How to Write Your Autobiography or Memoir

Writing your autobiography or memoir is a great way to preserve your history for the future generations of your family. We all have something of interest to pass on – even if it’s a list of what not to do with your life!

So, how do you start writing your autobiography or memoir? The tips below will help you start and maintain your writing habit.

Tip 1: Remember that an autobiography or memoir is not just about the big events in your life. Of course, they will feature heavily in your story, but it’s the everyday, little details that intrigue readers – even your own family. For example, why not tell people about the special sauce Dad always made for the family Christmas dinner and maybe include the recipe too.

Tip 2: Brainstorm! A good way to get down all those bits and pieces is to brainstorm. Take a large sheet of paper and write your name in the middle. Then note down in separate bubbles all the significant events you can recall, for example your graduation, passing your driving test, first baby, first grandchild, moving overseas etc. Next, do the same again, but this time note down all the quirky, unusual or downright strange things you and your family do. For example, your partner loves to whistle ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain’ while he’s washing up; Grandma’s lemon and lime biscuits are the kid’s favourite biscuits; each morning you have to check the bird feeder is full before leaving for work and so on.

Tip. 3: Work like a journalist. Once you have all the details down, you can start to sort through them and flesh out the bare bones of the story. You can do this by asking the following questions of each event you’d like to include: When – when did the event take place? Where – what was the location? Why – why did it happen? What – what actually happened, what caused it to happen? How – how did these event occur? Who – who was involved in the event?

Tip 4: Don’t feel like it is obligatory for you to start writing your story at your birth. It’s your book, so you can start it wherever you like. If you’d only like to start from the point where you left school, then that’s what you should do. Likewise, if you feel that an event from a long time ago affected your path in life, it’s fine to start before you were born.

Tip 5: Think of your book like a novel. This will help you to see the people in your story more like characters, who need to be fleshed out and made real by your description of them. No one will understand just how eccentric Great Aunty Dot was unless you show her eccentricity through your description of her strange ways. Thinking of your memoir as a novel will also help you realise that you’ll need to have some conflict in your writing.

Although it’s lovely to think you can just write down all the great stuff that’s happened in your life – it’ll not make very good reading. All good stories have conflict. But, that doesn’t have to mean external conflict, such as a family argument. It could be an internal conflict, for example whether you should take the job you’ve just been offered in the USA, or stay in the UK to look after your elderly mother!

Tip 6: Make sure you use your senses. This means adding in how things feel, taste, sound and smell. Adding in this kind of detail really transports the reader into your world. So, for example, you’re writing about your first day in a new job: what did the office look like, were there any weird smells, was it noisy or really quiet?

Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to getting that autobiography or memoir down on paper for all to read. However, if you feel you need further help why not check out our Writing your Memoirs and Family History course. It’ll teach you all you need to know about putting your story together.