how to write creative autobiography

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?

Typewriter, lightbulb, and crumpled paper - How To Write an Autobiography

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 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.

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 an Autobiography: Top 10 Questions

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:

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)

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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Shaping Your Legacy: How to Write a Compelling Autobiography

The Speaker Lab
March 12, 2024

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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How to Write a Creative Autobiography

A dictum of journalism is that there are no boring stories, only boring writers. With that in mind, everyone's life contains episodes and anecdotes that could add to a creative autobiography. The important ingredients of a compelling life story are authenticity, voice, emotion and flow.

Author Your Autobiography

Read. To write creatively you must immerse yourself in creative writing. There are tens of thousands of autobiographies and biographies that can offer examples of the best and worst. Read the famous and the newly famous. Contemporary authors who have penned memoirs that captivate include J.R. Moehringer ("The Tender Bar"), Kelly Corrigan ("The Middle Place") and Jeanette Walls ("The Glass Castle"). Theirs are not celebrity tell-alls, but rather the tales of American life--its trials and triumphs.

Begin in the middle. Instead of starting your story from your birth or before, grab your readers with a highlight they can identify with. Capture their attention from the start and they will want to go back to your beginnings with you as you weave your full life story.

Be honest. Scandals abound of authors telling their "true" life stories only to be discovered as frauds--James Frey ("A Million Little Pieces") Herman Rosenblat ("Angel at the Fence")--when journalists and readers press for details. Whether your end goal is family distribution or publication, the truth resonates.

Be yourself. In line with honesty, it is important that your autobiography be told in your voice. Not only does this lend the work authenticity, but it can also endear you to your readers.

Don't shy away from unbelievable stories that are nonetheless true. Support for the mantra "you can't make this stuff up," can be found in newspapers every day as people put themselves in crazy predicaments. The difference between bland and bold may well be in that tale of your crazy uncle really doing whatever it was that seems the substance of fiction.

Interview the people in your life. While it may seem an unnecessary time killer, gathering recollections of events in which you were present is an important way of triggering memories, filling in blanks, and enhancing your overall story.

Use humor if you have a knack for it. Simple, observational humor can have your readers chuckling as they turn the pages or nodding in recognition at perhaps identifiable human foibles.

Add details. Regardless of the story, the details are what render it believable and pull your readers into a scene. If you describe a day at the beach and your reader unconsciously finds himself smelling the sea air, you've succeeded in having him connect to you and your story.

Regardless of your creativity, your work needs to be structurally sound. If you cannot do it yourself, have your work professionally edited upon completion.

Linda Emma is a long-standing writer and editor. She is also a digital marketing professional and published author with more than 20 years experience in media and business. She works as a content manager and professional writing tutor at a private New England college. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University.

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Home » Blog » How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps

How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps

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 a book it is you are wanting to write. There is no way to know how to write an autobiography if you can’t distinguish the two. Memoir and autobiography 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 are 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, 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

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 memoir, 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 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 on 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.)

7. Exceptions

You might also be wanting 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 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 families’ 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 are wanting 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 it’s very construction there is a presumption of what it will be about: events in your life. From 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

Well, now you have a list of important events in your life, starting to write should be pretty straight forward. 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 be wanting 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 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 wellbeing. 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 wellbeing are always more important than a book.

17. Know Your Why

Make sure that you don’t add in 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 afterwards.

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 viewpoint as you go along, but once you have chosen, you will be wanting to stick with it. 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

One of the most critical components of how to write an autobiography is 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 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 life. 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 memoir, 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 autobiography or memoir. 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 dismay, 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.

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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.

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

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.

WHAT IS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

how to write an autobiography | DO you have an amazing tale to share 1 | How to write an Autobiography | literacyideas.com

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

how to write an autobiography | biography and autobiography writing unit 1 | How to write an Autobiography | literacyideas.com

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.

how to write an autobiography | memoir vs autobiography 768x1920 1 | How to write an Autobiography | literacyideas.com

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.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

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❤️The use of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE is like “SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR AUTHORS.” It is a powerful tool to create VIVID IMAGERY through words. This HUGE 110 PAGE UNIT guides you through a complete understanding of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE as both a READER and WRITER covering.

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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How to Write an Autobiography – Tips and Examples

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

You don’t need to be a professional writer to share your life story. We all gain wisdom from our unique life experiences, and other people may be able to benefit from your special perspective. When writing an autobiography, you can take inspiration from the work of other authors.

Some autobiographical books, such as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin , recount extraordinary lives. In other cases, when the author is not famous or newsworthy, he or she may decide to craft a memoir instead of an autobiography. For example, Mary Karr worked as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University and struggled to pay the bills before she published The Liar’s Club . That memoir went on to become a New York Times bestseller.

In this article, we’ll review the difference between autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs. We’ll also discuss the best way to begin writing a book about your own life.

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How Is an Autobiography Different Than a Biography?

A biography describes a book written about an individual person. Usually, the content of a biography covers the subject’s entire life, from childhood to death. Of course, when someone writes a biography about a living subject, the material in the book only includes events in the subject’s life prior to the date of publication. An autobiography differs from a biography because, in an autobiography, the author writes about his or her own life rather than the life of another person. Often, you’ll find autobiographies shelved in the “biography” section of a bookstore or library, so some people consider autobiography writing to be a sub-genre within biography writing.

Biographies and autobiographies often concern newsworthy people. After all, the main character must be interesting enough to hold the reader’s attention through all the phases of life—childhood, adulthood, and old age. In some autobiographies, such as those written by Malcolm X and Anne Frank, the author does not survive into old age. In the case of both of those famous autobiographies, the written material was compiled, edited, and published posthumously. When writing an autobiography or a biography, most authors and editors try to include as many significant life events as possible.

How is an Autobiography Different Than a Memoir?

Like an autobiography, a memoir is a first person account of the author’s own life. Unlike an autobiography, a memoir only concerns significant events that fit a particular theme. Most memoir authors have a unique point of view, even though they appear to be ordinary people at first glance.

As an example, imagine an ordinary man who experienced an extraordinary love story over the course of his life. When he writes his memoir, he might structure his book to highlight that relationship. Anything unrelated to the love story—his high school teachers, his career advancements, his Tuesday night bowling games—would likely be excluded from his memoir. By narrowing the focus of the book, the man allows the reader to engage with the most interesting parts of his personal story.

Writing Nonfiction

When you begin collecting stories for your own autobiography, it can be helpful to assemble documents and reference materials. For instance, you may want to pull photographs, journals, and old passports. Making a family tree can be helpful, as well. Since you’ll be telling the true story of your life, you’ll certainly want to get all the dates and family history right. Some autobiography writers interview family members and friends in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of important events. Once you’ve assembled all the research materials, you’ll be ready to get started with your first draft.

Getting Started

As you begin to write, think about how you would tell a good story to a close friend. Don’t focus on the writing process or selecting the perfect words. Instead, try to brainstorm and roughly sketch as many stories as possible. Some people even find it helpful to use a voice recorder. To fill an entire book, you’ll need plenty of content. In the early stages, focus on getting as many stories on paper as you can. It may be helpful to arrange the stories in chronological order.

Choosing the Best Stories

Most memoirs range from 70,000–90,000 words. Once you have about 60,000 words written, you can begin thinking critically about the structure that would best suit your life story. For instance, if you’re writing a memoir, you may want to look at the best stories you’ve assembled and craft a thesis statement to serve as a guideline for your second draft. You would not need to include that thesis in the finished product—it would only be there to help you in your editing process.

Returning to the example of the man with the love story, he might craft a thesis like this one: If you want to find true love, you have to be willing to take risks. Using that thesis as a guide, he might select the stories from different parts of his life that contribute to that theme. He might include a story from early childhood wherein he was unwilling to take a risk and missed out on an opportunity. Although that anecdote doesn’t relate to the love story at first glance, it fits into the overall message of the book.

During this phase of revisions, you can choose a structure that works for telling your tale. Some autobiographies have a chronological structure, others use flashbacks, and others have a more experimental format. If you plan to hire a ghostwriter, you’ll probably want to engage him or her at this phase in the process. Since you already have quite a bit of material written, the ghostwriter will be able to work faster and more efficiently than they would in the earlier stages. Not only will the ghostwriter be able to fix grammar mistakes and introduce strong writing skills, but they will also be able to provide an outside opinion about which stories are most likely to hold the reader’s attention.

Selecting a Title

Of course, many successful autobiographies have been published with simple titles. You could choose The Autobiography of [Your Name], and your book would be in excellent company. That said, you may want to try something a bit more creative, especially if you’re not a celebrity with instant name recognition. One idea is to pull a particularly vivid image from the book.

It may be helpful to make a list of some of the strongest imagery and lines from your second (or third or fourth) draft. You can narrow down the list to 3-5 choices, then ask your loved ones—friends and family—which title they would be most likely to pick off the shelf. Remember, you can always change the title later; however, having a title can help you to imagine your book as a finished product sitting in the stacks of a library. At this stage in the process, you’ll probably need to hold fast to that vision. Editing and revising your book will take time, and you’ll need to remain motivated.

