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How To Write an Autobiography 2024 (Tips, Templates, & Guide)
Your life story has value, merit, and significance. You want to share it with the world, but maybe you don’t know how .
Here’s how to write an autobiography:
Write an autobiography by creating a list of the most important moments, people, and places in your life. Gather photos, videos, letters, and notes about these experiences. Then, use an outline, templates, sentence starters, and questions to help you write your autobiography .
In this article, you are going to learn the fastest method for writing your autobiography.
We are going to cover everything you need to know with examples and a free, downloadable, done-for-you template.
What Is an Autobiography?
![how to write autobiography in english Typewriter, lightbulb, and crumpled paper - How To Write an Autobiography](https://www.writingbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Typewriter-lightbulb-and-crumpled-paper-How-To-Write-an-Autobiography.png)
Table of Contents
Before you can write an autobiography, you must first know the definition.
An autobiography is the story of your life, written by you. It covers the full span of your life (at least, up until now), hitting on the most significant moments, people and events.
When you write your autobiography, you write an intimate account of your life.
What Should I Include In an Autobiography?
If you are scratching your head, baffled about what to include in your autobiography, you are not alone.
After all, a big part of how to write an autobiography is knowing what to put in and what to leave out of your life story. Do you focus on every detail?
Every person? Won’t your autobiography be too long?
A good way to think about how to write an autobiography is to use the Movie Trailer Method.
What do movie trailers include?
- High emotional moments
- The big events
- The most important characters
When you plan, organize, and write your autobiography, keep the Movie Trailer Method in mind. You can even watch a bunch of free movie trailers on YouTube for examples of how to write an autobiography using the Movie Trailer Method.
When wondering what to include in your autobiography, focus on what would make the cut for a movie trailer of your life:
- Most important people (like family, friends, mentors, coaches, etc.)
- Significant events (like your origin story, vacations, graduations, life turning points, life lessons)
- Emotional moments (When you were homeless, when you battled a life-threatening condition, or when you fell in love)
- Drama or suspense (Did you make it into Harvard? Did your first surgery go well? Did your baby survive?)
Autobiography Structure Secrets
Like any compelling story, a well-structured autobiography often follows a pattern that creates a logical flow and captures readers’ attention.
Traditionally, autobiographies begin with early memories, detailing the writer’s childhood, family background, and the events or people that shaped their formative years.
From here, the narrative typically progresses chronologically, covering major life events like schooling, friendships, challenges, achievements, career milestones, and personal relationships.
It’s essential to weave these events with introspective insights.
This allows readers to understand not just the what, but also the why behind the author’s choices and experiences.
Towards the end, an effective autobiography often includes reflections on lessons learned, changes in perspective over time, and the wisdom acquired along life’s journey.
Example of the Structure:
- Introduction: A gripping event or anecdote that gives readers a hint of what to expect. It could be a pivotal moment or challenge that defines the essence of the story.
- Childhood and Early Memories: Recounting family dynamics, birthplace, cultural background, and memorable incidents from early years.
- Adolescence and Discovering Identity: Experiences during teenage years, challenges faced, friendships formed, and personal evolutions.
- Pursuits and Passions: Describing education, early career choices, or any particular hobby or skill that played a significant role in the author’s life.
- Major Life Events and Challenges: Chronicles of marriage, parenthood, career shifts, or any significant setbacks and how they were overcome.
- Achievements and Milestones: Celebrating major accomplishments and recounting the journey to achieving them.
- Reflections and Wisdom: Sharing life lessons, changes in beliefs or values over time, and offering insights gained from lived experiences.
- Conclusion: Summarizing the journey, contemplating on the present state, and sharing hopes or aspirations for the future.
How To Write an Autobiography Quickly: Strategies & Templates
Want the quickest way to organize and write your autobiography in record time? You can literally write your autobiography in 7 days or less with this method.
The secret is to use done-for-you templates.
I have personally designed and collected a series of templates to take you from a blank page to a fully complete Autobiography. I call this the How to Write an Autobiography Blueprint.
And it’s completely free to download right from this article. 🙂
In the How to Write an Autobiography Blueprint, you get:
- The Autobiography Questions Template
- The Autobiography Brainstorm Templates
- The Autobiography Outline Template
Here is an image of it so that you know exactly what you get when you download it:
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Blueprint](https://www.writingbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Autobiography-Blueprint-1-724x1024.png)
How To Write an Autobiography: Step-by-Step
When you sit down to write an autobiography, it’s helpful to have a step-by-step blueprint to follow.
You already have the done-for-you templates that you can use to organize and write an autobiography faster than ever before. Now here’s a complete step-by-step guide on how to maximize your template.
- Brainstorm Ideas
- Order your sections (from medium to high interest)
- Order the ideas in each section (from medium to high interest)
- Write three questions to answer in each section
- Choose a starter sentence
- Complete a title template
- Write each section of your by completing the starter sentence and answering all three questions
Brainstorm Your Autobiography
The first step in writing your autobiography is to brainstorm.
Give yourself time and space to write down the most significant people, events, lessons, and experiences in your life. The templates in the How to Write an Autobiography Blueprint provide sections for you to write down your brainstormed ideas.
![how to write autobiography in english How to Brainstorm Your Autobiography](https://www.writingbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1-724x1024.png)
This will help you organize your ideas into what will become the major sections of your book.
These will be:
- Y our most significant events and experiences.
- The people who impacted you the most.
- The challenges you have overcome.
- Your achievements and successes.
- The lessons you have learned.
The “other” sections on the second page of the Brainstorm template is for creating your own sections or to give you more space for the sections I provided in case you run out of space.
As I brainstorm, I find asking myself specific questions really activates my imagination.
So I have compiled a list of compelling questions to help you get ideas down on paper or on your screen.
![how to write autobiography in english How to Write an Autobiography: Top 10 Questions](https://www.writingbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/How-to-Write-an-Autobiography_-Top-10-Questions-576x1024.png)
Order Your Sections (From Medium to High Interest)
The next step is to order your main sections.
The main sections are the five (or more) sections from your Brainstorm templates (Significant events, significant people, life lessons, challenges, successes, other, etc). This order will become the outline and chapters for your book.
How do you decide what comes first, second or third?
I recommend placing the sections in order of interest. Ask yourself, “What’s the most fascinating part of my life?”
If it’s a person, then write the name of that section (Significant People) on the last line in the How to Write an Autobiography Outline Template. If it’s an experience, place the name of that section (Significant Events) on the last line.
For example, if you met the Pope, you might want to end with that nugget from your life. If you spent three weeks lost at sea and survived on a desert island by spearfishing, that is your ending point.
Then complete the Outline by placing the remaining sections in order of interest. You can work your way backward from high interest to medium interest.
If you are wondering why I say “medium to high interest” instead of “low to high interest” it is because there should be no “low interest” parts of your autobiography.
But wait, what if you met the Pope AND spent three weeks lost at sea? How do you choose which one comes first or last?
First of all, I want to read this book! Second, when in doubt, default to chronological order. Whatever event happened first, start there.
Here is an example of how it might look:
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Example](https://www.writingbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Autobiography-Example--724x1024.png)
Order The Ideas in Each Section (From Medium To High Interest)
Now, organize the ideas inside of each section. Again, order the ideas from medium to high interest).
Within your “Significant People” section, decide who you want to talk about first, second, third, etc. You can organize by chronological order (who you met first) but I recommend building to the most interesting or most significant person.
This creates a more compelling read.
Keep in mind that the most significant person might not be the most well-known, most famous, or most popular. The most significant person might be your family member, friend, partner, or child.
It comes down to who shaped your life the most.
So, if your “significant people list” includes your dad, a famous social media influencer, and Mike Tyson, your dad might come last because he had the biggest significance in your life.
Write Three Questions to Answer in Each Section
Ok, you’ve done the heavy lifting already. You have the major sections organized and outlined.
Next on your autobiography to-do list is to choose and write down three questions you are going to answer in each section. You can write your questions down in the provided “boxes” for each section on the template outline (or on another piece of paper.
This is easier than it might seem.
Simply choose one of the sample autobiography questions below or create your own:
- Why did I choose this person/event?
- What does this person/event mean to me?
- How did I meet this person?
- Where did it happen?
- When did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
- How did it happen?
- What is the most interesting part?
- How did I feel about this person or event?
- How do I feel now?
- Why does this person or event matters to me?
- How did this person or event change my life?
- What is the most challenging part?
- How did I fail?
- How did I succeed?
- What did I learn?
Questions are the perfect way to write quickly and clearly. I LOVE writing to questions. It’s how I write these blog posts and articles.
Choose a Starter Sentence
Sometimes the hardest part of any project is knowing how to start.
Even though we know we can always go back and edit our beginnings, so many of us become paralyzed with indecision at the starting gate.
That’s why I provided sample starter sentences in your How to Write an Autobiography Blueprint.
Here are the story starters:
- I began writing this book when…
- Of all the experiences in my life, this one was the most…
- I’ve been a…
- My name is…
- Growing up in…
- It wasn’t even a…
- It all started when…
- I first…
- I was born…
Keep in mind that you do not need to begin your book with one of these story starters. I provide them simply to get you going.
The key is to not get bogged down in this, or any, part of writing your autobiography. Get organized and then get writing.
Complete a Title Template
At the top of the How to Write an Autobiography Outline is a place for you to write your book title.
Some authors struggle forever with a title. And that’s ok. What’s not ok is getting stuck. What’s not ok is if coming up with your title prevents you from finishing your book.
So, I provided a few title templates to help juice your creativity.
Just like the story starters, you do not need to use these title templates, but you certainly can. All you need to do is fill in the title templates below and then write your favorite one (for now) at the top of your outline. Presto! You have your working title.
You can always go back and change it later.
How to Write an Autobiography Title templates:
- [Your Name]: [Phrase or Tag Line]
- The [Your Last Name] Files
- Born [Activity]: A [Career]’s Life
- The Perfect [Noun]: The Remarkable Life of [Your Name]
Examples using the Templates:
- Christopher Kokoski: Blog Until You Drop
- The Kokoski Files
- Born Writing: A Blogger’s Life
- The Perfect Freelancer: The Remarkable Life of Christopher Kokoski
Write Your Autobiography
You have your outline. You have your title, templates, and sentence starters. All that is left to do is write your autobiography.
However, you can use tools like Jasper AI and a few other cool tricks to craft the most riveting book possible.
This is the easy way to remarkable writing.
Check out this short video that goes over the basics of how to write an autobiography:
How To Write an Autobiography (All the Best Tips)
Now that you are poised and ready to dash out your first draft, keep the following pro tips in mind:
- Be vulnerable. The best autobiographies share flaws, faults, foibles, and faux pas. Let readers in on the real you.
- Skip the boring parts. There is no need to detail every meal, car ride, or a gripping trip to the grocery store. Unless you ran into the Russian Mafia near the vegetables or the grocery store is perched on the side of a mountain above the jungles of Brazil.
- Keep your autobiography character-driven . This is the story of YOU!
- Be kind to others (or don’t). When writing about others in your story, keep in mind that there may be fallout or backlash from your book.
- Consider a theme: Many autobiographies are organized by theme. A perfect example is Becoming . Each section of the book includes “becoming” in the title. Themes connect and elevate each part of the autobiography.
- Write your story in vignettes (or scenes). Each vignette is a mini-story with a beginning, middle, and end. Each vignette builds. Each vignette should be described in rich sensory language that shows the reader the experience instead of telling the reader about the experience. Each vignette is immersive, immediate, and intimate.
- Include snippets of dialogue. Use quotation marks just like in fiction. Show the dialogue in brief back-and-forth tennis matches of conversation. Remember to leave the boring parts out!
- Choose a consistent tone. Some autobiographies are funny like Bossy Pants by Tina Fey. Others are serious such as Open by Andre Agassi. Your story (like most stories) will likely include a mix of emotions but choose an overall tone and stick with it.
- Don’t chronicle, captivate . Always think about how to make each section, each chapter, each page, each paragraph, and each sentence more compelling. You want to tell the truth, but HOW you tell the truth is up to you. Create suspense, conflict, and mystery. Let drama linger until it becomes uncomfortable. Don’t solve problems quickly or take away tension right away.
How Do I Format an Autobiography?
Most autobiographies are written in the first person (using the pronouns I, me, we, and us).
Your autobiography is written about you so write as yourself instead of pretending to be writing about someone else.
Most autobiographies are also written in chronological order, from birth right up to your current age, with all the boring parts left out. That doesn’t mean you can’t play around with the timeline.
Sometimes it’s more interesting to start at a high moment, backtrack to the beginning and show how you got to that high moment.
Whatever format you choose, be intentional, and make the choice based on making the most compelling experience possible for your readers.
How Long Should an Autobiography Be?
There are no rules to how long an autobiography should be but a rough guideline is to aim for between 200 and 400 pages.
This will keep your book in line with what most readers expect for books in general, and will help get your book traditionally published or help with marketing your self-published book.
How To Write a Short Autobiography
You write a short autobiography the same way that you write a long autobiography.
You simply leave more out of the story.
You cut everything down to the bones. Or you choose a slice of your life as you do in a memoir. This often means limiting the people in your book, reducing the events and experiences, and shrinking your story to a few pivotal moments in your life.
How To Start an Autobiography
The truth is that you can start your autobiography in any number of ways.
Here are four common ways to begin an autobiography.
- Start at the beginning (of your life, career or relationship, etc.)
- Start at a high moment of drama or interest.
- Start at the end of the story and work backward
- Start with why you wrote the book.
Good Autobiography Titles
If you are still stuck on titling your autobiography, consider going to Amazon to browse published works. You can even just Google “autobiographies.”
When you read the titles of 10, 20, or 50 other autobiographies, you will start to see patterns or get ideas for your own titles. (HINT: the title templates in the Autobiography Blueprint were reverse-engineered from popular published books.
Also, check out the titles of the full autobiography examples below that I have included right here in this article.
Types of Autobiographies
There are several different kinds of autobiographies.
Each one requires a similar but slightly nuanced approach to write effectively. The lessons in this article will serve as a great starting point.
Autobiography Types:
- Autobiography for School
- Autobiography Novel
- Autobiography for a Job
- Short Autobiography
- Autobiography for Kids
Therefore, there is actually not just one way to write an autobiography.
Memoir vs. Autobiography: Are They The Same?
It’s common to feel confused about a memoir and an autobiography. I used to think they were the same thing.
But, nope, they’re not.
They are pretty similar, which is the reason for all the confusion. A memoir is the story of one part of your life. An autobiography is the story of your full life (up until now).
What Is the Difference Between an Autobiography and a Biography?
An autobiography is when you write about your own life. A biography, on the other hand, is when you write the story of someone else’s life.
So, if I write a book about the life of the President, that’s a biography.
If the President writes a story about his or her own life, that’s an autobiography.
What Not To Include In an Autobiography
Autobiographies are meant to be a snapshot of our lives that we can share with others, but there are some things that are best left out.
Here are three things you should avoid including in your autobiography:
1) Anything That Readers Will Skip
Your life may not be filled with non-stop excitement, but that doesn’t mean you need to include every mundane detail in your autobiography.
Stick to the highlights and leave out the low points.
2) Character Attacks on Others
It’s okay to discuss conflicts you’ve had with others, but don’t use your autobiography as a platform to attack someone’s character.
Keep it civil and focus on your own experiences and how they’ve affected you.
3) Skipping Highlights
Just because something embarrassing or painful happened to you doesn’t mean you should gloss over it in your autobiography.
These are the moments that shape us and make us who we are today, so don’t skip past them just because they’re uncomfortable.
By following these simple tips, you can ensure that your autobiography is interesting, honest, and engaging.
How To Write an Autobiography: Autobiography Examples
I have always found examples to be extremely instructive. Especially complete examples of finished products. In this case, books.
Below you will find examples of published autobiographies for adults and for kids. These examples will guide you, motivate you and inspire you to complete your own life story.
They are listed here as examples, not as endorsements, although I think they are all very good.
The point is that you don’t have to agree with anything written in the books to learn from them.
Autobiography Examples for Adults
- A Promised Land (Autobiography of Barack Obama)
- If You Ask Me: (And of Course You Won’t) (Betty White)
- It’s a Long Story: My Life (Willie Nelson)
- Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography (Rob Lowe)
- Becoming (Michelle Obama)
Autobiography Examples for Kids
- This Kid Can Fly: It’s About Ability (NOT Disability) (Aaron Philips)
- Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid (Mikaila Ulmer)
Tools to Write Your Autobiography
Here are some recommended tools to help you write your autobiography:
Recommended Tools | Learn More |
---|---|
Jasper AI | |
Show Not Tell GPT | |
Dragon Professional Speech Dictation and Voice Recognition | |
Surface Laptop | |
Bluehost | |
Sqribble (eBook maker) |
Final Thoughts: How To Write An Autobiography
Thank you for reading my article on How to Write an Autobiography.
Now that you know all of the secrets to write your book, you may want to get it published, market it, and continue to upskill yourself as an author.
In that case, read these posts next:
- Can Anyone Write A Book And Get It Published?
- The Best Writing Books For Beginners 2022 (My 10 Favorites)
- Why Do Writers Hate Adverbs? (The Final Answer)
- How To Write a Manifesto: 20 Ultimate Game-Changing Tips
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Blog • Perfecting your Craft
Posted on Jun 05, 2024
How to Write an Autobiography: The Story of Your Life
About the author.
Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.
About Savannah Cordova
Savannah is a senior editor with Reedsy and a published writer whose work has appeared on Slate, Kirkus, and BookTrib. Her short fiction has appeared in the Owl Canyon Press anthology, "No Bars and a Dead Battery".
Anyone who’s lived a long, interesting life (as many of us have in one way or another!) may dream of someday turning their life into a book. However, the practicalities of how to write an autobiography can be daunting — especially to those who don’t have much writing experience.
If you feel ready to write your autobiography but aren’t sure where to start, this guide will take you from opening lines to (hopefully) publishing your autobiography for all the world to read.
1. Understand what an autobiography entails
When asked to picture an autobiography, you might think of a celebrity tell-all or political memoir. This isn’t inaccurate ; a memoir would definitely fall under the autobiography umbrella. But to be really precise, there are a few key differences between memoirs and autobiographies:
- Memoirs tend to be more thematic and focus on a central narrative (similar to a novel), whereas an autobiography is highly factual and reads more like “classic” nonfiction.
- Memoirs focus on a specific period or theme in a person’s life, while autobiographies aim to give a complete, chronological picture.
- Lastly, many memoirs are written while the writer is still young. An autobiography, though, should be written later in one’s life — at a point where one’s life story can be told comprehensively.
An autobiography is also different from a biography in that it is always narrated by the subject. Note that we’ve said “narrated” instead of “written” because, indeed, many autobiographies are created with the help of ghostwriters!
Ghostwritten autobiographies aren’t just for celebrities, either. People from all walks of life work with ghostwriters to record their stories or simply guide them through the process.
If that sounds like you, have a look through our vetted ghostwriters on the Reedsy marketplace . You might just find your dream collaborator!
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MEET GHOSTWRITERS
Find a ghost you can trust
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Should you write a memoir or an autobiography?
In other words, if you’re still young (be honest here!), and/or if the book you want to write is more a series of vignettes revolving around a central theme, you may have a memoir on your hands. If that’s the case, check out our guide to how to write a memoir for more tailored advice.
But if you’ve already lived a long, interesting life — one that you feel prepared to share chronologically and completely — then an autobiography is the medium for you.
2. Outline your life's main “beats”
You might think you don’t need to be too picky about what to include in your autobiography since it’s supposed to be a “complete” account — and you’d be mostly right! That said, even in a fairly exhaustive autobiography, it’s still useful to identify the key “beats” before you begin.
What should you include in an autobiography?
While each person’s autobiography will be unique to them, readers expect certain “beats” to be covered. To get the ball rolling, here’s a list of classic autobiographical beats to hit:
- 🐣 Your birth and family background – possibly including how your parents met, where they were living at the time of your birth, whether you have any siblings, etc.
- 📚 Your early days at school – including the friends you made (whether long-lasting or not), your academic achievements (and failures), and any critical moments related to your future goals/actions.
- 🧑🏽💻 Your first job – this is often enlightening for readers, particularly if it had some bearing on your later career; whether because you realized that you loved the work or, more likely, that you didn’t want to work your first job forever.
- 👩❤️💋👩 Your first relationship – similar to your first job, this is often a major stepping stone into adulthood and understanding your priorities.
- Moving house;
- Having children;
- Getting promoted;
- Receiving an award;
- Traveling somewhere new;
- Or discovering anything significant about yourself.
- 💼 Your retirement – if applicable, this will likely be one of the last beats you cover; it might include why you decided to retire, how you are spending your time nowadays, and any plans for the future.
Remember that each beat you include should contribute to a holistic portrait of your life — whether it’s something that shaped your character or lends context to another parallel moment later on.
But not everything will be relevant. There’s no need to include random things that have no bearing on any other event or important element of your life; that said, the lucky thing about memory is that you likely won’t recall most of those things anyway!
Need some help outlining your autobiography? Check out our Biography Outline Template below — while not entirely chronological, it’s a great starting point for any aspiring autobiographical author.
![how to write autobiography in english FREE RESOURCE](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/content_upgrade/125/large_7168e385a9bc874ed1865ca686b3f534.webp)
FREE RESOURCE
Biography Outline Template
Craft a satisfying story arc for your biography with our free template.
3. Try to write in chronological order
Having come up with a solid outline, you should now feel (somewhat) prepared to start writing your autobiography… and, ideally, to start writing it in chronological order.
While many books can be drafted non-chronologically, an autobiography is not one of them. This is because each new chapter quite literally builds on the last; this is different even from a memoir, which often skips around in time and leaves out details. The best way to ensure you’re not missing anything is to write your autobiography as chronologically as possible!
How to start an autobiography
On the note of starting your autobiography, it’s pretty straightforward: begin either with your birth or slightly before, e.g., with your parents. Unlike a memoir, which can start in medias res ( in the middle of the action ), an autobiography should start ab ovo , or “from the egg.”
This is one of the biggest benefits of writing chronologically: you always know where to start, and indeed, what should come next. Here are two strong autobiography openings to give a sense of how yours might sound:
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
When I was born, people in our village commiserated with my mother and nobody congratulated my father. I arrived at dawn as the last star blinked out… I was a girl in a land where rifles are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children.
Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca and William Novak:
Nicola Iacocca, my father, arrived in this country in 1902 at the age of twelve — poor, alone, and scared. He used to say the only thing he was sure of when he got here was that the world was round. And that was only because another Italian boy named Christopher Columbus had preceded him by 410 years, almost to the day.
Though each opening takes a different tack — Yousafzai’s autobiography begins with her actual birth, while Iacocca’s begins even earlier, with his father’s arrival in America — both serve as effective starts to their respective books and set the tone for what’s to come.
![how to write autobiography in english](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_I-Am-Malala-a00b25.webp)
4. Include plenty of detail
In case we haven’t drilled down on this enough, let’s reiterate once more: an autobiography should be a complete overview of your life from beginning to end. That means that as you get into properly writing it, you should include as much detail as you can remember.
Taking one of our previous suggested beats — “your first job” — as an example, here are a few questions you might ask yourself to recount your memories in more detail:
- How did you get your first job?
- What made you want to work there?
- What was the environment/atmosphere like — physically and emotionally?
- What was your greatest accomplishment at this job? Your greatest failure?
- What did you learn from working there? How did it affect your later career?
As you can probably tell from these questions, the natural corollary to the advice of “be detailed!” is to also be honest . Don’t shy away from your failures or regrets — an autobiography without mistakes is not an autobiography, but rather a puff piece.
![how to write autobiography in english Some of the cast of The Office](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_filmy-serial-ofis-the-office-a22e5b.webp)
Examples of strong biographical detail
For those wondering how to inject detail into their writing, here are two examples from great autobiographies that do exactly that. Each takes a different approach to engage readers — perhaps you can pick up some descriptive techniques to suit your own life story.
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
There was no natural light in my cell; a single bulb burned overhead twenty-four hours a day. I did not have a wristwatch and I often thought it was the middle of the night when it was only late afternoon. I had nothing to read, nothing to write on or with, no one to talk to [...] After a time in solitary, I relished the company even of the insects in my cell, and found myself on the verge of initiating conversations with a cockroach.
This passage’s evocative details — the single lightbulb, Mandela’s loss of his internal clock — convey the crushing loneliness of solitary confinement, yet also add levity with the bit about cockroaches.
This give-and-take style may be useful if you, too, are writing an autobiography which includes difficult or traumatic elements. Don’t shy away from the hard parts, but don’t let solemnity overpower your personality and voice!
Becoming by Michelle Obama
When you’re little, a piano can look like it has a thousand keys. You’re staring at an expanse of black and white that stretches farther than two small arms can reach. [...] The keys on Robbie’s piano had a subtle unevenness of color and shape, places where bits of ivory had broken off over time, leaving them looking like a set of bad teeth.
This passage uses sensory details and an intimate tone to draw readers in, describing not just how the piano looks, but how it feels to play. All this makes for a very compelling narrative style — almost like that of a novel. If you want your autobiography to flow this way, try reading more nonfiction in this style (indeed, many memoirs read quite similarly).
📚 Looking for more examples of brilliant biographical writing? Check out this list of The 30 Best Biographies of All Time to inspire you.
5. Do research to fill in the gaps
No matter how carefully you rack your brains, you won’t be able to recall every detail of your life. That’s where research comes in! Here are a couple of things you can do to learn more about yourself and your past.
Interview friends and family
While you’ve likely retained the core of each important life memory, some details will still elude you. For these, you might call on friends, family members, and anyone else who was in your life at the time — interviewing them should help flesh things out in your autobiography.
You might try a few different interview strategies, depending on what you’re hoping to achieve:
- Ask specific questions based on what you can’t remember/don’t know (e.g. “Whose wedding was that again?” or “Why did Dad quit that job in Pasadena?”);
- Ask your subject to recount everything they can about an event (e.g. “Tell me how you remember our high school graduation”); or
- Ask them if they have any key memories of you which they would like to talk about.
The first interview style will be the quickest, but the latter two might yield more interesting results. If you’re prioritizing thoroughness, we’d highly recommend calling up a few old friends or close family members, sitting down, and recording your interview for a few hours.
![how to write autobiography in english](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_Interview-065d53.webp)
Do “traditional" research if needed
Having written as much as you can, and interviewed other people to add their stories, you might still find yourself missing information. If applicable, this is where you could turn to “traditional” research — that is, looking up relevant records and documentation, or even taking a field trip or two to previous neighborhoods.
It’s up to you how far to go with this; just don’t go mad, and try to avoid any rabbit holes that tempt you to write an entirely new book. (Then again, that could always be your next project! Check out our post on how to write a nonfiction book to learn more.)
6. Give your draft a discerning edit
You’ve finally finished a detailed draft — congratulations! Even if you don’t do anything else with your autobiography, your friends and family will be wildly impressed, and your descendants will have a fascinatingly thorough record of your life.
But if you want to publish your autobiography — or even if you suspect it hasn’t turned out quite as expected — you’ll now need to enter the editing stage. There are a few different types of editing to consider for your autobiography, including:
- Structural editing to heighten the impact of your key beats;
- Line editing to improve the syntax, flow, and clarity of your sentences; and
- Fact-checking and proofreading to ensure your book doesn’t contain any errors.
Again, it’s up to you how extensively you want to edit your autobiography. If you’re doing it yourself, we’d suggest going top-to-bottom — first structural editing, then line editing, then proofreading — to avoid unnecessary work. ( Check out this post on how to self-edit your book for key tips!)
And if this all feels overwhelming, you can always work with a professional editor to get your autobiography in tip-top shape . Autobiography and memoir specialists can help turn your work into an Iacocca-worthy masterpiece.
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7. Format and publish your autobiography
Now comes the really fun part, if you so choose it — formatting and publishing your autobiography for everyone to read!
Biography fans out there will know that auto/biographies often contain a selection of personal photos within the text. If you’re envisioning this, it will require specialty formatting; you’ll either need to intersperse photos throughout the text or format your book with a “photo section” in the middle (the more common option).
![how to write autobiography in english how to write autobiography in english](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_mceclip0-af69ff.webp)
You can do this with free book formatting tools like Reedsy Studio . Or if you’re not confident in your formatting abilities, consider hiring a professional typesetter to help !
As for publishing, many autobiographers choose to self-publish their books to get them out as quickly as possible, and to have more control over the process. However, if you’re interested in selling your autobiography to a publisher — a reasonable option if you are a businessperson, and especially if you already have a decent following — we’d suggest this post on how to write a non-fiction query letter to get you started.
Whatever path you take, whether you decide to publish it or not, writing the story of your life is an incredibly enlightening endeavor. If you're interested in novels instead, check out this advice from NYT bestselling author Caroline Leavitt ! We hope this guide has helped you on your journey; indeed, as autobiographical writing teaches us, the journey really is the greatest reward.
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Home » Blog » How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps
How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps
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Table of contents.
If you’re thinking about writing an autobiography, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will be telling you all about how to write an autobiography – breaking it down and helping you along with the process.
1. What is an Autobiography?
So you want to know how to write an autobiography? First off, let’s start with what an autobiography is. Put simply, a biography is a book written about someone’s life. It includes all elements of their life, particularly featuring any significant events that took place.
The word ‘autobiography’ is made up of the two Greek words ‘autos’ and ‘bios’, meaning self and life. Put them together and you get a book that is a mix of who you are, and the life you have lived.
2. Memoir vs. Autobiography
Before you start any kind of writing process, it is important to know what kind of book it is you want to write. There is no way to know how to write an autobiography if you can’t distinguish the two. Memoirs and autobiographies are often plumped into the same genre because they are both about someone’s life.
But they are two genres of their own. So here’s the difference:
It’s pretty simple – if the book is about the person’s entire life – it’s an autobiography; if it’s about one or two events, themes, or memories within their life, it’s a memoir .
Knowing the difference will save you time and energy. It will also help you to shape and plan your book (if that’s your style).
You can always change your mind and switch genres, but at least you will know what you are doing and how both of them work. Whichever you choose will change a lot about your book – particularly the content you choose to include and the structure of the entire piece.
Memoir is the perfect platform to share your personal life experience, and you don’t have to share every other significant moment of your life. (A wise decision if only one really interesting thing has happened to you during your lifetime.)
Writing an autobiography is much different. While they both to do with the author’s life, biography is more to do with what happened throughout your life.
That means all significant events from birth ’till now.
If you set out to write a biography and it turns into a memoir, this is not a problem. The problem is when you don’t know what you’re doing at all. This leads to confusion in the writing process. And a lack of professionalism outside of it.
A great way to learn how to write an autobiography is to read. A lot. Reading other autobiographies will give you an idea of which direction to go in and how this genre is structured. It can also help you to develop your style and tone of voice, and to pinpoint which writing techniques you find most effective. All good tools to have in your writing toolbox.
Here are a few examples of autobiographies you might want to read:
- My Autobiography, Charlie Chaplin (1964)
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
- Long walk to freedom, Nelson Mandela
- The story of my experiments with truth, Mahatma Gandhi
- The story of my life, by Helen Keller
- The autobiography of Malcolm X, Alex Haley, Malcolm X
- An Autobiography, Agatha Christie (1965))
- The confessions of St. Augustine, Augustine of Hippo
- Scar tissue, Anthony Kiedis, Larry Sloman
- Open: An Autobiography, Andre Agassi
- Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
- Autobiography of a yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
4. When to Write an Autobiography
![how to write autobiography in english experienced vs. fresh writer](https://storage.googleapis.com/squibler-wordpress-public-bucket/1/2019/08/oldyoungpictureivetteyvens.png)
Experience and youth. Photograph by Ivette Ivens. Source: abcnews.go.com
Cellini (1500-1571) wrote one of the finest autobiographies of the Renaissance. He stated:
“No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem great achievements, if he cares for truth and goodness, ought to write the story of his own life in his own hand; but no one should venture on such a splendid undertaking before he is over forty.” Cellini
Knowing how to write an autobiography can have a lot to do with your life experiences. This fact brings into question the age of the reader.
Many biographies are written later on in life when experience has been gathered and there are many exciting moments to draw from. But this isn’t always the case.
