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Use an Autobiography Timeline
GETTING STARTED
Start by setting aside a period of time, every day, or every few days, to work on your autobiography or memoir. An hour, three times a week is a good place to begin. You need enough time to let things start to flow, but not so much time you become bogged down.
There are different ways of approaching the writing of an autobiography or memoir. Some of your options are:
?Purchasing a book with an outline to follow
?Buying software that will guide you through the process
?Doing it on your own
Make your choice based on your writing ability, time and what is most comfortable for you. If you plan to do it yourself, use a software program like Word that will give you all the editing tools you need along the way. Keep a folder on your desk top with all of the relevant information you need. - 2
Find a Comfortable Spot to Reflect & Write
WHERE TO BEGIN
Sit down in a comfortable, quite location with a notebook and a pen. You may be saying to yourself, "there is so much to write, I don't have any idea where to being" or "I have nothing of interest to say; where do I begin?"
Begin by gathering information from your memory bank. Pick any ten year period and make a note of one or two highlights from each year that you can remember. Keep it brief as possible, no more than a sentence.
If something sparks your interest, begin writing there. If not, do the same thing with another ten year period. Always put the most interesting events at the top of the list and eliminate any that seem less important later on. - 3
Fill Your Memoir or Autobiography with Life
BEGIN
Once you have done the exercise above and have found your starting point, you can begin to write. Speak from your heart as much as possible as this will put life into the facts. A string of facts are seldom of interest to anyone, even family members. It is how you felt, thought and reacted to the events that others will find irresistible. The facts will be told in the process. - 4
Keep a Notebook Handy for Memories
A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME
Writing an autobiography or memoir takes time and patience. You may wish to follow a chronological order or you may prefer to just write as things come to you. Either way it will take time and an evolution of your writing to create a finished product. The process of writing will help you decide what to keep and what to eliminate. New things will come to mind that are more interesting than something you may have thought of on the first day. Thematic threads will also appear as writing is a creative process that often has a mind of its own!
Keep a notebook and pen handy at all times. As you begin to write and think about your past, new memories are apt to arise at times when you least expect them. You want to be able to write them down and save them to consider for inclusion in your autobiography or memoir. - 5
Edit Autobiography or Memoir
EDITING
The approach you choose to write your autobiography or memoir will determine the nature of the editing process. If have written a free form autobiography or memoir you will want to carefully edit it for duplicate content, inconsistencies and filter out those things that turn out to be not as interesting as you once thought. You may also find that a theme has developed and a few stray memories no longer fit.
If it has turned out to be too long, now is the time to fine tune the content. If it is too short, you may wish to go back and embellish and add details.
Finally, when you have done all you can turn it over to a professional editor and ask them for an evaluation or final editing. If you have one or two other people who you trust to be objective, ask them if they would give you some feedback. It is very hard to be objective when you write your first or only autobiography or memoir. - 6). RE-WRITE
Most good writing requires writing and re-writing, often multiple times. Take criticism as a means of personal growth and the development of the craft of writing. Use your friend's or editor's suggestions to make your writing better. After all you do want your readers to enjoy and understand your life story the way you do.
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