Publishing an Autobiography

These days, you have lots of options for self-publishing an autobiography or memoir. The do-it-yourself route is easier than ever with Amazon , Apple , and B&N Press all offering eBook publishing platforms. Plus, aggregators and print-on-demand publishers provide new ways to reach audiences and publish printed books on a budget.

For those who want the support of a publishing company, you should start by finding a literary agent. Most literary agencies provide instructions for submitting a query letter on their websites. Basically, a query letter acts as a brief pitch, telling agents why they should be interested in your book. If the agent likes your query, they’ll ask to read your manuscript (or a short proposal). Unless you’re a newsworthy figure or a professional writer with lots of experience, it’s best to have a manuscript complete before you begin reaching out to agents. Be prepared to send the finished manuscript as soon as you receive a positive response to a query letter.

A literary agent’s job is to take your “finished” manuscript, make editorial changes, connect you with a publishing company, and then help to negotiate your publishing contracts. Generally, publishing companies do not consider a project unless they receive it from a professional literary agent.

A Reading List

Now that you know more about writing and publishing an autobiography, you should probably take some time to gather inspiration. Here are just a few of the best-selling autobiographies and memoirs that any aspiring writer should read!

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Educated by Tara Westover
Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mohandas K. Gandhi Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Becoming by Michelle Obama
https://bookauthority.org/books/best-selling-autobiography-books
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/
https://press.barnesandnoble.com/
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201183
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/memoir-and-autobiography-learn-the-differences-and-tips-for-writing-memoir-and-autobiography
https://nybookeditors.com/2015/12/how-to-write-a-darn-good-query-letter/

Kari Lisa Johnson

I’m an award-winning playwright with a penchant for wordplay. After earning a perfect score on the Writing SAT, I worked my way through Brown University by moonlighting as a Kaplan Test Prep tutor. I received a BA with honors in Literary Arts (Playwriting)—which gave me the opportunity to study under Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel. In my previous roles as new media producer with Rosetta Stone, director of marketing for global ventures with The Juilliard School, and vice president of digital strategy with Up & Coming Media, I helped develop the voice for international brands. From my home office in Maui, Hawaii, I currently work on freelance and ghostwriting projects.

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How to Write Your Own Autobiography: Tips and Techniques

Ever wanted to freeze time to enjoy a special moment a bit more? We all look back and compare what’s happening now to what’s happened before. But time doesn’t wait for anyone. It’s crucial to preserve our memories of life’s significant events and figure out the ways for how to write your own autobiography . You create an enduring memory that you may return to whenever you need inspiration by recording them in writing or another kind of recording.

The main reason to write your own autobiography is that it helps to depict specific events in one’s life. Through this, we can even educate the reader by defining our hard times and lessons learned in that time. With the hope that we may also inform the reader and, in doing so, hopefully, save others from making the same mistakes as the autobiography author did.

Writing about your own life can be challenging. Sharing sensitive information can be difficult, mainly when we prefer to keep our lives private. However, conducting research is not necessary to write your story. Reflect on your past, identify the key events, and then list them in writing. Additionally, you can discuss your changes and your predictions for the future. The main goal of an autobiography writer is to focus on significant events or challenges that have shaped you.

Don’t let the daunting task of writing your life story hold you back—especially if you’re juggling a busy schedule or writing isn’t your forte. Hire a professional writer to pen your autobiography. While you’ll still be an integral part of the storytelling process, bringing in an expert will streamline the journey, making it as smooth as possible. So why struggle when you can make your life’s tale a compelling read with a bit of expert help?

An autobiography or a memoir are the two ways you might tell the world about your life experiences. If you keep reading, we’ll offer you all the information you need to know about both.

The Basics Of Write Your Own Autobiography

Writing your own Autobiography is the process of telling your entire life story, from the beginning to the present, while highlighting significant moments. An autobiography is simply writing about oneself. Although the words are always provided by someone else, such as an autobiography ghostwriter or any other professional you have hired, the voice is always your own. Additionally, it highlights the significance of your life’s mission across your history. Reflect on the pivotal moments that shaped you, and in the process, create a lasting legacy for future generations. Yes, it requires raw honesty and emotional openness, but the rewards are immeasurable. So why wait? Dig into the unique experience of telling your life story and fascinate your readers with the real you.

As the author reflects on their life and the significant lessons they’ve learned along the way, an autobiography frequently has a thoughtful and personal tone. An author may organize their ideas and experiences chronologically, beginning with their youth and on through their adult life, to present their life narrative in an autobiography.

They may also opt to organize the book topically, concentrating on critical events or topics that have impacted their lives.

When penning your autobiography, honesty isn’t just the best policy—it’s the only policy. Share your feelings, opinions, and life-changing moments with unfiltered sincerity. Dive into the people, places, and events that have shaped you. Unpack your dreams, your goals, and the hurdles you’ve overcome. Why? Because your autobiography has dual power, it not only introduces readers to the incredible journey of your life but also offers you a golden opportunity to reflect on your own personal growth. So be your most authentic self, and let your story do the talking.

What Sets a Memoir Apart?

Think of a memoir as a spotlight on the most riveting chapters of your life. Unlike an autobiography, which is the full-length movie of your existence, a memoir zeroes in on the pivotal scenes. A biography provides you the creative freedom to concentrate on what means most to you, whether it’s a particular time period, a turning incident, or a romance that changed your life. So why not document and share those pivotal moments with your audience meaningfully? Dive into memoir writing and make your story unforgettable.

A memoir typically focuses on one aspect or occasion from the writer’s life. It describes the author’s emotions and thoughts towards that particular subject. Memoirs may also contain tales about the writer’s relatives, acquaintances, or influential societal events. You can be the show’s star without being the writer behind the scenes. Whether you’re a public figure looking to chronicle your career with the help of a skilled writer or someone eager to explore a complex relationship with your parents, memoirs are your canvas. The endgame? To give your readers an intimate look into your world—your emotions, milestones, and challenges. So go ahead, choose the memoir route, and let your life story shine uniquely.

In a memoir, the author reflects on the events and encounters that have molded and impacted their lives. They might also better research the concepts, feelings, and discoveries that emerged from these interactions to understand their motivations, goals, and difficulties. A memoir often focuses on a specific topic or situation, and the author may utilize those insights to investigate more universal ideas or issues that are significant to a broader audience.

Difference Between Memoir and Autobiography

An autobiography and a memoir tell stories from someone’s life, but they’re not the same. A memoir focuses on specific events or times in the writer’s life. It talks about how these experiences made the writer feel and think. Contrarily, an autobiography attempts to be factually accurate and covers the author’s entire life from beginning to end. Both individuals offer personal stories, but they do it in distinctive ways.

They discuss one key difference between an autobiography and a memoir. Choose those defining moments or a particular chapter in your life and dig deep. But if you’re leaning towards an autobiography, get ready for a panoramic view that covers your entire life journey.

Another difference is why they’re written. An autobiography is usually meant to share the writer’s whole life story with others. On the other hand, a memoir frequently delves further into particular situations to discuss more significant concepts or concerns that many readers can identify with. Both share personal tales, but they do it for various reasons and in multiple ways.

Memoirs usually feel more personal and thoughtful, with the writer sharing their feelings and thoughts about specific experiences. Autobiographies are often more formal and stick to the facts.

Lastly, it’s essential to know who writes them. A memoir can be written by someone else, like a hired writer. But an autobiography is always written by the person it’s about. So, these critical differences between the two help set them apart.

An Essential Guide to Autobiography Writing

Ideas for inspiration.

Brainstorming is a valuable method for generating ideas and igniting your imagination when writing an autobiography. You can use the forms below to help you develop ideas for your autobiography.

Start by compiling a list of the significant occasions and encounters in your life: Write down the experiences and meetings that have made a big difference in your life to start. These might be essential events (such as graduations, weddings, or children’s birth), essential relationships, professional successes, or significant obstacles you’ve overcome. Record your reflections and recollections in writing: Spend some time writing down your memories and comments for each occasion or incident that is on your list. What particular details immediately come to mind? What emotions and ideas did you have at the time? How did the situation or encounter change your outlook on life?

Identify recurring themes or incidents when you reflect on your life and what happened to you. What do you find yourself thinking about constantly? What core ideals or beliefs have guided your life?

Do you want your self- biography to be read by anyone? Think about your audience. What’s the takeaway you want for your readers? Keep them front and center as you choose your focus. And remember, while honesty is non-negotiable, you’ve got a creative license! Feel free to shuffle the timeline or embellish details to make your story more engaging. Trust your instincts and let your imagination run wild. The ultimate goal? To generate a treasure trove of ideas that will fuel your storytelling journey. So write purposefully, and let your life story resonate with your readers.

Finding the Perfect Ghostwriter for Your Autobiography

Once you finish the idea and the brainstorming process, it’s time to pick a ghostwriter for an autobiography. One should keep several vital elements in mind before hiring an autobiography ghostwriter. Setting a budget is the first and most crucial step to take when hiring a ghostwriter for an autobiography ; because ghostwriting may be highly expensive, you must pick someone depending on your financial capabilities.

Locating a writer with experience in this field is crucial because not all authors are comfortable or knowledgeable about producing autobiographies. Find authors who have expertise in writing memoirs or have written on topics or themes related to those you are interested in. The ghostwriter you select must be able to tell your narrative in a way that seems genuine and authentic to you, while also capturing your voice. Look at other things the writer has done to see if their way of writing matches what you want for your own life story .