If you are a younger writer and feel that your life has been sufficiently fantastic, or you feel a growing desire to get down all of the details of your childhood days, there is no rule that says you can’t. So don’t let others’ perceptions stop you.
Twenty-one-year-old Edouard Louis, for example, published a hugely successful fictional autobiography (aka an autofiction), The End of Eddy about his childhood and adolescence. So it is possible. Sorry Cellini.
That said, an older, more experienced writer may have an easier time writing an autobiography, simply because they have more material to draw from.
Like memoirs, autobiographies tend to center around a theme, even though you are including many life events. That is because people tend to also be themed, in a way. Want to know how to start an autobiography? Thinking about a theme can be a useful way in.
If you are a professional dancer, and that is the passion of your life, it makes sense that your book would also center around the theme of dancing and how you reached that success.
If you are ghostwriting for a celebrity, naturally they will be famous for something in particular.
The main theme, of course, is the person’s life. But that is not enough to sustain interest across time. So bear in mind a secondary theme that ties it all together.
If your theme or themes are relatable, then that will stand you in good stead. If you are not writing a glitzy celeb autobiography, then having a very relatable and original theme is more likely to find a readership than any other. Be careful not to choose and manufacture your theme, however. If you are meant to write an autobiography, you will likely already feel compelled to write about your life. So try not to put too much thought into it. Just keep it in mind, as it will keep you on track.
6. How to Pick a Theme
How to start an autobiography? One way is to pick a theme. And stick to it.
One way of picking a theme is to choose an aspect of your personality that you feel is awesome and make that your sole focus. Maybe you’re great at maths, for example. Perhaps you made it to the world championships in mathematics or something. That would be a story worth telling.
Another is to look at your philosophy in life and make that the focal point of your book. Showing your values throughout the book can inspire and uplift the reader as it can show a good example of a life well-lived. It also reveals quite clearly who you are as a person, without you having to explicitly spell it out.
A third would be to consider the things that are most important to you in your life and to make a reference to these as you work your way through each significant event mentioned in your book. (This works especially well if you are writing an autobiography for those who know you.)
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7. Exceptions
You might also want to know how to write an autobiography because you want to share your story with your family. This is an admirable reason to write a story. It means that your family will always have a special connection to you through a story, no matter what. It also means that generations to come will have that link to their own past and history.
From that sense, everybody should write one!
This kind of story can even be compiled as an oral history of your family’s history and lives, which makes for an extremely personal keepsake.
Autobiographies are sometimes written in short form, as essays for college assignments. This is a similar exercise to writing a full book but in a condensed format.
Another form of autobiography is as an autofiction. This book is based mostly upon autobiographical content but is also a work of fiction. This is an easy way of avoiding any concerns you might have about privacy. If you want to distance yourself a little and take more control over the content, then this may be the way to go.
You can also consider other formats, such as writing an autobiographical graphic novel, which has the essence of cool written all over it. If you are an artist or have a passion for strong visuals, this is something to consider.
8. How to Plan
“Look for the times when your life changed the most, and when you changed the most, those are the times of peak drama in your life.” Janice Erlbaum, The Autobiographer’s Handbook
An excellent practice when learning how to start an autobiography is to begin by writing out all of the significant events in your life. These could be anything; from graduating college to losing your virginity, to being born. Whatever you think is most important and noteworthy, write it down.
You can later play with the order of events if you like, to shake things up a little bit, but for now, just get anything and everything you can think of written down.
When considering how to write an autobiography, it seems to be the most natural of all genres to plan. This is because within its very construction there is a presumption of what it will be about: events in your life. In this sense, it is already set up for you. In some ways, this makes writing a lot easier. On the other hand, the risk that easy planning poses is boredom. For the reader or yourself. The challenge then becomes, how to make these life events interesting and stand out. But we’ll get to that a bit later on…
Nb If you are a pantser (someone who likes to write by the seat of your pants) then you might want to skip this step. In all likelihood you have something in mind to write about, so just start there.
9. Writing Schedule
A schedule helps you to get things done. You will know what works best for you after trying a few things out. You could try planning out how much you are going to write by the hour (i.e. I will write for an hour a day, every weekday) or by word count (I will write 500 words a day). Be realistic and don’t overwhelm yourself. If you are too overambitious, you may find you end up not writing at all.
Otherwise, you could aim to write a certain section of the book per week or month if that works better for you. Because autobiography is so clearly and easily arranged into story beats (was born, had first pimple, dyed hair red, etc.) organizing your writing by these events works for almost all writers, even if you are not a fan of planning.
Ask yourself the question, what’s the minimum I could manage on a regular basis? And be honest.
Everyone has their own writing style, including the way they schedule (or don’t schedule) their writing habits. So don’t ever let anyone tell you how you should be writing. It’s up to you.
10. How to Start an Autobiography
![how to write autobiography in english pencil and blank paper for writing](https://storage.googleapis.com/squibler-wordpress-public-bucket/1/2019/08/the-blank-page3yay.jpg)
The blank page. Source: petersansom.wordpress.com
Well, now you have a list of important events in your life, starting to write should be pretty straightforward. If you don’t like planning, it’s even simpler, just pinpoint a significant moment in time and get to work! If you have a plan, all you need to do is start writing out a first draft of each event.
Next up we have a few tips and tricks to get you started.
11. Go Digging
While figuring out how to write an autobiography, you will want to have everything you are writing as fresh and vivid in your mind as possible. This clarity will translate onto the page and give your readers a strong impression of each moment.
To do this, you will want to dig out any old photos of you and whomever you might be writing about and begin filing things away for each chapter or section of the book.
You also might find it beneficial to interview anyone who remembers what happened. This can bring a new light on old events. Try using a recorder or dictaphone and typing up the best bits once you’re done.
12. Fill Up Your Senses
A good way to get into the moment before a writing session is to surround yourself with the materials relating to that particular event. Look at photos or listen to recordings from around that time, and jot down any thoughts you might have about them.
You may also want to listen to some music from the time. If you have any old clothes or keepsakes from the person, you will also want them to be around or near as you write. Listen to any interviews about the time or the characters before writing.
13. Write a letter
If you’re struggling to start writing, you can try writing a letter to yourself or to other members of the family from the time. This is a very personal way of connecting with the past. Remembering your connection to your characters will help your writing to flow more easily and mean you have material to draw from before you even start writing.
14. Emotions
Writing about certain life events is likely to be emotional. Say you had a car crash when you were younger or had to deal with some maltreatment of some kind, this will impact your writing, and how you feel about it.
It can be a difficult balance. You need to care enough about your subject matter to write it. But you don’t want your emotions to take over to the point where the style and the content of your book suffers.
While feeling impassioned by your writing, it is also important to be able to step back and take a second look at your viewpoint. This may take several rewrites to get right.
If you are finding it difficult, then consider writing out as many different viewpoints of the event as you possibly can. This will open up how you see it and may even lead to an inspiring revelation for both you and your book.
15. New Insights
One of the benefits of learning how to write an autobiography is that, as you develop as a writer, new insights will likely occur.
So while emotions can run high, it is good to know that writing about anything difficult that has happened in your life can help you psychologically.
Dr. James Pennebaker, a professor at Austin Texas University discovered that students who wrote for just fifteen minutes a day over three days about difficult or emotional experiences had a better level of well-being. He found that going through the process was upsetting for them, but it was the new insights the students discovered through the process of writing, that led to their improved levels of psychological health.
16. Take Care
As with memoir, if you feel that it is too much to write any subject matter, always take a break and come back to it (or not). Your mental health and general well-being are always more important than a book.
17. Know Your Why
Make sure that you don’t add topics or incidents simply to vent about them. Instead, get all your feelings out about it during your first draft, and then start with a fresh perspective. If your writing is only about venting, it will not interest the reader. You may come across as petty or whiny.
Instead, you will want to make sure you can see the benefit of sharing your experiences with people. When you truly know how to write an autobiography, it should empower and enlighten people and help them connect to your story, rather than reading like an unfinished diary entry. It is perfectly acceptable for it to start out that way. But by the end of your writing process, you should be confident in the purpose of why you are writing your book, and what kind of impact it will have on its readers.
Knowing why you are writing will keep you on the right track, and help you like a compass in the storm, when you are lost.
18. Tone of Voice
An important aspect of telling your story will be your narrative style and tone of voice. This completely depends upon who you are writing for and the purpose of your book.
If you are writing for your grandchildren, for example, you may use more simplistic language. If you are writing for a broader audience, then you may use a more neutral tone. Writing for friends? You might want to use more familial or colloquial terms.
This also depends a lot on what kind of person you are, and you will want your attitude and personality to be reflected in your writing. This should happen naturally, but don’t be afraid to write as if you are talking or to use a recording device and write up your account of each chapter afterward.
Pro tip: Relax. You won’t find your tone of voice by constantly thinking about how you might come across. Just write as you think and your natural expression will do the rest.
19. First or Third Person?
You can experiment with viewpoints as you go along, but once you have chosen, you will want to stick with it. The third person gives us the feeling it has been written by someone else. So, if you are employing a ghostwriter or are working on a fictional work, then this is a good way to go.
First-person is the generally accepted viewpoint for most autobiographies, because it is your story, and you are the one writing it.
20. Conflict
As you recall the people in your life, adding in any conflicts, even if they are comical, will add to the richness of the book. Conflict drives drama, intrigue, and interest. And that’s what you want, if you want your book read, that is.
21. Story Arc
![how to write autobiography in english The hero’s journey](https://storage.googleapis.com/squibler-wordpress-public-bucket/1/2019/08/heros-journey33.png)
The hero’s journey. Source: wildgratitude.com
One of the most critical components of writing an autobiography is the story arc. Like most genres of story, autobiography is no exception and will need some sort of an all-encompassing story arc. This is one of the main challenges you may face while writing this kind of book.
It simply can’t be a long list of events and then an ending. They have to all meld together cohesively in order to have some sort of an impact on your reader.
A story arc gives writers a structure, in which our main character aims to do something, and then either manages (or doesn’t) to achieve it. There are normally many obstacles in the protagonist’s way, and they must overcome them. Simply put, our main character must get from A to B. And you will need to decide at some point, what your start and end points in the story will be.
This ties into your overall message in the book. The great thing about autobiography is that it basically tells your reader who you are as a person.
You can start by making a note of your core beliefs and who you feel you are as a person before you begin. But don’t be surprised if, as you write, you reveal a value you hold that you had never especially acknowledged. This is a true gift to the reader, to leave them with your wisdom or knowledge.
Your philosophy can play a big role in the book, as it has likely led you to make certain decisions and can be featured and interlaced with certain events when your process of decision-making was integral to the direction of your life.
22. Comedy and Funny Anecdotes
While you don’t want to overdo it on the comedy (unless it is a comedic autobiography, in which case, carry on!) a little comic relief can work wonders in this genre. It can lighten the mood and even make sad moments even more poignant. Funny stories specific to your family can add to the color of your characters, so they don’t fall flat .
23. Where to Begin?
Think about when you might want to start your story. The logical point to start is from birth, but as your writing evolves over time, you may change your mind. You may want to add some perspective about your life from before you were even born. Your heritage may also be a large influence on who you are as a person today.
Once you have written a full first draft, you can consider changing around the order. Editing in this way can make for a more dynamic and varied read. If placed in the right way, you can even add in a plot twist or add to the suspense of your book.
24. Consider Your Reader
Don’t rest on your laurels. This can especially be a risk if you are writing only for friends or family. Just because someone knows you, it doesn’t mean your story will automatically become interesting to them. It will likely make it more interesting than if you were a random passerby, true. But this is not something to take for granted.
This point can be ignored during the first draft, but as you begin to develop your story, it becomes an implicit part of the process.
If you are wanting your book to sell, this becomes even more important as the reader’s interest and word of mouth can mean the difference between a book being put down or another sale.
25. How to Make Events More Colorful
Once you have written the thing, you will want to make sure that it is an interesting read. Even if you are writing just for friends and family, they will want to be excited by your life. And surely, that is why you are writing this in the first place?!
So a few tips to make sure that each story beat pops with color is to:
- 1. Keep a notebook with you at all times for when you remember particular details about a person or place. Details will always give your story more originality and color.
- 2. Show don’t tell – this is always relevant to any kind of writing and autobiography is no exception. Try adding in things you saw, smelt, tasted, or touched within the scene. Avoid making a statement and describe what happened in the moment, instead.
- 3. Add metaphor or simile- when describing a character or a vivid memory, don’t just describe how it looked on the surface. Unless this is not at all your writing style, you can enjoy emphasizing how something made you feel through descriptions that include metaphor. (use ext link for how to use a metaphor) For example, ‘she was as fit as a fiddle’.
- 4. Avoid common descriptive words – words such as ‘nice’ and ‘good’ should be considered with great caution once you have reached the third draft of your book.
26. Consider Your Reader
An important part of knowing how to write an autobiography is having an awareness of the reader throughout the entire manuscript. This is not only a book for you. So don’t rest on your laurels.
This can especially be a risk if you are writing only for friends or family. Just because someone knows you, it doesn’t mean your story will automatically become interesting to them. It will likely make it more interesting than if you were a random passerby, true. But this is not something to take for granted.
Many new writers are tempted to leave in every detail of their lives. But longer doesn’t always equal better – often it means that you simply haven’t cut out the parts that aren’t needed. So make sure you have your ego in check – don’t make your book too long just for the sake of it. Just because it’s interesting to you, does not mean every reader will want to know about it – family and friends included.
The average autobiography is around 75,000 words long. Much shorter than 60,000 and you might want to find other sources to write about, and any longer than 100,000, you might want to cut it down a bit.
28. Consider Privacy/Confidentiality
Much like a memoir, an autobiography includes characters who are real people. This means that some might be negatively affected by your work. So make sure to talk to those involved and to have an attorney at hand, just in case.
If you are unsure about leaving in their real name, it is best to give their character a pseudonym.
29. Editing
Both editing your book and getting it proofread will make or break it.
That means that you will want to find a professional editor to work with, who knows what she or he is doing. Ideally, you will want to find someone who is experienced in editing autobiographies or memoirs. Check that you have similar values and that you are both clear on what you are going to be working on before you start.
30. Proofreading
Make sure that all your hard work shows. You can have a strong storyline and everything else in place, but if there’s a typo on the front cover, there is no way you will be taken seriously.
So, ask friends to check over your manuscript, or better yet, employ a few proofreaders to check it over for you. Don’t use the same editor to proofread, as they will find it more challenging to spot minute mistakes by the time they have reread the story more than once. A fresh pair of eyes will likely do a better job.
31. Autobiographies on the Shelf
The autobiographies in our bookshops today, you will notice, are mostly written by celebrities. This is because they often have interesting lives that we want to read about. They include incidents that we could never have access to otherwise, in our day-to-day lives.
And that’s what makes them so appealing.
Most people are not so interested in other’s lives unless they have done something extraordinary. So if you’re thinking of writing something purely to try and get it sold, then you might want to rethink the genre you are writing in. We’re not saying it doesn’t happen that unknown authors sell a lot of autobiographies. It does. It’s just a lot less likely.
But don’t be dismayed, this is only a problem if that is the only reason you are writing your book. If it is because you feel impassioned to do so, then that is all the reason you need.
If it is for your friends and family to read, then you need not worry about big sales or landing a large publisher. It is so easy to self-publish these days on a relatively small budget, that you are pretty much guaranteed to achieve your aim.
If you are looking for a book deal, then you might be hard-pushed, if you can’t say your life has an original element to it at all. If this is the case, consider writing a memoir , instead. There are many more memoirs written by ordinary people with extraordinary stories, than autobiographies. Because people love to hear about how ordinary people overcame the odds.
No matter what your reason, if you believe in your book enough to start writing the first page, then don’t let anyone stop you from writing the book inside of you.
So there you have it. Hopefully, you will now feel confident about how to write an autobiography and ready to start. All it takes, is putting pen to paper.
Conclusion
Writing an autobiography is a profound way to share your life story, capturing the essence of your personal experiences, family history, and life lessons for future generations. By detailing major life events and highlighting the roles played by various family members, you weave a narrative that showcases the intricate tapestry of a person’s life story. Following a structured approach, such as the 31 steps outlined in this guide, ensures that your autobiography is not only comprehensive but also engaging, making it a good story that resonates with readers. This reflective process allows you to chronicle your life journey in a way that honors your past, informs the present, and inspires those who will come after you.
The following are some frequently asked questions about writing an autobiography:
How to write an autobiography step by step?
To write an autobiography step by step, start by outlining major life events and gathering materials like photos and mementos. Choose a central theme and create an outline to structure your story. Begin with a strong opening and write in a conversational tone, incorporating vivid details and key events to highlight life lessons. Include family history to enrich the narrative and reflect on your life journey. Edit and revise for clarity, seek feedback, and finalize your manuscript for publishing.
What is the format to write an autobiography?
The format of writing an autobiography involves starting with an engaging introduction that provides background information, followed by chronological chapters detailing major life events and experiences. Each chapter should focus on a specific period or theme, incorporating vivid descriptions and personal reflections. The conclusion should reflect on your overall journey and its impact on your present and future.
How do I start an autobiography about myself?
To start an autobiography about yourself, begin with a compelling anecdote or significant memory that captures your personality and sets the stage for your story. Provide brief background information and explain why you’re writing your autobiography.
How to write an autobiography for class 7?
To write an autobiography for class 7, jot down important events in your life, pick a theme, and write clearly using simple language. Add emotions and maybe some pictures for interest. Edit for clarity.
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How to Write an Autobiography and Tell Your Life Story
Last Updated: June 6, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,297,626 times.
What's your story? Anyone who has lived a full life has something fascinating to share with the world. The trick to writing an autobiography is to treat it like any good story: it should have a protagonist (you), a central conflict, and a cast of fascinating characters to keep people engaged. You may want to think about a certain theme or idea that has been present in your daily life to revolve your story around. Read on to learn how to craft the story of your life and polish your writing to make it sing.
Writing Your Own Autobiography
Begin by contemplating and writing down some important moments in your life, and think about how they're connected to create a cohesive narrative. Start your autobiography with an engaging scene or idea that introduces readers to yourself.
Mapping Out Your Life
![how to write autobiography in english Step 1 Write out your...](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/90/Begin-a-Novel-Step-8.jpg/v4-460px-Begin-a-Novel-Step-8.jpg)
- Your autobiography doesn't have to begin with your birth. You may want to include some family history as well. Write down information about your ancestry, your grandparents' lives, your parents' lives, and so on. Having information about your family history will help readers get a sense of how you became the person you are.
- What happened when you were a teenager? What led you to make the decisions you made?
- Did you go to college? Write about those transitory years, too.
- Write about your career, your relationships, your children, and any big life-altering events that occurred.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 2 Identify the main characters.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/eb/Know-if-Your-Book-Is-Worth-Publishing-Step-6.jpg/v4-460px-Know-if-Your-Book-Is-Worth-Publishing-Step-6.jpg)
- Teachers, coaches, mentors, and bosses are extremely influential in people's lives. Decide whether someone who has been a role model (or the opposite) for you will figure into your story.
- Ex-boyfriends and girlfriends might co-star in some interesting stories.
- What enemies have you had in life? Your story will be boring if you don't include some conflicts.
- Offbeat characters such as animals, celebrities you've never met, and even cities are often points of interest in an autobiography.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 3 Pull out the best stories.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/3c/Write-a-Poem-About-Someone-You%27ve-Lost-Step-6-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Poem-About-Someone-You%27ve-Lost-Step-6-Version-2.jpg)
- The childhood story. Whether your childhood was happy or traumatic, you should include a few anecdotes that give a picture of who you were and what you experienced at the time. You can tell the story of your childhood by breaking it down into smaller anecdotes that illustrate your personality - your parents' reaction when you brought home a stray dog, the time you climbed out of the window at school and ran away for 3 days, your friendly relationship with a homeless person living in the woods… get creative.
- The coming of age story. This heady and often sensual period in a human's life is always of interest to readers. Remember that it's not about writing something unique; everyone comes of age. It's about writing something that resonates with readers.
- The falling in love story. You could also write the opposite of this, the never-finding-love story.
- The identity crisis story. This usually occurs in the 30s or 40s and is sometimes referred to as a mid-life crisis.
- The story of facing down some force of evil. Whether it's your battle with addiction, a controlling lover, or a madman who tried to kill your family, you've got to write about conflict you've experienced.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 4 Write in your own voice.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5f/Write-a-Column-Step-9.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Column-Step-9.jpg)
- Write as though you're opening your heart to a trusted friend, in prose that's clear, strong and not too cluttered with vocabulary words you rarely use.
- Write so that your personality is revealed. Are you funny? Intense? Spiritual? Dramatic? Don't hold back; your personality should come through in the way you tell your story.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 5 Be revealing.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/57/Present-a-Science-Project-Step-12.jpg/v4-460px-Present-a-Science-Project-Step-12.jpg)
- Don't always cast yourself in a positive light. You can have foibles and still be the protagonist. Reveal mistakes you've made and times when you've failed yourself and other people.
- Reveal your inner thoughts. Share your opinions and ideas, including those that may spark controversy. Be true to yourself through your autobiography.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 6 Capture the spirit of the times.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5e/Write-About-Your-Family-Step-11.jpg/v4-460px-Write-About-Your-Family-Step-11.jpg)
Crafting a Narrative
![how to write autobiography in english Step 1 Create an overarching...](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5f/Write-a-Novel-Using-Your-Journal-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Novel-Using-Your-Journal-Step-3-Version-2.jpg)
- What's your central conflict? What's the biggest obstacle life presented that took years to overcome or come to terms with? Maybe it's an illness you were diagnosed with at an early age, a relationship wrought with turmoil, a series of career setbacks, a goal you worked for decades to achieve, or any other number of things. Look to your favorite books and movies for more examples of conflicts.
- Build tension and suspense. Structure the narrative so that you have a series of stories leading up to the climax of the conflict. If your central conflict is trying to reach the goal of competing in the Olympics for skiing, lead up to it with stories of small successes and plenty of failures. You want your readers to ask, will she make it? Can he do it? What's going to happen next?
- Have a climax. You'll get to the point in your story when it's time for the conflict to come to a head. The day of the big competition has arrived, a showdown happens with your worst enemy, your gambling habit gets the better of you and you lose all your money - you get the picture.
- End with a resolution. Most autobiographies have happy endings because the person writing the story lived to tell the tale - and hopefully get it published. Even if your ending isn't cheerful, it should be deeply satisfying. You somehow accomplished your goal or won the day. Even if you lost, you came to terms with it and gained wisdom.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 2 Decide where the story is going to start.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/6/65/Get-on-the-Honor-Roll-Step-2.jpg/v4-460px-Get-on-the-Honor-Roll-Step-2.jpg)
- You could frame the entire autobiography with reflections from the present, telling your story through a series of flashbacks.
- You could begin the story with a poignant moment from your childhood, go backward to tell the story of your heritage, move forward to your college years, and launch into the story of your career, with anecdotes from your childhood sprinkled in for comic relief.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 3 Weave in themes.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/2a/Write-a-Column-Step-6-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Column-Step-6-Version-2.jpg)
- Consider ending chapters on a poignant or suspenseful note, so people can't wait to start the next one.
- The beginnings of chapters are a good place to take a bird's eye view of your past, describe the setting of a place, and set the tone for what's to come.
Editing the Book
![how to write autobiography in english Step 1 Make sure you get the facts right.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/70/Write-a-Book-Quickly-Step-8.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Book-Quickly-Step-8.jpg)
- You can stretch the truth about your own goals and intentions, but don't include fabricated conversations with real people, or altered versions of events that really happened. Of course, you won't remember everything perfectly, but you should reflect reality as best you can.
- Get permission to use people's names or quote them if you're including content on what other people said or did. Some people don't appreciate appearing as a character in someone else's autobiography, and you should respect that by altering the way you describe them or changing their names if necessary. [6] X Research source
![how to write autobiography in english Step 2 Edit your draft](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5c/Write-a-Resume-As-an-Older-Job-Seeker-Step-10.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Resume-As-an-Older-Job-Seeker-Step-10.jpg)
- If several people recommend cutting a certain section, strongly consider making the cut.
- Try to get opinions from people outside your circle of family and friends. People who know you might try to spare your feelings, or they might be biased - especially if they appear in the story.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 4 Hire a copyeditor.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/5a/Write-a-Buy-Sell-Agreement-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Buy-Sell-Agreement-Step-3-Version-2.jpg)
- Bossy Pants , by Tina Fey.
- My Confession , by Leo Tolstoy.
- A Long Walk to Freedom , by Nelson Mandela.
- The Sound of Laughter , by Peter Kay. [7] X Research source
Publishing Your Story
![how to write autobiography in english Step 1 Take steps to...](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/ed/Self%E2%80%90Publish-Children%27s-Books-Step-1.jpg/v4-460px-Self%E2%80%90Publish-Children%27s-Books-Step-1.jpg)
- If you don't want to pay for a publishing service, you can still create a nice copy of your book by taking it to a copy store and having it printed and bound.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 2 Consider finding a literary agent.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/97/Write-a-Conflict-of-Interest-Statement-Step-14.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Conflict-of-Interest-Statement-Step-14.jpg)
- Start the query letter with an airtight blurb succinctly describing the highlights of the book. Situate your book in the correct genre, and describe what will make it stand out from the rest. Tell the agent why you think he or she is the right person to shop your book around to publishers.
- Send sample chapters to agents who show interest.
- Sign a contract with an agent you trust. Make sure to read the contract carefully and check into the agent's history before signing anything.
![how to write autobiography in english Nicholas Sparks](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/2c/Nicholas_Sparks.jpeg/-crop-200-200-200px-Nicholas_Sparks.jpeg)
Agents open doors and help propel your work forward. "I'll admit that it's not easy to get an agent, but becoming successful in anything requires perseverance."
![how to write autobiography in english Step 3 Submit a query...](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/db/Become-a-Substitute-Teacher-in-New-York-City-Step-10-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Become-a-Substitute-Teacher-in-New-York-City-Step-10-Version-2.jpg)
- Many publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts or queries. Make sure you only send letters to publishers that accept them.
- If a publisher decides to move forward with a book deal with you, you'll need to sign a contract and set up a schedule for editing, designing, proofreading, and finally publishing the book.
![how to write autobiography in english Step 4 Look into publishing your book online.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/2f/Present-a-Science-Project-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Present-a-Science-Project-Step-3-Version-2.jpg)
Writing Help
![how to write autobiography in english how to write autobiography in english](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/da/Annotated-Autobiography-Outline_sample.png/340px-Annotated-Autobiography-Outline_sample.png)
Expert Q&A
![how to write autobiography in english Gerald Posner](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/38/Gerald_Posner.png/-crop-200-200-200px-Gerald_Posner.png)
- Your biography can also include a dedication, foreword, vital statistics, chronology sheets, family tree, and epilogue. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0
- If the purpose of your autobiography is to pass on your story to your heirs, consider including memorabilia (e.g. pictures, heirlooms, medals, mementos, letters, etc.) and putting your story in a scrapbook format. Of course, you may not be able to copy the memorabilia that accompanies your autobiography, so you still have to think about what you intend to do with your original work and other items, such as medals or bulky heirlooms. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0
- Make your story vivid but don't get bogged down in unimportant details. While you want your autobiography to be memorable, you don't want it to be boring. Too many details—listing everyone that was at a party or trying to include all the events of each day—will bog the story down. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 1
![how to write autobiography in english how to write autobiography in english](https://www.wikihow.com/images/3/3d/Cont_v02_0420x0250.jpg)
- Be aware of what constitutes libel. If you write something defamatory or maliciously untrue about another person in an autobiography that you intend to publish, consider changing his or her name (if still living). Otherwise, you might find yourself facing a lawsuit. If you're unsure about what to change, consult a lawyer who specializes in libel. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 0
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Expert Interview
![how to write autobiography in english how to write autobiography in english](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/1e/WikiHow-Expert-Interview-Transcript-Gerald-Posner_sample.png/340px-WikiHow-Expert-Interview-Transcript-Gerald-Posner_sample.png)
Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing as a career, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .
- ↑ https://theamericanscholar.org/how-to-write-a-memoir
- ↑ https://self-publishingschool.com/how-to-write-an-autobiography/
- ↑ https://blog.reedsy.com/narrative-arc/
- ↑ https://cdn5-ss8.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_222705/File/Parents%20and%20Students/Star%20Works/How%20to%20write%20an%20Autobiography.pdf
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/04/how-to-write-a-memoir-jeanette-winterson-and-helen-macdonald
- ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/defamation-and-invasion
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/feb/07/biographies-autobiography-nielsen-2001
- ↑ https://www.pw.org/literary_agents
About This Article
![how to write autobiography in english Gerald Posner](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/38/Gerald_Posner.png/-crop-100-100-100px-Gerald_Posner.png)
To write an autobiography, start by making a timeline of your most important life events that you feel you could write about. Then, identify the main characters in your life story, including family members, ex-boyfriends or girlfriends, friends, and enemies. Once you have your cast of characters, pull life events from your timeline, such as a story from your childhood, a coming of age story, a love story, or a triumphant story. Write about these events and then connect them with a cohesive plot by writing in your own voice and being honest with the reader. To learn more about how to edit and publish your autobiography once it's finished, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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How to Write an Autobiography
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Writing your autobiography is like exploring a treasure trove of memories that make up your life. But starting can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? How do you turn your experiences into a compelling story? Don't worry – this guide is here to help. Whether you're a seasoned writer or a total beginner, we'll break down the process of how to write your autobiography into easy-to-follow steps. Together, we'll uncover the magic of storytelling and turn your life into a captivating reflective essay that's uniquely yours. Get ready to start this adventure of self-discovery and creativity!
What Is an Autobiography
The autobiography definition explains it is a written account of a person's life penned by the individual who has lived those experiences. It is a personal narrative that chronicles significant events, reflections, and emotions throughout various stages of the author's life. Unlike a biography, which is typically written by someone else, an autobiography provides a firsthand perspective, allowing the author to share their thoughts, memories, and insights. It is a cogent medium for self-expression, enabling students to convey the essence of their unique journey, impart lessons learned, and leave a lasting record of their lives for themselves and others to explore.
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Autobiography vs. Biography: What’s the Difference
The key distinction between an autobiography and a biography lies in the authorship and perspective. An autobiography is a personal account of one's own life written by the subject themselves. It offers an intimate insight into the author's experiences, emotions, and reflections. For instance, in "The Diary of a Young Girl," Anne Frank provides a poignant autobiographical account of her life hiding from the Nazis during World War II. On the other hand, a biography is a narrative of someone's life written by another person. It often involves extensive research and interviews to present a comprehensive and objective view. A notable example is "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson, a biography offering an in-depth portrayal of the Apple co-founder, drawing on interviews with Jobs himself and those who knew him. While both genres illuminate lives, the crucial difference lies in the source of the narrative – whether it emanates directly from the subject or is crafted by an external observer.
A biography vs autobiography offers distinct perspectives on individuals' lives, shaping narratives through either personal reflections or external observations. Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is a powerful autobiography chronicling her tumultuous childhood and journey toward self-discovery. In contrast, a notable biography like "Leonardo da Vinci" by Walter Isaacson delves into the life of the Renaissance polymath, painting a vivid picture through meticulous research and analysis. Autobiographies often provide a deeply personal lens, as seen in "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, where Walls recounts her unconventional upbringing. In contrast, biographies such as "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand meticulously document the extraordinary life of Louis Zamperini, offering a comprehensive view shaped by the author's investigative work. These examples underscore the unique storytelling approaches each genre employs, either from the firsthand perspective of the subject or the external perspective of an author.
Autobiography Example
Ready to explore autobiography examples? We've got a cool section coming up where we'll check out two awesome examples. Autobiographies are like personal tours into someone's life, and we'll be looking at the stories of Alex Sterling and Trevor Noah. They've poured their experiences onto the pages, and we're going to see what we can learn from their journeys. Get ready to be inspired and maybe even think about telling your own story down the line. Let's dive in!
