Autobiography writing is a little like novel writing. It’s telling a story to your audience. The difference is, you’re telling your story with an autobiography, not a fictional one. A well-researched, documented story of your life unfolds between the pages of an autobiography. You’re the one telling the story of your life.
You don’t necessarily have to be famous or have done something spectacular to write an autobiography. Maybe you just enjoy writing and want to tell the story of your life. Or perhaps you have something interesting in your background that you want to share with others. Do you want to leave something for future generations of your family to remember you by? Or you want to document how you felt through historical events. Perhaps you did do something you wish to share with others in order to inspire them. These are all valid reasons to write an autobiography.
Whatever your reason for wanting to write an autobiography, here are some tips on writing your autobiography.
Read:
Before you start writing, get to reading first. You want to become intimately familiar with the genre of the autobiography. The best way to learn how to write is by reading. Read the greats – Benjamin Franklin, Maya Angelou, and Nelson Mandela are just some of the authors who wrote amazing autobiographies that are still read today. Study their work to get a feel for what you’ll be getting yourself into.
You can also find examples of autobiographies from any walks of life. Choose someone who inspires you and read their autobiography if they’ve written one. Pick a sports figure or actor or anyone else you deem worthy and read their autobiography. Read as many as you can to familiarize yourself with different styles of writing. This will help you on your own writing journey.
Audience:
Who are you writing for? Do you intend on publishing your autobiography or are you writing it just for your family? Yes, this matters. It will determine your choice of words and how much detail you put into your story. Family won’t require as much detail as the general public, for instance. You may include more anecdotes and personal information for family than you may want to when writing for the public. Use more detail when creating setting and background for the public. They won’t have family to fill in the gaps for them.
Theme:
Develop a central concept that runs through your story. An idea, a belief that runs throughout the entire story. It will bring your story together and help tie in events that happen. Rags to riches, love overcoming all odds, staying strong in the face of adversity are some of the central themes to some autobiographies written.
Memories:
Bring your memories back to life by looking through pictures and talking to people who have lived with you. You may remember things you’ve long since forgotten. You may also realize that old memories take on new meanings now. Look through diaries and letters, even emails. They can all be significant clues to the life that you’ve lived. Use all your five senses in your written descriptions to bring your memories to life for your readers.
Organize:
You don’t have to begin your story with your birth, but you have to start somewhere. Determine where that somewhere is going to be. Then decide if you want to write chronologically, according to theme, or some other means. This is where reading will come in handy. The different styles will prove handy now. An outline will help, so will having somewhere to write down things that pop into your head that don’t belong in your story just yet. Some writers keep index cards while others keep journals. Do whatever suits you best.
Focus:
Set aside a certain time of day when you won’t be interrupted to do your work. Some writers prefer the wee hours of the morning, while others work best late at night. Choose whatever works best with your schedule. It also helps to have your own working space. An office or even a little nook set aside just for you will do the trick. Decorate it with photos and other memorabilia to remind you of your task.
Interest:
You have to keep your work interesting. Once you’ve finished a particular section, go back and reread it out loud. Does it sound structurally sound to you? Is it interesting to follow? Does it move smoothly from one scene to the next? Don’t use sentences that are too wordy or words that are unfamiliar to most readers. This will slow down the reading process.
Writing Tools:
Don’t be afraid to use writing tools if you get stuck. These are not just the dictionary and thesaurus. There are autobiography templates online and in books that ask questions that will help you move your story along.
Edit:
Don’t forget to edit for grammar, spelling, and content. Have your friends and family do this too. Having more than one set of eyes on your work is indispensable.
Whatever your reason for wanting to write an autobiography, keep these tips in mind. Now all that’s left to do is start writing.
Author BIO: Rajat Chakraborty has been a content writer and marketer for last 8 years. He suggests his clients working and effective content strategies that can grow traffic massively. Other than this, he has been a successful Amazon affiliate marketer for last 4 years and owns 5 Amazon niche websites. He runs a company named SEOPAGE1 which has a few sister concerns including Killercontentwriters.com. He can be reached at: Rajat07me@gmail.com.