Always check the writer’s history and what people say about them. You might even wish to speak with those individuals to find out more. To learn more about the writer’s communication style and personality, try to meet them in person or engage in a video chat.

You can express your story in a way that truly reflects your voice and experiences by selecting a ghostwriter with whom you feel comfortable and confident.

Choosing the Perfect Title for Your Book

The appropriate title for an autobiography might be challenging to choose because it must accurately reflect the book’s content and appeal to readers. Here are some suggestions for deciding a title for your life narrative to pique interest and encourage readers to continue reading.

A lengthy title may lose its impact, so keep it short and exciting to draw readers into your story. Make sure it resonates with you on a personal level. Wrote the book yourself? Consider giving it that extra personal touch by including your name in the title. Don’t settle on the first idea that comes to mind—experiment with different concepts. Whether it’s a nod to your personality, lifestyle, or a milestone moment, choose a title that’s as unique as the story it precedes. Make your title a compelling invitation to the journey that is your life.

Outlining the Structure of Your Book

A chronological outline for an autobiography may be created by beginning with your early years and moving through your adolescent years, young adult years, and middle life. The outline might also be organized thematically, with chapters or sections devoted to specific subjects or facets of your life.

Start with an introduction that sets the scene for the remainder of the book and offers some perspective for your life narrative. After that, you could wish to include a chapter or section about your early years and family, giving specifics on your parents, siblings, and any noteworthy occurrences from this period. Continue on to your teenage years, including any critical occasions or encounters that profoundly affected your life. Continue with a chapter or section on your adolescence, including your educational background, professional experiences, and any other noteworthy accomplishments or experiences.

In the following chapter, you could choose to concentrate on any significant occasions that occurred in your middle years, such as marriage, having children, or significant professional accomplishments. Your autobiography may also end with a perspective on your life as a whole and any lessons you’ve picked up along the way.

Final thoughts

Putting pen to paper about your life journey can be enjoyable and healing. Follow the expert tips in this guide, and you’re not just revisiting your past—you’re distilling life lessons into a compelling narrative. The key ingredients? Honesty, openness, and a dash of vulnerability. But above all, relish the creative process and trust in the value of your unique story. After all, no one else can tell it quite like you can, so seize this unique opportunity to share your life in your own words.

Hank Addison is not just a writer; he's a wordsmith wizard of Writer Of USA. With an uncanny knack for translating intricate ideas into fascinating stories, Hank stands tall as a beacon in the writing landscape. Dig into his works and witness a standout performer where profound depth elegantly meets simplicity.

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Education and Communications
Autobiographies

How to Write an Autobiography

Last Updated: February 21, 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 2,284,298 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.

Mapping Out Your Life

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crafting a Narrative

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.

Step 2 Decide where the story is going to start.

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.

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

Step 1 Make sure you get the facts right.

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

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.

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

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.

Step 2 Consider finding a literary agent.

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.

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.

Step 4 Look into publishing your book online.

Writing Help

Expert Q&A

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 6 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 5 Not Helpful 1

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

Expert Interview

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

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 Essay - The Ultimate Guide

What is an Autobiography?

Types and formats of autobiography.

Tips to Make Your Autobiography Interesting

How to Write an Autobiography Outline/Structure

Three things to consider when writing an autobiography essay, seven steps on how to write a good autobiography essay, how to start an autobiography essay, how to conclude an autobiography essay, facts to spice up your main body.

Is writing an autobiography essay causing you goosebumps, even the mere mention of it? Well, we all have been there because putting together an autobiography essay is challenging.

You are maybe thinking to yourself that you are not the caliber of Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin, or Mahatma Gandhi, and writing an autobiography will not count. Your feeling is justified. Every college and university student we have helped write an autobiography essay has confessed that they knew not how to start an autobiography.

As if that is not enough, most students fear the mention of autobiography writing being part of their assignments. Just a by the way, because an autobiography is just like an essay about yourself , you need not panic. Anybody, famous or not, who feels like writing an autobiography can do so. Therefore, we compiled this comprehensive autobiography essay-writing guide.

Do not panic, and look for the best autobiography example yet. We know how fulfilling writing an autobiography essay feels. With this guide on how to write an autobiography essay, we make you become a hero of your story.

To define it simply, an autobiography is a non-fictional narration written by a writer (subject) about their own life from their perspective. Because everyone has a story- it could be long or short- that is what makes an autobiography.

Autobiographies fall under the genre of biographies and are common among the general readings accessible to the public.

There is always something that fascinates you or that which your friends define you as. And when you share that something with the world, you will be writing an autobiography. Unlike a biography that is an account of someone written by someone else, an autobiography is written by a person : you write your own autobiography but someone writes your biography.

If you are looking to write an outstanding autobiography about yourself, the trick is to treat it as if it is the best story, you ever will read. Like most stories, make it have a hook, a narrator, a central idea, and themes, and bring in special characters.

Unlike the long-held belief, writing an autobiography is not a praise to one's self. Instead, it can be writing to store professional or life memories as one lives and impacts the world.

Autobiography Vs. Biography and Memoir

Although biography and autobiography fall within the same genre: bibliographies, they have glaring differences. While biographies are written about someone by another person, autobiographies are written by an individual about themselves. In this case, the autobiographies are written using the introspective approach.

An autobiography is also a first-person account of the author while a memoir only documents part of the life story of a person. memoirs are also more focused on a given era of someone's life, often linking it to a given lens or perspective. It is also more focused compared to the general autobiography.

10 Authority Autobiography examples to emulate

Our Autobiography example has all these tenets factored in. The greatest way to get inspired on how to begin writing autobiographies is by reading the autobiographies of the most famous people.

Such autobiography examples help in developing the essence, flow, and ideas on how to write your own autobiography.

Some of the most inspirational autobiography examples include:

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl
Open by Andre Agassi
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X.
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Story of My Experiments with Truth (the autobiography of Gandhi)

These are the top ten best autobiographies that everyone has to read before they write their own or before their demise.

Remember, an autobiography is a firsthand experience of the author written by the author. It is intended for the readers to understand the hidden and open side of the author.

There are various types of autobiography formats you can choose to adopt.

Autobiographies need to flow in a particular format. There are many formats to follow when writing an autobiography. They include:

1. Traditional Autobiography Format

This is a format where the author begins recording events chronologically from birth to their current situation. Some of the notable traditional autobiography examples include: The autobiography by the late Nelson Mandela titles Long Walk to Freedom.

This type of autobiography is the fullest and longest story someone writes about themselves. In most cases, these are written for personal use, which helps store memories. In some circumstances, prominent people write their autobiographies for sale. We've seen autobiographies of prominent people like Obama , Nelson Mandela , Trevor Noah , and Paramahansa Yogananda .

These are autobiographies created for the general public. In essence, an autobiography details the date of birth until the day you are writing. It entails the goals, challenges, encounters, triumphs, failures, and every other tiny detail. If you are busy and would like someone to write your autobiography, there are many services where you can hire an autobiography ghostwriter to write your story.

2. Vignettes

In this autobiography format, the author presents their story in the form of short chapters that describe and focus on particular events in the life of the author. Therefore, to complete a full autobiography, the author combines a collection of Vignettes. A sound autobiography example following the format is the

A Well-Lighted Cafe section written by Ernest Hemingway' It was very late, and everyone had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the daytime, the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust, and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet, and he felt the difference. The two waiters inside the cafe knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client, they knew that if he became too drunk, he would leave without paying, so they kept watching on him.

3. Personal Narrative Autobiographies

Unlike the vignettes which focus on the events, the personal narratives or personal essays focus on a single moment. In this autobiography example, the events are described through dialogue or imagery. Essentially, students are usually assigned autobiography essays where they detail their experiences at one moment. It is also a common feature on the part of personal essays and admission essays. Examples of potential autobiography titles include: How I climbed Mount Everest or How I Narrowly Escaped the 911 Incident.

Memoirs are autobiography examples where there is a razor-sharp focus on the particular aspects of an individual say their political success, their business success, or their public speaking prowess. Notably, some of the common themes include philosophy, politics, religion, or history. To that effect, a good memoir autobiography example is Night by Elie Wiesel.

5. Personal Essay

A personal essay also fits as a form of autobiographical writing. It is an emotional and very intimate form of writing where you share your experience, encounters, beliefs, values, principles, philosophy, and ambitions with the readers (mostly the admissions committee) in an in-depth manner to help them pick you for a spot in college, graduate program, MBA, or a scholarship.

A personal statement should help your readers have a smaller and bigger picture of yourself or events around your life as well as understand your feelings through your words.

A personal essay entails describing how a given encounter, scenario, or situation happened in your life and how it influences your choice or impacted your life and worldview.

To be specific, given that personal statements can be between 500 words and 1000 words essays, they are the shortest form of autobiographical writing just like college essays.

6. Autobiographical college essays

Many students write college entry essays where they give details about themselves. With this type of autobiographical writing, you must convince the admissions committee that you are a worthy candidate for your dream college.