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Example 1: “Wanderer's Odyssey: The Uncharted Life of Alex Sterling”
This autobiography recounts the life of a character born in a bustling city who, driven by a thirst for adventure, leaves behind urban life to explore the open road. The narrative explores the protagonist's experiences of hitchhiking, forming connections, and finding self-discovery in the midst of the unpredictable journey. The story emphasizes the lessons learned from the road, the challenges faced, and the ultimate embrace of authenticity. The epilogue reflects on the character's life as a well-lived odyssey, highlighting themes of resilience, connection, and the pursuit of one's true identity.
Example 2: “Echoes of Eternity: The Memoirs of Amelia Reed”
This autobiography follows a character from a countryside village who harbors expansive dreams of adventure. The narrative unfolds as the protagonist sets out to pursue these dreams, facing trials and triumphs that shape their character and lead to self-discovery. The story emphasizes the transformative power of embracing the unknown, with the epilogue reflecting on a life well-lived, highlighting the legacy of fulfilled dreams and the enduring impact on future generations. In addition to examples, we have samples of narrative essay topics that might be useful for you as well.
Tell your story with EssayPro . Our skilled writers can help you craft an autobiography that truly reflects your journey. Share your unique experiences and life lessons in a way that resonates with readers.
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Autobiography Elements Explained
Writing an autobiography provides a personal account of one's experiences, achievements, challenges, and personal growth. While each autobiography is unique, certain common elements are often found in this genre:
Introduction
- Autobiographies typically begin with an introduction where the author sets the stage for their life story.
- It may include background information such as birthplace, family, and early experiences.
Birth and Early Years
- Authors often include details about their birth, childhood, and family background.
- Early influences, relationships, and experiences that shaped the individual may be highlighted.
Significant Life Events
- Autobiographies focus on key events and milestones that have had a significant impact on the author's life.
- This could include achievements, failures, relationships, and other impactful experiences.
Challenges and Obstacles
- Autobiographies explore the challenges and obstacles the author faced throughout their life.
- This can include personal struggles, professional setbacks, or other difficulties.
Personal Growth and Development
- Authors reflect on their personal growth and development over the years.
- This may involve self-discovery, learning from experiences, and evolving perspectives.
Achievements and Milestones
- Autobiographies highlight the author's achievements, whether personal, professional, or both.
- Major milestones and successes are often detailed to showcase the individual's journey.
Influential Relationships
- Autobiographies frequently discuss relationships with family, friends, mentors, and significant others.
- The impact of these relationships on the author's life is explored.
Reflection and Insight
- Authors often reflect on their lives, offering insights into their beliefs, values, and lessons learned.
- This section may also include the author's perspective on the world and society.
Themes and Motifs
- Autobiographies may explore recurring themes or motifs that run throughout the individual's life.
- Common themes include resilience, determination, love, loss, and personal identity.
- Autobiographies typically conclude with a summary or reflection on the author's life.
- The author may share their current perspective and future aspirations.
Writing Style
- The writing style can vary, ranging from a formal tone to a more conversational and reflective approach.
- Authors may use literary devices and storytelling techniques to engage readers.
Remember that autobiographies are highly personal, and the structure and emphasis on different elements can vary widely depending on the author's preferences and purpose for writing.
Autobiographical Essay Structure
Autobiographies typically follow a chronological order, beginning with the author's early life and progressing towards the present or a significant moment. The introduction sets the stage, introducing the author and offering insight into the main themes. As you can see in an autobiography example, the narrative then unfolds, exploring the author's significant life events, challenges faced, and personal growth. Achievements and milestones are highlighted, and the impact of influential relationships is examined. Throughout, recurring themes and motifs add depth to the narrative. In the reflection and insight section, the author shares personal lessons learned and beliefs. The conclusion summarizes the autobiography, reflecting on the author's life and future aspirations.
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Learning how to start an autobiography involves captivating the reader's attention while providing context. Authors often employ engaging anecdotes, vivid descriptions, or thought-provoking statements related to the overarching theme of their lives. The goal is to draw readers in from the beginning and establish a connection between the author and the audience. In the introduction, authors can introduce themselves to the reader. This can be done by sharing a captivating snapshot of their life or posing a question that intrigues the audience. The autobiography introduction sets the tone for the entire narrative, providing a glimpse into the themes and events that will be explored in the autobiography.
The autobiography conclusion offers the culmination of the author's life story. Here, authors often summarize the key points and experiences shared throughout the narrative. It is a moment of reflection, where the author can offer insights into the significance of their journey and the lessons learned along the way. The conclusion may also touch on the author's current perspective, providing a sense of closure to the narrative while leaving room for future aspirations and growth.
Literary Forms of Autobiography
Autobiographies, while generally a non-fiction genre, can take on various literary forms and styles. Here are some literary forms commonly found in autobiographical works:
Traditional Autobiography
- The straightforward narrative of an individual's life, which is usually written by the person themselves. It follows a chronological order, covering significant events and experiences.
- Similar to an autobiography but often focusing on specific themes, periods, or aspects of the author's life rather than a comprehensive account. Memoirs often delve into personal reflections and emotions.
Diary or Journal Form
- Some autobiographies adopt the form of a diary or journal, presenting the author's life through dated entries. This format provides a more immediate and personal perspective.
Epistolary Autobiography
- Written in the form of letters, an epistolary autobiography may consist of the author addressing themselves or others. This style adds an intimate and conversational tone to the narrative.
Graphic Novel or Comic Memoir
- Autobiographical stories are presented in a graphic novel or comic format. Visual elements complement the written narrative, providing a unique and engaging way to convey personal experiences.
Experimental or Nonlinear Autobiography
- Some authors choose to play with the chronological order, presenting their life story non-linearly. This experimental approach can create a more artistic and challenging reading experience.
Biographical Fiction
- While not entirely autobiographical, some authors write fictionalized versions of their own lives. It allows for creative exploration and artistic liberties while drawing inspiration from real experiences.
Travelogue Autobiography
- Autobiographies that take on the form of a travelogue often focus on the author's journeys, both physical and metaphorical. The narrative is shaped by the places visited and the impact of these experiences on personal growth.
Essayistic Autobiography
- Autobiographies that incorporate elements of essays, exploring themes, ideas, and reflections on the author's life. This form allows for a more contemplative and philosophical approach.
Collaborative Autobiography
- Co-written autobiographies involve collaboration between the autobiographical subject and a professional writer. It is common when the subject may not be a writer but has a compelling story to share.
These literary forms highlight the versatility of autobiographical writing, showcasing how authors can creatively shape their life stories to engage readers in various ways. Are you working on other academic assignments? Use our term paper writing services to put your finger on any pending task at hand quickly and for a reasonable price.
How to Write an Autobiography in 5 Steps
Writing an autobiography can be a rewarding and reflective process. Here's a simplified guide in 5 steps to help you get started:
Step 1: Reflection and Brainstorming
Begin by reflecting on your life, considering important events, challenges, and moments of growth. Make a mental inventory of key experiences and people who have influenced you.
Step 2: Establish a Focus
Choose a central theme or focus for your autobiography. This could be a specific period of your life, a significant achievement, or a recurring theme that ties your experiences together. Having a clear focus will guide your writing.
Step 3: Create a Chronological Outline
Develop a rough chronological outline of your life story, starting from your early years and progressing through significant events to the present or another crucial point. Identify key moments and experiences to include in each section.
Step 4: Write with Detail and Emotion
An important aspect of writing an autobiography for college is appealing to emotion. As you delve into each body paragraph, share your story with vivid details. Use descriptive language to bring your experiences to life for the reader. Infuse your writing with emotion, allowing readers to connect with the depth of your personal journey.
Step 5: Conclude Reflectively
In the concluding section, summarize the key aspects of your life story. Reflect on the significance of your journey, the lessons you've learned, and how you've grown. Provide insights into your current perspective and aspirations for the future, bringing your autobiography to a thoughtful conclusion.
Writing Techniques to Use in an Autobiography
When you write an autobiography, the process involves employing various techniques to make the narrative engaging, evocative, and compelling. Here are some tips for writing autobiography commonly used in autobiographies:
Descriptive Language
- Use vivid and descriptive language to paint a detailed picture of events, people, and settings. Engage the reader's senses to create a more immersive experience.
- Incorporate dialogue to bring conversations to life. Direct quotes can provide authenticity and convey the personalities of the people involved.
Show, Don't Tell
- Instead of merely stating facts, show the emotions and experiences through actions, reactions, and sensory details.
Flashbacks and Foreshadowing
- Employ flashbacks to delve into past events and foreshadowing to create anticipation about future developments.
Metaphors and Similes
- Use metaphors and similes to enhance descriptions and convey complex emotions. Comparisons can make abstract concepts more relatable.
- Integrate symbols and motifs that hold personal significance. This adds depth to the narrative and can be a thematic thread throughout the autobiography.
Humor and Wit
- Infuse your writing with humor and wit when appropriate.
- Introduce suspense by strategically withholding information or revealing key details at crucial moments.
First-Person Perspective
- Utilize the first-person point of view to offer a direct and personal connection between the author and the reader.
Dramatic Irony
- Introduce dramatic irony by revealing information to the reader that the author may not have known at the time.
Parallelism
- Create parallel structures within the narrative, drawing connections between different periods, events, or themes in your life.
Experimenting with different styles can make your story more engaging and memorable for readers. If you haven’t used these techniques in your paper, simply say, ‘ edit my essay ,’ and our experts will imbue stylistic and creative devices in your document to increase its scholarly value.
Benefits of Writing an Autobiography
Working on an autobiography can be incredibly beneficial on a personal level. When you take the time to reflect on your life and put it into words, you gain a deeper understanding of yourself. It's like a journey of self-discovery where you uncover patterns, values, and beliefs that have shaped who you are. This process not only promotes self-awareness but can also help you grow and bounce back from tough times. Writing about challenging moments can be a therapeutic release, allowing you to confront and make sense of your experiences, leading to emotional healing.
On a broader scale, sharing your life story through an autobiography has its impact. It becomes a piece of history, offering insights into the times you've lived through, the culture around you, and societal changes. Your personal narrative connects you with others, creating empathy and understanding. Autobiographies often inspire people by showing that it's possible to overcome challenges, find purpose, and navigate the ups and downs of life. By sharing your story, you become a part of the larger human experience, contributing to a rich tapestry of diverse stories that help us better understand the shared journey of being human. Order an essay or any other type of task to streamline your educational progress is only a few clicks.
Best Piece of Advice for Making Your Autobiography Spot-on
The most valuable advice is to infuse authenticity into every word. Be genuine, raw, and honest about your experiences, emotions, and growth. Readers connect deeply with authenticity, and it's what makes your story uniquely yours. Don't shy away from expressing vulnerability, as it adds a human touch and makes your narrative relatable. Share the highs and lows, the triumphs and struggles, with sincerity, and let your true self shine through. This honesty not only enhances the impact of your autobiography but also contributes to a more profound connection between you and your readers, creating an authentic and memorable narrative. Here are additional tips for bringing your autobiography assignment up to par:
- Essential Details. Focus on key moments that significantly contribute to your story, avoiding unnecessary details.
- Thematic Cohesion. Introduce and explore recurring themes to add depth and coherence to your narrative.
- Authentic Expression. Embrace your unique voice, personality, and storytelling style to create an authentic connection with readers.
- Dialogue and Monologue. Use genuine dialogue and inner monologue to provide insights into your thoughts and emotions during pivotal moments.
- Symbolic Elements. Incorporate symbolic imagery or metaphors to convey deeper meanings and emotions.
- Strategic Foreshadowing. Use foreshadowing purposefully, providing subtle hints that contribute meaningfully to the overall narrative.
- Reflective Closure. Conclude your autobiography with a reflective summary that offers insights into the broader significance of your journey.
Our essay writers know many more tips regarding all possible types of academic tasks. If you ever find yourself in writer’s block, not knowing how to tackle any particular assignment, let us know!
Final Words
If you want to understand how to write a good autobiography, think of it as painting a vivid picture of your life for others to see. It's about being real, digging deep into your memories, and choosing the moments that really matter. Let your personality shine through in your writing – be yourself because that's what makes your story unique. Weave in themes that tie everything together, and use storytelling techniques like dialogue and symbolism to make your narrative come alive. And as you reach the end, leave your readers with some food for thought – a reflection on the bigger lessons learned from your journey. If you ever need assistance with this or any other college assignment, use our research paper services without hesitation.
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How to Write an Autobiography?
How to start an autobiography essay, what is the difference between autobiography and biography.
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is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.
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How to write an Autobiography
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A Complete Guide to Writing an Autobiography
A quick scan of the bestseller lists will quickly reveal that we are obsessed with the lives of other people.
Books by and about actors, politicians, and sports stars regularly top the charts as we seek to catch a glimpse into the lives of remarkable people.
While many of these books are written by professional writers after meticulous research ( biographies ), just as many are written by the person themselves (autobiographies) – albeit often with a ghostwriter’s help.
Today we are going to show you how to write an autobiography that tells a great life story.
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WHAT IS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
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Autobiography is a subcategory of the biography genre and, strictly speaking, it’s a life story written by the subject themselves.
Autobiographies are sometimes confused with memoirs and it’s no surprise as the two share many features in common. For example, both are written in the first person and contain details of the subject’s life.
However, some clear distinctions can be made between the two.
For example, a memoir usually explores a specific period of a person’s life, whereas an autobiography tends to make an account of the person’s life from their earliest years right up to the time of writing.
Autobiographies aren’t just the preserve of the celebrities among us though, each of our lives is a story in and of itself. Whether or not it’s a good story will depend largely on the telling, which is what this article is all about.
A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES
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Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .
- Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
- Explore the language and perspective of both.
- Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
- Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
- Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
- A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
Once students have a good grasp of what an autobiography is, we need to ensure they are familiar with the main features of the genre before they begin writing.
Let’s take a look at some of the main technical elements of an autobiography:
Purpose of an Autobiography:
To give an account of the person’s life so far
Tense: Mostly written in the past tense, but usually ends in the present tense and sometimes shifts into the future tense at the very end.
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Structure of an Autobiography:
● Usually written in chronological order
● Uses time connectives such as before, then, after that, finally, etc
● Uses the names of real people and events
● Is specific about times, dates, places, etc
● Includes personal memories and specific details and descriptions
● Reflects on how positive and negative experiences shaped the author
● Gives an insight into the thoughts, feelings, and hopes of the author
● May include some relevant photographs
● Usually ends with a commentary on life, reflections on significant large events, and hopes and plans for the future.
When teaching these specific features, you may wish to compile a checklist with the students that they can subsequently use to assist them when writing their autobiography.
PRACTICAL ACTIVITY:
One great way to help your students to internalize the main features of the genre is to encourage them to read lots of autobiographies. Instruct the students to be conscious of the different features discussed above and to identify them in the autobiography as they read.
If you have compiled a checklist together, students can check off the features they come across as they read.
When they have finished reading, students should consider which features were well done in the book and which were missing or had room for improvement.
TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT AUTOBIOGRAPHY
As we know, there is more to a genre of writing than just ticking off the main features from a checklist.
To write well takes time and practice, as well as familiarity with the features of the genre. Each genre of writing makes different demands on our skills as a writer and autobiography are no different.
Below, we will look at a step-by-step process for how students can best approach the task of writing their autobiography, along with some helpful hints and tips to polish things up.
Let’s get started!
HOW TO START AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY WRITING TIPS:
Tip #1: brainstorm your autobiography.
The structure of an autobiography is somewhat obvious; it starts at the beginning of the subject’s life, works its way through the middle, and ends in the present day.
However, there’s a lot in a life. Some of it will be fascinating from a reader’s point of view and some of it not so much. Students will need to select which events, anecdotes, and incidents to include and which to leave out.
Before they begin this selection process in earnest, they need to dump out the possibilities onto the page through the process of brainstorming. Students should write down any ideas and sketches of memories that might be suitable onto the page.
While they needn’t write trivial memories that they know definitely won’t make the cut, they should not set the bar so high that they induce writer’s block.
They can remove the least interesting episodes when making the final selection later in the writing process. The main thing at this stage is the generation and accumulation of ideas.
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TIP #2: CREATE AN OUTLINE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
After students have selected the most compelling episodes from their brainstorming session, they’ll need to organize them into the form of an outline.
One good way to do this is to lay them out chronologically on a simple timeline. Looking at the episodes in such a visual way can help the students to construct a narrative that leads from the student’s earliest childhood right through to the present day.
Students need to note that an autobiography isn’t just the relating of a series of life events in chronological order. They’ll need to identify themes that link the events in their autobiography together.
Themes are the threads that we weave between the cause and effect of events to bring shape and meaning to a life. They touch on the motivation behind the actions the author takes and fuel the development growth of the person.
Some themes that might be identified in an outline for an autobiography might include:
● Overcoming adversity
● Adjusting to a new life
● Dealing with loss
● The importance of friendship
● The futility of revenge
● The redemptive power of forgiveness.
These themes are the big ideas of a person’s life story. They represent how the events shape the person who is now sitting writing their story. For students to gain these insights will require the necessary time and space for some reflection.
For this reason, autobiography writing works well as a project undertaken over a longer period such as several weeks.
TIP #3: DO THE BACKGROUND RESEARCH ON YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Even though no one knows more about the topic of an autobiography than the author, research is still a necessary part of the writing process for autobiographies.
Using the outline they have created, students will need to flesh out some of the details of key events by speaking to others, especially when writing about their earliest experiences.
The most obvious resources will be parents and other family members who were privy to the joys of babyhood and their earliest childhood.
However, friends and ex-teachers make excellent sources of information too. They will enable the student to get a different perspective on something they remember, helping to create a more rounded view of past events.
For older and more advanced students, they may even wish to do some research regarding historical and cultural happenings in the wider society during the period they’re writing about. This will help to give depth and poignancy to their writing as they move up and down the ladder of abstraction from the personal to the universal and back again.
When students make the effort to draw parallels between their personal experiences and the world around them, they help to bridge the gap between author and reader creating a more intimate connection that enhances the experience for the reader.
TIP #4: FIND YOUR VOICE
Students need to be clear that autobiography is not mere personal history written dispassionately and subjectively.
For their autobiography to work, they’ll need to inject something of themselves into their writing. Readers of autobiography especially are interested in getting to know the inner workings of the writer.
There is a danger, however. Given that autobiographers are so close to their material, they must be careful not to allow their writing to denigrate into a sentimental vomit. To counter this danger, the student author needs to find a little perspective on their experiences, and following the previous tip regarding research will help greatly here.
A more daunting obstacle for the student can lie in the difficulties they face when trying to find their voice in their writing. This isn’t easy. It takes time and it takes lots of writing practice.
However, there are some simple, helpful strategies students can use to help them discover their authentic voice in their writing quickly.
1. Write to a close friend or family member
All writing is written to be read – with the possible exception of journals and diaries. The problem is that if the student is too conscious of the reader, they can find themselves playing to the audience and getting away from what it is they’re trying to express. Showboating can replace the honesty that is such a necessary part of good writing.
A useful trick to help students overcome this hurdle is to tell them to imagine they are writing their autobiography to an intimate friend or family member. Someone who makes them feel comfortable in their skin when they are around. Students should write like they’re writing to that person to who they can confide their deepest secrets. This will give their writing an honest and intimate tone that is very engaging for the reader.
2. Read the writing out loud
It’s no accident that we talk about the writer’s ‘voice’. We recognize the actual voice of people we know from its many qualities, from its timbre, tone, pacing, accent, word choice, etc. Writing is much the same in this regard.
One great way to help students detect whether their writing captures their authentic voice is to have them read it out loud, or listen to a recording of their work read out loud.
While we don’t necessarily write exactly as we speak – we have more time to craft what we say – we will still be able to recognize whether or not the writing sounds like us, or whether it’s filled with affectation.
As the student listens to their own words, encourage them to ask the following questions:
● Does this sound like me?
● Do the words sound natural in my voice?
● Do I believe in the events related and how they were related?
Finding their real voice in their writing will help students imbue their writing with honesty and personality that readers love.
TIP #5: DRAFT, REDRAFT AND REFINE YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
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In the first draft, the brushstrokes will be large and broad, sweeping through the key events. The main notes of the tune will be there but with sometimes too much ornamentation and, at other times, not enough. This is why redrafting is an essential part of the writing process.
Students should understand that every piece of writing needs redrafting, editing , and proofreading to be at its best. There are no masterpieces full-borne into the world in a single draft.
For many, the tightening-up of a piece will involve the merciless cutting out of dead words. But, for some, the redrafting and refining process will demand the adding of more description and detail.
For most, however, it’ll be a little from column A and a little from column B.
Often, it’s difficult for students to get the necessary perspective on their work to be able to spot structural, grammar , punctuation, and spelling errors. In these instances, it can be best to enrol the eyes of a friend or family member in the role of editor or critic.
One effective way of doing this in class is to organize the students into pairs of editing buddies who edit each other’s work in a reciprocal arrangement.
These ‘edit swaps’ can be continued through to the proofreading stage and the final, polished piece.
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A Final Thought
Employing the 5 tips above will go a long way to ensuring a well-written and engaging autobiography.
While autobiography is a nonfiction genre, it is clear that with its emphasis on narrative, it has much in common with other fictional genres. So, it’s important when teaching autobiography that students learn to recognize the important role of storytelling in this genre too.
As with all good story-telling, there are some necessary elements to include, including a plot of sorts, a cast of characters, and an exploration of some central themes. For this reason, teaching autobiography often works well after the students have completed a unit on fictional story writing.
When all is said and done, the best way a student can ensure their autobiography is worth a read is to ensure they find the story within their own life.
After all, we’re obsessed with the lives of other people.
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15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics
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Personal Narrative Writing Guide
Learn the essential skills to writing an insightful personal narrative in our complete guide for students and teachers.
How to Write an Autobiography: 11 Simple Steps
- February 18, 2024
Table of Contents:
What is an autobiography, how to write an autobiography.
- 1- Outline Your Life's Timeline
2- Identify the Theme
3- gather memories, 4- be honest and reflective, 5- include influential people, 6- describe settings vividly, 7- express emotions, 8- edit and revise, 9- seek feedback, 10- incorporate visuals, 11- finalize your manuscript, 6 essential elements of autobiography, 4 examples of autobiography.
- Example 1: "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
- Example 2: "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
- Example 3: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
- Example 4: "Dreams from My Father" by Barack Obama
Conclusion:
Autobiography.
Autobiography writing is when someone pens down their life story. It’s like creating a personal diary, but for everyone to read. In autobiography writing, the autobiography writers share their unique experiences and intimate memories. This type of writing allows the reader to see the author’s life and mind directly. It’s different from a biography, where another person tells your story. In an autobiography, it’s the person sharing their journey. It offers a special chance to step into their shoes and see the world from their eyes.
Find Your Focus: Beginning to write an autobiography starts with finding what to focus on. Reflect on the parts of your life that mean the most to you. Maybe it’s about your childhood days, the peaks of your career, or how you’ve grown personally. This focus acts like a compass for your writing. It makes sure your autobiography centers on the stories you find most vital. Think of it as choosing the key chapters of your life’s book you want everyone to read.
1- Outline Your Life’s Timeline
Creating a timeline is essential in writing an autobiography, akin to mapping your life’s journey. Begin from the outset, noting significant events in sequence, from birth to school days, influential people, career milestones, and more. This structured timeline serves as a guide, streamlining your narrative for clarity and coherence. It facilitates readers’ understanding, allowing them to accompany you through your life’s story. Whether documenting personal memories or delving into presidential biographies , a well-crafted timeline illuminates the path from your past to present.
Figuring out the theme is a crucial part of writing an autobiography. It’s like finding the heart of your story. What’s the big message or the most important lesson from your life? Maybe it’s about how you overcame tough times, the value of your family, or chasing your dreams. This theme adds more depth to your autobiography. It ties your various experiences together into a story that makes sense. A well-chosen theme can transform a simple list of life events into a powerful narrative that truly speaks to others.
As you embark on the journey of writing your autobiography, gathering memories is crucial. Start by collecting old photos, letters, and keepsakes reminiscent of different times. These items, akin to keys, unlock memories, aiding in recalling forgotten details and emotions. They weave together to narrate your life’s story, infusing authenticity and depth into your writing. Incorporating such pieces from your past can serve as a profound source of inspiration, alongside exploring memorable memoir examples .
Being honest and reflective is crucial when you write an autobiography. It’s not just about listing what happened in your life. You also need to think deeply about what these experiences mean to you. Being honest makes your story believable and trustworthy. At the same time, looking back thoughtfully lets you share the important lessons and understanding you’ve gained. This mix of honesty and reflection turns your autobiography into more than just a timeline of events. It becomes a deep dive into the essence of your life’s journey.
In every life story, including when you write an autobiography, key figures leave a lasting impact. It’s important to acknowledge these individuals in your writing. They could be family members, friends, mentors, or even challengers who have shaped who you are. Discuss how these people have influenced your choices, beliefs, and personal growth. Including them in your autobiography adds depth, showing how our lives are often interwoven with others, shaping us thoughtfully.
Bringing the places of your life to life is a crucial aspect when you write an autobiography. Vividly describe the settings where significant events of your life unfolded. It could be the house where you grew up, a school that was a big part of your life, or a city that left an indelible impression on you. Use your words to paint these places so that readers can see them in their minds. This level of detail makes your story more engaging and helps readers feel more connected to your journey.
As you get on the journey to write an autobiography, being open about your emotions is key. Share your feelings during the big moments of your life, whether they were filled with joyous challenges or were transformational in some way. Your emotional honesty brings another dimension to your story, making it more gripping and easier for readers to relate to. Let your readers experience your happiness, struggles, excitement, or fears. Emotions are a universal language, and sharing yours adds richness and depth to your story.
Once you’ve written your story, the next vital step in your journey to write an autobiography is editing and revising. Take a critical look at your work, focusing on clarity and impact. Simplify complex sentences, making your language easy to grasp. Ensure your storytelling is consistent and flows smoothly. Editing isn’t just about fixing grammar; it’s about fine-tuning your narrative and capturing the essence of your experiences in the most compelling way possible.
As you walk the path of writing an autobiography, seeking feedback is incredibly beneficial. Share your drafts with people you trust, those who grasp the essence of your story. This could be family members, close friends, or a writing group. Pay attention to their constructive criticism. Their insights may provide fresh perspectives or reveal areas needing improvement. Remember that feedback is invaluable for refining your story, making it more engaging and authentic.
An excellent way to enrich your autobiography is by adding visuals. Include photographs, documents, or any relevant imagery that can add a personal touch to your narrative. These visuals serve as tangible evidence of your experiences, helping to illustrate your story. They allow readers to visually connect with the people and places you describe, making your account more relatable and vivid. When you write an autobiography, remember that pictures can convey volumes.
The final step in your journey to write an autobiography is to finalize your manuscript. Review your entire story, ensuring it flows well from start to finish. Pay special attention to your conclusion – it should be strong and reflective, leaving a lasting impression on your readers. It’s your chance to summarize your life’s lessons and experiences, offering wisdom or insights from your journey. A well-crafted conclusion ties your story together beautifully.
By following these steps, one can effectively make an autobiography that is both engaging and meaningful. Along with these tips, you can also look towards biography writing services if you need help throughout your writing journey.
Honesty: When you set out to write an autobiography, being honest is key. Share your true story, the good and the bad. This honesty helps readers believe and connect with your journey, making it more real and relatable.
Detail is vital when you write an autobiography. Describe your experiences and events vividly. This brings your story to life, making it colorful and engaging for those who read it.
A clear order of events is important when you write an autobiography. It helps readers follow your story easily, understanding how your past shaped who you are today. A logical flow makes your story clearer and easy to follow.
Your autobiography should have a central theme. This is the main message or lesson from your life. A strong theme ties your experiences together, making your story more meaningful and impactful for your readers.
Sharing your feelings is essential when you write an autobiography. It lets readers connect with you on a deeper level. Your emotions make your story more powerful and touching, drawing readers into your world.
Reflecting on your experiences is a key part of an autobiography. It shows how you’ve grown and what you’ve learned. This reflection adds depth to your story, offering valuable insights and lessons to your readers.
“The Story of My Experiments with Truth” by Mahatma Gandhi: Gandhi’s autobiography isn’t just a history. It’s a journey into his beliefs and actions. Gandhi shares insights into his life’s pivotal moments, starting with his childhood. He talks about his philosophy of nonviolence and truth. This book gives us a unique look into how Gandhi thought and lived.
Example 1: “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela
This is the story of Nelson Mandela, a man who changed the world. Mandela grew up in a small village. He later became a symbol of peace, spending 27 years in prison. His fight against apartheid in South Africa shows us the power of resilience and hope.
Example 2: “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s diary is a heart-rending account of World War II. She wrote it while hiding from the Nazis. Her words bring to life her fears and dreams. This diary is more than history. It’s a powerful reminder of courage in the face of danger.
Example 3: “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou’s story is about overcoming. She faced racism and personal hardships in her early years. Her book tells how she found her voice against all odds. Angelou’s rich and expressive writing makes her experiences come alive. It’s an inspiring tale of empowerment.
Example 4: “Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
Before becoming president, Barack Obama wrote about his life. He talks about his diverse background and finding his identity. The book covers his early work and initial steps into politics. It offers a glimpse into the experiences that shaped his leadership. Obama’s story is about growth and understanding.
The journey to write an autobiography is not just about recording events; it’s about sharing the essence of your life story with the world. It’s a process of self-examination, discovery, and creation. Remember, your story is unique; only you can tell it with the depth and authenticity it deserves. Whether you write a biography or an autobiography, the key is to stay true to your experiences and the lessons they have taught you.
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What Is an Autobiography?
What to Consider Before You Start to Write
- Writing Research Papers
- Writing Essays
- English Grammar
- M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
- B.A., History, Armstrong State University
Your life story, or autobiography , should contain the basic framework that any essay should have, with four basic elements. Begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement , followed by a body containing at least several paragraphs , if not several chapters. To complete the autobiography, you'll need a strong conclusion , all the while crafting an interesting narrative with a theme.
Did You Know?
The word autobiography literally means SELF (auto), LIFE (bio), WRITING (graph). Or, in other words, an autobiography is the story of someone's life written or otherwise told by that person.
When writing your autobiography, find out what makes your family or your experience unique and build a narrative around that. Doing some research and taking detailed notes can help you discover the essence of what your narrative should be and craft a story that others will want to read.
Research Your Background
Just like the biography of a famous person, your autobiography should include things like the time and place of your birth, an overview of your personality, your likes and dislikes, and the special events that shaped your life. Your first step is to gather background detail. Some things to consider:
- What is interesting about the region where you were born?
- How does your family history relate to the history of that region?
- Did your family come to that region for a reason?
It might be tempting to start your story with "I was born in Dayton, Ohio...," but that is not really where your story begins. It's better to start with an experience. You may wish to start with something like why you were born where you were and how your family's experience led to your birth. If your narrative centers more around a pivotal moment in your life, give the reader a glimpse into that moment. Think about how your favorite movie or novel begins, and look for inspiration from other stories when thinking about how to start your own.
Think About Your Childhood
You may not have had the most interesting childhood in the world, but everyone has had a few memorable experiences. Highlight the best parts when you can. If you live in a big city, for instance, you should realize that many people who grew up in the country have never ridden a subway, walked to school, ridden in a taxi, or walked to a store a few blocks away.
On the other hand, if you grew up in the country you should consider that many people who grew up in the suburbs or inner city have never eaten food straight from a garden, camped in their backyards, fed chickens on a working farm, watched their parents canning food, or been to a county fair or a small-town festival.
Something about your childhood will always seem unique to others. You just have to step outside your life for a moment and address the readers as if they knew nothing about your region and culture. Pick moments that will best illustrate the goal of your narrative, and symbolism within your life.
Consider Your Culture
Your culture is your overall way of life , including the customs that come from your family's values and beliefs. Culture includes the holidays you observe, the customs you practice, the foods you eat, the clothes you wear, the games you play, the special phrases you use, the language you speak, and the rituals you practice.
As you write your autobiography, think about the ways that your family celebrated or observed certain days, events, and months, and tell your audience about special moments. Consider these questions:
- What was the most special gift you ever received? What was the event or occasion surrounding that gift?
- Is there a certain food that you identify with a certain day of the year?
- Is there an outfit that you wear only during a special event?
