories in the best possible way. 

To make the selection process easier, professional essay writers of CollegeEssay.org have provided some steps. Follow them and get interesting topics for your essays. 

1. Identify Your Interests 

An easy trick to come up with an exceptional topic idea is to identify your interests. The thing that interests you or reflects your passion can be a really good choice for your narrative essay. 

A narrative essay is a personal form of writing, and to make it effective, write something you are most connected to. It will allow you to be creative and share engaging events and related stories. 

Brainstorm ideas that you think hold importance and meaning in your life. Moreover, think about how you are going to share information to make it interesting for the readers.

2. Brainstorm Events and Stories 

The narrative essay is based on the writer’s personal experiences. To decide on the topic, analyze and recall events and stories that took place in your life. The more interesting the story, the more impactful the content is going to be. 

The audience loves to know the decisions you made in your life and the lessons you learned. Choose a topic for which you have an impressive story or life experience ready to share. 

Recall the following episodes to come up with striking information:

  • Childhood 
  • Student life
  • Vacations 
  • Important events 
  • Joyful/sorrowful moments
  • Hobbies 
  • Social life, etc. 

To get a more clear understanding of choosing a narrative essay topic, check out this short video clip.

Impressive Narrative Essay Topics for 2023

Coming up with a good topic for your narrative essay requires skills. If you are in writer’s block or can not come up with anything exciting, get help from various topics below. 

The writers of CollegeEssay.org have gathered this comprehensive narrative essay topic list. Go through the topic ideas and draft a great narrative essay effortlessly. 

Narrative Essay Topics for Students

If you're a student you probably have to write an essay at some point. Getting an interesting topic idea is not easy. We have gathered some essay topics for different academic levels to help you with the task.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Narrative Essay Topics for University Students

  • The worst interview of your life 
  • A time when you discovered something precious 
  • A time when you were insulted or disrespected
  • A time you discovered one of your skills
  • The moment when your loved one was hurt 
  • The moment when your best friend had an accident 
  • The day your father caught you smoking 
  • A mistake that taught you something significant 
  • An action you thought would help the person but got you in trouble.
  • The moment when someone else’s experience saved your life 
  • The time when you underestimated a junior
  • How has practicing helped you become a professional?
  • The time when your beliefs were shaken
  • An event that made you feel sorry about a person
  • The time when you had to let go of one of your most important things

Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

  • First experience of living in a hostel
  • The worst roommate ever
  • Frightening memory of your childhood
  • Why you chose a specific major
  • What studying in a dream college feels like?
  • The most healthy part of your routine
  • The time you inspired someone
  • What should you tell your younger self?
  • Your favorite author and his work that you most relate to
  • A moment when your joke offended your friend
  • Your favorite activities in your leisure time
  • How you overcome your fears
  • The hardest thing you did in life
  • What regrets do you have in life?
  • Your biggest motivation to score well in academics

Narrative Essay Topics for O Levels

  • Attending a festival of a different culture
  • An act or behavior that made you unhappy
  • A moment you realize nothing is permanent.
  • Things you are doing to improve life in your city?
  • An experience that turned out a blessing in disguise
  • The time your colleague was fired.
  • An act that was purely a result of an advertisement
  • What should be looked at in a job? Money or interest?
  • The first time you voted in the elections
  • Difficult decisions that gave fruitful results
  • A time when your efforts ended in failure
  • Wasted opportunities
  • Importance of discipline
  • Your favorite restaurant
  • What caused you to run away from your responsibilities? 

Expert Tip

If you want to get an idea of writing a narrative essay, visit our narrative essay examples blog and get access to free pdf examples.

Narrative Essay Topics for High School

  • The most interesting summer school memory 
  • The moment when you saw your favorite actor in real life 
  • The first time you helped a needy person
  • How you became friends with your best friend 
  • Your favorite essay writing service 
  • A person that left a deep influence on you 
  • The day when you became a class representative 
  • Your first speech on the stage
  • Your first term paper
  • Your favorite high school student’s profession 

Narrative Essay Topics for Middle School

  • The first time you made a Facebook account
  • Electronic devices you can not live without
  • Interesting encounter with a family member
  • The person you are most attached to in your family
  • The day when you tried sushi for the first time
  • The weirdest experience with the stranger in a bus
  • Why do you keep a diary with you?
  • A real-life experience that made you believe that appearances can be misleading
  • Which superpower would you like to have and why?
  • A book that changed your perspective
  • First time when paper writing becomes my profession
  • An essay idea that makes my writing easy
  • The story behind writing a research paper
  • Your first international trip
  • The moment you realized you are a grown-up

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 5

  • Your first day at school
  • Your favorite teacher 
  • Your best winter vacations
  • The happiest day of your life
  • Your best birthday ever
  • The moment when you got lost in a mall 
  • The most painful injury 
  • Your first pet
  • The feeling of losing loved ones
  • The hardest goodbye 

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 6

  • The time when you underestimated a junior 
  • How has practicing helped you become a professional?
  • The time when your beliefs were shaken 
  • An event that made you feel sorry about a person 
  • The time when you had to let go of one of your most important things 
  • Your favorite activities in your leisure time 
  • How you overcome your fears
  • The hardest thing you did in life
  • What regrets do you have in life?
  • Your biggest motivation to score well in academics 