Most of the college essays are short essays but bear the greatest burden of convincing the admissions officers that you should be accepted. For this reason, these essays have a conditional word limit beyond which the officers discard the content. In modern times, there are tabs where students paste college essays. These tabs will only take the defined content length and characters. Therefore, you have to be smart, clear, concise, and convincing.

Let it be known here and now that college essays are not your CV or resume. Instead, they should bring out your personality, values, and everything else that is not professional.

11 Proven Tips to Make Your Autobiography Interesting

When writing your autobiography/memoir, you are writing a story about yourself by yourself. It is entirely different from a biography, where someone else writes a story about you. Now, to craft an award-winning autobiography, there are certain principles that you must observe.

Grab the attention of your audience from the onset

An autobiography needs a good entry point. Like other essays, the readers will judge the entire text based on how exciting and attractive your introduction is. Therefore, strive to convince your audience about the uniqueness of your story and remind them that it is worth their time.

As you fall your harmer on the introduction, ensure that you have a snapshot of your entire autobiography that creates a personal connection to your readers. And because we read, experience, and hear life stories, chances are that your readers will relate if you have a welcoming introduction.

Keep it logical

Ensure that your autobiography has some great flow right off the bat. Have a clear theme, thesis statement, plot, and climax. If there is some chronological aspect in your autobiography, every piece within your story builds on the other brick by brick.

Make it interesting and brief

Always avoid writing superfluous words to fill pages in the name of an autobiography. Instead, when revealing personal details, your selection of words should prove that you are a writing nerd.

To invite, keep, and irrigate your readers, ensure that you engage sensory details. Provide vivid details in your essay and let the audience smell, touch, and feel your world. We liken writing an autobiography to invite someone in a world of your own in writing. Therefore, even if it means using spatial order in your autobiographical essay , ensure that your audience can have the full picture of your world.

Keep it easy

Never use vocabulary. Instead, stick to being simple and have a good flow by introducing relevant transition words. Do not water the weight of the autobiography essay by bogging down your main points with unnecessary details.

Write from the first-person perspective

It is all about you and you have to make frequent references to yourself, so this is even self-explanatory. This is a type of writing where you are allowed to use I when expressing ideas and thoughts.

First-person narration is allowed in an autobiographical essay. Essentially, since it is an essay about yourself, there is not so much limit on using I, me, or we in your essay. Autobiography writing conventions are slightly different from the rules of academic writing where personification is prohibited.

Let the audience hear your personal voice, which is your elemental purpose anyway, through the words you write. Personification also brings to life the connection with the audience at a personal level.

Have a central theme

Your autobiography has a purpose, and that must be very clear. Most of the exceptional autobiographies have central themes that guide the tone of the author.

Some of the common themes include success, determination, endurance, patience, resilience, and bravery, just to mention a few. Having the central theme can make it easy to keep the readers glued and in suspense after every sentence.

Once your autobiographical essay has a central theme, match your life experience and episodes to it. Let your story have an in-depth meaning that the readers should decode as they chew your narration.

Understand the audience

Since you are writing a personal profile essay , you should be wary of the audience and what makes them entertained. Essentially, the audience guides the theme, word choice, and length.

Avoid triviality

Avoid things that sound like cliché. Yes, those are common with biographies. Even though autobiographies are formal essays or papers about yourself, put slang and colloquial expressions at bay.

It is not a personal diary or a resume

Even though you are getting candid and revealing to capture the attention of the audience, be mindful of what you share. Do not go to the minute details. Have some set boundaries of what goes in your autobiography.

When writing your autobiographical essay for college, the admissions officer already has your resume. Do not make a mistake of presenting your grades and academic performance.

Instead, dwell on your character, personality, principles, and values outside of school. Assume that you are writing for someone who will only judge and know you through your words. Let them read your unique story and make you part of the college fraternity.

It should never be so long

If it is an autobiography essay, it can be between 500 words and 3000 words, depending on the context and purpose. If it is for admission to college, your autobiography should be around 3000 characters, but they always specify. Like long admission essays, long autobiographies get repetitive and boring.

Mind your tenses and tone

When telling any story, choosing one verb tense matters a lot. Decide the tense that you want to use and maintain it throughout your storytelling. Let there be consistency in the selected tense in your autobiographical essay. Using past or present tense is allowed when writing about the past but you must not change your tenses to an extent of disrupting the flow of your story midway.

An outline for your autobiography helps you understand what falls where and organize its flow. Remember, an autobiography has to have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The structure depends on the type of autobiographical writing you are doing. However, since this guide depends on the basic autobiography structure, here are the basic autobiographical structuring principles you should adhere to when writing your essay.

The Introduction

The introduction should be clear and concise about who you are. Fundamentally, this means a brief and succinct description of yourself, your early life, challenges, and how you got to where you are. Ultimately, you can also define the theme (s) at this level.

We have written an entire section on how to start an autobiography (in the later sections of this guide). It is no different from an introductory paragraph of an essay. It serves as an entry point that grabs the attention of the readers and presents them with the gist of your writing.

It should not be very long but clear, concise, and coherent. Besides, it has to provide your portrait to the readers so that they understand your story from your perspective.

The Main Body

The body should have segments of your life in paragraphs to give an understanding of every event and occurrence. You should highlight the childhood phase, adolescent phase, early adulthood phase, and more in that order. Vividly, it is also in this segment that you highlight your hobbies, academic achievements, and experiences including jovial and sad moments.

In short college autobiographical essays, the body can be a paragraph or two. However, in longer autobiography writings, the paragraphs can be more, each with its idea.

As a rule of the thumb, the main body forms 80% of the total word count. The remaining 10% goes to the intro and the 10% to the conclusion.

The conclusion

In the closing paragraph of your autobiography ensure that you exercise brevity. You would want to present the theme, and the lesson of your life, your quotes, or your personal philosophy-just make it different and unique. It is also here that you highlight the intention of writing the autobiography.

Make it impressive, strong, and engaging enough to create some link and make your readers yearn to read more. Mention the lessons, changes you've made to life, and the new world views that have emerged. If there are negative encounters, talk about how your values and resilience enabled you to overcome them.

Learn how to start or end your autobiography in the next sections.

To this end, if all you need is someone to write your autobiographical essay, we have the best autobiography essay writers .

Here is a great sample autobiography in PDF format .

1. Simplicity

Above all, the simpler your autobiography is, the higher the likelihood that it will entertain and stick in the memories of the readers. Ordinarily, a simple language also makes it accessible by a large audience.

2. Rationality

Only write what is humanly possible. Avoid irrational bluff like supernatural powers. In this, you must develop a clear thesis statement that gives an overview of the autobiography and its central theme.

3. Keep it interesting

Nobody wants something boring in the form of an autobiography. All ten autobiography examples are succinct, simple, and have an interesting language and approach. Writing personal details unknown to anyone is also interesting on its own. Therefore, at whatever cost, make your autobiography exciting.

Primarily, there are different autobiography templates online, which can give you a picture of how to approach an autobiography.

However, once you are equipped with the autobiography outline, remember the three factors to consider, and curate the best piece there ever is.

Steps to take when writing a great autobiography

Writing an autobiography is a humbling experience. It gives you the chance to delve into your past and uncover some things about you that might have been washed away down memory lane.

Ordinarily, with these tips, you can become an award-winning autobiography writer sought by great people to ghostwrite their autobiographies. Autobiographies are treasured and the moment your family has one, rest assured they will cherish you vividly.

When asked to write their autobiography essay, most college students get confused. Apart from just giving you an example, we felt it is wise to cover some tested methods to write the best autobiography essay.

If you are wondering how to write an autobiography about yourself or how to write an autobiography for school, we have your back. The good thing, you can scroll through this article as you sip some espresso, cold beverages, or as you chat with friends over dinner. Now, let's get the ball rolling.

Here are some tips for writing a killer autobiography that would leave people yearning for more.

Step 1: Chart your Timeline to Date

The very first step is always to research more about who you are, how you have lived, and what your contributions to life have been. It is important to have a timeline of your life, which entails some important/major milestones. Ensure that you have included all the important dates, events, and occurrences. Here are some questions to help:

Where were you born?
Who were your parents?
What is your family history?
Can you trace your ancestry?
Where do your parents live?
Do you have siblings, and how have they impacted you?
What college did you attend?
What was your major?
What places would you like to visit and why?
What are your best skills?
Who has hurt you in life?
What is your personal philosophy?
What doctrines do you value in life?
Who do you look up to?
How do you handle negative events?
What is your personality type?
What was the most important lesson you have ever learned in your life?
Can you remember your childhood? Can you connect it with your current life?
What has been your career, relationship, and life journey?
Have you had bad events?
What are your goals for the future?
What famous quote can describe your life?
Who influenced your personal development?
Who is your greatest role model?
What do you want to become in your later life?
What demoralizes you?
What is your family's social and ethnic background?

This initial stage is meant to brainstorm many ideas and build facts that you will use to support points in your autobiography. When you eventually have a list of what you are to write, you have achieved writing the autobiography already.

Step 2: Define the major influencers in your life

We began by stating that well-written autobiographies sound like great stories. When someone is reading your autobiography, they want to understand how it feels like to be you.