Think honestly about your experiences, too. Don't just focus on the best parts of your memories; think about the details within those times. While Christmas morning may be a magical memory, you might also consider the scene around you. Include details like your mother making breakfast, your father spilling his coffee, someone upset over relatives coming into town, and other small details like that. Understanding the full experience of positives and negatives helps you paint a better picture for the reader and lead to a stronger and more interesting narrative. Learn to tie together all the interesting elements of your life story and craft them into an engaging essay.
Establish the Theme
Once you have taken a look at your own life from an outsider’s point of view, you will be able to select the most interesting elements from your notes to establish a theme. What was the most interesting thing you came up with in your research? Was it the history of your family and your region? Here is an example of how you can turn that into a theme:
"Today, the plains and low hills of southeastern Ohio make the perfect setting for large cracker box-shaped farmhouses surrounded by miles of corn rows. Many of the farming families in this region descended from the Irish settlers who came rolling in on covered wagons in the 1830s to find work building canals and railways. My ancestors were among those settlers."
A little bit of research can make your own personal story come to life as a part of history, and historical details can help a reader better understand your unique situation. In the body of your narrative, you can explain how your family’s favorite meals, holiday celebrations, and work habits relate to Ohio history.
One Day as a Theme
You also can take an ordinary day in your life and turn it into a theme. Think about the routines you followed as a child and as an adult. Even a mundane activity like household chores can be a source of inspiration.
For example, if you grew up on a farm, you know the difference between the smell of hay and wheat, and certainly that of pig manure and cow manure—because you had to shovel one or all of these at some point. City people probably don’t even know there is a difference. Describing the subtle differences of each and comparing the scents to other scents can help the reader imagine the situation more clearly.
If you grew up in the city, you how the personality of the city changes from day to night because you probably had to walk to most places. You know the electricity-charged atmosphere of the daylight hours when the streets bustle with people and the mystery of the night when the shops are closed and the streets are quiet.
Think about the smells and sounds you experienced as you went through an ordinary day and explain how that day relates to your life experience in your county or your city:
"Most people don’t think of spiders when they bite into a tomato, but I do. Growing up in southern Ohio, I spent many summer afternoons picking baskets of tomatoes that would be canned or frozen and preserved for cold winter’s dinners. I loved the results of my labors, but I’ll never forget the sight of the enormous, black and white, scary-looking spiders that lived in the plants and created zigzag designs on their webs. In fact, those spiders, with their artistic web creations, inspired my interest in bugs and shaped my career in science."
One Event as a Theme
Perhaps one event or one day of your life made such a big impact that it could be used as a theme. The end or beginning of the life of another can affect our thoughts and actions for a long time:
"I was 12 years old when my mother passed away. By the time I was 15, I had become an expert in dodging bill collectors, recycling hand-me-down jeans, and stretching a single meal’s worth of ground beef into two family dinners. Although I was a child when I lost my mother, I was never able to mourn or to let myself become too absorbed in thoughts of personal loss. The fortitude I developed at a young age was the driving force that would see me through many other challenges."
Writing the Essay
Whether you determine that your life story is best summed up by a single event, a single characteristic, or a single day, you can use that one element as a theme . You will define this theme in your introductory paragraph .
Create an outline with several events or activities that relate back to your central theme and turn those into subtopics (body paragraphs) of your story. Finally, tie up all your experiences in a summary that restates and explains the overriding theme of your life.
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How to write an autobiography: 7 key steps
Many people who’ve lived interesting lives want to learn how to write an autobiography. Whether you want to write a memoir or a fictional autobiography, these 7 steps will help you start:
- Post author By Jordan
- 4 Comments on How to write an autobiography: 7 key steps
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What is autobiography?
Autobiography means to write about yourself, typically the account of significant events in your life. The word stems from the Greek, αὐτός (autos) meaning self , plus βίος (bios) meaning life and γράφειν ( graphein ) – to write.
Autobiography vs memoir: What’s the difference?
What’s the difference between autobiography and memoir? Are there specific kinds of autobiography? These may be questions you ask as you set out to write your life story.
As Ian Jack writes in The Guardian , there are differences between autobiography vs memoir although the terms are often used interchangeably:
An autobiography is usually a record of accomplishment. All kinds of people, more or less famous, can write them or be helped to write them: footballers, politicians, newsreaders. Deeds, fame and an interesting life are not necessary ingredients of the memoir. The memoir’s ambition is to be interesting in itself, as a novel might be, about intimate, personal experience. It often aspires to be thought of as “literary”, and for that reason borrows many of literature’s tricks – the tricks of the novel, of fiction – because it wants to do more than record the past; it wants to re-create it. If a memoir is to succeed on those terms, on the grounds that all lives are interesting if well-enough realised, the writing has to be good. Ian Jack, in The Guardian , February 2003.
7 steps to write your own life story:
- Brainstorm your autobiography’s focus and scope
- Skim autobiographies for inspiration
- Choose between autobiography and memoir
- Outline key and illustrative life events
- Draft key scenes from your life
- Find strong transitions
- Check details and get beta readers
1. Brainstorm your autobiography’s focus and scope
Deciding what period and events you’ll cover in your life story is a helpful first step in choosing how to write an autobiography.
Squishing the intrigues, heartbreaks, surprises and secrets of your life into narrative form may seem an impossible task. Life of course does not unfold in neat paragraphs, scenes and chapters.
Make it easier and brainstorm your autobiography’s focus and scope. Ask:
- What period of my life do I want to tell readers about?
- Where should the timeline start? (Infancy? Childhood? Adolescence?)
- What are key events of my life readers may find intriguing?
This will help you refine your autobiography’s focus [you can also pinpoint your story’s focus in the Central Idea brainstorming tool in the Now Novel dashboard].
For deciding your story’s scope, ask:
- What essential scenes and events should I include?
- What themes or subjects need mention (for example, if you have experienced a trauma or illness that has greatly impacted your life, exploring personal events and insights that resulted from them would make sense)
Autobiography Exercise: Scenes to show
Write a brief bullet list of events to include in your autobiography or memoir.
Focus on events that show strong emotion, key turning points or changes, or vivid life lessons , because these connect with readers.
For example:
- A first encounter with someone who turned out to be an amazing mentor
- A positive or challenging move to another school, city or country in childhood
- The first time you met a major love interest in your life
- The moment you walked away from a job or other commitment to pursue a new dream
![how to write autobiography in english How to write an autobiography - infographic | Now Novel](https://www.nownovel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/How-to-Write-an-Autobiography-steps-infographic-768x1024.png)
2. Skim autobiographies for inspiration
One of the best ways to learn how to write an autobiography is, of course, to read published examples.
Get hold of copies of autobiographies that interest you . Skim parts such as the beginning and end, chapter beginnings and endings. Read for details that leap out at you, grab your attention.
Take notes on how the author approaches telling their life story. Do they:
- Proceed chronologically from childhood to adulthood or play with time and memories?
- Start with a dramatic, life-changing incident or lead in slowly?
- Tell the reader what they’re going to cover or leave the reader to gradually discover the narrative structure or shape of the story?
Reading autobiography and note-taking in this way helps you see the options for how to structure your narrative.
3. Choose between autobiography and memoir
Reading autobiography examples will help you see how authors use common narrative elements.
For example, the acclaimed author Vladimir Nabokov begins Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited :
The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. […] I know, however, of a young chronophobiac who experienced something like panic when looking for the first time at homemade movies that had been taken a few weeks before his birth. Vladimir Nabokov, Speak Memory : An Autobiography Revisted (1967), 17.
Nabokov, in typically ornate fashion, breaks the ‘rules’ of autobiography. He uses third person to describe a ‘ young chronophobiac’ – one who is afraid of time. We can guess this ‘young chronophobiac’ is Nabokov himself, and that he is using a tone of ironic detachment to imply that the act of dredging through memories – or even the idea of time itself – fills him with ‘something like panic’.
The above seems more like a literary play with form (an attribute Ian Jack ascribes memoir) than a straightforward, chronological autobiography.
Readers might indeed wonder why Nabokov calls Speak, Memory an autobiography.
Nabokov does, however, proceed more or less chronologically, from before his birth, to Chapter 2 which begins:
It was the primordial cave (and not what Freudian mystics might suppose) that lay behind the games I played when I was four. Nabokov, Speak, Memory , p. 20.
Thus Nabokov blends elements of memoir. He blends illustrative snapshots of life (the part illuminating the whole) with key events (birth, childhood) typical of autobiographical narration.
Thinking about how you’ll structure your life story , however, will make it more purposeful and consistent.
Jump to Top
4. Outline key and illustrative life events
In deciding how to write an autobiography, there are two types of events to include:
- Key events – Crucial, formative experiences, for example an early childhood triumph or loss that shaped your view of the world.
- Illustrative events – Individual encounters, lessons, romances, teachers and mentors that provide texture, background, humour, drama or the other vital elements of storytelling .
Examples of key events and illustrative events in autobiography
As an example, Nabokov uses the games he would play as a child at the start of chapter two to illustrate how he came to value imagination and beauty . He describes making a couch tent:
I then had the fantastic pleasure of creeping through that pitch-dark tunnel, where I lingered a little to listen to the singing in my ears – that lonesome vibration so familiar to small boys in dusty hiding places – and then, in a burst of delicious panic, on rapidly thudding hands and knees I would reach the tunnel’s far end…’ Nabokov, Speak, Memory , p. 20.
This is an example of illustrative event: a scene in autobiography that reveals something about the author.
In this case, we see Nabokov’s love of games of imagination and sensory stimulation (something one finds abundant in his fiction).
An example of a key event would be a major relocation, a historical conflict (such as war), or another key turning point. For example, Nabokov describes the effects of the Russo-Japanese War (a key event) in 1905 on the family unit:
The close of Russia’s disastrous campaign in the Far East was accompanied by furious internal disorders. Undaunted by them, my mother, with her three children, returned to St. Petersburg after almost a year of foreign resorts. Nabokov, Speak, Memory , p. 24.
Autobiography exercise: Finding key and illustrative events
Write a bullet list each of key and illustrative events – a sentence describing each. Examples:
- The year my family moved from Country A to Country B
- The first time I held a violin in my hands
- The first close friendship I ever made at school
Illustrative Events
- The experience and emotion of boarding a plane for the first time
- A specific funny or insightful violin lesson or teacher
- A day with a close school friend that left an indelible impression
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography and art - Fellini quote | Now Novel](https://www.nownovel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Autobiography-quote-fellini-1024x576.png)
5. Draft key scenes from your life
Now that you have ideas for key and illustrative events in your life, expand on an example.
Use the techniques of fiction to enrich the scene.
For example, Nabokov describes his sensory impressions behind the family couch.
- Impressions of sound, smell, touch, taste or specific visual details
- Emotions (Nabokov conveys a palpable sense of the child’s simultaneous delight in secrecy and panic in the dark when he describes crawling through the tunnel he made using the family couch)
As you draft, keep this in mind: What do I want to tell, show, teach? How will this help, entertain, surprise, amuse my reader?
6. Find strong transitions
Learning how to write an autobiography is not that different from learning how to write fiction.
For one, autobiographical writing and fiction writing both need engaging introductions, transitions, exposition and development.
An advantage of memoir and autobiography is that transition is a shared, relatable part of life.
For example, most children in countries where school attendance is required by law will leave the family unit and go out into the world at a similar age.
These key life changes are useful places in a memoir or autobiography for chapter breaks or scene transitions . Nabokov, for example, uses the family move to St Petersburg at the start of Chapter 4 to transition into describing his first teacher, a natural early childhood memory to include:
With a sharp and merry blast from the whistle that was part of my first sailor suit, my childhood calls me back into that distant past to have me shake hands again with my delightful teacher. Vasiliy Martinovich Zhernosekov had a fuzzy brown beard, a balding head, and china-blue eyes, one of which bore a fascinating excrescence on the upper lid. Nabokob, Speak, Memory , p. 24.
Note how Nabokov signals the narrative transition – by describing a sound he associates with that period of his life. It’s a vivid, descriptive way to end one section of story and begin another.
7. Check details and get beta readers
As you write an autobiography or memoir, it’s often helpful to speak to family or old friends. Because you never know who may remember a funny, interesting or surprising detail about a time you are remembering and trying to capture.
The people who know you best may be your best beta readers when you write about yourself. It’s also good etiquette, if writing about a family member or friend who is still living, to run sections concerning them past them.
Need someone to read over your autobiography so far? Get help from a skilled editor. Jump to Top
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Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.
4 replies on “How to write an autobiography: 7 key steps”
Just starting to write a family history beginning with what I know about my immigrant grandparents, then with a follow-up through moves and my childhood.
Hi Peter, that sounds a wonderful use of family history. I hope it is going well.
Very helpful.
Glad you found it helpful, Sally. Thanks for writing in.
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How to Write an Autobiography – Tips and Examples
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Writing an autobiography can both be fun and a headache for students. Fun for those who know how to go about this art and a headache for those who are working on it for the first time. Plus, writing a great biography is a whole different thing!
This expert guide is for both of these types of students to learn writing a great biography. It means that we will be looking into things from the very basics. Slowly we’ll move into the examples to ensure you bag all the goodies of this academic activity.
Pretty sure this blog post will serve as a stepping stone for you to write an autobiography like an expert working with a professional paper writing service online. So, without further ado, let’s learn how to write an autobiography.
Table of Contents
What Challenges a Student Faces While Writing an Autobiography?
The only time students will love the word autobiography is when it’s the occasion of the autobiography of students. Students often face these obstacles while writing an autobiography:
Selecting relevant events
Figuring out what to include and what to leave out of your life story can be tough because there’s a wide array of experiences.
Maintaining objectivity
Staying neutral and accurately reporting on events, especially when the subject matter is intense or delicate.One of the common challenges a student face when asked how to write an autobiography.
Structuring the narrative
Deciding to arrange a life story can be difficult, like deciding what would be the most interesting way to keep readers engaged. The best you could do is to go through a comprehensive math autobiography example or some teacher biography examples.
Balancing depth and brevity
Make sure the story is interesting enough to keep the reader’s attention without making it too long.
Reflecting on personal growth
It can be hard for some students to figure out how to recognize their own growth and understand how certain experiences have shaped who they are.
Tips and Tricks on How to Write an Autobiography
Writing an autobiography is a deeply personal and rewarding endeavor that allows you to recount your life’s journey. Here are some tips for writing an autobiography from professional research paper writers to help you get started with this academic activity.
Reflect and Plan
Reflect: Take some time to think about your life and all the important moments that have happened. Think about any big changes, difficult times, accomplishments, the people you have relationships with, and any moments that have had a big impact.
Reflecting on your life involves introspection and contemplation of various aspects that have shaped your experiences and identity. Here’s a breakdown of what each element might entail:
- Significant Events
- Turning Points
- Relationships
Themes: Think about what big takeaways have come out of your life so far. What has been the defining moments that have formed who you are? What values, beliefs, and characteristics have been the most impactful?
Outline Your Story (Autobiography Format)
Chronological or Thematic: Think about whether you want to tell your story in chronological order or if you’d rather group it by topics (like family, work, or hobbies).
Deciding between a chronological narrative and organizing by themes involves choosing the structure that best suits the story you want to tell in your autobiography. Here’s an elaboration on both approaches:
Chronological Narrative
Sequential Storytelling: This structure follows a timeline, starting from your earliest memories and progressing chronologically through your life.
A chronological narrative in an autobiography essentially mirrors the passage of time in your life. For a better understanding, it’s good to go through some educational autobiography examples for understanding, Anyways, here’s a more detailed exploration:
Linear Progression
Starting Point: It begins with your earliest memories or significant starting point, like your birthplace or a crucial childhood event.
Sequential Order: Each chapter or section moves forward in time, capturing the progression of your life events in the order they occurred.
Early Years
Childhood Memories: You might start by narrating your formative years, family dynamics, early interests, and influential experiences.
Educational Journey: Describe schooling, friendships, hobbies, and pivotal moments that shaped your adolescence.
Adolescence to Adulthood
Transition Phases: Highlight transitional phases like moving to a new place, major life decisions, career choices, or relationships.
Career Development: Discuss your career path, internships, jobs, promotions, and how they contributed to your growth.
Milestones and Challenges
Major Events: Include significant life milestones such as marriage, parenthood, significant achievements, or personal triumphs.
Challenges Faced: Address hardships, obstacles, failures, or crises that shaped your resilience and personal development. A very important aspect of autobiography format.
Reflective Closure
Present-Day Reflection: Culminate by bringing the narrative to the present, reflecting on how past experiences shaped your present self.
Lessons Learned: Offer insights, lessons, and takeaways from the chronological journey, emphasizing personal growth.
Logical Flow: The linear structure creates a cohesive and understandable flow for readers, mapping your life’s journey in a clear sequence.
Developmental Arc: It showcases your growth, experiences, and evolution over time, providing a comprehensive view of your life.
Detail Management: Balancing depth without overwhelming readers with too much detail can be challenging.
Transition Management: Seamlessly transitioning between different life stages might require careful narrative planning.
Clear Progression: It provides a clear and straightforward account of your life, from childhood to the present.
Natural Flow: Readers can follow the natural progression of events, which can create a cohesive and easy-to-understand narrative.
Considerations
Detail Overload: It might lead to including every detail, potentially making the story lengthy or overwhelming.
Skipping Around: Some events might need flashbacks or explanations, disrupting the linear flow.
Thematic Organization
Focused Themes: This structure categorizes your life events and stories into specific themes or topics, regardless of their chronological order.
Advantages:
Focused Exploration: Allows in-depth exploration of specific themes like family, career, passions, or personal growth.
Flexibility: You can organize chapters around topics that are most meaningful or impactful to your story.
Possible Fragmentation: It may involve jumping back and forth in time, potentially disrupting the sense of a continuous narrative.
Transition Challenges: Smooth transitions between themes might require careful planning to maintain coherence.
Key Chapters: Break your life into chapters or sections. For instance, childhood, education, career, relationships, personal growth, etc.
Start Writing
Engaging Opening: Grab attention with a compelling introduction. Share a vivid memory or an impactful moment from your life.
Authentic Voice: Write in your own voice. Be honest, sincere, and authentic. Readers connect with genuine stories.
Dialogue and Detail: Use dialogue, anecdotes, and sensory details to bring your story to life. Describe scenes, emotions, and thoughts.
Include Important Elements
Family Background: Discuss your family history, upbringing, and early influences.
Life Events: Detail significant life events – pivotal moments, achievements, setbacks, and how they shaped you.
Challenges and Growth: Describe challenges faced and how you overcame them. Reflect on personal growth and lessons learned.
Relationships: Discuss meaningful relationships and their impact on your life.
Career or Passion: Share insights into your career, passions, hobbies, and what drives you.
Be Reflective and Honest
Emotions: Don’t shy away from expressing your emotions. Your vulnerability can resonate deeply with readers.
Honesty: Be honest, even if it means acknowledging mistakes or regrets. Show your growth and learning from these experiences.
Editing and Refining
First Draft: Write freely without worrying too much about perfection.
Revise and Edit: Review your work critically. Edit for clarity, coherence, and flow. Consider seeking feedback from trusted individuals.
Refinement: Polish your language, structure, and storytelling.
Closing and Reflection
Conclusion: Wrap up your autobiography with a reflective conclusion. Summarize key points and reflect on your journey.
Impact: Consider the message or impact you want to leave on readers.
Optional Additions
Photographs or Memorabilia: Consider including photos, documents, or mementos that complement your story.
Epilogue: Add an epilogue if you wish to reflect on life after the events covered in your autobiography.
Seeking Help
Professional Assistance: Consider hiring a professional editor or an essay writing service online to help refine your work.
Understanding these Steps with Examples
let’s read examples of how someone might approach writing their autobiography following these steps:
Reflecting and Planning
Reflection: Emily, now in her 60s, reminisces on a life of varied experiences, including growing up in a small town, pursuing a career in education, and her adventures traveling the world.
Themes: She realizes her life has been about embracing change, fostering learning, and exploring diverse cultures.
Outlining Your Story
Chapters: Emily decides to structure her autobiography into sections: Early Years and Family, Academic Pursuits, Teaching Career, Travel Adventures, and Personal Growth.
Start Writing
Engaging Opening: Emily begins with a poignant memory of her first day at school, capturing the innocence and curiosity that shaped her thirst for knowledge.
Authentic Voice: Writing in a reflective yet conversational style, she shares her anecdotes and life lessons candidly.
Including Important Elements
Family Background: She delves into her family dynamics, emphasizing the influence of her parents’ encouragement in fostering her love for learning.
Life Events: Emily shares pivotal moments, like her decision to pursue education and her journey as a teacher, narrating both triumphs and challenges.
Challenges and Growth: She reflects on personal struggles, including times of self-doubt and how these instances spurred her to seek personal growth and resilience.
Relationships: She discusses the impact of friendships and mentors on her life’s direction.
Being Reflective and Honest
Emily dives into her emotions, describing the exhilaration of accomplishment and the weight of failure with equal honesty, showcasing her vulnerability.
First Draft: Emily writes freely, allowing memories and experiences to flow onto paper.
Revise and Edit: She revisits her draft, refining the narrative for coherence, adding descriptive details, and polishing language for clarity.
Conclusion: Emily wraps up with reflections on her journey, expressing gratitude for the lessons learned and the richness of experiences.
Impact: She hopes her story will inspire others to embrace change, cherish learning, and explore the world around them.
Photographs or Memorabilia: Emily considers including photos from her travels and teaching career to complement her narrative.
Emily might reach out to a trusted friend or professional editor for feedback and guidance.
Reflection: James, a man in his 40s, looks back on a life filled with entrepreneurial pursuits, global travels, and personal growth stemming from his multicultural upbringing.
Themes: His life has been about innovation, embracing diversity, and the pursuit of self-discovery.
Chapters: James organizes his autobiography into sections: Early Years and Multicultural Roots, Entrepreneurial Ventures, Travel Adventures, Personal Challenges, and Discoveries.
Engaging Opening: James begins with a vivid memory of a childhood trip abroad, highlighting the exposure to diverse cultures that shaped his worldview.
Authentic Voice: Writing in a dynamic and spirited tone, he captures his passion for entrepreneurship and cultural exploration.
Family Background: James delves into his upbringing in a multicultural household, emphasizing how it influenced his perspective and fueled his entrepreneurial spirit.
Life Events: He shares stories of launching his first business, the challenges faced, and the triumphs that followed, shaping his identity as an entrepreneur.
Challenges and Growth: James narrates personal setbacks, like business failures and moments of self-doubt, revealing how these experiences fostered resilience and personal growth.
Relationships: He discusses influential friendships and mentors who played pivotal roles in shaping his career and personal development.
James bares his emotions, describing the exhilaration of success and the humbling experiences of failure with authenticity.
Step 6:
First Draft: James writes freely, letting memories and experiences flow onto the pages.
Revise and Edit: He revisits his draft, refining the narrative for coherence, adding vivid details, and ensuring his voice shines through.
Step 7:
Conclusion: James wraps up by reflecting on the lessons learned, expressing gratitude for the journey, and discussing plans for the future.
Impact: He hopes his story will inspire others to pursue their passions, embrace diversity, and persist in the face of challenges.
Photographs or Memorabilia: James considers including images from his business ventures and travels to complement his storytelling.
Step 9:
James might seek feedback from peers or a professional editor to refine his narrative further.
Step 10:
He contemplates sharing his autobiography as a motivational tool for aspiring entrepreneurs or leaving it as a legacy for his family.
Reflection: Emma, a woman in her early 50s, looks back on a life filled with corporate success but felt a void in her creative spirit.
Themes: Her journey revolves around rediscovering her passion for art and creativity amid the demands of a corporate career.
Chapters: Emma organizes her autobiography into sections: Early Ambitions, Corporate Career, Creative Spark Ignited, Challenges Faced, and Artistic Renaissance.
Engaging Opening: Emma begins with a poignant memory of her childhood, reminiscing about her love for painting and how it slowly took a backseat in pursuit of a corporate career.
Authentic Voice: Writing with a blend of nostalgia and determination, she expresses her yearning to reconnect with her artistic side.
Family Background: Emma shares how her family supported her creative pursuits early in life and how those experiences shaped her aspirations.
Life Events: She narrates the story of climbing the corporate ladder, the sacrifices made, and the disconnect she felt from her artistic self.
Challenges and Growth: Emma discusses the challenges faced when trying to rekindle her artistic passion amidst a busy career and how these hurdles became stepping stones to personal growth.
Relationships: She reflects on how friends and mentors encouraged her to pursue her passion and offered support during her transition.
Emma candidly expresses her emotions, describing the fulfillment she found in her corporate success but also the emptiness from neglecting her artistic side.
First Draft: Emma pours her emotions onto the pages, capturing her journey from career-driven to creatively inspired.
Revise and Edit: She revisits her draft, refining the narrative to ensure it resonates with readers, capturing the emotional essence of her journey.
Conclusion: Emma concludes by reflecting on the newfound joy in her creative pursuits, expressing gratitude for the journey, and discussing the importance of balancing passion with career.
Impact: She aims to inspire others to seek and nurture their passions, even amidst demanding professional lives.
Step 8:
Artwork or Creative Works: Emma considers including samples of her artwork or creative projects to supplement her narrative.
Emma seeks feedback from fellow artists or a writing coach to ensure her narrative effectively conveys the emotional and transformative aspects of her journey.
Tips on how to Start an Autobiography
Starting an autobiography is an exciting but crucial step in setting the tone and capturing your readers’ attention. Here’s a detailed guide on starting an autobiography well.
1. Identify Your Focus
Reflection: Think about the most important thing in your life that you want to talk about. It could be a big event that happened, a moment that changed your life, something that made you feel something or a core belief that shapes your story.
Audience Consideration: Think about who you’re talking to and what would really grab their attention.
2. Choose an Engaging Opening
Anecdote: Think of a meaningful experience from your life that has a special connection to the story you’re trying to tell. It could be a funny moment, a heartbreaking event, a moment of triumph, or something else that you feel carries some emotional significance.
Vivid Description: Create an image for the reader that is so detailed that they can almost feel, smell, and taste the scene. Use words to create a vivid visual of the surroundings.
Emotional Connection: Connect with your readers on an emotional level. Share the emotions, ideas, or difficulties you felt in that moment.
Hence an engaging topic is a good answer for how to start an autobiography.
3. Find Your Voice and Tone :
Authenticity: Express yourself in your own unique style. Share your thoughts and feelings honestly. Make sure your story is heard and felt deeply.
Tone: Think about the atmosphere you’re trying to create. Whether it’s contemplative, funny, solemn, or a combination of those things, it all comes down to the vibe you’re aiming for. Still wondering how to write an autobiography? No worries, more information is coming up.
4. Set the Scene
Time and Place: Provide context by mentioning the time frame and setting. Describe the era, location, and any relevant circumstances that influenced the event or period you’re starting with.
Character Introduction: Introduce yourself or the central characters involved, establishing their role and significance in your story.
5. Capture the Essence
Theme Introduction: Offer a hint or foreshadowing of the overarching themes or lessons your autobiography will explore.
Purpose: Convey the purpose behind your decision to share this particular moment or phase from your life.
6. Draft and Redraft
Initial Draft: Don’t worry too much about perfection initially. Focus on getting your thoughts and feelings down on paper.
Revision: Review and revise your opening multiple times. Polish the language, refine the details, and ensure the emotional impact is conveyed effectively.
7. Seek Feedback
Trusted Input: Share your opening with trusted friends, family, or writing groups. Collect feedback to understand how your opening resonates with others.
8. Align with the Overall Autobiography
Consistency: Ensure that your opening sets the stage for the rest of your autobiography. It should provide a glimpse of what readers can expect in terms of style, themes, and narrative direction.
9. Embrace Experimentation
Variety: Experiment with different approaches if needed. You might start with a powerful quote, a rhetorical question, or even a thought-provoking statement.
10. Be Patient and Persistent
Revision Process: Writing a captivating opening might take several iterations. Be patient and persistent in refining it until it truly reflects the essence of your story.
Still confused?
Now that you know that writing an autobiography takes more than good writing skills. Plus, we have also studied some tips for writing an autobiography and have learned about the autobiography of students. So, it is clear that such writing requires you to put great details of the key events of your life among other things. Hopefully, this blog post was able to help you find an answer to how to write an autobiography. In case, you still have doubts about tackling this task, don’t hesitate to consult our academic writers.
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How To Write An Autobiography: A Detailed & Comprehensive Guide
- March 28, 2022
When contemplating how to write an autobiography, many people are led to assume that it’s simple. It’s just your own life story, put through the writing process. However, when writing your own autobiography, you may find that the writing process is a little more complicated than just starting with your birth and telling the story of your own life up to the present moment.
A person’s life is more than just the big events, and it’s seldom ever a solitary story. There are life lessons that need to be included. Family members and their impact on you are a part of autobiography writing as well. If you want to write an autobiography, you have to be conscious of your life story, as a tale that built the person you are, not just a string of events.
This article will help you figure out how to write an autobiography so that it’s not just the story of your own life but a personal story that others can relate to, find inspiration in, and learn from.
What is an Autobiography?
An autobiography is more than just the life story of someone. The person’s life being described is your own; therefore, it is far more personal than a novel or work of fiction. It is essential to stay truthful when recalling your own memories. The slightest deviation in honesty is a slippery slope and can quickly take you from autobiography writing to fiction writing.
How An Autobiography is Different from a Biography
A biography is the telling of someone else’s life. You choose someone, such as a family member, a friend, or a famous person, and you tell the story of his or her own life while leaving your own story out of it. A biography takes a large amount of research and expertise regarding the subject’s life story and events that they lived through. An autobiography works in the same fashion, but it’s the story of you. You are the ultimate expert in your own life. Therefore, there’s not much research to be done.
Another significant difference between autobiographical writing and biographical writing is the voice that is used. When you write an autobiography, you want to use first-person writing. You are telling the story of you. Therefore you should tell it from your own point of view.
On the other hand, biographies should always be written from a third-person point of view. Third-person is using “he, she, they, them.” You were not there, you did not witness the events you are writing about, and therefore, you should be telling the story from an outsider’s viewpoint.
How an Autobiography is Different from a Memoir
A memoir tells your own story, but not your entire life story. Often written to convey a specific message, a memoir includes snippets and anecdotes that occur throughout your entire life. Still, it’s not the detailed story of a life in its entirety. Both of these types of writing are done in the first-person point of view. First-person uses pronouns such as “I, we, and us.”
For example, if you were to write a memoir about how 9/11 affected you personally, you might write about your life the year that the attack occurred. You may even give some bits of information about your childhood, your career, or your family life from before the event. Then you would provide details and focus on 9/11 itself and what you did and were doing that day. Later, you might skip ahead and give stories from your life about how it changed you, but you wouldn’t tell the story of your entire life.
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Future Tense in an Autobiography
The future tense is tricky when it comes to writing. Most autobiographies recall events that have already occurred in a step-by-step process. This process takes the reader from the beginning to another point in the not-so-distant past or right up to the present.
The end is often written in the present tense, but most of the time, the story stops there. Basic principles of tense apply if you decide to speculate or include your hopes, dreams, or fears for the future.
Tips on How to Write an Autobiography
Your own autobiography should include details that encompass your life from birth to the present. When the writing process begins, you should write in the past tense to let the readers know that the events you are writing about have already occurred.
When you get to the present day, remember to switch your tense to the present tense so that the readers understand that you are discussing where you are in your life now. Mistakes in tense usage can be fixed in the first draft revision, but it’s best to try to get yourself in the habit of switching tenses as you go from the past events to the present day when you write an autobiography.
The following are other important tips about what content to include that will help you learn how to write an engaging and well-executed autobiography.
Autobiography Questions
Below are some autobiography questions that can guide you when writing about your life story:
- What has motivated you to write an autobiography?
- Who made a significant impact or influence in your life?
- Who are the people who surround you?
- What are the remarkable memories you have?
- Did anyone not support you on your journey and you proved them wrong?
- What inspires you?
- What demotivates you?
- What do you consider the best time in your life?
- What quote best depicts and summarizes your life?
- How would you describe yourself?
- What kind of family relationships do you have?
- What moments in life do you feel like you could be truly proud of yourself?
