3 Tips for Writing Your Life Story

Contributed by Patrick McNulty

Ready to write the story of your life?

There’s an old saying that everyone has a book in them. When it comes to autobiographies or memoirs, that’s definitely the case!

Writing a life story allows you to do more than just leave a legacy. You can also inspire and guide others with your words. The best life stories really impact the people that read them. They can cause profound and lasting change.

Before you get down to writing your life story  make sure you’ve taken the time to prepare properly.

After all, you only get one life. Why not tell its story well?
These three tips will help you make your life story writing experience as positive as possible.

Choose Between Autobiography Or Memoir

Often, the terms autobiography and memoir are used interchangeably. However, there’s a difference between them.

An autobiography covers the complete chronology of a person’s life, while a memoir focuses on a particular part.

To illustrate this, let's consider a chef preparing to write his life story. If he wanted to include stories from childhood all the way through to his adult cooking career, he would write an autobiography. If he wanted to focus on a time where they ran their own restaurant, they would write a focused memoir.

For many people, writing a memoir is the best choice. Why? It cuts to the chase. Most people have a somewhat predictable upbringing. Why not skip it, and get to the good stuff?

No matter which type of life story you choose to write, keep it honest, gripping, and impactful. This will keep your readers enthralled until the last page. 

Transport Yourself Back In Time

You know the feeling when you come across an old photo or hear a song that transports you back to a particular time in your life?

When writing your life story, you want to trigger as many rich memories as possible.

Your five senses are powerful helpers here. What type of music were you listening to at a particular time in your life? What kind of clothing did you wear?

Old photos, diaries, and conversations with longtime friends can help. Often, over time, our memories become a little foggy. Bring them into focus the best way you can.

If you feel comfortable doing so, consider including some personal photos or other items within the pages of your life story. This adds a level of intimacy for your reader which wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

Make Your Readers Feel Something Strong

To make your life story as effective as possible, you need to share your total truth, without holding back.

Glossy, halfhearted tales won't keep readers interested, at all. You need to be vulnerable and put it all out there.

Think back to the best autobiography or memoir you’ve ever read. You probably felt joy at the author’s successes, and despair during their nadirs.

The key to doing this effectively is to strike a golden mean between too much and too little emotion.

Too little emotion runs the risk of boring your readers, while too much can come across as melodramatic and inauthentic.

Solicit feedback on your early drafts to finetune the emotional potency of your life story. Getting this right is perhaps the main determinant of its impact.

Above all, make your life story exactly as you want it to be. Feel free to break every suggestion on this page.

In the words of Thomas M. Cirignano - “Each of us is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person explained.”

Are you ready to explain yourself?

About the Author

Patrick is a writer and aspiring novelist. He's originally from London but travels around Europe. When not at his keyboard working on dystopian fiction, he can be found at the local coffee establishment, enjoying an iced Americano and a novel.


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The Work of Editing

So you have probably all seen the images showing how much time is spent actually writing. Sad but true, that even when we, as writers are working at our best capacity, we still find ways to be distracted. 

I work in an office that is almost exclusively used for my writing, yet, still I find myself moving containers, getting my tea where it is handy, straightening books, etc. Moving, organizing, and preparing are as much a part of the writing process as actually putting my fingers on the keyboard. 

Of course, I must do a bit of thinking - although sometimes this is done well before I make my way to the studio to work. It is done in a bathtub, hammock or even in bed. Sometimes while walking, doing dishes or making beds. 

Finally, I get words onto the screen.

All too soon, the creative process is over and its time to edit. And that part of the process is exhausting - both in time and intensity of work.

Recently, I was asked to edit an autobiography. The original had been published in Guatemala and now the author was prepared to publish in the U.S. She had searched for an editor, someone who would edit lightly so as to leave her voice. I apparently made the cut and was trusted with the work. 

Editing a piece of writing that is being translated is in itself interesting. Verbs are generally inconsistent due to tense issues. Present and past tense met and merged throughout the document and had to be fixed. As she had requested, I was mindful in my editing to her voice as a native Guatemalan. One thing I found immediately, editing lightly allowed me to be less ruthless than I am generally with my own work, especially with word choice and in particular regarding verbs.  

Another challenge was homonyms. These were varied and kept me on my toes. I was also made mindful of cultural differences in how individuals referenced each other. 

As I worked to finished the initial portion of the project, I gave much thought to the amount of time, but also to the final product. Editing is a must, but with this project there was no need to agonize for word choice.

I came to realize that the editing process is really made up of several different evaluations.

1. General grammar:

    Checking for correct spelling, capitalization, and sentence structure.

2. Format:

    Line spacing, font and size type

3. Story or plot line:

    Does the story flow? Does it keep the reader's attention?

4. Word choice

    Strengthening verbs or other descriptions, reviewing metaphors and similes. 

Editing is in itself an effort of love, a love of the process. 

__________________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Serieswas written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole, and Perception.The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

Why Write a Memoir?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably have said to yourself, over and over, “I’d really like to write, but…” OR “Someday, I’m going to write…”

I think that writing down your family history is one of the most important things you could ever do. We all know friends or even family members who have always told such fascinating stories, but nobody ever wrote them down, so when they pass on, the stories are gone forever. Sometimes it’s just because, when you’re young, you think “Oh, there goes Grandpa, telling that old story again…” And you fail to realize the importance of it.

Many times I looked at the old photo albums my dad had that my grandmother had put together, but never thought about how important that era was, or how important it might be to me, and how I turned out as a human being. But one little tidbit did stick in my mind all those years—and that was the fact that back in the 1920s in Montana, my tiny grandma—about 5’2 and maybe all of 102 pounds—had ridden steers in rodeos. I couldn’t get it out of my head. That certainly was not something I ever aspired to do—even as big as I am!

So, I started to delve into her life story. And I have found it utterly fascinating. I chose to write it as a novel, but there is so much fact in it, so much from my grandparents’ and my dad’s life. This has resulted in three novels and a non-fiction book about old-time cowgirls in Montana. And in the process, my dad started writing down some of his memories of growing up.

You must have some of those stories floating around. Whether you write them down—just notes or a timeline or a regular story—or if you tell them to another person or into a recorder, I encourage you to do it. Don’t let your family history be lost.

Definitions:
A memoir puts a frame onto life by limiting what is included. It may be a particular period in your life, for example, your childhood, your adolescence, or your fabulous fifties.

An autobiography covers an entire life from birth to the present.

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A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in North-central Arizona. Her first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, and the sequel, Follow the Dream, won the national WILLA Award. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing and edits, blogs, and is working on the next books in her “Dare to Dream” series.