Therefore, authenticity and honesty win the hearts of the readers. In this case, your autobiography should not stick to the college essay canonicals. Instead, it should expose your life the way it was and is currently.

The best way is always to write as though you are narrating to a close friend, without holding back. Also, ensure that your intention when writing is to reveal your personality. And when writing it from your perspective, choose those that matter, who have in one way or another impacted your life.

Step 3: Maintain Authenticity All-Across

The way through a great autobiography is to reveal everything about oneself. Sometimes, these autobiographies come out as critical motivations to those facing similar life situations.

So, it would help if you always reflected the truths about yourself and your identity in your autobiography. Never should it be limited to achievements, while masking some negative occurrences.

Instead, it would be best if you offered your story in full-length comprising of both accolades and scorns, mistakes and wins, successes and failure, and everything in white and black.

Sometimes, try to reveal your philosophies, including how your life has become hard or good based on them. If you have opinions and ideas, do not hold them back.

Step 4: Take Keen Note of Events and Occurrences

Human life is measured in terms of events, both good and bad. Therefore, while looking back into history, acknowledge past events and how they have shaped your future.

For instance, a tough upbringing could have made you escape the teeth of peer pressure or early pregnancies. Look at cultural events, festivals, celebrations, norms, deaths, and any other event and relate it to your current life.

Step 5: Have a Creative Outline

An autobiography begins with an outstanding introduction. The introduction can have a hook to steal the attention of the readers and keep them. Your introduction must not be your date of birth, which has become a cliché.

Sometimes, it is also good to construct the body of the autobiography, based on selected worthwhile themes. The themes and the plot form the body. The plot can consist of obstacles, wins, or achievements and must have a climax and a resolution in the end.

Let your structure remain focused with a plot, characters, event, and encounters well mapped out. An autobiography with a perfect structure will be written flawlessly and within the shortest time.

Ensure that you induce a sense of excitement in your readers off the bat. As you begin your narrative, let them know your worth.

Step 6: Write the Draft

When writing the draft, you can choose to begin your introduction with a chronological narrative of your life. However, to make an autobiography more interesting, weaving chronological data with logic can work the magic. The introduction can be a reflection or reaction from the present related to past events.

Also, you can begin the story by narrating some outstanding moments in your childhood or upbringing and go reverse-forward all through. For instance, if am to write an autobiography on myself, I would begin by noting some touching moment in my life then cover my heritage, flow through to college days, and then bring the climax when am explaining my career life.

When writing the draft, remember to stick to the themes identified in the outline. It does not always have to be a conflict, make it a memorable theme ? spirituality, education, defeat, hardship, hard work, etc.

As you write the draft, try to reflect on some of the important life lessons and doctrines that have seen you through. If you are writing a book, use chapters to divide the important aspects you need to cover. Besides, each chapter should end up in either suspense or greatness that leaves the audience yearning for more. If it is an essay, the paragraphs should be well connected. Use transitions to make it flow and keep readers entertained from beginning to end.

As you craft the narrative, segregate your draft into different sections. How well you end each paragraph or section will draw the attention of your readers and they are yours to keep to the very end.

Step 7: Proofread and Edit the Autobiography

An autobiography will only be a plain story written by an armature/rookie if not well-proofread and edited. When proofreading and editing, focus on spelling, tenses, punctuation, word order, clauses, and abbreviations.

A paper full of grammatical and spelling mistakes always turns off people, even when the content is great. When editing focuses on the dates, descriptions, events, names, and meanings.

You should tweak the paragraphs, replace all the mundane words, insert relevant citations, use the correct spelling and ensure that everything flows.

Therefore, strive to achieve the purpose of your autobiography by being keen. One mistake most autobiography writers do is to edit their autobiography on their own. However, because you have been subjective in your writing, you can never objectively critique any of it. As such, your autobiographical writing will be subject to many errors.

Editing an autobiography requires a professional touch. Lucky for you, we have editors and proofreaders for your autobiography ready to help. Copyeditors always help clean your writing. They have the knack for playing around with words and turn dull stories into amazing ones.

When professionals bring their expert touch, trust us, your autobiography will read as though it was written to kill the readers with details.

A good starting statement for your autobiography essay is getting an essay grabber or hook. It can be a fact, an anecdote, or a quote, among others. Instead of diving right into the meat of your autobiography, ensure you build a foundation in the introduction.

Remember, an autobiography essay is descriptive. Therefore, describe things, people, places, events, or periods vividly in a manner to create a mental picture. An example is to describe a setting,

As I stood in the podium looking at my fellow students, tears of joy filled my eyes. I could not believe I was the newly elected Student President.

Once you have hooked your reader, present the main idea that you want to depict. The introduction to your essay does not have to be longer, like in other essays. It should have a hook, some background/setting, and some of the events that inspired you.

Our experts recommend approaching the introduction non-chronologically to make everything exciting and engaging. While you write the words, knit them together using careful transition words.

Example: I was never planning to have such a change in my life, but its opportune moment came anyway.

First Sentence Ideas for your Autobiography

My mantra since childhood
Raised and bred by strict parents
The tough upbringing and poverty-ridden early life
My passion for succeeding
I am a people person
My dream growing up was
I wish I knew this before making a decision
One quote that defines my gusto and gist is
I love the. movie
The novel/movie/author best describes my.

These are just but a few examples of autobiography start-words that students have used in writing an A-grade memoir.

We have mentioned that the body will bear the theme of your autobiography essay. Now, the autobiography conclusion is as important as is its beginning.

The conclusion wraps up the story, ties the message up, and makes an impact on the reader. If your autobiography does not have a stylish ending, chances are it will never be read.

You need to consider summarizing the major points, including the mention of the central theme. Consider your challenges and how they influenced who you are today. Also, connect to your beginning and describe the story.

It is also the conclusion that you introduce an unexpected occurrence and its impact on you. A fantastic autobiography essay conclusion wins the reader from the start. Do not focus just on the negatives; you can include the positives as well.

Now that you have the tips at hand, writing an autobiographical essay should not be hard. If you need a professionally written autobiography essay, we have experts.

The body of your essay is an arena where all the presentations happen. In this case, you need to make it well-packed with ideas, points, and great ideas. Here is what to include in an autobiography main body:

Your personal background

Explore such things as your date of birth, name, the meaning of your name, hometown, family composition and history, touchstone moments in your life, grandparents, and other personal factors. You can do a historical autobiographical introduction where you explore your origin from the perspective of your lineage. Give a complete picture of your life.

As yourself:

Who are your parents?
What values do your parents embody?
What type of family do you come from?
When were you born?
What is your parent's occupation?
How many siblings do you have?
How does your background connect to the central theme in your autobiography?

Childhood memories

Our childhood period shapes our lives indirectly or directly. It is a period that is we reflect deeply we realize shaped who we are today. Therefore, when writing your autobiography, ensure that your piece of writing captures this important phase. Here are some questions:

How was it growing up in your family?
Where did you spend most of your childhood?
How did your family members perceive you then?
Were you an introvert or extrovert?
What events shaped your current self-identity?
Were there challenges you experienced in childhood?
How does your childhood define your current beliefs?

Explore your culture

Everybody belongs to a culture that shapes their perspectives, reasoning, and personal choices. Your family traditions, principles, and beliefs largely determine the kind of person you are. As yourself:

What special moments define you?
What traditions do you uphold to date?
Are there philosophies that guide your family relations?
Are there customary events you cannot miss?
How did events relate to your family traditions?

Narrative of your challenges

Life is never free from challenges, ensure that you throw in a few challenges or setbacks you faced in life.

The prowess of writing an autobiography comes when you can link these encounters to your selected central theme.

A story of failure can help you shape the perspective of your readers that failure is not a death sentence. If you follow it with how you fought your challenges, you have a story!

Details of your successes

Like failures, have a proper connection between your successes, accomplishments, or achievements and the central theme. Walk your readers through the steps you took to achieve success. Do not limit your focus on the bitter parts of your journey. Every story in your journey counts.

Episodes of your professional life

Every reader of an autobiography always yearns to get to the point where the writer took a turn from their failures and excelled professionally. Give this section extra attention as it can either make you connect with your reader or mutilate the trust you've already built.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

How To Write An Autobiography, A Biography and Memoir.

Every writer will, at some point, be presented with the opportunity to write creative non-fiction. in this article, the prolific biographer. mike ekunno, teaches us how to write an autobiography, biography, and memoir. ready to learn from this maestro keep reading..

To understand how to write an autobiography, you must consider how a biography differs from an autobiography.

A biography is the story of one’s life which when written by the subject becomes an autobiography. A memoir is also a biography or autobiography but concerned more with the subject’s career and public life. Understanding these terminologies will help you on your journey to learning how to write an autobiography.

While late Owelle Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s My Odyssey is a good example of an autobiography, Malam Nasir el-Rufai’s The Accidental Public Servant is a memoir. Michelle Obama’s Becoming is another good example of a memoir.

Autobiographies and memoirs are often written with the assistance of professional freelancers. By prior mutual agreement, this fact can be hidden. When anonymous, the paid author or co-author becomes the ghostwriter . He/she is paid off and loses all future claims to authorship or co-authorship of the work.

A Detailed Guide On How To Write An Autobiography.