- What do you think are some of your flaws?
- What do you desire to have in the future/where would you like to be?
- What do you do to upskill, and in which field would you like to focus your energy?
- What are your set of principles and personal values?
- How have your values defined who you are today?
- What is your dream career path?
- Have you advocated for something?
- If there was one thing you wanted everyone to know about you, what would it be?
Your Background
It’s essential to start by telling your readers where you’re from, when you were born, and who your family members are when you write an autobiography.
This does not mean that you need to include how long your mother was in labor (unless the story of your birth is a particularly interesting one), what the hospital room number was, how much you weighed, how long you were, and what you scored on the Apgar test. Those are details that are nice to include in your baby book, but almost no one is interested in those details but you and your mom.
What you should include is where you were born (city, state, country), a story or two about a family member who meant a lot to you when you were a child or teenager, what your educational background was like, what kind of kid you were, and what your family life was like.
Keeping it general and sticking to just a few personal stories and anecdotes is enough. If you want to know how to write an autobiography that doesn’t bore the reader to tears or sleep within the first few pages, keep the details specific to significant events in your childhood, and keep the more drab and general stories to yourself.
Write About Hardship or Failure
While it may not be the most glamorous of life events you have experienced, writing about hard times, failure, and times of struggle help the reader relate to you, feel empathy and care about the story of your life.
Making your life seem perfect simply because writing about something that didn’t work out, hurt you, or made you unpopular because you see it as embarrassing will only hurt you in the long run because the reader will not be engaged.
When you go back and read your first draft, ask yourself if what you have written will touch anyone who has struggled similarly to you. If not, go back and rewrite it to include at least a few stories of hard times.
Come Up with a Catchy and Compelling Title
Autobiographical writing doesn’t have to be boring, and neither should your title. Steer clear of titles such as; Jane Doe: An Autobiography. Unless you’re famous, you’re not compelling anyone to pick it up and read it. Equally boring is; Jane Doe: The Story of my Life.
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Try to come up with something catchy and engaging when you come up with the title. Readers are more likely to read an autobiography written by someone with a witty or smart title than someone who didn’t have the writing skills or creativity to create something more original.
Instead, try for something like; A Beautiful Disaster: The Story of Jane Doe. This title denotes that you don’t take yourself too seriously, but you respect and love yourself while admitting that your life can sometimes be a mess.
You don’t even need to have your name in your title if you have a catchy title. Take this example into consideration; Hot Mess Express: The Story of One Tired Mom. This sort of title is fun, funny, and will catch the attention of mothers, especially those with young children.
Significant Events
When considering how to write an autobiography, keep in mind that significant events in your life should always be included. When you write an autobiography, you are looking for points in your personal story that impacted you and helped to shape you into the person that you are now.
Maybe that was a move across the country, the death of someone close to you, finding love, or your first kiss. Perhaps it was being the first person in your family to go to college, starting your own business, or the birth of your first child.
Be sure to include the less wonderful but still significant events in your life, as well. Things like your first heartbreak, divorce, the loss of a job, poverty you experienced, or trauma that compelled you to rise above your station and seek help to gain self-improvement or lessons learned from these experiences.
Have a Central Idea
What is the most important thing you want to say to the reader with this story? Is it that you started out with nothing and rose up to success? Is it that you had success and lost it all? Maybe it’s that love and dedication to family are more important than success in a career or climbing a social ladder.
Whatever your central idea, identify it and then figure out how you can put it in autobiography format.
The Steps Involved to Write an Autobiography
When thinking of how to write an autobiography, consider that the writing process begins in much the same way that it does with any sort of writing. You should consider following the following steps if you want to learn how to write an autobiography effectively.
Create an Autobiographical Outline
Just like any literary work, you should have an outline. After you have taken some time to reflect on what you want to include, get it written down in autobiography outline form. Include all of the parts of your life that you think you might want to incorporate, and then separate them into categories, focusing on what you think will be of medium to high interest to a reader.
What is meant by “medium to high interest” is that the events are significant enough to garner enough interest for the reader. That they will feel compelled to continue reading to see what happened to you next or how you got through an event or part of your life that you describe.
Do Your Homework
Just because you know what happened to you, and you have the general information and experiences from things like your childhood, it doesn’t mean that you have the knowledge to write it well.
If you don’t know how to describe the setting, society in the era you’re writing about, and the culture, it will seem that you don’t know how to write an autobiography, and readers will start to lose interest.
Look into things like the area you grew up in and what life was like in that area when you were a child. Get a family history from members of your family, such as where your family originated from, what your parents and grandparents did for a living, and any other significant information you may need that you don’t know about the people from whence you came.
Complete the First Draft
Your first draft may not be very clean, and it will most likely have things in it that need to be cut out. You may get too wordy talking about specific periods of your life and may not supply enough story to others. You won’t know until you get that first draft under your belt.
Once you complete this draft, take some time off and let the work sit. Taking a break before revisiting puts distance between yourself and your story, and you’re far more likely to be able to come at the revision process in an open-minded matter once you have that distance.
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Revise and Rewrite
As with any writing that you do, whether it’s an autobiography, novel, personal essay, research paper, or news article, you have to revise your work. Proofread, fix simple and obvious mistakes, and add to the things that need more description while cutting out the unnecessary parts.
Once you have fixed grammar mistakes and taken the story from what looks like a personal diary to a narrative account of your life experiences, you can start writing the next draft. Make sure to determine your desired writing style before you rewrite, and make sure that the content matches that style.
How to Properly Structure an Autobiography
Whether you’re writing a full-length book or an autobiographical essay, you still have to have structure to your writing. While an autobiographical essay is shorter, the structure is much the same. The following are some tips that will help you figure out how to write an autobiography format that works well.
Write in Chronological Order
While it’s perfectly fine for a novel to have a timeline that skips and jumps around, the best way to tell a good story of your own experiences and personal memories is to do so in chronological order or the order in which things happened.
The very beginning of your autobiography should cover your birth, then childhood, then education, then young adulthood, on up to the present moment. This creates a timeline of each significant personal experience that is easy to follow and doesn’t confuse the reader.
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Don’t Fictionalize Names or Places
Professional writers of fiction often create characters based on people they know or even themselves. They give these characters fake names and personas and rename towns and businesses so as not to make the writing too personal. All the details of the real people may be present, but when you write fiction, you have the freedom to change things.
An autobiography covers actual events, so the writing needs to be honest. If you grew up in Toledo, Ohio, say that. Don’t make up the name of a town. If you grew up with a mother named Tess, say that. Don’t give her a fake name. Being truthful about your family and your life is essential. You’re not the only character in this story, and it’s unfair and not suitable to misrepresent a setting or person in your life.
Add Family Photos or Other Personal Touches
The most compelling television episodes are the ones in which there is a strong story and a strong visual to accompany it. You can create an effect very close to this by including photos, artwork, letters shared by people close to you, and more. Just be sure that you ask for and are granted permission before you do this, especially if the photos are used to identify weak moments in your life for any reason.
Be Thorough in Describing Pivotal Moments
Significant moments in life that occur, such as academic achievements, turning points, and the things that build up to a story arc for you, need to be built up in a way that creates both interest and intrigue for your reader. Include details like how negative experiences shaped your understanding or outlook on things or how you learned to be completely free of stress because of how stressful and frantic your life used to be.
These things make up the critical elements in what amounts to a full life. And being completely transparent and thorough in the telling of it gives the reader the freshest possible perspective, especially if you acknowledge as the writer that you are reflecting upon the story you’re telling, as you tell it.
The Final Draft When Writing an Autobiography
So you’ve completed all of the steps mentioned above, and you’ve worked out your outline, title, and other details that seem small but are incredibly important. Now it’s time to write the final draft so that your favorite story, the story of you, can become someone else’s favorite story.
The Last Revision
Once you have completed that final draft , you still need to go back and ensure that everything you wanted and needed to include is present and accounted for. Clarity is sometimes an issue when a person is trying to figure out how to write an autobiography. Try reading your story aloud, and if it makes sense to someone else or even to you as you read it with your own voice, then it’s probably thorough enough.
Make Sure the Title Agrees with the Content
The last thing you want is a misleading title. Make sure that the title goes along with your autobiography’s overall tone and message.
For example, if you wrote a sad story about heartache and loss of hope, don’t title your story: Little Miss Sunshine: The Story of One Woman from the Midwest. Be sure that the mood, message, and tone align with the title you have decided on. If they don’t fit, it’s much easier to change the title than the mood and tone of the story.
Autobiography Format
Below we have outlined the format that you can utilize when writing an autobiography:
- Title – It should reflect what your life story conveys or what it is like to be you.
- Dedication – This section states whom you would like to dedicate your autobiography.
- Table of Contents – It helps your readers to locate specific parts of your autobiography.
- Acknowledgments – This is where you express your gratitude to the people who have helped you on your journey.
- Foreword – It highlights the purpose of the autobiography.
- Introduction – This provides a glimpse of who you are as the author, and if this is effective, the reader will continue reading your book.
- Body Section – This is where the events in your life are chronologically narrated, along with all the necessary details. It can contain many headings and subheadings.
- Conclusion – This is where you share all your revelations and successes, while also referencing your own personal experiences.
- Memorabilia – You may include significant pictures or any other objects that have impacted your life.
- Index – It helps the reader browse through your autobiography by using main keywords or concept words.
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Autobiography Writing Steps, Structure, and Tips
by GetPublished | Jun 26, 2020 | Blog , Writing
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Table of Contents
You have decided to share your inspiring life story with the world by writing an autobiography.
While this may appear to be an overwhelming task at the outset, you may find your story almost writing itself if you follow the basic autobiography guidelines.
Autobiography writing can be incredibly edifying, especially when you identify recurring themes in your life that can ultimately inspire others.
Suddenly, the book isn’t just all about you. An effective autobiography is driven by an underlying purpose that uses the author’s life experiences to provide something useful to the reader.
Before beginning the autobiography project, it helps to define the reason for writing your life story.
Is the book to be a chronicling of your life to be passed down to future generations for posterity? Or, is the undertaking driven by a desire to use your life lessons to teach, motivate, help, or inspire others?
Regardless of the purpose for retelling your unique story, having a fundamental understanding of autobiography guidelines will keep you on track from start to finish.
What is an Autobiography?
The word ‘autobiography’ derives from three Greek roots: the prefix, auto (self), the root word, bio (life), and the suffix, graphy (writing)—self-life-writing.
In essence, an autobiography is a first-person narrative detailing the highlights of one’s life.
Because it is a true accounting of your life, it is important to stick to the facts and resist any impulse to embellish or fabricate.
Writing about your life will entail sorting through the key events, relationships, and life lessons learned and then turning these details into a manuscript that will hopefully captivate the reader.
It is important to note that an autobiography is different from a memoir.
Generally, an autobiography covers the author’s entire lifespan, where a memoir devotes attention to a particular period when faced with daunting challenges to overcome, or an unusual or life-defining event.
Memoirs are often written with a pen name to obscure the identity of the author, giving them more freedom to share the details of their life story. Authors use their real names on autobiographies.
4 Autobiography Ideas to Inspire Your Own
When you decide to tackle your autobiography, you may immediately find yourself stumped. “What should I write about?” you wonder. “How do I write an autobiography of myself?”
Consider these ideas to nudge you toward creating a compelling account of your life:
1. Research popular autobiographies.
Read some of the most popular autobiographies to gain inspiration for your own story, as well as to familiarize you with autobiographical structure and content. There are many to choose from, including:
- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
- Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
- Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
2. Highlight an inspiring comeback story.
Consider a particularly trying period in your life, or an ongoing theme of adversity, and how it shaped you into the person you are today. Maybe you suffered from serious health challenges, abuse or neglect, or addiction. The idea is to take the reader on a journey through the struggles and toward the restoration of mental or physical health.
3. Target cultural themes.
Cultural themes make very interesting autobiographies. If you were born in a different country and experienced a childhood entirely different from the typical American child, it can make for a fascinating read. Share about the holidays, rituals, faith beliefs, and customs that are unique to your culture.
4. Leverage unique experiences.
Perhaps you rose to the top of your profession or were an accomplished athlete, performer, or public figure. Leverage those unique experiences, from the defeats and disappointments to the pinnacles of success, and inspire the reader along the way.
Remember that writing an autobiography is about revealing the pivotal moments in your life while allowing the reader a glimpse into your interior world. What inspired you, what scared you, what moved you—these are the rich details that keep the reader engrossed in your story.
5 General Tips for Writing an Autobiography
Autobiography writing follows the same basic principles of all storytelling. Writing an autobiography requires well-crafted prose, structure, and organization of timelines and themes, a defined purpose, and a keen awareness of the audience. Understanding how to write an autobiography involves the following steps:
1. Define your purpose.
What motivated you to embark on autobiography writing in the first place? What message do you want to deliver to the reader? Define the purpose for writing your story and keep that purpose in mind throughout the project.
2. Identify your audience.
Is the autobiography intended for family only? If so, there might be a need to consider family members’ feelings while writing the book. If your story is for a public audience, then consider how the book can use your life lessons to help others.
3. Create a timeline.
Sorting through a lifetime of experiences is a cumbersome task. Identify the key events that align with the purpose of your storytelling, and list them in chronological order. This becomes a guide for creating chapters or sections.
4. Add the details.
Under each key event of the timeline, add the details that will drive the narrative, the personal struggles, triumphs, lessons learned, as well as key relationships. Refer to journals, photo albums, letters, or any recorded descriptions of the key events to help refresh your memory and get the details right.
5. Bring your story to life.
To capture the heart of the reader, the story must have flavor and emotion and life. This is accomplished through good writing that paints a mental picture of your life and the people who inhabited it. Use descriptive words to bring the scenes to life, and do not hesitate to insert your heart and soul into the tale of your life.
How to Structure an Autobiography
Autobiography structure, as established by the publishing industry, should be kept in mind while writing your personal story. An autobiography essentially mimics traditional story principles, using the same core elements to help draw the reader into the story:
- Setup. Early childhood experiences, introducing family members, describing home life, school, friendships, family customs, and other foundational facts.
- Complication or crisis. Early adulthood experiences that caused strife, such as parents divorcing, moving out of state, dropping out of school, injuries that ended sports careers, substance abuse, or failed relationships. Major twists in your adult life, and pivotal moments that eventually lead to a major life achievement or victory.
- Resolution. This is where the theme of the book comes to fruition, where the author reveals the lessons learned after rising above adversity.
Generally, autobiographies are structured chronologically, unwinding the narrative from birth to the present. Even when using the chronological structure, these storytelling principles should be integrated accordingly.
Some authors begin the autobiography in the middle of their life story, introducing the crisis right off, and then reverting to their childhood days. This has the effect of grabbing the reader’s attention and making them curious about how the author got to that point, thus committing early on to continue reading.
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Shaping Your Legacy: How to Write a Compelling Autobiography
- The Speaker Lab
- March 12, 2024
Table of Contents
Ever thought about how your life story would read if it were a book? Writing an autobiography is like creating a map of your personal journey, each chapter representing milestones that shaped you. But where do you start and how can you ensure the tale holds interest?
This guide will help unravel those questions by delving into what makes an autobiography stand out, planning techniques to keep your narrative on track, writing tips for engaging storytelling, and even ethical considerations when revealing private aspects of your life.
We’ll also touch on refining drafts and navigating publishing options. By the end of this read, you’ll be equipped with all the insights you need to create a compelling autobiography!
Understanding the Essence of an Autobiography
An autobiography provides a comprehensive view of one’s life journey from birth to the present day. Imagine climbing into a time machine where every chapter represents different eras in your life. The goal of an autobiography is to allow readers to explore a factual, chronological telling of the author’s life.
Autobiographies aren’t merely catalogues of events, however; they need soulful introspection too. Think about why certain episodes mattered more than others and how those experiences influenced your perspectives or decisions later on.
You’ll also want to infuse emotional honesty, allowing yourself vulnerability when recalling both triumphant milestones and painful obstacles. Authenticity creates connections between authors and their audience, so let them see real human emotions behind every word written.
Distinguishing Features Of An Autobiography
The unique thing about autobiographies is they are first-person narratives . This allows readers to experience everything through your eyes, as if they’re living vicariously through you. From triumphs to trials, each page unravels another layer of who you are.
While memoirs are also first-person narratives of a person’s life, there are different from autobiographies. In a memoir, the author focuses on a particular time period or theme in their life. If you’d rather skip the details and dates needed for an autobiography and focus more on emotional truths, you might consider writing a memoir.
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Pre-Writing Stage: Planning Your Autobiography
The planning stage is a crucial part of writing your autobiography. It’s where you map out the significant events in your life, establish a timeline, and identify who will be reading your story.
Selecting Key Life Events
To start, you need to pinpoint key moments that have shaped you. While you will include plenty of factual details in your autobiography, you won’t include every single one. Rather, you’ll be spending the majority of your autobiography focusing on the transformative experiences that defined your life journey. After all, an autobiography is not just a catalogue of events; it’s also an exploration into what these experiences meant to you.
Establishing A Timeline
Next up is establishing a timeline for your narrative flow. Since you’re writing an autobiography, it’s important to first map out your story chronologically so that you can keep your events straight in your mind. MasterClass has several suggestions for key elements you might want to include in your timeline.
Identifying Your Audience
Finding out who’ll read your book helps shape its tone and style. Self-Publishing School says understanding whether it’s for close family members or broader public can guide how personal or universal themes should be presented.
While this process might feel overwhelming initially, take time with this stage. Good planning sets solid foundations for creating an engaging autobiography.
Writing Techniques for an Engaging Autobiography
If you’re on the journey to pen down your life story, let’s dive into some techniques that can help transform it from a simple narrative into a riveting read. An engaging autobiography is more than just facts and dates—it’s about weaving your experiences in such a way that they captivate readers.
Incorporating Dialogue
The first technique involves incorporating dialogue. Rather than telling your audience what happened, show them through conversations. It lets the reader experience events as if they were there with you. As renowned author Stephen King suggests , dialogue is crucial in defining a the character of a person (including yourself).
Using Vivid Descriptions
Vivid descriptions are another effective tool in creating an immersive reading experience. But remember: overdoing it might overwhelm or bore the reader, so find balance between being descriptive and concise.
Narrative Techniques
Different narrative techniques can also enhance storytelling in autobiographies. For instance, foreshadowing creates suspense; flashbacks provide deeper context; and stream of consciousness presents thoughts as they occur naturally—a powerful way to share personal reflections.
All these writing tools combined will give you a gripping account of your life journey—one where every turn of page reveals more layers of depth and dimensionality about who you are as both character and narrator.
Structuring Your Autobiography for Maximum Impact
Deciding on the right structure for your autobiography is essential to ensure your book captivates readers and keeps them engaged.
The first step towards structuring your autobiography effectively is deciding whether to organize it chronologically or thematically. A chronological approach takes readers on a journey through time, letting each event unfold as you experienced it. On the other hand, a thematic approach revolves around central themes that have defined your life—think resilience, ambition or transformation—and might jump back and forth in time.
Creating Chapters
An effective way to manage the vast amount of information in an autobiography is by dividing it into chapters. Each chapter should be structured around a specific time frame (if you’re opting for chronological order) or theme (if taking the thematic approach). The key here isn’t necessarily sticking rigidly to these categories but using them as guides to help shape and direct your narrative flow.
Crafting Compelling Beginnings and Endings
A strong beginning pulls people into your world while an impactful ending stays with them long after they’ve closed the book—a little like how memorable speeches often start with something surprising yet relatable and end leaving audiences pondering over what they’ve heard. So consider starting off with something unexpected that gives insight into who you are rather than birthplace/date details right away. For endings, look at wrapping up major themes from throughout the book instead of simply closing out on latest happenings in your life.
Remember, structuring an autobiography is as much about the art of storytelling as it is about chronicling facts. Use structure to draw readers in and take them on a journey through your life’s highs and lows—all the moments that made you who you are today.
Ethical Considerations When Writing an Autobiography
When penning your life story, it’s important to respect privacy and handle sensitive issues well. Because let’s face it, writing about others in our lives can be a slippery slope. We need to tread carefully.
Respecting Privacy: Telling Your Story Without Invading Others’
The first thing we have to consider is the right of privacy for those who cross paths with our narrative journey. While they might play crucial roles in our stories, remember that their experiences are their own too.
A good rule of thumb is to get explicit consent before mentioning anyone extensively or revealing sensitive information about them. In some cases where this isn’t possible, anonymizing details or using pseudonyms could help maintain privacy while keeping the essence of your story intact. Author Tracy Seeley sheds more light on how one should handle such situations responsibly.
Navigating Sensitive Topics With Care
Sensitive topics often make for compelling narratives but dealing with them requires tact and empathy. You’re walking a tightrope, balancing honesty and sensitivity, a fall from which can lead to hurt feelings or even legal troubles.
An excellent way around this dilemma would be by focusing on how these experiences affected you personally rather than detailing the event itself. Remember, your autobiography is an opportunity to share your life experiences, not just a platform for airing grievances or settling scores.
Maintaining Honesty: Your Authentic Self Is the Best Narrator
Above all else, stay truthful when writing your autobiography, both when you’re writing about sensitive topics and even when you’re not. While it can be tempting to bend the facts so that your audience sees you in a more positive light, maintaining honesty is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Editing and Revising Your Autobiography
Your initial draft is finished, but the job isn’t done yet. Editing and revising your autobiography can feel like a daunting task, but it’s essential for creating a polished final product.
The Importance of Self-Editing
You may feel that you have written your autobiography perfectly the first time, but there are always ways to make it better. The beauty of self-editing lies in refining your story to make sure it resonates with readers. You’re not just fixing typos or grammar mistakes; you’re looking at structure, flow, and consistency. Essentially you’re asking yourself: does this piece tell my life story in an engaging way?
Inviting Feedback from Others
No matter how meticulous we are as writers, our own work can sometimes evade us. Inviting feedback from others is invaluable during the revision process. They provide fresh eyes that can spot inconsistencies or confusing parts that may have slipped past us.
Hiring a Professional Editor
If you’re serious about publishing your autobiography and making an impact with your words, hiring a professional editor can be worth its weight in gold. An editor won’t just fix errors—they’ll help streamline sentences and enhance readability while respecting your unique voice.
Remember to approach editing and revising with patience—it’s part of the writing journey. Don’t rush through it; give each word careful consideration before moving onto publication options for your autobiography.
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Publishing Options for Your Autobiography
Once you’ve spent time and energy creating your autobiography, the following challenge is to make it available for others. But don’t fret! There are numerous options available for releasing your work.
Traditional Publishing Houses
A conventional path many authors take is partnering with a traditional publishing house . These industry giants have extensive resources and networks that can help boost the visibility of your book. The process may be competitive, but if accepted, they handle everything from design to distribution—letting you focus on what matters most: telling your story.
Self-Publishing Platforms
If you want more control over every aspect of publication or seek a faster route to market, self-publishing platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), offer an accessible alternative. With this option, you manage all aspects including cover design and pricing ; however, it also means greater responsibility in promoting your book.
Bear in mind that both options have their own pros and cons, so consider them carefully before making any decisions.
Marketing Your Autobiography
Now that you’ve crafted your autobiography, it’s time to get the word out. You need a plan and strategy.
Leveraging Social Media
To start with, use your social platforms as launching pads for your book. Sites like Facebook , Twitter, and especially LinkedIn can help generate buzz about your work. And don’t underestimate the power of other platforms like Instagram and TikTok when trying to reach younger audiences. Whatever social platform you use, remember to engage with followers by responding to comments and questions about the book.
Organizing Book Signings
A physical event like a book signing not only provides readers with a personal connection but also generates local publicity. Consider partnering up with local independent stores or libraries, which are often open to hosting such events.
Securing Media Coverage
Contacting local newspapers, radio stations or even bloggers and podcasters in your field can provide much-needed visibility for your work. It might seem intimidating at first, but who better than you knows how important this story is?
FAQs on How to Write an Autobiography
How do i start an autobiography about myself.
To kick off your autobiography, jot down significant life events and pick a unique angle that frames your story differently.
What are the 7 steps in writing an autobiography?
The seven steps are: understanding what an autobiography is, planning it out, using engaging writing techniques, structuring it effectively, considering ethics, revising thoroughly, and exploring publishing options.
What are the 3 parts of an autobiography?
An autobiography generally has three parts: introduction (your background), body (major life events), and conclusion (reflections on your journey).
What is the format for writing an autobiography?
The usual format for autobiographies involves chronological or thematic structure with clear chapters marking distinct phases of life.
Writing an autobiography is a journey, a trek exploring the unique narrative of your life. Together, we’ve covered how to plan effectively, select key events, and set timelines.
Once you’re all set to write, you now have the techniques you need for engaging storytelling, including vivid descriptions and dialogues. You also learned about structuring your story for maximum impact and navigating sensitive topics while maintaining honesty.
Last but not least, you learned editing strategies, publishing options, and effective ways of promoting your book.
Now you know more than just how to write an autobiography. You know how to craft a legacy worth reading!
- Last Updated: March 22, 2024
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Home / Book Writing / How to Write an Autobiography and Publish it in 7 Easy Steps
How to Write an Autobiography and Publish it in 7 Easy Steps
Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be a famous figure to write an autobiography. In fact, if you want to write a novel or some other nonfiction book but just don't know where to start, an autobiography could be an ideal project to tackle.
There are many different kinds of autobiographies from which to choose, so you don't have to keep a narrow focus or use a cookie-cutter mold for your book or autobiography essay. Read on as we tackle how to write an autobiography.
- Different kinds of autobiographies.
- Steps to help you write your autobiography.
- Tips to strengthen your storytelling skills while writing.
Table of contents
- Autobiography vs Memoir
- The Benefits of Writing an Autobiography
- Before You Write, Read
- Step 1: Decide on a Type and Scope
- Step 2: Research and Outline
- Step 3: Craft Your Story to Entertain
- Step 4: Write Your First Draft
- Step 5: Pause—Then Edit and Rewrite
- Step 6: Get a Professional Editor
- Step 7: Publish!
- How to Write an Autobiography: Conclusion
The Many Types of Autobiographies
An autobiography in its broadest terms is a book about a person's entire life (or at least the interesting parts), written by that person . If you wanted to write a book about someone else's life, you'd be writing a biography .
But within the autobiography genre, there are many other subgenres to choose from. These include:
- Intellectual
- Religious/Spiritual
An intellectual autobiography focuses on the author's life in terms of intellectual evolution and fulfillment. Often (but not always) written by people who have had a lot of schooling, the intellectual autobiography aims to analyze how certain experiences affected the author's life in terms of education, intelligence, and thought patterns.
A religious or spiritual autobiography is one concerning the author's spiritual enlightenment. If you've found God (in any form) or have gravitated to a more spiritual life as you've aged, then this could be a good genre for you.
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Thematic autobiographies are those that look upon a person's life story through the lens of a certain theme. This could be love, loss, perseverance, family, or even something like mental health, addiction, or mental illness. If you've noticed a theme in your life that has influenced your choices repeatedly, a thematic autobiography could be a good choice for you.
A fictional autobiography is one that uses events from the author's real life while changing certain other elements freely. There are no hard-and-fast rules about what can and can't be real—or what percentage of each you must include. It could be that you use mostly real events but embellish them, change characters around, or make up certain exchanges. The most important part is that you don't claim it's a true autobiography when it's really a fictional one.
It can be easy to confuse an autobiography and a memoir—which is in fact a type of autobiographical writing . The big difference is that autobiographies cover the author's whole life. Memoirs, on the other hand, focus on certain aspects of the author's life, usually in service of a theme.
If you want to focus on your career or your childhood instead of covering your whole life, then a memoir could be a better fit for you. If so, you can check out our memoir writing prompts article .
There are a ton of benefits to writing an autobiography. There's an old adage that goes “write what you know.” And there's no better genre to do just that! By diving into your personal story and examining life lessons and experiences, you don't have to worry about getting writer's block. You know the plot and the characters, which can help you get into a rhythm.
This can not only give you confidence as a writer, but it can also make you a better writer as you go. A good autobiography is a lot like a novel in a lot of ways, so you use the same skills you would in a novel by painting a picture for your reader.
But the benefits don't end with developing as a writer. It can also help you deal with traumatic events and process significant moments in your life. The goal, after all, isn't to dwell on any perceived wrongs or get back at anyone. The goal is to make sense of your personal experience by turning it into a story that readers will enjoy.
Now that we've covered that introductory ground, let's get into how to write an autobiography, step by step.
I would be remiss if I didn't say that you must first familiarize yourself with autobiography examples before you can write one. As such, here are some famous autobiographies to read so you can see how it's done.
- Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
- I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
- Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Complete Guide to Autobiography Writing
Writing an autobiography can be a rewarding endeavor, but it’s not easy. Even though it’s about your own life, it still requires research, time, effort, and some writing skill to get done. The steps below take you through the writing process, from choosing your focus to choosing your publishing avenue.
While an autobiography covers the author's whole life, that doesn't mean that every single detail needs to go in. Even if you could remember what you had for breakfast on April 7th when you were ten years old, there would be no reason to include it unless some significant event happened at that time.
So the first step in the writing process is deciding what type of autobiography it will be . This, in turn, will help you decide on the scope. If it will be an intellectual autobiography, you may want to spend time focusing on your early schooling and how that impacted your ability to learn or your love of knowledge.
On the other hand, if you're writing an autobiography themed on marriage or romantic love, you probably won't have a lot of ground to cover during your childhood years.
Pro Tip: Write a short personal statement about why you want to write an autobiography. There's no wrong answer, but putting your “why” into words can help you keep focused through the process.
Once you have your scope in mind, you can start doing research and outlining in broad strokes the exact events you want to cover. This is when your idea starts to take shape in your mind and on the page.
Researching will mean delving into your family history, busting out the yearbooks, and opening up the (physical or digital) photo albums. It will mean talking to parents, friends, siblings, and other family members. To get things right, it's important not to rely just on your fallible memory. Get multiple perspectives and sources on any important event you plan to cover.
This is also a great time to get permission to use people's names in your book. Everyone you include in the story by name should give their permission. While this isn’t legally required, it’s a courtesy. However, it’s unlikely you will be sued for anything you say in a book unless it is blatantly slanderous.
Research is a time-consuming step in the process. But it's essential for forming your autobiography in your mind. You may even learn things about your family that you never knew before!
Just write everything down (or record it) so you can reference what people have said later. Using all your research, start crafting an autobiography outline in a Word document or on paper.
Pro Tip: If you're not sure you have enough to say to fill a book, you can write an autobiographical essay first. If you still feel like you have a lot to say after writing an essay of a few thousand words, then you may have a book's worth inside your head!
Since you don't have to include every single detail in your memoir, you get to prioritize certain things over others. And while most autobiographies move in chronological order, it doesn't preclude you from using a hook to engage your readers.
Perhaps you want to open your autobiography with a single event that changed your life . If this means jumping forward in time in your autobiography introduction to hook the reader before jumping back to your childhood, then that's perfectly fine.
The point is, your autobiography needs to entertain the reader. And to do this, you can craft it like a novel. The one thing your book shouldn't be is full of dry, academic writing.
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You're the protagonist of the autobiography. And being a human, you're flawed. Make this clear to the reader while also giving them a reason to like you and root for you early in the book. Unless you're writing a fictional autobiography, this needs to be a true anecdote. But it shouldn't be hard to find.
Think about all the other people in your story as characters . Each family member is there as a supporting role to you, the protagonist. Like you, they need to be interesting, if not always likable. It also helps to include conflict early on. Most people experience plenty of conflict in their lives, so this isn't usually hard.
When you think about your autobiography in this way, you can then refine your outline – or write a whole new one—with this in mind.
And once you're confident that you have the structure you want, it's time to start writing!
Since you're writing about your own experiences, you'll probably want to stick to the first person point of view . This is the most common autobiography format—even for those written with the help of a ghostwriter. For many authors, this comes naturally because it's how we tell stories to each other.
That said, writing “I” over and over again can get a little old. This is normal. Just take it as an opportunity to vary your sentences instead of starting every one of them with “I.”
The writing process is different for every author, but it's important that you commit to a certain word goal per day or week . Make this goal attainable and stick to it. If you go weeks or months without getting words down, you'll just have to work harder to get back into the rhythm of autobiography writing.