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 7

  • A moment that restored your faith in humanity
  • The most memorable field trip
  • A moment you realized how important it is to learn foreign languages
  • The most embarrassing event of your life
  • My favorite sibling
  • Betrayal in friendship
  • Why is television so important in your life?
  • A hobby of yours that you recently adopted
  • How extra classes helped you achieve better grades?
  • The most memorable farewell
  • A person that left a deep influence on you
  • The day when you became a class representative
  • Your first speech on the stage
  • Your dream college
  • Your favorite profession

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 8

  • A time when your efforts ended in failure 
  • Wasted opportunities 
  • Importance of discipline 
  • Your favorite restaurant 
  • What caused you to run away from your responsibilities? 
  • First time when paper writing became my profession 
  • An essay idea that makes my writing easy 
  • The story behind writing a research paper 
  • Your first international trip 
  • The moment you realized you are a grown-up 

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 9

  • A time when you overcame a fear
  • The most memorable day of your life
  • A difficult decision you had to make
  • The first time you tried something new
  • A moment when you learned an important life lesson
  • An experience that changed your perspective on something
  • A time when you made a mistake and what you learned from it
  • A memorable trip you went on
  • The first time you fell in love with a hobby or activity
  • A moment when you felt proud of yourself for overcoming a challenge.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 10

  • A time when you had to stand up for something you believed in
  • The most significant challenge you have faced in your life so far
  • A moment that changed your life forever
  • A decision that you regret making and what you learned from it
  • A person who has had a significant impact on your life
  • A time when you learned an important life lesson through a mistake you made
  • A trip that you will never forget
  • A time when you felt like you had to prove yourself to someone
  • A moment when you felt like giving up, but you pushed through anyway
  • An experience that helped you discover something new about yourself.

Looking for more exciting and captivating narrative essay topics? Keep scrolling for more fun and engaging ideas that will make your narrative essay stand out from the rest!

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Personal Narrative Essay Topics

  • A movie character that you best relate your personality to
  • What makes you emotionally weak?
  • How did I lie to my parents about going on a trip with friends?
  • Your first breakup
  • What makes you think you are different from other people
  • The worst school memory
  • The time when you were bullied
  • The time that you bullied someone and felt bad afterward
  • Your happy place
  • Building a dog house from scratch
  • Losing a pet
  • An experience of camping with a friend
  • How did you learn to drive?
  • How I learned to play drums
  • What if you could travel back in time?

Literary Narrative Essay Topics 

  • How did you start developing an interest in Shakespeare’s work
  • A fictional character of literature that you can relate to most
  • A movie that changed your worldview
  • A play that influenced you the most
  • Your motivation behind writing short stories
  • Who do you think is an overrated writer?
  • How to become a published writer
  • A poem that made you cry
  • The first poem you read
  • What were the trends of literary devices used in the literature of the 19th century?
  • The most heart-wrenching letter someone wrote to you.
  • The memorable literature class
  • The moment you realize the worth of studying literature
  • The moment you realized you want to become a poet
  • The best essay you drafted

Interesting Narrative Essay Topic

  • The time you took a risk to achieve something
  • A wrong call that changed your life
  • The time you got in trouble for bunking college
  • A time you were jealous of someone that everybody liked
  • What makes you ordinary
  • An overwhelming situation that you dealt with patience
  • The time when you felt insecure
  • The time you had to give up the most valuable thing to save your friend
  • Share an experience of forgiving a person that hurt you
  • The first impression you had of someone that was wrong
  • The time you took advantage of a situation
  • The time you played a gender card
  • A situation that affected your reputation
  • A person who saved your day
  • A boring evening that turned into an exciting night

Easy Narrative Essay Topics

  • The time you did something life-threatening
  • How did you follow your dreams?
  • How to learn from rejection?
  • A road trip to remember
  • How did you survive a natural disaster?
  • A lie that destroyed your life
  • Weirdest job interview
  • Growing up in the countryside
  • A person that you accidentally met and can never forget
  • What you love most about your neighborhood
  • How to find time for your family?
  • A table talk you will always remember
  • The moment when you hardly believed that your sister is right
  • The day you realized how important it is to plan things
  • Your best friend’s wedding

Funny Narrative Essay Topics

  • The funniest misunderstanding you've ever had
  • The day you got lost in a foreign country and couldn't speak the language
  • The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you in public
  • The time you tried new food and immediately regretted it
  • An experience of camping with a friend 
  • How did you learn to drive? 
  • How I learned to play drums 
  • A hilarious prank you played on someone (or someone played on you)
  • The most ridiculous fashion trend you ever followed
  • The time you accidentally texted the wrong person something embarrassing
  • What if you could travel back in time?
  • A time when you laughed so hard, you couldn't breathe
  • The funniest mistake you've ever made in school
  • The weirdest dream you've ever had.

Whether you are writing a narrative essay for high school or university, it is essential to pick a good topic. The audience will never read a document with a boring title. So choose something that instantly grabs the reader’s attention.

CollegeEssay.org is a professional essay writing service that provides all sorts of academic help. 

Whether you need assistance with a narrative paper or a college essay, our Essay Writer AI can provide you with writing help you need.

So why wait? Hire our narrative essay writer and get ready to impress your readers. Order essays from our narrative essay writing service right now.

Cathy A.

WRITTEN BY

Cathy A. (Literature, Marketing)

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

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