At this point, you’ve probably ascertained that there isn’t much of a difference in the process of writing an autobiography and a biography.

Below is a step-by-step guide for writing that award-winning autobiography or biography.

Draw Up The Outline For Your Autobiography Or Biography.

Generating an outline is like drawing the building plan for a construction project. As with building construction, the outline is of existential consequence for the biography or autobiography project.

In the classical biography, the outline follows a chronological order beginning with family genealogy, birth, childhood, education, career, and so on.

But with a memoir, the outline is episodic dwelling on the milestones in the subject’s career path and public life. The freelancer must work with the subject-client to tease out a workable outline.

Since the chapters of the resultant book will mimic the outline, a grouping of topics in the outline is to be done with an eye for coevality and volume. By coevality, I mean those events that occurred around the same period of time.

These should naturally be grouped together. However, the chances of overlap of references to the same event are always there. And this shouldn’t be a worry at the outline stage.

How To Group Your Headings and Sub-Headings.

While grouping the headings and sub-heads, the writer should be sensitive about achieving approximate uniformity in the volume of each chapter. This is to forestall a scenario where one chapter is five pages long, while the other is twenty-five pages long.

The autobiographer or biographer has a duty at this stage to tease out as wide a range of events and occurrences as possible. This should include their ramifications done by asking the kind of searching questions that will help the subject clarify fuzzy connections.

In other words, this is not the time for minimalism . Rather, it is the time to be expansive. Understand that the outline will form the compass for the project. Just as architects take one section of the project and blow it up for details in the plan, the biographer also has to explore the detours and subheads to the main headings and events.

Embarking On Background Research For Your Autobiography, Biography, and Memoir.

In the run-up to beginning the biography or autobiography and having drawn up the outline, one should prepare oneself with background research. This step is important for autobiographers, biographers, and memoirists.

Many writers wonder how to find materials for their autobiographies and biography projects. If you’re such a writer, you should consider exploring the most popular sources of research materials.

How to conduct research for your autobiography or biography.

Sources of background research can be divided into:

How To Use Written Sources During Your Background Research.

Written sources include files and diaries relating to the period under consideration. Also, newspaper cuttings if the issues involved were captured in the media. There would probably be pictures and other graphic records.

As social media becomes a prominent part of our lives, future biographers may also have recourse to social media archives. Clients who had public service careers should be mindful of the Official Secrets Act. Also, be well advised on excerpting official documents.

The oral sources would include relations and workplace colleagues of the subject. However, these sources needn’t be approached at the onset until the outline progresses and these sources’ perspectives become relevant.

The ethics of the business demands that the freelancer must obtain the client’s fiat before speaking with these third-party sources. In the sub-genre known as unauthorized biography however, the freelancer operates more like a sleuth to unearth what may not be favorable to the subject which makes the requirement for the subject’s prior approval unnecessary.

One of such unauthorized biographies happened by serendipity in Nigeria in relation to a man of letters who fell out with his biographer. Interesting right?

The Quest for Volume and Why It Should Matter To The Writer.

During the outlining and research phase, think about the volume of the project. The volume will determine how successful you’ll be in your quest to figure out how to write an autobiography or a biography.

Most biography-writing projects are faced with a mortal threat in the quest for a sizeable volume for the resulting publication. This is caused by the subject-client overestimating the quantum of the story he/she has got.

Also, the volume is often a source of worry to many writers who are in the process of figuring out how to compose an autobiography or biography.

The perfect volume for your autobiography or biography

Many prospects for autobiographies think because the story of their life appears huge to them, it can actually make a good volume in book form. For others, it is a question of not having the ability of a raconteur to tell their story in a compelling way.

One client of mine ended up with essay-type print-outs of her life’s story which were useless to me. I had to subject her to a re-telling of the narrative in order to give it flesh as a story.

Many who think of their story as vast start off well, but end up with something very scanty. This is where the professional freelance biographer comes in to help achieve your dream of writing a biography.

Again, many biography prospects do involuntary self-censorship of their stories or adopt a minimalist approach believing the reader would not be interested in the details.

It is the duty of the professional biographer to tease out these details glossed over by the subject during recorded interviews with follow-up questions.

If you’re experimenting with styles and ways to write an autobiography, you can adopt the strategies of professional biographers. Put in a lot of details. It is better to over-write and cut than under-write and look for augmentation.

Handling The Interview Session.

For a freelance biographer whether writing overtly or ghostwriting, the interview sessions with the subject are of utmost importance. The freelancer should pre-arrange each session in consultation with the subject-client and agree as to venue and time.

Over time, all parties will come to know what works best for them as to durations, venues, and times. Many biography prospects are senior citizens and would be managed as such.

I remember having to pre-order one such client’s favorite wine to be at the ready at our rendezvous. With a glass of this drink, he came alive in his best narrative elements and began to ‘sing.’

More tips on having a successful interview session.

The freelancer should come to each interview session prepared with extra batteries for the voice recorder and a clear idea of where the day’s session stood on the outline.
Also, there should be a way of identifying the voice files with alphanumeric codes in the transcription file in order to be able to access the right voice file at the right time knowing the approximate time count of anything needed on playback.
Files that have been transcribed and vetted by the subject should be deleted to free up space in the recorder.

In working as a freelance biographer, progress comes incrementally. It comes through many continual cycles of the interview – transcription – vetting – final drafting – vetting until the work is complete.

Cycle of the Process of How To Write An Autobiography

Narrating one’s life story can be an emotional rollercoaster and freelance biographers should come loaded with a good swathe of emotional intelligence to manage their clients.

The major part of managing clients comes in their tardiness with timelines. He is expected to vet and approve a transcribed section in one week but he has not got back to you after one month.

How To Get Payment For The Writing Project.

Except the writer has achieved name recognition in the trade of biographing, there’s always the prospect of being regarded with suspicion by most clients. One way to assuage this suspicion is to agree to a Pay-As-You-Go arrangement.

This aspect might come in handy for anyone who’s in the process of figuring out how to write an autobiography. Chances are that you might want to employ the services of a professional biographer.

In a Pay-As-You-Go arrangement. the client pays on a pro-rata basis as the manuscript progresses according to the outline. (This is another raison d’etre for the outline). If the project does not go to full term and gets aborted midway, neither party would feel short-changed.

When the full manuscript is ready, a professional book editor should be engaged to edit it. This goes beyond spellings and typos and nothing can fully capture all the ways in which a good editor can improve a literary piece.

Sections of the story with legal implications should be shown to a lawyer. An experienced lawyer will do a good job of vetting your book for possible libel. It is the duty of a good freelancer to not presume to be a Jack of all Trade in these matters. It is wise to advise the client as a fiducial power.

Talking of the fiduciary relationship between the client and freelancer on a biography project – this cannot be overstated. The implication of this for the freelancer is that all information received in the process should be treated as privileged and of confidential nature.

A contractual agreement should be endorsed by both parties at the beginning with provision for arbitration if things don’t go well.

How To Get Payments When Writing An Autobiography

Backing Up Files For The Book And Why It Matters When Learning How To Write An Autobiography. .

Backing up files is of acute importance in writing a biography. The freelance should use the client as a veritable back-up resource, in so far as the relevant section of the manuscript has been paid for.

No writer should depend solely on their digital devices for back-up of sensitive work. Always use email to send your drafts. Emails provide an unwitting but reliable back-up in the event of any system crash or loss.

What’s The Purpose Of An Autobiography or A Biography?

One of the first things the subject-client must determine is the goal of the proposed memoir, biography, or autobiography. Reviewing the goal of the project will help you determine if you really should go through the long haul of learning how to write an autobiography or a biography.

People embark on writing autobiographies for different reasons including:

financial gains
setting the records straight
leaving a legacy for posterity.

Most memoirs from past public officers are written for posterity and to court the favorable judgment of history. However, past American presidents and entertainment industry celebrities write for financial gains also.

The more common thing is to find a combination of these goals undergirding one’s excuse for penning an autobiography, biography, or memoir. In Nigeria, if one hasn’t lived in the public space, one has no business writing an autobiography or expecting any commercial success from the publication.

Also, any expectation of massive financial returns has to be highly moderated except one were ready for an elaborate launch at the book presentation.

Wrap Up On How To Write An Autobiography, Biography or Memoir.

Writing a book is not an easy feat. You have to plan, strategize, and give a lot of thought to the literary elements at your disposal. While drawing up your outline and unearthing background information, take note of subtexts, themes, and plotlines that you can play up.

Don’t overestimate or underestimate the volume of the material. To do this is to risk boxing yourself into a corner. Remember, it is better to overwrite than to underwrite.

Have you written an autobiography, biography, or memoir? Let us know in the comments section. Your experience might help those who are learning how to pen down an autobiography, memoir, or biography.

Mike Ekunno On How To Write An Autobiography

His career path has passed through film, television, radio and newspaper. He was Senior Speechwriter to late Prof Dora Akunyili as Information and Communications Minister and Special Assistant to DG of Radio Nigeria. His children’s book, Cowboy Lamido , is on the approved text for schools in the FCT and across the states.

Interested in writing for Creative Writing News ? Our submission guidelines are on the Write for Us page . We look forward to hearing from you.