That said, give yourself room to make mistakes during the first draft. When you accept that your first draft won’t be perfect and only focus on getting the words down, things get a lot easier. You can always go back and edit later. But you won’t have anything to edit if you don't write!
When you're done with your first draft, let it sit for a couple of weeks or a month. This will allow you to get some distance from the words, which can help you look at them with a critical eye when it comes time to work on your subsequent drafts.
Some authors even do this after each consecutive draft. But many find that it's most beneficial after the first one.
Whether you wait a week or a month or more is up to you. But you can certainly find a sweet spot that works best for your writing schedule.
Recording your life story is no easy task. And you will, by definition, be close to it. So this distance is imperative to achieve a dispassionate look at it. From there, you can make changes and re-work it until you think it's ready for another pair of eyes.
Once you've made your autobiography as good as you can make it, it's time to seek help. While you can certainly give a copy of the book to some friends and family to see what they think, keep in mind they're likely biased. Chances are they're also not professional editors, either.
This is why it's always a good idea to hire an editor —preferably one who's familiar with autobiographies. Of course, there are many different kinds of editors. And taking a critical look at your book in step 5 is important for choosing the right kind.
If you think there are some structural issues with the book, you may want to hire a developmental editor. If you want someone to find typos and grammar issues, then a line editor may be best.
For more information, check out our article on different kinds of editing .
No matter what kind you go with, getting the feedback of an unbiased professional can do wonders for your autobiography .
Even if you're not looking to make millions with your autobiography, publishing can still be a lot of fun. While it's hard to get a book deal for an autobiography unless you're already a celebrity, self-publishing is always an option.
With a formatted manuscript and a professional cover, you can have your book up on Amazon and other online retailers in short order. You can even order author copies of your paperback to give to friends and family.
To learn more about this process, check out our self-publishing hub .
Whether you want to sell your autobiography to a wide audience or simply have it around for future generations of your family to read, writing about your life experience is a worthwhile endeavor. It can help you become a better writer while reflecting on your life and the lessons learned.
To cover your life story in a compelling manner means leaving some things out and focusing more on others. Pivotal moments in your life should be the “plot points” of your autobiography. Striving to meet some goal should create a through-line for the reader. And the setbacks on your way to that goal can create the conflict needed to keep things interesting.
Of course, all this should be true—unless you're writing a fictional autobiography!
Dave Chesson
When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.
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How to Write an Autobiography (Fully Explained)
By: Author Paul Jenkins
Posted on Published: November 20, 2021 - Last updated: July 31, 2023
Categories Writing , Storytelling
Sooner or later, many of us think we’d like to write an autobiography. Maybe we should even write our memoirs, but we’ll talk more about that in a minute.
The point is this: We’ve all these memories and associations, relationships, sometimes sharp, sometimes soft, but we have them in our mind, and we feel like we want to put them on paper.
We want to tell someone the story we experienced, and sometimes we don’t even understand why we want to tell that particular story, but we have a strong feeling that we want to do so. In this article, we’ll look at exactly how you can approach your autobiography writing.
Autobiography or Memoir
An autobiography is a whole thing – a life, usually told chronologically as a series of significant events. Sometimes with the help of a ghostwriter. You should only ever have to write one autobiography!
But to qualify for it, you must have either :
a) lived a life worth living
b) been infamous or famous
Maybe both!
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write a story about your life. Quite the contrary.
But the memoir form may be better suited for you.
Memoirs as a Slice of Life
A memoir is a much more artistic endeavor than an autobiography or biography. They’re less limited to dry facts and more concerned with the meaning of life – whether by examining a specific period or looking at a period of life through a thematic lens.
It’s about a story within one’s life, not the whole life story. A slice-of-life experience. An excellent memoir is much closer to creative nonfiction than an autobiography.
The great thing about memoirs is that you can use them for almost any purpose and make them whatever you want.
A memoir usually isn’t as long as an autobiography and is written from a different perspective.
Writing an autobiography is about your life from your perspective. That’s not always the case with memoirs. Here, the author focuses on
a) a particular period of life,
b) a particular kind of life, or
c) a particular event.
You can tell about a day in your life that was particularly memorable, which is another type of memoir.
You don’t have to tell the story chronologically, but if it helps put things in order, you can do that too.
Memoirs can also be more subjective than an autobiography. A memoir is usually the story of your life as you see it.
Themes in a Memoir or Autobiography
You can focus on crucial moments and look at a period or a topic you want to write about.
Topics can be anything from your relationship with your parents to overcoming fear. Family, religion, work, relationships, health, hobbies – whatever you prefer – are fair game for the memoirist’s pen.
Themes give meaning to life. That’s why they’re so important in an autobiography or memoir.
There are other forms you should keep in mind:
- In a biography , someone else writes about someone.
- An autobiographical essay is required of prospective college or college applicants, in which they focus on experiences and accomplishments that add weight to their application. It’s an opportunity for a student to demonstrate relevant qualifications and qualities for entry and the ability to construct a well-argued piece of writing that is looser in style than straight academic writing. You can think of it as a personal essay.
The Moving Parts
If you’re thinking about writing your autobiography, you should first be aware of the key elements that will ensure your autobiography stands out and engages readers.
Many factors play a role in this, and we’ll discuss them one by one.
Universal Message
At its core, autobiographical writing is a search for meaning and identity.
A good autobiography isn’t just about you and your experiences. Somewhere in your autobiography, there’s always a universal message that manifests itself in the story you tell.
In this sense, an autobiography isn’t simply a list of experiences you string together, although you can use a chronological structure. But that’s far from the whole story.
A great autobiography has all the elements of a fantastic novel or movie. In other words, it’s to engage the reader emotionally and keep them enthralled.
Otherwise, there’s no motivation to keep reading.
In filmmaking, a central theme is sometimes called a “controlling idea” – akin to a thesis statement, it’s the fulcrum around which the narrative revolves.
No one is interested in a string of events. The events must have meaning, and the music and rhythm of life should permeate your autobiography for it to jump off the page and truly engage the reader.
There’s nothing like a universal message told in the form of a story.
A Strong Story
An excellent autobiography is a story told with strength and nuance. That’s why it matters to be clear about the story you want to tell and the key events that the story embraces.
Granted, this story may not be apparent when writing your autobiography begins. The story may not be clear to you until late in the writing and editing.
You may not even understand the story you’re telling until you revise. That’s why it’s so important to be flexible in outlining, structuring, writing, and revising. In other words, in the overall organization of your autobiography, which we’ll discuss in more detail in this article.
We’ll look at specific methods to help you structure your autobiography and assemble the necessary pieces.
And we’ll show you how to combine those pieces to create an excellent autobiography.
But before we go any further, let’s look at key elements that make a good autobiography.
When discussing a particular moment in your life story, you should be concerned with the spirit of the times – the so-called Zeitgeist.
For example, if you’re talking about the 1960s, you want the flavor and feel of that time to be reflected on the page.
It can be allusions to the music of the time. It can be allusions to the cars or the way of shopping that existed back then. The things that were happening on the street.
They can have to do with the attitudes of the people around you that were important at the time and how they acted and thought.
This creates a picture in the reader’s eye of what was happening around you then. That essential things were happening to you, or you were doing important things.
There’s something mysterious about a good autobiography.
Not everything in life is unambiguous! Life is often very ambiguous, and readers appreciate honesty and humility. By its nature, personal experience is subjective.
Readers don’t want to read someone arrogant and know everything. The fact is that not everything in your own life is clear to yourself, let alone to others around you!
Therefore, it can be excellent to acknowledge this and either mention it directly in your writing or have moments in the story where you allow the mystery to exist because it does.
This sense of mystery lets the reader’s imagination run wild. It allows the reader to understand that life comprises a series of veils. In most cases, the reader will find himself relating parts of your story to his life story. He’ll feel addressed, and that’s what draws him in.
Life isn’t just about clear challenges and overcoming them. As compelling as such “hero stories” may be. There are profound mysteries in life that we all ponder occasionally and keep popping up.
That’s why I think this sense of mystery is very important.
Revelations and Story Beats
In addition to secrets, you should also have moments of revelation in your autobiography.
Moments when something suddenly becomes clear, or someone realizes something. Life lessons that change the trajectory of your life. Or the nature and meaning of a relationship become apparent, which drives you to a decision or action.
In that sense, the events in your autobiography are less about the external events and more about the internal events where you decide what to do at certain stages. Or you come to a judgment or conclusion about something that you’ll probably change later in your life.
The point is that these moments of change, the so-called swing points in your life – the “beats” in movie language – are very important because they mark turning points in the story of your life.
The Plot of Your Life
It’s constructive to think of your life as a movie plot. We’ll discuss this technique later in this article.
So your autobiography isn’t just a collection of the best and worst moments of your life, even if you desperately want the polarity of good and bad to make your story stand out.
Juxtaposition is a very important element. You want things to contrast because that helps build emotion. It helps build tension and drama in the story.
Tension is essential for reader engagement. You can think of it like a rubber band that you slowly twist. It gets tighter and tighter. The trick is to keep stretching it open, building it up more and more, and then relaxing it again. Tighten it up and then relax it again. Over and over again.
In other words, play with the tension in your life story, your autobiography.
Context Shifts
Another critical element in your autobiography is context shifts.
Sometimes these are changes of place. So you move, go to a different place, or arrive at a different place.
Sometimes they’re contextual shifts in terms of relationships with other people.
Sometimes it’s contextual shifts regarding your life purpose and how you define what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish.
But it’s helpful to be aware of these contextual shifts in your life and think about these seams as you write your autobiography.
Now let’s look at the key steps to writing your autobiography.
A Very Personal Journey
Run away if anyone tells you that there’s some standard template for writing an autobiography or memoir! Quick.
Writing and stories aren’t about squeezing experiences and memories into some template.
The author’s connection to the material is the most crucial thing in writing a good, meaningful work.
Writing is about how you see the world, understand your experiences, and want to share them with readers.
Writing is a personal journey that can be very different for everyone.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a memoir about how you worked your way up in your profession and discovered leadership and management skills or if you’re writing a memoir about your relationship with your mother.
Either is perfectly fine.
Tell the stories that burn inside you. Write about what it means to be alive, awake, aware, and a wonderful person. Make up a story that’s as personal as you see fit.
Memoirs help you do that. How you choose what to include and what not to include, what to focus on, and what to ignore is up to you.
A Thought for the Reader
Picture the scene. You have a few minutes in the bookstore, browsing the titles scattered on the table of featured books – or the digital equivalent online.
A cover catches your eye. Something intrigues you so much that you pick up the book.
What do you do?
You probably read the blurb on the back cover and then the first page or two. Often that’s enough to make you buy the book or quickly put it back on the pile.
Something in the blurb and the first few pages must appeal to you. Otherwise, you won’t get involved, and the book has left your universe forever!
So when thinking about, constructing, and writing your memoir or autobiography, be clear about your story’s appeal to other people, your future readers!
This doesn’t mean you should be cocky about your writing. On the contrary, an honest path through your story is almost always better. But it means you develop a sense of your reader’s attention!
Otherwise, you’re just writing for yourself. That’s fine, by the way – it can be an excellent way to soothe the soul.
But if you want other people to read your stuff, you need to think carefully about what in your story will grab attention and what is worth paying attention to in each scene!
The Two Treasure Chests
We all have two treasure chests regarding memories, stories, and, thus, memoir writing.
The first is the treasure chest of memories and reflections. These are in the treasure chest of your mind, and your job is to capture them on paper or the screen and eventually work them into a story.
The second treasure chest is physical and digital mementos. Photos, CDs, letters, diaries, old notebooks, clothes, souvenirs, and more. They serve as a tremendous stimulus for remembering and writing. Although you could collect them in one place before writing, that’s probably impractical. Therefore, a good solution is to have a photo mood board with everything you’ve accumulated over the years.
An easy way to do this is to use the built-in photo app on your computer. I use a Mac, so this is Photos for me. It’s easy to collect pictures in an album and resize them to see more or less of them as needed.
Then and Now Time
One of the questions people ask when writing a memoir is how to handle tenses.
I think it’s worth considering two different time frames: the “then time” and the “now time.” This means you put yourself in the moment of the remembered events but see them as you experienced them then. This way, you can vividly represent them and discover them in your text.
It’s not so much a matter of tense as it’s of perspective and setting.
The “now time” is the time of reflection: you look back on past events with the wisdom of hindsight.
As a rule, it’s a good idea to write the main narrative in the “then time” because otherwise, you risk your memoir becoming a boring flashback instead of a compelling journey for the reader.
Connect with Your Inner Child
One particular technique worth mentioning when writing about childhood experiences is the “connect with your inner child” meditation. I first learned about it at the beautiful Plum Village retreat in France.
A guided meditation takes you back to your childhood and creates a connection you can access. Incredibly powerful in life and writing.
Imagine seeing your younger self in a scene and later adding how your older, wiser self understood what you were experiencing, even if you didn’t know it then.
This technique of shifting perspective is highly effective in both memoirs and novels.
It’s worth trying the Plum Village app for IOS. It’s completely free and offers many great meditations.
Break Out of the Prison of Linear Narrative
Where should you start with your memoir?
And how do you start writing them?
Unless you’re dealing with a tight time frame and a compelling ongoing narrative, telling your story in a non-linear way will probably help a lot.
Remember, you’re selecting events, not trying to tell everything that happened.
Therefore, not only can you select periods – which don’t have to be worked through in strict order, especially if you’re writing out your memoir thematically – but you can powerfully use nonlinear writing for your entire process.
We don’t think linearly, so why write that way?
When I sit down to write, I focus on the task: the sentences, paragraphs, and pages in front of me. I don’t worry excessively about everything having to be perfect and fit at the time of writing. Everything is in its own time! During the editing and the second draft, I start moving the blocks around so they tell a story.
Using Scrivener to Structure Nonlinear Writing
The app that best helps this nonlinear writing process is Scrivener.
I’ve used it for many years, and how it handles index cards on its “corkboard” has saved me more time than I care to remember in finding structure in writing and filmmaking.
Another excellent app I can recommend is Aeon Timeline. The latest version, 3, has a narrative mode and several other perspectives that let you get a handle on chronology, eras, intersections of characters, and more.
The Truth in Autobiography
When you write your memoir, you write a piece of truth. Your truth. There’s no such thing as objective truth, certainly not in writing. Nor, for that matter, in filmmaking.
There’s only a subjective truth – the truth as you see it. The exciting thing is that your truth becomes someone else’s truth through a magical transformation process.
Your mother’s truth becomes your truth, your neighbor’s truth becomes your truth, and your lover’s truth becomes your truth.
That’s magic.
One of the reasons I recommend writing your memoir instead of an autobiography is that you can focus on a particular story, a particular moment in your life. If you do it right, you can present it in a way that speaks to others.
You write your memoir to express your truth in a way that communicates it clearly to your reader without misleading them.
This is because they’re based on facts and what happened (as best you can remember it). This is part of a primary, unwritten contract you make with future readers when writing your memoir or autobiography.
Find a Coherent Narrative
To tell your story clearly and understandably, you must find a coherent narrative that ties together the concepts you want to convey.
The narrative won’t be perfect; it’ll need to be revised because your story isn’t an objective fact; it’s your truth.
It’s the narrative that makes your story interesting to your readers. Readers like narratives!
Hopefully, you’ll write your story so that even if the reader doesn’t know what happened to you, they’ll know what you felt and thought.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s very liberating to understand that the shape and order of your narrative will emerge during the writing process – not something you’ve to decide before you even start putting words on the page.
A Structural Approach to Autobiography and Memoir
You don’t have to pressure yourself to figure out the structure of your narrative from the start. You don’t have to summarize ideas, memories, or themes in predefined chapters.
Chapters are the surest way into the writer’s prison.
As the wonderful writer Terry Pratchett put it:
Life doesn’t happen in chapters at least, not regular ones. Nor do movies. Homer didn’t write in chapters. I can see what their purpose is in children’s books (“I’ll read to the end of the chapter, and then you must go to sleep”) but I’m blessed if I know what function they serve in books for adults. Sir Terry Pratchett
Writing programs like Scrivener allow you to collect and spit the fragments out, knowing you can later group them into a form. That’s tremendously liberating. It’s how I’ve made films, how I write long texts, and how I write articles – including this article.
I’ve no idea how this article will turn out. But it’ll appear; you can bet on that. And I know it’ll be good because it comes from the heart. And it’s immediate. Not overthought.
When you write your memoir, you can do the same thing.
I start with many different ideas and notes, photos, and videos I’ve taken. I make sure I can find them easily. If I’ve everything in one place, it’s easier for me to get it out.
You’ve to let your mind become a sieve, a filter, a funnel into which you pour your experiences so they come out transformed.
You’ll have to go through everything several times. You’ll have to go through your story several times.
First, you write down everything you remember, everything you think is essential, and everything that feels like it belongs to your story.
Second, you shape this mass of material into something coherent.
Third, you edit the material.
Dreams and Meditations
Dreams and meditations are essential in all forms of writing, even in memoirs. The trick is to capture the fragment on paper or screen as quickly as possible before it flies away.
Let me give you an example:
I remember first hearing Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band .
I was walking down the hallway at school when I was about nine years old. Suddenly I heard this incredible sound from a record player (yes, I’m that old) turned up full blast in an adjoining room. There was no one in the room, just the music. Coming from a conservative family where pop music just wasn’t played at home, I think this was the first time I got a taste of a larger culture. Out there.
I was amazed.
Use Dictation to Write Your Memoir
Sometimes when I write, I think of a scene, close my eyes, and start dictating. It’s all the more convenient when I know that one of the many transcription apps will do the hard work for me afterward.
Recently, I recalled that my brother and I were up against the local giant nettle patch when I was about twelve years old. To us, they weren’t nettles – they were an army. Hours later, we were called up for tea – and I suffered from hay fever for years afterward !
This memory also reminded me of another day when, together with local boys, we found a barn with huge black garbage cans in it. The game was to hide in the garbage cans while others threw stones and tried to hit us. Inevitably, a rock hit me right between the eyes. I’d have lost an eye if it had been just an inch further away.
Rather than lose these memories to the chaff of the day, I immediately documented them with a voice recording on my iPhone. Safe in the knowledge that I could quickly transcribe and include them in my memoir later.
Allow yourself to dream, to remember, to record, to document. Don’t be guided by the thought that these recordings must have a particular form before they must.
One way to think about your memoir is to think of it as a series of vignettes – short, impressionistic scenes that focus on a moment or give a particular insight into a character, idea, or environment.
The word’s origin is worth knowing: it comes from Old French and means “little vine.” If you think about it, it’s a very nice analogy for what excellent memoir writing can do: a series of independent yet interconnected vines that together form a whole.
I don’t see a linear path when I think about my life this way. Things have happened randomly; I’ve been in one place and then another. Or in the same place in different periods.
I don’t see my life as a coherent, meaningful narrative. It’s more like a series of vignettes between which I can see connections, but not a continuous line.
Your vignette can be part fantasy, part dream; you can change the period, time of day, weather, season, lighting, or anything else you want.
If you include dialog, make sure it’s believable; if you include your (or other) participants’ thoughts, make sure they ring true.
If you’re worried about authenticity, pick a moment you can remember clearly.
For example,
As a child, I’m sitting on the floor in the kitchen of my house. I’m nine years old. The kitchen is very bright. I’m eating a sugared roll – one of my favorite foods. I’m thinking about my friend’s birthday party tomorrow, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m also thinking about getting my housework done today. It’s light in the kitchen.
The truth, of course, is that I’m thinking about all of this at the same time.
Later, I listen to the sound of rain falling on the roof of the conservatory. It’s a sound I’ve long loved. I watch the different shades of light coming in through the window. The light casts shadows. The light is bright. I think about the things I need to do today. I’ve some homework to do. I need to do the dishes. I need to clean up.
What might hold together seemingly random moments like the above is the growing quality of reflection and the pressure that life puts on the mind.
Use Prompts
When writing memoirs and autobiographies, many prompts can be handy.
We’ve already discussed the two treasure chests above.
But many beneficial questions can get your mind going and make deep memory connections.
Here are just a few examples:
- What was my most treasured toy? Why was it important to me?
- What do I remember about the kitchen growing up? What smells can I still remember today? What could I glimpse out the window?
- What did I do that I regretted? What can’t I tell another soul about?
- Driving with the family in the car. What’s happening right now? Where are we going?
- When was the first time I was furious? What had happened?
- When did I feel most betrayed in my life?
- When did I fall in love for the first time? Out of love?
As you can imagine, there are many, many more.
The point isn’t to go on an endless memory hunt but to lift the veil of the unconscious to find the topic necessary for your memoir. And more often than not, a more resounding theme emerges. A deeper meaning to your life story that you want to put on paper.
That, after all, is the real art of memoir: distilling a lifetime’s experiences into a coherent, readable, and meaningful whole.
The prompts don’t have to be about the past – they can be about the present.
They can be about your life today – your current life and your relationship to it and the people around you. Then you can discover how profound forces and influences have shaped your reality.
Your Motivations
Ultimately, you’re the only person who knows your motivations for writing your memoir. There’s no need for you to explain to the public!
What do you hope to gain by writing your memoir?
A sense of closure? A sense of accomplishment? Redemption?
A chance to share the themes of your life story with others so they can learn from your journey?
An opportunity to see your story told so you can look back and reflect on the meaning of your life and the direction your life might take in the future.
Whatever the reason, the result should be more significant than a simple retelling of your life.
Perhaps it’s about creating a legacy, leaving something that will stay with you beyond your time, years, and life into the future.
When you write your memoir, you’re also writing your legacy. Or at least part of it.
That’s why it’s worth pausing for a moment.
Beware of the natural human instinct to right the wrongs done to us in the past. Seeking revenge will lead you down a dark path. Once it’s published, it’s published. And it’s hard to crawl back.
My advice would be to make your memoir a positive impulse.
We all make mistakes; why not reflect on them with awareness, acceptance, and understanding?
Awareness will lead us to change our pattern of behavior, acceptance will lead us to forgiveness, and understanding will show us how to forgive others.
Remember, forgive the person, but not the crime.
Writing your memoir can be a part of the healing process if you let it.
Scenes That Resonate
Actors know there are “scene objectives” in scenes – things the character wants and is trying to achieve.
This isn’t always true, but it’s often the case that the character either achieves their goal or doesn’t. There will be a clear resolution to the scene.
You can also look at your memoir in this way.
The goal of a particular scene is to get the character from one point in the story to the next in a way that makes sense to the reader.
How do you do that? Through the concept of scenes that “get there.” In a way, it’s similar to a joke that “lands” with its punchline.
These “landings” are ways to get from one scene to the next.
They’re places of transition where action and reflection mix, and you can move from one scene to the next. This is where you place the dissonance leading to your character’s next destination.
Remember that these transitions will become more apparent and more evident as you write and move into revision. You don’t have to have a set structure for your memoir. However, you need a series of vivid scenes, fast or slow sections, that deepen your narrative.
The Movie of Your Life
There’s a classic and well-understood dramatic arc that underlies almost all movies. I’m not suggesting that you apply it to how you write your autobiography or memoir, but it can benefit you as you reflect on the ebb and flow of your life.
We go through a series of “walls” in our lives. Ones that we break through after we find our way or ones that we somehow get around.
Overcoming the significant obstacles of life usually requires inner change and realization. When we overcome life’s walls, we learn an important lesson that we take into the next phase.
I found it very helpful to plot these walls on a timeline of my life. On the X-axis was my age, and on the Y-axis was the amount of hardship endured. That corresponds to the level of drama. This was a precious exercise because it helped me step back from the story of my life and look at it from the outside.
The way a reader might.
It helped me recognize the moments that involved real struggle, emotion, and conflict. In this way, it served as a map for my memoir.
So I took the significant events in my life – death, illness, divorce, early trouble spots, etc. – and drew them on the line where they took place, what age I was, and what was happening in my life at the time.
An interesting thing happened.
I thought I’d written about significant events before but never went into enough detail to immerse the reader in the pain, emotion, and drama.
Also, I hadn’t allowed myself to take ownership and responsibility for these events.
Subconsciously, I’d distanced myself from my own life. This isn’t to say that it was all my fault. But I was guilty of being too easy on myself.
As you can probably guess, this was an essential moment in my writing process.
What’re your walls? When did you overcome them? How did you overcome them?
Maybe you’ve decided you’re going to overcome them. Or maybe you’re still waiting to overcome them.
In any case, these moments of significant change are essential to the success of your autobiography.
Commit to Yourself
Writing memoirs or autobiographies is difficult. Even if no one but you may ever get to see them!
It requires deep inner work – a journey into the soul.
And it requires a serious commitment to writing continuously over a long period.
The former means accessing your unconscious, as I described earlier in this article.
The latter is a challenge that all writers face. The simple yet not-so-simple task of sitting down in your chair and writing every day. Your writing journey.
So before you start, make some commitments to yourself.
- Commit to writing every day.
- Commit to writing as many words as you estimate you’ll need to finish your book.
- Commit not to cheat on your word count.
- Do your best because you know your best is good enough.
- Show up to your desk and your soul.
This is the hallmark of a professional writer. Which you may not be. But why not adopt the mindset and practices of one?
One thing: don’t rush.
A memoir or autobiography shouldn’t be written under time pressure. Give your writing time to breathe and your reflections time to go deep. You’re laying the groundwork for something great.
One of the hardest things to write about is your relationship with your parents.
I lost both of my parents, one of them recently. Even as time passes, it’s hard to look deep (as a writer must) in a way that inevitably evokes pain and grief in me.
But that pain must be endured if you’re to have access to what’s probably one of the most important influences on your psyche, whether you want to admit it or not.
As a writer, artist, and human being, you must deal with them honestly. And do so with as much compassion as possible.
In other words, you must go through the same process of soul-searching and profound inner discovery as you’d with any other complicated subject.
You must apply your understanding of life and its meaning to the subject. And you must write from a position of humility and compassion.
Brainstorming for Your Autobiography
I always think of “brainstorming” more as “thought development” – a quieter and more meditative approach to writing.
You call up ideas and play with them. Try them out. To see what develops. These ideas transform as you write, re-read, and sleep on them.
Then when you come back to your writing, you’ve new things to work with. Ideas that have been developing in the background.
This is a good way to gather ideas for your memoir. It’s a way to write without writing.
- In one sentence, invent a sentence that says something about your life.
- In a paragraph, invent a paragraph that says something about your life.
- In a scene, invent a scene that says something about your life.
- Write a memory that says something about your life.
Then ask yourself: What do you’ve to say?
- What’s the most important thing you’ve to say?
- What’s the most dramatic thing you’ve to say?
- What’s the most impactful moment you can convey?
I use mind mapping extensively to “develop thoughts” – the best apps I’ve found for this are iThoughts and TheBrain. The beauty of TheBrain is that it allows for contextual thinking around a subtopic – something difficult to achieve with traditional radial mind maps.
You can also use free online tools like XMind, Coggle, or paper and a pen.
You’ll find that this way of thinking brings ideas to life in ways you mightn’t be able to if you only thought linearly.
Why not just write an essay about your life, drawing from the stream of consciousness? And then see what sticks.
Related: How to Focus on Writing an Essay
Write a Letter to Yourself
Another way to write your autobiography or memoir is to imagine you’re writing a letter to yourself.
A great letter is to tell yourself the story you want to write about yourself.
Or you can take on the role of mentor to yourself:
The “you,” in this case, is your current self.
- Write a letter to your former self.
- What advice would you give to your former self?
- What guidance would you give?
- What would you do differently?
- How would your former self respond?
- How would your current self respond?
- How would your future self react?
- How would your friends and family react?
- How would your children react?
How to Outline Your Autobiography or Memoir
The most important thing you need to know about outlining as a writer is that it’s not a process that happens before you settle down to write, and it’s written down in a kind of gospel.
Quite the opposite.
The “how” (the outline) and the “what” (the writing) are intricately intertwined and bounce off each other.
Outlining Is a Dynamic Process
If you have a good idea of what you want to write about, you can put that idea into an outline.
There are many different ways to do this. Most involve writing a few key words, phrases, sentences, or even just a few key phrases that describe the main content of your book.
A book is usually a collection of chapters (but be sure to read my comments about the chapters above).
You can outline a chapter by writing a few key words, phrases, sentences, or even just a few key sentences to describe the main content of your chapter.
You can also outline a scene. Again, you write a few key words, phrases, sentences, or even just a few key phrases to describe the main content of your scene.
An outline aims to give you a “basic structure” to work with.
The more details you’ve, the better.
How to Approach Research in Your Autobiography or Memoir
Aside from the treasure troves described above, which are more for stimulation or inspiration than research, you’ll need to track down specific facts and connections at some point in your writing.
You can do most of this research on the Internet.
There are now so many excellent online resources for writers. These include accessible radio archives, video archives, music archives, image archives, document archives, government archives, etc.
The list is endless.
Of course, you can also use your local library.
If you’re using a Mac, DevonAgent, and DevonThink can help you organize your searches and cross-referencing. DevonAgent prevents you from having to open hundreds of browser tabs, and DevonThink uses a very clever “fuzzy logic” search to find relevant things in your document collection. Although academics love both apps, they’re invaluable to me as a writer.
Another great option for research and clippings is Roam Research (or its free competitor Obsidian). Think of them as digital scrapbooks where you can drop everything useful and find valuable and relevant parts later.
Or go with a paper notebook.
Most importantly, document your research, and don’t throw anything away.
Remember that you’ll be researching at all stages of the writing process, including during editing and fact-checking. Therefore, it can be constructive to work with multiple monitors so that you can do the research queries on one while you continue writing on the other.
It’s often helpful to write a chapter or scene first and do your research later. This helps you focus your research on what you need and not disappear down a rabbit hole from which little productive writing comes out!
It’s also important to realize that researching and writing your book are closely related. They’re all part of the same journey.
When you write, you generate new ideas and write down the book that will become the finished memoir or autobiography.
This is an interactive process.
The structure of your finished book will also influence how you write it and, therefore, how you research it.
Remember that oral research also plays an important role: If people, family members, eyewitnesses, etc., are still alive and willing, their memories and perspectives can be beneficial.
Writing First Drafts
The most important thing to say about first drafts is that you do them!
That means you sit down and start writing. Even if you don’t feel like it. When you start writing, your resistance is quickly overcome, and you get into a good state of mind.
The second thing I say about first drafts is that you shouldn’t edit them as you write. That’s why I recommend not thinking too much about chapters in the first draft stage – there will be plenty of opportunities later to organize your text and divide it into chapters.
Everything that hinders your writing your first draft must be gently pushed aside. That’s why sometimes it’s better to research after you’ve written a scene.
The third thing to say about first drafts is that they should be about anything and everything.
As a writer, you need to get out of your way and not be too critical with your word choice, sentence structure, or anything else.
This is because you can only find your voice if you write your way to it. That means you’re writing many things that aren’t the finished book.
The more you write, the more you learn about yourself and your writing voice.
You may not understand the subject of your memoir or autobiography until your first draft is finished. That’s perfectly fine. It’s desirable.
Remember that your first draft should probably be just for you. Beware of letting critics in too early, even if they’re constructive.
If someone else reads your writing or sees your first drafts, that person or those people will likely impact the creative writing process, which you don’t want at this stage.
So, if you have a writing group or writing partner, wait until you’ve completed at least two first drafts before sharing the text.
Related: Why Creative Process Matters
The Path From First to Second Draft
First, put some distance between you and your first draft. If you don’t give yourself a break, you’ll have difficulty identifying the “plot holes” where you need to get your narrative going.
It’s about giving shape to the story – a story that you may not understand until after your first draft.
Your second draft isn’t about tinkering with or polishing your first draft. It’s about completely rewriting the story and moving the pieces around in the overall structure to make it work.
This is where I find Scrivener very useful. Especially the index card mode in Corkboard. It allows me to move writing blocks around, sometimes almost intuitively (since cold logic rarely works well in creative endeavors), to find the flow of a piece.
When you move the blocks, having a clear timeline is helpful – either on paper or (my choice) in a program like Aeon Timeline. This timeline helps you anchor the chronological flow of events, so you’re freer to make thematic connections knowing that you can always insert a reference to where we’re in space and time.