Photo credit: Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash

Ohita Afeisume

Jun 27, 2020 at 5:14 pm

Thanks, Mike for this enlightening post. I am interested in writing about sections of my life, for instance, my childhood, education and marriage all in separate books. As I am no celebrity yet, don’t you think writing memoirs about snapshots of my life is the way to go?

Jun 28, 2020 at 12:42 pm

Thanks for your interest. It all depends on what you want to achieve. Everybody can put down their life stories but you have to be a celebrity or public figure to expect commercial success from the venture. Again, when you talk of ‘in separate books’ how’re you gonna handle that seeing what we said about the quest for volume? But please don’t give up on documenting your life – celebrity or not.

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Autobiography Introduction Examples (5 Writing Styles)

Last Updated on July 20, 2022 by Dr Sharon Baisil MD

Introduction

Writing an autobiography is the finest way to regard something intriguing to communicate. Self-writing your autobiography is a fantastic way to preserve your family and friends with a keepsake.

There’s no right way to write an autobiography, but these five examples show you how to start writing your autobiography in various styles. Whether you’re a detail-oriented person who wants to write an extensive work of fiction or tell your story more straightforwardly, these examples can help. So get started and experiment with different writing styles to find the one that works best for you!

How to Write an Autobiography Introduction?

You’ll usually find a narrative about how that individual was born in the typical autobiography introduction. The character is just a character to the reader, regardless of whether or not an autobiography is a life story. To get to know you, readers need a frame of reference.

Some Key Rules to Follow to Write a Compelling Autobiography Introduction

Include the theme.

There must be a certain thesis or idea underlying the various chapters of your autobiography when you’re telling a life story to interest the reader. What you’re writing has a purpose, and you’ll help to pique people’s interest for the following tale you have to tell if you include that point in your autobiography introduction to give them an idea of what’s ahead.

Give Your Reader a Taste of Topics

Autobiographies provide a safe place to explore uncomfortable topics that would otherwise go unexplored. Since you’re using your life as a safety net for those uncertainties, this is the case. You’ll offer them the opportunity to decide whether they want to invest time reading the remainder of what you’ve written to provide the reader a taste of what topics you’ll be covering throughout the autobiography.

Include a Unique Event

An autobiography introduction might begin at the pivotal moment when everything starts to shift for you, much as a film begins at a key moment near the tale’s conclusion. When readers have had life experiences similar to yours, sharing the epiphany you had can help you sync with them on a very personal level.

Create a Rythm of Your Narrative

In your autobiography, it’s sometimes more important to establish a beat than to develop an argument or thesis statement. This is especially true when your tale is difficult for the average person to comprehend. You’ll reduce the shock your readers’ eyes experience by viewing your style before you dive into your main stories.

Do a Proper Formatting

Your autobiography introduction should be written in the same style as the remainder of your book. You may desire to make an individual chapter for this introduction if you’re writing a novel-length story (120,000-ish words). You’ll want to follow whatever writing style you want to use (expository, persuasive, or analytical) while writing an essay.

Just be Yourself

Too often, people try too hard to be something they’re not in the opening paragraph of their autobiography. Just be yourself, and everything will be okay. Write anything that comes to mind. To help integrate it into the main text you’ve created, repeat that idea several times after you write it down.

Apart from these, a story is an important element in autobiography because it clearly explains how the author’s life has been affected by significant events or people. Authors can strengthen their writing skills while sharing their own personal stories through interesting anecdotes, quotes, and stories. Be aware that a story should make you feel something emotionally–this could be your experience, starting with these simple tips!

5 Writing Styles of an Autobiography

This section will discuss the five writing styles of autobiography for you to choose from when writing about your life.

Full Autobiography

This sort of autobiography centers on a person’s entire life, from birth to today. If their whole lives are different, authors choose to write a full autobiography. You allow your readers to get to know you better by writing a full or traditional autobiography.

Elia Kazan’s book , ‘A Life’ is a good example of a complete autobiography. One of the United States founders, Benjamin Franklin, wrote an autobiography that is another good example .

The autobiography of Nelson Mandela is one of the most famous autobiographies in world history. He led his country to great accomplishments through political, social, and cultural change with a nonviolent protest against oppression during apartheid. Nelson Mandela’s autobiography includes his life story from early childhood until today. His story shows what he has done for his country and how he became South Africa’s first black president after many years of imprisoned by white minority rule in South Africa.

Personal Essay

It’s one of the earliest types of personal writing. Compared to the other three types of writing, a personal essay is the most creative and intimate. The tone and style are emphasized rather than the plot in this kind of writing.

You must combine your emotions, ideas, and personal discovery into your existence or a trip. Diane Ackerman’s essay, “A Natural History of the Senses,” is a fantastic personal essay example.

Historians often write memoirs, but one compelling memoir on children was by E. Boyd Barrett: “The Boy Who Pulled Himself Up By His Bootstraps.” He shares how he overcame adversity to become a great and powerful man in his memoir. He is known as the “boy who walked 2 miles in an hour” because of his superhuman strength, which enabled him at age 9 to pull himself up on the outside window ledge!

A memoir concentrates on a certain location, period, or connection. The first-person perspective is used in memoirs. Since it concentrates on a key portion of your life, it is less comprehensive than the conventional autobiography. It may be about who you are now and your childhood years, and it might be about who you are because of your interaction with someone.

Those who have done something wrong write this type of autobiography. In the hope that other people may learn from their errors, they take solace in writing about them. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions is a good example to look at.

Autobiographies are a great way to write about one’s life. It gives readers a clear understanding of the writer through their own story instead of creating some impression or fake person, which most writers anticipate for their works. However, this way does not always work well, and sometimes it turns out to be a failure that would give rise to many different scenarios in life and can even result in death.

Psychological Illness

Individuals who have had any mental illness find writing down their feelings therapeutic in this autobiography. Even though some people’s concerns are listened to by knowledgeable persons, writing down your tales is more comfortable. Esmé Weijun Wang’s book, The Collected Schizophrenias, is noteworthy.

How should high school students write autobiographies?

Answer: High school students might use an autobiography example for high school admission essays to connect with their own or other life experiences. You may find high school application essay examples in this article of a short autobiographical narrative (i.e., not more than ten pages) that you can copy and paste into your sentences (or paragraphs). Writing a high school admissions essay is easier by using someone else’s story as your starting point.

What is the ideal writing process for an autobiography?

Answer: The writing process allows writing the autobiography based on your knowledge and skills. This can help gain the public’s attention for you and provide an opportunity to learn new information about yourself or what others know about you. Using proper grammar with good spelling will make it easier for your audience to understand what you are trying to say in the essay, thus improving its meaning through clarity alone.

Is there a difference between an introduction and a preface?

Answer: There is a difference between an introduction and a preface, but they are typically used before a document or piece of writing. An introduction is a short statement that sets the scene for the rest of the document, while a preface is a longer overview that contextualizes the work.

How do you start an autobiography’s first sentence?

Answer: There is no one “right” way to start an autobiography. Still, some popular methods include recounting your childhood, describing your early experiences in your career, or sharing stories about significant events in your life. The important thing is to get started and to keep the momentum going. It is also helpful to keep track of what you have written and revise as needed. There is no right or wrong way to start an autobiography, as it is ultimately up to the individual to decide what they want to share with the world. Just be sure to have fun and let your imagination run wild! In the autobiography intro, you’ll need to introduce the reader. You can remind the reader why they should be interested in your story and what it is about. Some people like a good anecdote at the beginning because this helps them grasp and remember the most important point or principle within your life experience so far – which will make them interested in reading further with your book idea.

What is an autobiographical essay or autobiography essay?

Answer: An autobiographical essay is a form of essay that focuses on the writer’s memories or experiences. Autobiographical essays are written in first-person point-of-view, and they explain how one came to be who they are today, including their background information, values, and life goals.

Final Words

Writing an autobiography introduction is a daunting task, but it can be a very powerful tool in your arsenal with the right approach. This blog post will discuss the rules of writing an autobiography introduction with five different writing styles and include some FAQs to help you better understand the process. After reading this post, hopefully, you will have a better idea of what to expect when writing your autobiography introduction.

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Hi, I am a doctor by profession, but I love writing and publishing ebooks. I have self-published 3 ebooks which have sold over 100,000 copies. I am featured in Healthline, Entrepreneur, and in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology blog.

Whether you’re a busy professional or an aspiring author with a day job, there’s no time like now to start publishing your ebook! If you are new to this world or if you are seeking help because your book isn’t selling as well as it should be – don’t worry! You can find here resources, tips, and tricks on what works best and what doesn’t work at all.

In this blog, I will help you to pick up the right tools and resources to make your ebook a best seller.

2 thoughts on “Autobiography Introduction Examples (5 Writing Styles)”

Thank you so much for this. My wife is compiling her memories of growing up to poor parents during WW2 and up to the present day. I’m assembling these into some sort of continuous narrative and I really needed help on how to begin. Thankfully, Jan’s paragraphs do fit in with your advice. You ask for a website. I’ve had three medieval adventure stories published that are centred around the town of Dudley. I hope that it’s still in operation. Jan’s work describes growing up in nearby Tipton.