There’s going to be some missing. That’s fine. Write it.
Do you notice anything unclear in your narrative? Clarify it. Explain it so that someone reading the story for the first time will understand.
Sometimes it’s a matter of contextualization: a “framing scene” before the action scene. It’s incredible how sometimes putting a later scene at the beginning of the work can help make everything clear and functional.
Wield a Scalpel
The last advice I want to give you is to approach your second draft with a scalpel in hand. Cut it down, and remove any fat you discover.
Creative work often (not always) benefits from being shorter. A more compact narrative moves essential points in the story closer together and effectively tightens the connective tissue between scenes.
Cut out scenes you don’t need, scenes that are too long, and scenes that are in the background and don’t move the story forward. The goal is to create a lean, mean storytelling machine that continuously moves the story forward.
This also means cutting limp sentences, unnecessary adjectives, and anything else that makes your text wordier than it needs to be.
Examples of Great Autobiographical Writing
Maya Angelou – a series of seven autobiographies, including the work that brought her international acclaim I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Vladimir Nabokov – covering his life until he arrived in America in 1940, Speak Memory is known for how it blends fiction with fact.
Helen Keller – written with the aid of a braille typewriter The Story of My Life was dedicated to Alexander Graham Bell, a lifelong friend and avid supporter of deaf and blind research.
Mark Twain – keen to tell stories to other human beings, rather than pen a dry account of his life, Twain arranged that most of his Autobiography remain unpublished for 100 years after he died in 1910. No doubt the amount of vitriol and sharp observation, even of friends in the work, was a significant factor in this decision! Interestingly, most of his autobiography was dictated to a secretary rather than written directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an autobiography.
An autobiography is a self-written account of an individual’s life, often detailing personal experiences, emotions, and reflections.
What should be included in an autobiography?
An autobiography should include significant events, relationships, challenges, achievements, and personal growth experiences. It should also offer insights into the author’s personality, values, and motivations.
How should I begin my autobiography?
Begin your autobiography with an engaging introduction that captures the reader’s attention. You can start with a memorable moment, an important event, or a unique aspect of your life.
What is the appropriate writing style for an autobiography?
A: The writing style for an autobiography should be honest, engaging, and descriptive. It should capture your voice and personality, connecting readers with your experiences and emotions.
How do I organize my autobiography?
Organize your autobiography in chronological order or around specific themes. You can divide it into chapters, focusing on different stages of your life or significant aspects of your personality.
How do I maintain reader interest throughout my autobiography?
To maintain reader interest, use vivid descriptions, create engaging anecdotes, and vary the pace and tone of your writing. Share unique perspectives and include moments of self-reflection to keep the reader engaged.
How do I approach sensitive or controversial topics in my autobiography?
Approach sensitive or controversial topics with honesty and sensitivity. Be aware of the potential impact on others, and consider using discretion or pseudonyms to protect privacy.
What should I focus on when writing about my childhood?
Focus on significant moments, relationships, and experiences that shaped your personality, values, and beliefs. Describe the environment, culture, and people that influenced your early years.
How do I conclude my autobiography?
Conclude your autobiography by summarizing your experiences, reflecting on the lessons learned, and sharing your hopes for the future. Consider leaving the reader with a final thought or message that encapsulates the essence of your life story.
What should I consider before publishing my autobiography?
Before publishing your autobiography, edit and revise the manuscript, fact-check for accuracy, and seek feedback from trusted readers. Consider legal and ethical implications, and explore various publishing options, including traditional publishers, self-publishing, or digital platforms.
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Autobiography
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An autobiography is a captivating journey through the life of its author, offering a firsthand account of their experiences, challenges, and triumphs. It provides a unique insight into their personal growth, motivations, and the events that shaped their identity. By sharing intimate details and reflections, an autobiography connects readers to the author’s world, making their story both relatable and inspiring.
What Is an Autobiography?
An autobiography is a self-written account of the author’s own life, detailing personal experiences, significant events, and milestones. It is written from the first-person perspective and provides insight into the author’s thoughts, feelings, and reflections.
Types of Autobiography
- Full Autobiography: Covers the entire life of the author, from birth to the present or the end of their life.
- Memoir: Focuses on specific events, periods, or themes in the author’s life rather than their entire life.
- Personal Essay: A short piece that explores a particular aspect or experience in the author’s life.
- Confessional: Reveals deeply personal and often private aspects of the author’s life, usually with a focus on emotional experiences.
- Spiritual Autobiography: Focuses on the author’s spiritual journey and experiences.
- Political/Professional Autobiography: Concentrates on the author’s career, achievements, and professional experiences.
- Coming-of-Age Autobiography: Centers around the author’s formative years, detailing the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Autobiography format
1. title page.
- Title of the Autobiography
- Author’s Name
2. Table of Contents
- List of chapters and page numbers
3. Preface or Introduction
- Author’s purpose for writing
- Brief overview of what the reader can expect
4. Chronological Structure
- Chapter 1: Early Life
- Birth details
- Family background
- Childhood experiences
- Chapter 2: Education
- Schools attended
- Significant academic achievements
- Memorable teachers or mentors
- Chapter 3: Career Beginnings
- First job experiences
- Early challenges and successes
- Chapter 4: Major Life Events
- Personal milestones (e.g., marriage, children)
- Key professional achievements
- Chapter 5: Challenges and Triumphs
- Obstacles faced and how they were overcome
- Turning points and life lessons
- Chapter 6: Reflections
- Personal growth and insights
- Future aspirations
5. Epilogue
- Summary of the author’s journey
- Final thoughts and messages to readers
6. Appendices (if applicable)
- Photos, documents, letters
7. References or Acknowledgements
- Credits to individuals who helped in the writing process
Examples of Autobiography
1. early life and education.
Title: “From Small Beginnings” Introduction: Born in a modest neighborhood, my childhood was filled with love and challenges. Body: My parents, though financially limited, emphasized the importance of education. I thrived in school, excelling in mathematics and science. Winning a scholarship to a renowned university was the turning point, propelling me into a world of opportunities and learning. Conclusion: From my humble beginnings, I’ve built a career as an engineer, always remembering the values of perseverance and education instilled by my parents.
2. Professional Growth
Title: “Climbing the Corporate Ladder” Introduction: Starting as an intern at a large corporation, I had big dreams but limited experience. Body: Through hard work and dedication, I navigated various roles, learning from mentors and overcoming numerous obstacles. Each promotion was a testament to my commitment and skills. My most significant achievement was leading a project that significantly boosted the company’s revenue. Conclusion: Today, as a senior executive, I reflect on my journey with pride, knowing that every step was a building block to my success.
3. Personal Transformation
Title: “A Journey to Wellness” Introduction: Struggling with obesity since childhood, my health was always a concern. Body: At 30, a health scare prompted a lifestyle change. I adopted a balanced diet, regular exercise, and mindfulness practices. The transformation was challenging but rewarding, leading to significant weight loss and improved mental health. Conclusion: Now, as a fitness coach, I inspire others with my story, proving that it’s never too late to prioritize health and wellness.
4. Overcoming Adversity
Title: “Turning Tragedy into Triumph” Introduction: Losing my job during an economic downturn was a devastating blow. Body: With no immediate prospects, I decided to start my own business. The journey was fraught with challenges, but each setback was a lesson. Gradually, my small startup grew into a successful enterprise, providing jobs and supporting the community. Conclusion: From the ashes of my job loss, I built a thriving business, demonstrating resilience and the power of entrepreneurship.
5. Lifelong Passion
Title: “The Art of Perseverance” Introduction: Art has always been my passion, but pursuing it as a career seemed unrealistic. Body: Despite societal pressure to choose a conventional path, I followed my heart. Years of dedication, attending art school, and countless hours of practice led to my first gallery exhibition. The positive reception was a dream come true. Conclusion: Today, as a recognized artist, I live my passion every day, encouraging others to pursue their dreams relentlessly.
Examples of Autobiography in literature
Autobiographies provide a window into the personal lives and experiences of individuals, offering readers an intimate look at their journeys, thoughts, and emotions. Here are some notable examples of autobiographies in literature:
1. “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s poignant diary, written during her time hiding from the Nazis in World War II, offers a powerful and moving account of her life, fears, and hopes. Her writing provides a personal perspective on the horrors of war and the resilience of the human spirit.
2. “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela’s autobiography chronicles his early life, education, and 27 years in prison, detailing his role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. His narrative is a testament to his dedication to justice and equality.
3. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou’s first autobiography covers her childhood and teenage years, addressing themes of identity, racism, and literacy. Her lyrical and evocative prose makes this a significant work in American literature.
4. “The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s autobiography recounts her experiences growing up deaf and blind and her journey to learn to communicate. Her story is inspiring and highlights the importance of perseverance and education.
5. “Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
This memoir by former President Barack Obama explores his upbringing, his search for identity, and his early career in community organizing. The book offers insights into his personal life and the formative experiences that shaped his worldview.
6. “Bossypants” by Tina Fey
Tina Fey’s humorous autobiography covers her career in comedy, from her early days in improv to her work on “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock.” Her witty and candid writing provides an entertaining look at her life and career.
7. “Becoming” by Michelle Obama
In her autobiography, Michelle Obama shares her journey from her childhood in Chicago to her years as the First Lady of the United States. Her story is one of resilience, hope, and the pursuit of excellence.
8. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass’s powerful autobiography details his life as a slave and his journey to freedom. His narrative is a critical work in American history and literature, highlighting the brutality of slavery and the importance of freedom.
9. “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told to Alex Haley
This autobiography of Malcolm X, written with the assistance of Alex Haley, covers his life from his troubled youth to his conversion to Islam and his work as a civil rights activist. The book provides deep insights into his beliefs and the evolution of his views.
10. “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls’s memoir recounts her unconventional and often challenging upbringing with her deeply dysfunctional parents. Her story is both heartbreaking and uplifting, showcasing her determination to overcome adversity.
Examples of Autobiography for students
An autobiography is a self-written account of one’s own life. Here are some examples tailored for students to help them understand how to write their own autobiographies.
1. Elementary School Student
My life so far.
My name is Emma Johnson, and I am eight years old. I was born on June 5, 2016, in Austin, Texas. I live with my mom, dad, and my little brother, Liam. We also have a dog named Buddy.
I go to Maple Elementary School, and I am in the third grade. My favorite subjects are art and science. I love drawing and doing experiments. When I grow up, I want to be a scientist and discover new things.
In my free time, I like to play soccer with my friends and read books about space. My favorite book is “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System.” I also enjoy baking cookies with my mom and watching movies with my family.
2. Middle School Student
A journey of learning and fun.
Hello! My name is Michael Brown, and I am 12 years old. I was born on March 14, 2012, in Seattle, Washington. I have an older sister named Sarah, and we get along really well.
I attend Pinewood Middle School and am currently in the seventh grade. My favorite subjects are math and history. I find math challenging but exciting, and I love learning about historical events and figures.
I am part of the school’s basketball team and play as a point guard. Basketball has taught me a lot about teamwork and perseverance. In addition to sports, I enjoy playing video games and coding. I recently started learning Python, and it’s fascinating to create my own games.
3. High School Student
My path to adulthood.
I am Samantha Carter, a 16-year-old junior at Lincoln High School in Chicago, Illinois. I was born on August 21, 2007, and have two younger brothers, David and Andrew. My parents are both teachers, which has inspired me to value education.
At school, I excel in English and biology. I am particularly passionate about creative writing and have won several awards for my short stories. I am also a member of the school’s debate team, which has greatly improved my public speaking skills.
Outside of academics, I volunteer at the local animal shelter, where I help take care of abandoned pets. This experience has been incredibly rewarding and has inspired me to consider a career in veterinary medicine. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, reading novels, and spending time with my friends.
4. College Student
Chasing dreams and building a future.
My name is James Lee, and I am a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley. I was born on February 10, 2004, in San Francisco, California. I am the eldest of three siblings, with a younger brother and sister.
I am majoring in Computer Science, and I am fascinated by artificial intelligence and machine learning. My interest in technology began when I was in high school and participated in a robotics club. Since then, I have worked on various projects, including developing apps and working on AI models.
In addition to my studies, I am part of the university’s coding club and participate in hackathons regularly. I also work part-time as a research assistant in the computer science department. My goal is to contribute to cutting-edge technology that can make a positive impact on the world.
Outside of academics and work, I enjoy playing the guitar, exploring new cuisines, and traveling. My most memorable trip was to Japan, where I immersed myself in the culture and learned a lot about their technological advancements.
5. High School Freshman
A new beginning.
My name is Alex Martinez, and I am 14 years old. I was born on November 3, 2009, in Miami, Florida. I live with my mom, dad, and older sister, Isabella. We also have a parrot named Coco who loves to mimic our conversations.
I recently started my freshman year at Coral Reef High School, and it’s been a big transition from middle school. My favorite subjects are biology and art. I love learning about living organisms and how they interact with their environment. Drawing and painting are my creative outlets, and I often combine these interests by sketching animals and plants.
In middle school, I was part of the science club and participated in several science fairs. One of my proudest moments was winning first place for my project on renewable energy sources. This experience sparked my interest in environmental science, and I hope to pursue this field further in high school and beyond.
Outside of school, I enjoy swimming and am part of a local swim team. Training and competing in swim meets have taught me discipline and the importance of hard work. I also volunteer at a community garden, where I help grow vegetables and learn about sustainable farming practices.
In my free time, I love reading adventure novels and exploring nature trails with my family. My dream is to become a marine biologist and work on preserving ocean ecosystems. I am excited about the opportunities high school will bring and look forward to making new friends and discovering new passions.
Short Autobiography examples
1. academic journey.
A Path of Lifelong Learning My name is Sarah Johnson. Growing up in a small Ohio town, I was the first in my family to attend college. I earned my Bachelor’s in English Literature from Ohio State University and a Master’s from the University of Chicago. Now, as a high school English teacher, I strive to inspire my students with a love for literature.
2. Overcoming Adversity
Rising Above Challenges I’m Michael Thompson from Detroit. Despite a tough upbringing, I excelled academically and earned a scholarship to Michigan State University. Majoring in Sociology, I focused on social justice. Now, I work with at-risk youth in Detroit, using my experiences to guide and mentor them.
3. Passion for Art
From Canvas to Community My name is Emma Williams, and I grew up in San Francisco. I attended the California College of the Arts, where I developed my skills and completed a mural project celebrating San Francisco’s diversity. Now, I run a nonprofit, Art for All, providing art education to underserved communities.
4. Career in Technology
Innovating for a Better Tomorrow I’m David Harris from Silicon Valley. My interest in technology led me to pursue a Computer Science degree at Stanford University, specializing in artificial intelligence. Today, I work as a software engineer at a startup focused on sustainable tech solutions.
5. A Love for Music
Harmonizing Life My name is Lisa Chen, a musician from New York City. I began playing the piano at age five and later attended Juilliard School. After graduating, I performed with orchestras worldwide and now teach music, sharing my passion with the next generation of musicians.
Examples of Autobiography for College students
1. discovering my passion for environmental science.
Discovering My Passion for Environmental Science My name is Jessica Brown, and I am a junior majoring in Environmental Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Growing up in a small town surrounded by nature, I developed a deep appreciation for the environment. In high school, I joined the Eco-Club and participated in several local clean-up projects, which fueled my interest in environmental conservation. At Berkeley, I have immersed myself in my studies, focusing on sustainable practices and climate change mitigation. Last summer, I interned with a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving coastal ecosystems. This experience solidified my career goal to work in environmental policy and make a tangible impact on our planet.
2. Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Academic Success
Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Academic Success My name is John Martinez, and I am a sophomore at New York University, majoring in Computer Science. Coming from a low-income family in a rough neighborhood, I faced numerous challenges growing up. Despite these obstacles, I excelled academically and became the first in my family to attend college. My journey to NYU was not easy. I balanced multiple part-time jobs to support myself and my family while maintaining a high GPA. The hard work paid off when I received a full scholarship to NYU. Now, I am passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems and hope to inspire others from similar backgrounds to pursue their dreams.
3. Pursuing a Career in Creative Writing
Pursuing a Career in Creative Writing I am Emily Davis, a senior at Columbia University majoring in Creative Writing. Ever since I can remember, I have been captivated by stories and the power of words. In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper and won several creative writing contests. At Columbia, I have honed my writing skills through workshops and feedback from professors and peers. My short stories have been published in several literary magazines, and I am currently working on my first novel. My dream is to become a published author and to teach creative writing to inspire others to find their voice.
4. From Athlete to Future Doctor
From Athlete to Future Doctor My name is Michael Lee, and I am a pre-med junior at Stanford University. As a child, I was passionate about sports and played soccer throughout high school. However, a severe injury during a game sparked my interest in medicine. Witnessing the impact doctors had on my recovery, I decided to pursue a career in healthcare. At Stanford, I am majoring in Biology and volunteering at a local hospital. My goal is to become an orthopedic surgeon, combining my love for sports with my desire to help others heal and achieve their best physical health.
5. Embracing Cultural Heritage Through Anthropology
Embracing Cultural Heritage Through Anthropology I am Alex Kim, a sophomore studying Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Growing up in a multicultural household, I was always fascinated by different cultures and traditions. My family’s heritage sparked my interest in understanding human societies and cultural dynamics. In college, I have conducted research on indigenous cultures and participated in archaeological digs. These experiences have deepened my appreciation for cultural diversity and the importance of preserving our history. My ambition is to work as a cultural anthropologist, contributing to academic research and promoting cross-cultural understanding.
More Examples & Samples of Autobiography in PDF
1. western autobiography.
![how to write autobiography in english Western Autobiography](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Western-Autobiography.jpg)
2. Autobiography Sample
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Sample](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-Sample.jpg)
3. Autobiography PDF
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography PDF](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-PDF.jpg)
4. Autobiography as a Literary Form
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography as a Literary Form](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-as-a-Literary-Form.jpg)
5. Autobiography Format
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Format](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-Format.jpg)
6. Autobiography Sample Template
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Sample Template](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-Sample-Template.jpg)
7. Standard Autobiography
![how to write autobiography in english Standard Autobiography](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Standard-Autobiography.jpg)
8. The Confessions as Autobiography
![how to write autobiography in english The Confessions as Autobiography](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/The-Confessions-as-Autobiography.jpg)
9. Autobiography Sample Lesson Plan
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography Sample Lesson Plan](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-Sample-Lesson-Plan.jpg)
10. Truth in Autobiography
![how to write autobiography in english Truth in Autobiography](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Truth-in-Autobiography.jpg)
Purpose of an Autobiography
An autobiography serves multiple important purposes, each contributing to the value and significance of this form of writing. Here are some key purposes of an autobiography:
1. Self-Reflection and Understanding
- Self-Awareness: Writing an autobiography allows individuals to reflect on their life experiences, thoughts, and feelings. This reflection can lead to greater self-awareness and understanding of one’s own identity and journey.
- Personal Growth: Through the process of recounting life events, individuals can gain insights into their personal growth and development. It helps in recognizing patterns, learning from past mistakes, and celebrating achievements.
2. Preservation of Memories
- Historical Record: An autobiography serves as a personal historical record, preserving memories and experiences that might otherwise be forgotten. It captures the essence of a person’s life, including significant events, milestones, and personal anecdotes.
- Legacy: For future generations, an autobiography provides a way to learn about the life and times of their ancestors. It becomes a cherished family heirloom that keeps the writer’s legacy alive.
3. Sharing Life Lessons
- Inspiration: By sharing their life stories, individuals can inspire and motivate others. Readers can find courage, strength, and hope in the experiences of the writer, especially when they face similar challenges.
- Education: Autobiographies can educate readers about different cultures, historical periods, and personal experiences. They offer unique perspectives and insights that can broaden the reader’s understanding of the world.
4. Emotional Expression
- Catharsis: Writing an autobiography can be a therapeutic process, allowing individuals to express and process their emotions. It provides a safe space to explore and articulate feelings related to both joyful and painful experiences.
- Connection: Sharing personal stories can create a sense of connection and empathy between the writer and the readers. It fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of the human experience.
5. Creative Expression
- Artistic Outlet: Autobiographies offer a platform for creative expression. Writers can use their narrative skills to craft compelling and engaging stories, blending factual recounting with literary techniques.
- Voice and Style: Through autobiographies, individuals can develop and showcase their unique voice and writing style. It is a way to express their individuality and creativity.
6. Documentation of Personal Achievements
- Milestones and Achievements: An autobiography highlights the significant milestones and achievements in a person’s life. It serves as a celebration of one’s accomplishments and contributions.
- Professional Journey: For professionals, an autobiography can document their career journey, challenges, successes, and the impact they have made in their field.
Autobiography vs. Biography
![how to write autobiography in english Autobiography vs. Biography](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Autobiography-vs.-Biography.png)
The individual whose life is described. | Another person writing about someone’s life. | |
First-person perspective. | Third-person perspective. | |
Personal experiences and memories. | Research and multiple sources. | |
Subjective and personal. | Objective and factual. | |
To share personal stories and reflections. | To provide a comprehensive account of another’s life. | |
“The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank | “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson |
Autobiography vs. Memoir
A comprehensive self-written account of the author’s entire life. | A self-written account focusing on specific experiences or periods in the author’s life. | |
Covers the author’s entire life from birth to present. | Focuses on particular events, themes, or periods. | |
First-person perspective. | First-person perspective. | |
Broad and detailed. | Intimate and reflective. | |
To provide a detailed life history. | To explore specific personal experiences and insights. | |
Life events, personal achievements, and challenges. | Emotions, relationships, and specific significant events. | |
“The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller | “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert |
How to write an Autobiography
1. reflect on your life.
- Take time to think about significant events, experiences, and people that have shaped your life.
- Make a list of key milestones, achievements, challenges, and turning points.
2. Define Your Purpose
- Decide why you are writing your autobiography. Are you documenting your life for family and friends, or do you hope to inspire or educate others?
- Understanding your purpose will help you focus your narrative.
3. Create an Outline
- Organize your thoughts and memories into a chronological or thematic structure.
- Typical sections include childhood, education, career, relationships, and key life events.
4. Start with a Strong Opening
- Grab your reader’s attention with an engaging introduction. You might start with a significant event, a vivid memory, or a statement about your life philosophy.
5. Write Your Story
- Use your outline as a guide and begin writing your story.
- Be honest and authentic. Share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections.
- Include anecdotes, dialogues, and descriptions to bring your experiences to life.
6. Be Honest and Vulnerable
- Authenticity is crucial in an autobiography. Share not only your successes but also your struggles and failures.
- Readers connect with genuine stories and emotions.
7. Include Personal Reflections
- Reflect on the lessons you’ve learned and how your experiences have shaped you.
- This adds depth to your story and provides valuable insights to your readers.
8. Edit and Revise
- After completing your first draft, take a break before revising. This helps you see your work with fresh eyes.
- Check for clarity, coherence, and consistency. Ensure your narrative flows smoothly.
- Correct any grammatical errors and refine your writing style.
9. Seek Feedback
- Share your draft with trusted friends, family members, or writing groups.
- Consider their feedback and make necessary revisions.
10. Polish Your Final Draft
- Ensure your autobiography is well-organized, engaging, and free of errors.
- Add photos or documents that complement your story if appropriate.
How do I start writing an autobiography?
Begin with a captivating hook, then introduce yourself and provide background information. Outline key life events and choose a central theme to guide your narrative.
What should I include in my autobiography?
Include significant life events, achievements, challenges, personal reflections, and key milestones. Focus on moments that shaped your identity and values, and use vivid descriptions.
How long should an autobiography be?
The length can vary, but typically ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 words. Focus on covering important events and themes without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details.
Should I write my autobiography in chronological order?
Writing in chronological order is common, but you can start with a significant event and backtrack. Ensure your narrative flows logically and maintains reader engagement.
Can I include other people’s stories in my autobiography?
Yes, but obtain their permission if you’re sharing personal details. Focus on how their stories intersect with and influence your life, keeping the main narrative about you.
How do I make my autobiography engaging?
Use vivid descriptions, sensory details, and emotional reflections. Incorporate anecdotes, dialogues, and varied sentence structures to maintain reader interest and make your story relatable.
Do I need to be famous to write an autobiography?
No, anyone can write an autobiography. Every life has unique experiences and lessons that can inspire, inform, and entertain readers, regardless of the writer’s fame.
How honest should I be in my autobiography?
Aim for honesty and authenticity, but be considerate of others’ privacy and feelings. Balance transparency with respect, and avoid including harmful or unnecessary details.
Can I use humor in my autobiography?
Absolutely! Humor can make your story more engaging and relatable. Use it appropriately to lighten serious topics or provide a fresh perspective on your experiences.
How do I conclude my autobiography?
Summarize key points and reflect on your life journey. Share lessons learned, future aspirations, and final thoughts to provide closure and leave a lasting impression on readers.
![how to write autobiography in english Twitter](https://images.examples.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/icon_5.png)
Text prompt
- Instructive
- Professional
10 Examples of Public speaking
20 Examples of Gas lighting
How to Write an Autobiography (with Tips & Examples)
Congratulations! You've decided to embark on the daunting task of telling your own story, through your own lens — maybe with the aim of being published, or perhaps just for the future generations of your family.
Deciding to write an autobiography is the easy part. Even though you won't need to think up an entire plot, because your life has already done that for you, putting pen to paper is likely going to be one of the hardest things you have ever done. Here's how to get started.
Autobiography Basics
An autobiography is, simply said, a book the author writes about their own life. Autobiographies are written for many different reasons — to leave a legacy, to inspire, to confess, to warn others away from making the same mistakes, as a historical record, or even simply to prevent others from writing a biography about you.
Although many people think this genre of books is reserved for famous people, that is not true at all. Every person has something interesting and worthwhile to share, and everyday people can absolutely write an autobiography.
The distinguishing features of an autobiography lie in the fact that these books are:
- Almost always written in the first person.
- To the best of the author's knowledge, factual.
- An insight into the author's identity, history, and the lessons they've learned during their life.
Readers all around the world consistently love autobiographies, because they love getting up close and personal and reading about events like they were part of them. As for authors, they can enjoy a lot of creative freedom while writing an autobiography because — no matter what you may have learned in school — you are not confined to a specific format or structure. It's your story, so you make the rules.
Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoir
There's some confusion as to what differentiates these three closely-related terms, so let's have a quick look. The difference between an autobiography and a biography is easy to pinpoint — a biography is a book someone else writes about your life, while an autobiography is one you write. "Auto" means "self", after all.
The differences between a memoir and an autobiography are much harder to define. Most people would say that autobiographies deal with the person's "whole life" (typically in chronological order), while memoirs highlight just one portion of it. That is not exactly true, because it is impossible to cover your entire life. You have to make artistic and editorial choices.
For now, don't worry about what to call your book, and just write. You can decide whether to call your book an autobiography or a memoir later.
How to Write an Autobiography: Step-by-Step Process
Your process will be unique, and you should always feel free to change things up. Let's have a look at a step-by-step process that will work for many people who write an autobiography, though.
1. Brainstorming
You already know what your life has been like, but writing your story in a coherent and entertaining way can be hard. Start by brainstorming, using either brainstorming software or a physical space such as a cork board. To get you started, you can contemplate some of the following questions:
- If you had to pin down an overarching theme to your life, what would it be?
- Which people in your life inspired you the most? Who do you genuinely hate?
- What was the hardest thing you've ever done, which you nonetheless feel grateful for?
- What are your top regrets?
- What about your parents and wider family do you keep seeing in yourself?
- What parts of your life are shrouded in mystery? (Did your parents always used to argue with your grandparents, but you have no idea what about, for instance?)
Now that you have some questions to start off with, make more of your own — and jot down any answers that inspire you.
2. Research
Even though your autobiography is the story of your life, you will definitely have research to do. Interview the people who were with you during important times of your life to assess whether your view of the past matches theirs. Fact-check anything you write, whether about your family history or your childhood address. Research the social and political climate of the time you're writing about to inspire you. Even looking up songs that were popular in a particular year can refresh your memory.
If you're quite sure of something, but cannot confirm it through research, always clarify that in your book in the spirit of honesty.
3. Create an Outline
Outline the possible chapters of your autobiography. You can do this in different ways — separate each part of your life by age, location, life stage, new job, or any other defining characteristic that makes sense. You can use outlining software like Plot Factory or Scrivener to make it easier. Once you have your chapters roughly defined, you can jot down what you think they should contain.
4. Choose a Theme
Consciously or not, every autobiography has a theme. Some of the most common ones are:
- Overcoming adversity
The possibilities are endless. What is your theme?
5. Think of Your Readers
Many people write an autobiography for themselves — often in the hope of processing the past. If you are even considering publishing your autobiography, however, it is crucial to look at yourself from a fresh perspective. Things you take for granted could be riveting to others, and things that were important to you could be boring to your readers.
Never mind your eventual audience — if your autobiography isn't interesting enough to keep reading it, you won't get it published. You won't even land a literary agent. Therefore, constantly keep the fact that you're ultimately writing for your readers in mind.
6. Create Your First Draft
This is the grindy stage of your endeavor. There will be days during which the words practically flow onto the page, and ones on which it's hard to even write a single sentence. Don't wait to be inspired. Set up some sort of routine. Work for a certain amount of time each day or week, or commit to writing a set number of words. Don't worry about the quality at this point; you'll edit and fact-check later.
7. Revise and Proofread
There's a lot to consider during this stage of writing your autobiography. As you revise, edit, and proofread your first draft, you will want to consider two separate factors. One relates to the writing, and the other to the story.
In technical terms, consider:
- The flow of your chapters.
- Whether everything that should be in your autobiography is present, and whether there are things that don't need to be there.
- Each chapter, paragraph, sentence, and even word individually.
- Is the tone consistent throughout? If it isn't, does the change make logical sense?
Other things to think about include:
- Will you offend people in your life by publishing this autobiography? Do you need to consult or at least warn them?
- Have you checked with others, or public records, that the places and events you recall in your memory are accurate?
- Are you comfortable with sharing everything you have written with (potentially) the entire world?
8. Ask for Insights
Once you have completed your first draft and edited and fact-checked it to the best of your ability, you should ask for insights from other people. You could first ask a close friend to read your autobiography, followed by more people in your inner circle. After this round of feedback is complete, you could think about working with beta readers. Online groups exist for this purpose.
9. Editing Your Autobiography
If you are planning to become a traditionally-published author, you will absolutely need to work with a professional editor. You cannot effectively edit your own autobiography from start to finish (although you should give it your best go), so don't even think about skipping this process. Today, numerous websites that connect aspiring authors with different types of editors make it easy to find the right editor for you.
10. Publishing Your Autobiography
If you want to be traditionally-published, you should begin looking for literary agents once you complete the editing stage. Research which literary agents work with autobiographies, and begin querying them. Once you land a literary agent, your agent will try to place your book with the right publisher.
Self-publishing is another option to consider, and Kindle Direct is the most popular platform for this.
What Should You Include in An Autobiography
It is ultimately entirely up to you to decide what you include in your autobiography, and what you leave out. However, your autobiography will be more engaging if you ensure that you cover all of these aspects of your life story:
- Your childhood.
- Your family history, including events that happened before you were born but that nonetheless shaped you immensely.
- Your coming of age story.
- Adversity and failures — and how you overcame them. Everyone loves rooting for their protagonist!
- Stories of the role models and mentors that helped you become who you are today.
- The people who drove you to despair.
- Confessions and secrets.
Above all, your autobiography should be deeply personal — written in your own voice, bravely and boldly. Speak your truth.
Examples of Famous Autobiographies
Writing a strong autobiography becomes less daunting once you have read some compelling autobiographies written by others. Try these:
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin — Benjamin Franklin. Not just because it offers historical insights, but because Franklin shows a wonderful example of optimism and hope, even against the odds.
- Agatha Christie: An Autobiography — Agatha Christie. This powerful autobiography shows how to intertwine the personal with the professional in a beautiful way.
- Dreams from my Father — Barack Obama. If you want to know how to look inward in a way that causes others to look outward, this is the book to read.
A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer. This autobiography offers insights into ways to tackle extremely difficult and painful subjects in a way that may change the way readers go about their lives.
How to Write an Autobiography Essay
Autobiographical essays are not only shorter that autobiographies, but they also generally serve an entirely different purpose. Students are often asked to write these essays for school, or even to gain entrance to the college of their choice.
You may not want to lay your entire self bare for an autobiographical essay, but such essays should unquestionably show enough about yourself to make your readers understand what makes you unique. That means self-reflection should be included — an autobiographical essay should not simply show you in your best light.
If you like, you can use these tips as you brainstorm:
- What was really hard for you? How did you overcome that challenge?
- How have the people in your community changed your life?
- Which injustices have you felt called to fight against?
- What are your hopes to the future, and where did they originate?
- What would you change about your life, if you had the power?
Your essay will ideally have a balance of hope and optimism, and self-reflection. It is important to show how you have grown as a person, and why you are ready for the next chapter in your life.
Tips for Writing a Great Autobiography
No matter what else it is, your autobiography should always be:
- Honest, open, and authentically you.
- As factually accurate as possible. You offer your take on the past, yes, but an autobiography is creative non-fiction and not a novel. Don't make things up. You may leave things out, but it's best not to purposely spin your autobiography to make yourself look good.
- Filled with lessons you've learned.
- Interesting to read. Otherwise you'll lose your audience quickly.
So, how should you start your autobiography? That's up to you — your opening paragraph should feel like a beginning, but within those confines, you have many different choices.
- Nelson Mandela started his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom , with an anecdote about how he got his name. He sows the seeds for the turbulence he would experience throughout his life.
- Ronald Reagan started his autobiography, An American Life , at a later point in his life, by recounting how he didn't get a job he had wanted. He shows how random events can shape a person's life, as the fact that he didn't get the job put him on the path to the highest office.
- Malcolm X chose to begin his autobiography with a retelling of his mother's struggles with a group of Klansmen while she was pregnant.
- Michelle Obama starts her memoirs by sharing her simple childhood dreams.
All these beginnings have three things in common — they make an impact, they make you want to keep reading, and they set the tone for the rest of the book.
What mistakes should you avoid while you write? For starters:
- Clogging your autobiography with details that don't contribute to the overall arc. A few here and there add flavor, but too many will cause readers to lose interest.
- Writing mainly about other people's actions, rather than describing your thoughts and feelings.
- Not planning a theme in advance, which can make your autobiography look incoherent.
How can you write an autobiography about someone else?
An autobiography is by definition a book written about one's own life. Ghostwriters can help aspiring authors write their autobiographies in close cooperation with the person in question.
Should an autobiography be written in the first person?
Yes. It's your story. If you incorporate elements of fiction based on your life, you can write in the third person and market the book as a novel with autobiographical elements.
What do you need to write an autobiography?
Self-knowledge, research, perseverance, and bravery are needed to write an autobiography. A good computer and some excellent book writing software also help.
How long should an autobiography be?
In general, an autobiography is likely to be anywhere from 50,000 to 10,000 words long.
How much does it cost to write an autobiography?
This is very hard to calculate and will depend on your circumstances. If you reduce your workload to take the time to write your autobiography, the process can be costly. Self-publishing can also be expensive, depending on how you do it, and working with an editor is not cheap either. If you go the traditional publishing route and your story is captivating enough, however, you can ultimately make a profit.
How to write an autobiography for kids?
If you are writing an autobiography to pass on to your kids or other children in your family, or any autobiography that is meant specifically to be read by children, you can still tackle complex and difficult subjects. You should, however, make sure that the subject matter is age-appropriate. Your vocabulary will be simpler, as well.
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The Only (FREE) Autobiography Template You Need – 4 Simple Steps
![how to write autobiography in english how to write autobiography in english](https://selfpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Copy-of-Canva-Profile-Photo-96x96.jpg)
Are you looking for an autobiography template?
First things first.
What is your story? Not the shiny, air-brushed one you edit before posting on Instagram or the one you politely share during a writer’s chat on Zoom.
By your story, I mean the one with the cracks in it caused by childhood insecurities or the deep craters forged by unexpected collisions with life—the triumphs and tragedies that are forever etched into your DNA.
Yes, that story.
When you’re truly ready to write an autobiography, you’ll know it because you’ve come to a point in your life where the beauty of sharing your story has nothing to do with perfection. It’s knowing that despite the roller coaster ride that started at birth, you’ve found the courage to stay on it—sometimes holding on for dear life and other times riding with your hands up and screaming at the top of your lungs.
Get your autobiography template here:
Need A Nonfiction Book Outline?
You’ve lived thoroughly and learned to embrace who you’ve become in the process, scars and all.
This post will show you the format for writing an autobiography and the best way to package your story so you can provide the best reader experience possible.
This blog gives you a free autobiography template and more…
What is an autobiography.
The basic definition of an autobiography is that it’s a first-person account of your life. It differs from a memoir , which usually focuses on a single event or group of events that lead you to a discovery about yourself, your life, or some other revelation. An autobiography is a look at the total sum of your life from birth (early childhood) to the time of your book’s writing that highlights the key points that shaped who you’ve become.
Ready to start writing your autobiography? Let’s get into it…
What is the format for an autobiography?
Just like any good story, every autobiography has a beginning, middle, and end. But before you begin filling in the sections, you want to come up with a theme for your book . Most people have too much life content to fit into one book. Selecting the parts that fit under the umbrella of a theme will make the book easier to follow.
When coming up with a theme, think about what you want the key takeaway to be for the reader. You don’t want to give them some boring slog through your life history. If you want them to feel something, your book needs direction. That’s where your theme takes the lead. By keeping it in the back of your mind while writing, you’ll give your readers a track to stay on. Otherwise, they may lose interest and stop reading.
Once you have your theme, right down the events in your life that are related to your book’s focus. You’ll plug these into the outline as you develop it.
Some examples of autobiography book themes are:
- Overcoming challenges
- Creating your own destiny
- The unbreakable bonds of family
- A faith journey
- Perseverance
Your theme can be whatever you want it to be, but keep your audience in mind when selecting one. Below you’ll find an autobiography template. It includes an outline with writing prompts in each section.
Whether you are an “outliner” (someone who outlines) or a “pantser” (someone who writes by the seat of their pants), the outline has enough structure and flexibility to make both writer types happy.
Autobiography Template: An Outline
I’ve laid out what a traditional autobiography might look like below. But to really help you get the most out of the blog post, I recommend downloading our nonfiction book outline to use alongside this guide.
1. Introduction
Before you share your life story, prepare your readers for what is to follow by introducing yourself and telling them what they can expect. You can cover some or all of the following:
- Why you are writing your autobiography?
- What do you hope the reader will take away from the experience?
- Any pertinent information that’s not covered in your book but that is needed for context.
2. The beginning – the early years
Since autobiographies are a condensed view of your life, you want to focus on the significant events that will move your story forward.
- Where do you want to begin your story?
- Where does your book’s theme first show up when you look back over your life? You want the opening of your book to have an impact, so choose something that will hook your readers and bring them into your world.
- How did your formative years influence how you viewed yourself? What we experience during our childhood can affect us for a lifetime. Consider how the early events of your life developed your character.
- Who influenced you the most during your childhood?
- What defining moments do you remember?
Where (on your timeline) and how you start your story is up to you. You want it to be something strong and significant to have the most impact on your reader. Here are the first few sentences of some autobiographies for inspiration .
![91Qevk3Wvl. Sl1500 Autobiography Template - &Quot;Not That Fancy&Quot; By Reba Mcentire](https://selfpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/91QeVK3WvL._SL1500_.jpg)
“Some would say the McEntires are a very set-in-their-ways, stubborn, hardheaded bunch of people. But I think that hardheadedness is what got Daddy to where he was, Grandpap to where he was, and his father, Pap, to where he was. Some might say it wasn’t all that far- but it was much further than where they started!”
– Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots by Reba McEntire
(Nostalgia / Specific Event)
![61E1Avrlmhl. Sl1460 Autobiography Template - &Quot;This Time Together&Quot; By Carol Burnett](https://selfpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/61e1aVRLmHL._SL1460_.jpg)
“My grandmother Nanny and I were at the picture show. I hadn’t reached two digits yet in age because I distinctly remember my feet couldn’t touch the floor of the movie house. Nanny and I were still living in San Antonio, Texas. My mama and daddy had gone ahead to California, where Nanny and I would later wind up.” – This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett
(From Birth)
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“ If you know my music, you almost certainly know me as Craig Morgan. But I was actually born Craig Morgan Greer. Craig Morgan came along many years later.” – God, Family, Country: A Memoir by Craig Morgan
- 31 Best Autobiographies
- 30 Celebrity Autobiographies
3. The middle- halfway between the early years and where you are today.
If you are using a timeline to divide your story, the period that you cover during the “middle” of your autobiography depends on how old you are at the writing of your book. If you are in your golden years, your midpoint might be in your 30s or 40s. For someone like Malala Yousafzai , who wrote her autobiography at age 15, her “middle” looked very different.
Whichever “middle” you choose consider the following:
- What are the defining moments during this time of your life?
- Did they change how you viewed yourself?
- Did they change the trajectory of what you initially thought you’d do with your life?
- Who had the most influence on your life during this time?
- What are some of the challenges you faced? How did you overcome them?
- Did your worldview change during this time? If so, in what ways?
If your “middle” doesn’t fit neatly into a timeline, consider grouping your autobiography into themed sections.
The autobiography Cash by Johnny Cash groups his story into sections based on places that had special meaning to him: Cinnamon Hill, The Road, Port Rickey, Bon Aqua, and The Road Again.
4. The end—wrap-up
The end of your autobiography is the climax. It’s what you’ve been leading your reader to since the first sentence of your book.
- Where are you in your life now? What have you learned? How has your journey impacted who you’ve become?
- How do you want the reader to feel when they read the last sentence of your book? Inspired? Hopeful? Full? Enlightened? Satisfied? All of the above?
- Is there any part of your life that feels unfinished or incomplete?
- Looking back over your life, what is the greatest lesson you learned?
- Don’t forget your audience, especially at the beginning of your book. You want to hook your readers early and bring them along for the ride.
- Write an eye-catching autobiography title for your book.
- Leave out the minutia. If it doesn’t move your story along, drop it.
- Tone matters. A good rule of thumb is to write your story like you were talking to a friend. Your story doesn’t have to be a monotone race to the finish line. Spice it up. Add some sparkle. Make sure your personality shines through.
- It’s always about the story. Buyers pick up your book to be entertained. Regardless of how serious your story is, it should be presented in a way that makes the reader want to keep turning the page.
- Every good story has a resolution. Good or bad, offer a resolution for each life conflict you introduce.
- As you share the final pieces of your story, use the end of your story to reflect on where you’ve been, what you’ve learned, and where you plan to go from there. Every relationship that ends can benefit from closure, and if the end of your story is not the end of your relationship with your reader, tell them where they can go to continue getting to know you.
Writing your autobiography is a courageous move, but who better to write your life story than you? If you have experiences that others will find interesting, share! You never know how your journey will impact someone else.
If you’re serious about getting your story published, Selfpublishing.com has a team of publishing experts who can walk you through the book development process.
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How To Write An Autobiography
Autobiography Examples
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11+ Autobiography Examples: A Detailed Guide
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Learn How to Write an Autobiography Step by Step
Basic Types of Autobiography Writing With Examples
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Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoirs: The Differences & Similarities
Autobiography vs. Memoir - Differences & Similarities
How to Write a Memoir: Everything You Need to Know
Have you ever thought about telling your life story?
An autobiography is like a special book about you – your experiences, ups, downs, and everything in between.
But when it comes to autobiography writing , putting it all into words, it can feel a bit tricky, especially for students like you.
In this blog, we're here to help you understand what an autobiography is all about and make it easier for you to write one with the help of examples.
We'll dive into practical examples and autobiography templates to help you see how it's done.
So, let's dive in!
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- 1. Memoir Vs Autobiography Example
- 2. Autobiography Outline Examples
- 3. How to Write an Autobiography - Examples
- 4. Autobiography Examples for Students
- 5. Personal Autobiography Examples
- 6. Famous Autobiography Examples
Memoir Vs Autobiography Example
Memoirs and autobiographies both delve into personal experiences, but they have their own styles and purposes.
Let’s jump into example to see what is the actual difference between memoir and autobiography:
Memoir Vs Autobiography Example PDf
Autobiography Outline Examples
Any academic or professional writing needs to follow a proper format to organize the information. And an outline is the best way to follow the proper format. It helps you organize your information and structure your data into a proper format.
Here are some autobiography outline examples to help you learn the basics of the autobiography format .
Autobiography Outline for College - Example
Autobiography Sample Outline
How to Write an Autobiography - Examples
As we have mentioned earlier, there are as many stories as there are people on earth. Each of the stories is different from the others; no two of them could be the same.
How you present your ideas really matters. That's why using the right strategies and the correct format is essential to make your writing creative.
It is important to know the difference between autobiography and biography . These examples will help you learn how to start an autobiography that leaves a good impression on the reader’s mind.
Autobiography Sample PDF
Writing an Autobiography - Example
Autobiography Examples for Students
An autobiography is your life story. If your teacher tells you to write one, they just want to hear about your life. Even if you think your story isn't super exciting, following the structure can make it work better.
These autobiography examples for students will help you understand how you can properly format the autobiography.
Autobiography Examples for Kids
School is a time of discovery, and what better way to explore your own journey than through the lens of an autobiography? Here are some great autobiography examples crafted specifically for kids.
Autobiography Examples Ks2
Autobiography Examples For Grade 7
Autobiography Examples For Class 6
Short Autobiography Example for Students
Here is a sample of a short autobiography for you. Give it a good read and learn how to write an excellent short autobiography.
Short Autobiography for Students - Example
High School Autobiography Example
Check out this sample and learn to write an incredible autobiography for high school students.
High School Autobiography - Example
Spiritual Autobiography Example for College Students
Spiritual autobiographies give a glimpse into the spiritual person's life. Have a look at the following sample spiritual autobiography and give it a good read to learn more.
Spiritual Autobiography for College Students - Example
Cultural Autobiography Examples
Here is a sample of a cultural autobiography that contains detailed information on culture. Have a look at the sample to know more about it.
Cultural Autobiography Examples
Funny Autobiography Examples
Autobiographies are thought to be boring and mundane, but that is not the case. You can make an interesting story, as well as funny. Learn to write a funny autobiography by this example.
Funny Autobiography Examples
Educational Autobiography Example
Here is a sample educational autobiography that will help you formulate an effective and inspiring autobiography.
Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!
Social Class Autobiography Example
Writing a social class or sociology assignment could be a bit difficult. This sample will help you work on yours easily.
Rambling Autobiography Examples
Rambling autobiographies are like a casual conversation with a friend, where stories unfold in their own unique way.
Let’s jump into some fascinating examples about this type of autobiography:
Personal Autobiography Examples
Personal autobiography or personal narrative essay provides a complete picture of the author’s life story. The following personal autobiography demonstrates how to write a personal narrative autobiography.
Personal Narrative Autobiography - Example
Autobiography Examples for Students About Yourself
Famous Autobiography Examples
Autobiographical essays are usually about famous people or historical figures. Just as a renowned autobiography of Benjamin Franklin tells us about his life, his unfinished records, his accomplishments, etc.
Below are some examples of famous autobiographies for your better understanding:
Famous Literacy Autobiography Example
Famous Autobiography - Sample
All in all, we have explored different examples, like understanding what makes memoirs different from autobiographies and exploring rambling ones. These examples are like guides to help you tell your own story and maybe inspire others on your writing journey.
So, go ahead, give it a try, and have fun telling your unique tale.
And if you need assistance you can always reach out to us!
Our writers can write outstanding autobiography for you! All you have to do is place your " write an essay for me " request and we'll create your custom autobiography in no time!
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Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.
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- Resume and Cover Letter
- How to Write a Short Bio?...
How to Write a Short Bio? (With Examples)
7 min read · Updated on August 28, 2024
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A short professional biography is a great tool to have in your career marketing toolkit.
As you progress through your career, there will likely come a time when someone wants you to provide them with a professional biography. It could be that your boss wants to include something on the team page of the company website or perhaps you need to write a blurb about your biggest achievements for a social media page.
Regardless of the reason, you should always have one ready to go. Many people have quite a few questions about writing short professional bios, though, including
What is a bio?
How to write a short bio?
What voice to use in a short bio – first person or third person?
What is the format of a short biography?
What is a good bio example?
Let's just say that you're in the right place to find out.
What is a short bio?
Have you ever heard the phrase “elevator pitch?” Well, that's what a bio is. It's about 200 words that define who you are, what you do, what you've accomplished, and what your goals are. If that seems like a lot to put into a couple hundred words, you're right.
This isn't the time to go on and on about everything you've ever done. Since the purpose of a short professional bio is to introduce you to whoever is reading it, it's best to worry about only hitting the high notes.
Think about what you say when someone asks you the following:
What do you do?
How long have you done it?
What do you like most about it?
Have you ever won an award ?
Why do you want to keep doing what you do?
Your answers to those questions will help you craft your biography, though you'll probably have to pare down the wording to keep it within the requisite word count. Always remember KISS – Keep it Short and Simple.
How to write a short professional bio?
Just like with your resume, a short professional bio should contain key details. Those details should also appear in a predictable order.
Your name and current job title
Your professional philosophy
Some of your best skills
Career achievements
What you have your sights set on for the future
You could also include things like links to online portfolios or your contact information, depending on where the bio is going to be used. For example, if you're adding the short professional bio to a web page that already has your contact info, then you don't need to add it to the bio itself.
First-person vs third-person for your short professional bio
Before you start writing, you have to decide which voice you're going to use for your biography. Meaning, are you going to write it using first-person or third-person?
First-person writing involves using pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my”
Third-person writing is when you avoid using personal pronouns and stick to possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives like "he," "she," "his," and "her"
It all depends on your audience. You'd choose to write your short professional bio in the first person if you're using it for personal websites, social media profiles , and networking events. It's better to use the third person when you're writing for company websites, professional directories, or other formal settings.
Short professional bio examples: Your name and current job title
This may seem like a given, but because it's such a simple thing, a lot of people try to overdo it. You literally only need to write something like this
Third-person: Janet Plunder is the Head of Marketing for We Are Creatives, Inc.
First-person: My name is Jeff Safeport, and I am the Network Manager for BitBytes.
Short professional bio examples: Your professional philosophy
Have you ever thought about the values and ethics you possess and how those shape your work and interaction with others? That is the basis of your professional philosophy. Prospective employers and future clients want to know how you distinguish yourself from others. The way you come up with your professional philosophy is through a little self-assessment. Ask yourself
What do I believe in?
What am I committed to?
What values are most important in my professional life?
How do I approach challenges?
Have I made any type of impact in my field?
This is what the philosophy statement could look like in your short bio:
- Third-person: She is known for leading with integrity, fostering collaborative environments, and continuously seeking innovative solutions that drive success.
- First-person: I am committed to prioritizing client satisfaction. Also, by embracing the idea of lifelong learning, I consistently strive for excellence in everything all projects I undertake.
Short professional bio examples: Your skills and qualifications
Going back to the concept of KISS, you want to avoid trying to include a laundry list of every skill you possess. The idea here is to focus on the abilities that set you apart in your field. You need to be specific not only about what you excel at but also how the particular skills you choose for your short professional bio have helped you be successful.
For example:
- Third-person: Jane is known for creating digital marketing strategies, with a particular focus on SEO and content marketing. She has a proven track record of increasing online visibility, brand awareness, and consumer engagement for countless globally branded companies.
- First-person : One of my strong suits is the ability to streamline processes in a way that improves productivity across international teams. I do this through full lifecycle project management and deep-dive data analysis.
Short professional bio examples: Your career achievements
Back when you were writing your resume, you probably heard over and over again how important career achievements are. There are millions of articles out there that tell you how to quantify the things you've accomplished in past jobs because that's how prospective employers know you'll be a benefit to their team.
The same holds true for your short professional bio. Your readers will be able to tell how you can help them by getting a glimpse into your career wins. Focus on notable awards and major projects that point to you achieving milestones.
Here's what that could look like:
- Third-person: Recently, she led a rebranding project that increased revenue by more than 20%, earning her the Innovator of the Year award.
- First-person : In my last position, I ascended to the prestigious President's Club after overhauling project processes and saving the company $10M.
Short professional bio examples: Your professional goals
The one thing that distinguishes a short professional bio from your other career marketing documents is that it not only showcases your history but it's also future-facing. This gives you a great opportunity to talk about your aspirations and which direction you are heading in your career.
You can show prospective employers and future clients that you're going to be around a while by talking about things like being “forward-thinking” and emphasizing your “commitment to growth,” as examples.
Here are a couple of short professional bio examples you can use as inspiration for your own professional goals :
- Third-person: Jane is looking forward to developing leadership skills to transition into an executive management role so that she can foster innovation at the corporate level.
- First-person : Since the beginning of my career, I've focused on expanding my expertise in cybersecurity and am poised to move into a Chief Information Officer position.
Leave a lasting impression
No matter what type of document you're writing for your career, the object is always to leave a lasting impression. That holds true even for a short professional bio. It may only be a couple hundred words, but they're very important words. Keep it concise, relevant, and engaging, and the right doors will open to propel you along your career journey.
The best way to get the right details into your short professional bio is to use information from your resume. Does your resume say what you need it to say about your skills, qualifications, and achievements? Upload it for a free review and find out.
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- School Life
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Speech and Life History for Students
About dr sarvepalli radhakrishnan: this article comprises lines on dr sarvepalli radhakrishnan and his biography to explain his life. download dr sarvepalli radhakrishnan's biography in english pdf..
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- 10 Lines on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, in Andhra Pradesh, India.
- He was a great scholar, philosopher, and statesman in Indian history.
- Radhakrishnan studied at Christian College, Madras, and became a professor at famous universities.
- He helped introduce Indian philosophy to the Western world through his work on comparative religion.
- Radhakrishnan served as the Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952.
- He was the Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962.
- In 1962, Radhakrishnan became the second President of India and served until 1967.
- He was known for his wisdom and deep understanding of Indian culture.
- September 5, his birthday, is celebrated as 'Teacher’s Day' in India to honour his contributions to education.
- Dr Radhakrishnan passed away on April 17, 1975, but his legacy lives on in Indian education and philosophy.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Biography
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a name that we all have heard but unclear with his life and achievements, made him a legend to remember every year on Teacher’s Day. Let us know his life story and get inspiration from him.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, in a small town in Andhra Pradesh. He completed his studies at the Christian College, Madras. Dr Krishnan also served as a professor at many universities, such as the University of Mysore and the University of Calcutta. He was awarded the Spalding Professorship of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford for his philosophical and intellectual endeavours.
Dr Radhakrishnan’s efforts and work on comparative religion and philosophy gave a place to Indian philosophy in the Western world. He believed education is the key to transforming society and bringing good into it. Educated people are ones who can shape the future of society and the country.
Later in his life, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan also had a career in politics. He served as the Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He became the Indian vice president of India in 1952 and continued till 1962. From May 13, 1962, to May 13, 1967, he served as the President of India.
Radhakrishnan was highly regarded for his knowledge, insight, and understanding of Indian philosophy and culture throughout his presidency. His dedication to maintaining the democratic principles outlined in the Indian Constitution defined his presidency.
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Contribution of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in Education
You can use the 10 lines on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan or his biography to frame a speech or essay. Through your speech or essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, you can educate people about his life and the importance of celebrating Teacher’s Day.
Check out the related links below to get more insightful information on the Teacher's Day celebration in school.
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- When was Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan born? + Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888.
- Where did Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan study? + Dr. Radhakrishnan studied at the University of Madras and the University of Oxford.
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on writing her new book: "Authenticity is really what connects with people”
The world record holder opens up about how she became an author in an interview with Olympics.com
((Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images))
At just 24 years old, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has many titles: Olympic gold medalist, world record holder, wife. Now, she can add “author” to the list. It wasn’t something she set out to do, but when approached, McLaughlin-Levrone realised she did want to share her story.
“At first, I was a little unsure how much I could give in my 22 years of life at the time, but I just truly felt like it was an opportunity to just share my story of how I came to Christ and, you know, hopefully encourage someone through that journey. I'm sure when I look back in a few years, I'll be able to just see the growth,” McLaughlin-Levrone said to Olympics.com.
Her book, “Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith,” will be released 30 Jan. It covers McLaughlin-Levrone's life. She writes about what first got her into running hurdles, her quick ascent in the sport, and what it took for her to break the 400m hurdles world record. She doesn’t shy away from the tough times in her life, talking about her struggles with anxiety at the Rio 2016 Olympics, rejection from an ex-boyfriend, and how she was mistreated by her peers in high school.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: 'We all have issues we go through and battles that we're facing'
“I wanted to intentionally be very honest, and I think that's what people relate to most, is the vulnerability and the authenticity. And I wanted to do it for the young person out there who maybe feels like they don't have anyone to relate to in a certain way of just like going through everyday struggles,” she said.
“And when you see athletes, entertainers, performers, it's hard to relate to them at times. But I want people to know that now we all struggle. We all have issues that we go through and battles that we're facing. And, you know, as a young girl, as a young woman, now, there are still things that you have to work through. And I think that authenticity is really what connects with people.”
In writing the book, McLaughlin-Levrone found she had to revisit both good and bad times in her life. She found even revisiting the tougher times helped her realize how much she has grown.
“Being able to go back and remember those moments was honestly partially like, you know, I was back in those moments. Physically, it took me back to that time, but it was also kind of healing. Being able to look back and see why some of those hard times had to happen and being thankful for them, and what they taught me and how they've guided me to where I am now. So it was a very overall just whole circle process of seeing how I started to get to there.”
How writing helped Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone grow as a person
Even prolific novelists find that writing a book isn’t easy. When you add in McLaughlin-Levrone's busy schedule of training and competing, working on the book was a new kind of challenge for her as it forced her to take a closer look at her life.
“I think I learned just how much in my life, whether it's good times or bad times, I always made it about me. And I think it can be very tricky to where even when you think very negatively about yourself, we can think of that as being humble or lowly of ourselves, but it's still centered around us. And I think it's been very humbling in writing the book, just realizing even areas in my life today that I haven't fully surrendered to God. And that's been really cool to just, you know, still see things to improve upon, which is as an athlete, something I'm always trying to do, but also as a person. That's what I'm trying to do,” she said.
McLaughlin-Levrone's biggest plans for 2024 include the Paris Olympics . She already has gold medals in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400 relay, both won in 2021 at the Tokyo 2020 Games. But after Paris? She could see herself returning to writing.
“I love writing poetry. I do love to write. I think it's a little scary writing about yourself, but I think there are definitely avenues that have opened up because of this that I do love just sharing my thoughts with people. And so I think they resonate a lot just in terms of, you know, the inward emotions that we all feel. And so I definitely think there's a possibility that in the future there could be more writing.”
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Order your sections (from medium to high interest) Order the ideas in each section (from medium to high interest) Write three questions to answer in each section. Choose a starter sentence. Complete a title template. Write each section of your by completing the starter sentence and answering all three questions.
Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Aug 26, 2022 • 6 min read. As a firsthand account of the author's own life, an autobiography offers readers an unmatched level of intimacy. Learn how to write your first autobiography with examples from MasterClass instructors.
How to start an autobiography. On the note of starting your autobiography, it's pretty straightforward: begin either with your birth or slightly before, e.g., with your parents. Unlike a memoir, which can start in medias res (in the middle of the action), an autobiography should start ab ovo, or "from the egg.".
4. Avoid common descriptive words - words such as 'nice' and 'good' should be considered with great caution once you have reached the third draft of your book. 26. Consider Your Reader. An important part of knowing how to write an autobiography is having an awareness of the reader throughout the entire manuscript.
3. Pull out the best stories. The story of your entire life would start to get pretty long-winded, so you'll have to make some decisions about what anecdotes you're going to include. Begin drafting your manuscript by writing out the main stories that will be woven together to create a picture of your life.
Step 4: Write with Detail and Emotion. An important aspect of writing an autobiography for college is appealing to emotion. As you delve into each body paragraph, share your story with vivid details. Use descriptive language to bring your experiences to life for the reader.
Structure of an Autobiography: Usually written in chronological order. Uses time connectives such as before, then, after that, finally, etc. Uses the names of real people and events. Is specific about times, dates, places, etc. Includes personal memories and specific details and descriptions.
9- Seek Feedback. As you walk the path of writing an autobiography, seeking feedback is incredibly beneficial. Share your drafts with people you trust, those who grasp the essence of your story. This could be family members, close friends, or a writing group. Pay attention to their constructive criticism.
The word autobiography literally means SELF (auto), LIFE (bio), WRITING (graph). Or, in other words, an autobiography is the story of someone's life written or otherwise told by that person. When writing your autobiography, find out what makes your family or your experience unique and build a narrative around that.
7 steps to write your own life story: Brainstorm your autobiography's focus and scope. Skim autobiographies for inspiration. Choose between autobiography and memoir. Outline key and illustrative life events. Draft key scenes from your life. Find strong transitions. Check details and get beta readers. 1.
Use words to create a vivid visual of the surroundings. Emotional Connection: Connect with your readers on an emotional level. Share the emotions, ideas, or difficulties you felt in that moment. Hence an engaging topic is a good answer for how to start an autobiography. 3.
When you write an autobiography, you want to use first-person writing. You are telling the story of you. Therefore you should tell it from your own point of view. On the other hand, biographies should always be written from a third-person point of view. Third-person is using "he, she, they, them.".
Autobiography writing follows the same basic principles of all storytelling. Writing an autobiography requires well-crafted prose, structure, and organization of timelines and themes, a defined purpose, and a keen awareness of the audience. Understanding how to write an autobiography involves the following steps: 1. Define your purpose.
The goal of an autobiography is to allow readers to explore a factual, chronological telling of the author's life. Autobiographies aren't merely catalogues of events, however; they need soulful introspection too. Think about why certain episodes mattered more than others and how those experiences influenced your perspectives or decisions ...
Step 6: Get a Professional Editor. Once you've made your autobiography as good as you can make it, it's time to seek help. While you can certainly give a copy of the book to some friends and family to see what they think, keep in mind they're likely biased. Chances are they're also not professional editors, either.
Another way to write your autobiography or memoir is to imagine you're writing a letter to yourself. A great letter is to tell yourself the story you want to write about yourself. Or you can take on the role of mentor to yourself: The "you," in this case, is your current self. Write a letter to your former self.
Examples of Autobiography in literature. Autobiographies provide a window into the personal lives and experiences of individuals, offering readers an intimate look at their journeys, thoughts, and emotions. Here are some notable examples of autobiographies in literature: 1. "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank.
3. Create an Outline. Outline the possible chapters of your autobiography. You can do this in different ways — separate each part of your life by age, location, life stage, new job, or any other defining characteristic that makes sense. You can use outlining software like Plot Factory or Scrivener to make it easier.
The main purpose of an autobiography is to share one's life story with others from a first-person perspective. Autobiographies are useful documents to highlight key events in one's life. They can ...
One of the best-known autobiographies, The Diary of a Young Girl, is an excellent example of a journal-style layout. Featuring the story of a young girl who is hiding during the Holocaust, aspiring writers will find inspiration in Frank's raw emotions and candor. 2. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Write an eye-catching autobiography title for your book. Leave out the minutia. If it doesn't move your story along, drop it. Tone matters. A good rule of thumb is to write your story like you were talking to a friend. Your story doesn't have to be a monotone race to the finish line. Spice it up. Add some sparkle.
Famous Autobiography Examples. Autobiographical essays are usually about famous people or historical figures. Just as a renowned autobiography of Benjamin Franklin tells us about his life, his unfinished records, his accomplishments, etc. Below are some examples of famous autobiographies for your better understanding:
Writing a short professional bio is an important part of professional branding. Read here to learn how to write a short bio that makes an impression. Protect your data. ... A short professional biography is a great tool to have in your career marketing toolkit.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Biography in English PDF: Get here the 10 Lines on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan explaining his life and achievements. Download the biography and history of Dr ...
How writing helped Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone grow as a person Even prolific novelists find that writing a book isn't easy. When you add in McLaughlin-Levrone's busy schedule of training and competing, working on the book was a new kind of challenge for her as it forced her to take a closer look at her life.