Dear Robert, Thank you for taking the time to read my article and for sharing your thoughts with me. I’m delighted to hear that my tips on autobiography introduction have been helpful in guiding you and your wife’s project.

It sounds like your wife’s story is both interesting and important, and I wish you both the best of luck in bringing her memories to life. I’m glad to hear that Jan’s paragraphs align with the advice I’ve provided.

Best regards, Sharon

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50 Eye-Catching Autobiography Titles (+ How to Write Your Own)

POSTED ON Oct 12, 2023

Written by Shannon Clark

You’ve written your life story.

You’ve laid your heart bare before the world

So, what’s the best title for your one-of-a-kind masterpiece?

“____________: An Autobiography”?

Seriously, unless you’re a household name, using “autobiography” as part of your title might not work in your favor, but not to worry. You don’t have to be famous to write an autobiography , but you do need a title that will grab a buyer's attention, so they know your book is worth a second look.

Don't like it?

The purpose of this article is to break down what makes a standout autobiography title and the process for creating your own.

Need autobiography titles? Let's dive in!

The secret sauce for writing an amazing book title.

The process of creating an autobiography book title that gets noticed starts with a marketer's mindset.

Yes, it all boils down to strategic book positioning in the marketplace. Creativity is a big part of it, but that’s a small part of the bigger picture. After all, if your book doesn't get in front of the people who would be most likely to read it, you can't change lives with the content inside!

Unlike fiction books or other types of nonfiction books (e.g. business books or textbooks) where there’s a specific category or genre expectation, autobiographies play by their own set of rules—the more creative the better.

How to think like a marketer when creating your title

If you are self-publishing your book, then you’re probably already aware that marketing is a key component of your book’s success, but what is marketing exactly?

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

When marketing your book, knowing how to write a good book title matters, because, along with your cover, it’s the first thing a potential buyer sees (reads) before making a buying decision. A casual search for “autobiography” on Amazon pulled up over 700,000 results. This doesn’t mean that every book belongs in the category, but it’s still a lot of books.

You might be asking how you get your book to rise to the top of search results.

Start with a great title.

Here are some best practices:

Make your title relevant – You can never go wrong with a title that reflects the theme of your book . This will clue buyers into what to expect. You can also go with a significant statement or quote drawn directly from your story. Clever titles also work, but try to stay away from the cheesy ones that confuse buyers.
Appeal to your ideal audience’s needs – Every book is not for everyone. Target a specific reader type when creating your title. For example, meteorologist and television personality Ginger Zee titled her book Natural Disasters. This title works well for her because her book’s content is about the unpredictable “storms” of life she has faced and she also covers storms in her reporting.
Stay away from clickbait – Or anything that leads readers to believe your book is about one thing but it’s something else. This only frustrates readers and could potentially lead to bad reviews.
Use a primary keyword in your title if it fits – First Gen by Alejandra Campoverdi and Cooked by Jeff Henderson include keyword(s) that are relevant to buyer searches.
Invite the reader into your story – This can be done by asking a question like the autobiography title What Are You Doing Here? by Baroness Floella Benjamin. Or, create an image in their mind like The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson or The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish.

Hint: Keep it short. According to Amazon, “Customers are more likely to skim past long titles (over 60 characters). There are exceptions to the rules. You’ll see some in the list that follows.

Don’t forget about writing a subtitle for your book . They are optional but a great way to add a splash of flavor.

50 eye-catching autobiography titles that inspire

After an exhaustive search in the autobiography categories of the top online book retailers, I selected 50 incredible autobiography titles as a starting point for creating an amazing title for your autobiography. Note: Memoir titles listed under the autobiography category are included in the list.

Autobiography titles about celebrities

What Are You Doing Here? – Baronness Floella Benjamin
Tis Herself – Maureen O’Hara
F inding Me by Viola Davis
Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots By Reba McEntire
Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories by Kelly Ripa
Thicker than Water by Kerry Washington
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli
Just as I am by Cicely Tyson
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Making It So by Patrick Stewart
Inside Out by Demi Moore
In Pieces by Sally Field
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder by William Shatner
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
Look Out for the Little Guy! By Scott Lang
I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart, Neil Strauss
No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox
Scenes from My Life by Michael K. Williams
The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
I Came as a Shadow – John Thompson

Autobiography titles about authors

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Lit by Mary Karr

Autobiography titles about family

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Mott Street by Ava Chin
The Girl in the Middle by Anais Granofsky
All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson

Autobiography titles about immigration, culture, and race

Good Morning, Hope: A True Story of Refugee Twin Sisters and Their Triumph over War, Poverty, and Heartbreak by Argita Zalli, and Detina Zalli
Negroland by Margo Jefferson
First Gen by Alejandra Campoverdi
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story – Mazie K. Hirono
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil

Autobiography titles about beating the odds

Cooked by Jeff Henderson
The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow
Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Mann, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory
When the Tears Dry by Meredith Hawkins
Reaching for the Moon by Katherine Johnson
80 Percent Luck, 20 Percent Skill: My Life as a WWII Navy Ferry Pilot by Ralph T. Alshouse

Autobiography titles about faith

Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward After Loss and Heartache by Granger Smith
The Barn by David Hill
All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore

Autobiography titles about journalists, reporters, and media

Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I am One by Ginger Zee
Going There by Katie Couric
Rough Draft by Kati Tur
The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day

Use a free tool to generate your own autobiography title

You obviously can't use these published autobiography titles for your own book – but you can use our free book title generator to come up with suggestions that you could use.

It's really easy to use, and instantly gives you an unlimited amount of working titles – or even final titles – to use for your book!

1. Select nonfiction for the book’s genre in the drop-down menu

2. Fill in the details

For the next question, if you have a book description, type “yes” and add your description in the text box.

If you don’t have a description yet, answer “no” and fill out the questions. Eventually, you will need to write a book description , but this is often something our authors do after they complete their manuscript .

Incredible Biography Titles - Book Title Generator Description Question Section

3. Click “generate”

That's it! Get ready for some unique autobiography book title suggestions. Remember, if you don't like the one that you see, you can continue to generate as many as you'd like.

Final thoughts

Your autobiography title can be the difference between someone scrolling past your book on Amazon or stopping to read a sample. Whatever title you choose, remember that it’s just as much about you as your reader. Make them want to read your story by giving them something unique that piques their interest.

You can also look for inspiration in other genres. For example, some memoir book titles could also lend well to an autobiography – like What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. Intriguing, isn't it? Don't limit yourself!

Are you ready to take the next steps with your autobiography? We have a professional publishing team ready to guide you through the book development process.

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Creative Aging: Memoir Writing at 58th Street Library

Continue where we left off at the end of our memoir writing workshops for adults 50 and older..

This program will be held in person at 58th Street Library and online.

Teaching artist Frank Ingrasciotta will continue to guide participants through the art of writing over 5 extra sessions.

Storytelling is our most ancient art form and everyone has a story in us that wants to be told. When powerful storytelling resonates, it creates shared experiences of commonality that bonds us as a community. In this eight-session memoir writing class, we will examine various aspects of storytelling. Through writing exercises, we will explore the tools of your personal expression that bring writing to life.

Materials will be provided for this program.

Attendance at all sessions is recommended as this is a series of classes and those who miss the first few may be lost. Space is limited and priority will be given to those who attended the first 8 sessions last year.

Registration is mandatory. Register for April and May events above with your email address. May registration: https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2024/05/01/clone-memoir-writing-58th-street-library

About the Artist

Frank Ingrasciotta (Actor/Playwright/Director/Educator) is the writer/performer of the award winning Off-Broadway solo play Blood Type: RAGU, performing over 1,000 shows nationally and internationally. As an actor, Frank has appeared in numerous stage productions, daytime dramas, and episodic TV shows. He has also directed many theatrical productions for numerous theatre companies. As an arts educator, he conducts workshops in acting, and creative writing with diverse populations and students of all ages. He holds a Theatre Arts in Education degree from SUNY Empire State College.

Class Format: Hands on
Skill prerequisites: No prior experience required. This program is perfect for all skill levels.
Audience: Adults, 50+

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Before He Died in Prison, Aleksei Navalny Wrote a Memoir. It’s Coming This Fall.

In the book, Navalny tells his story in his own words, chronicling his life, his rise as an opposition leader, and the attempts on his life.

Share full article

Alexei Navalny stands in a corridor wearing a button-down shirt, with his arms crossed.

By Alexandra Alter

During the years leading up to his death in a Russian prison, Aleksei A. Navalny , the Russian opposition leader, was writing a memoir about his life and work as a pro-democracy activist.

Titled “Patriot,” the memoir will be published in the United States by Knopf on Oct. 22, with a first printing of half a million copies, and a simultaneous release in multiple countries.

Navalny, who rose to global prominence as a fierce critic of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, resisted the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to silence him through physical harm, arrests and imprisonment in a remote Arctic penal colony, where he died in February , at age 47.

The book, telling his story in his own words, comes as a final show of defiance, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement, and could have a galvanizing effect on his followers.

“This book is a testament not only to Aleksei’s life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship — a fight he gave everything for, including his life,” Navalnaya said. “Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply — a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage. Sharing his story will not only honor his memory but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.”

In a news release, Knopf said that the memoir “expresses Navalny’s total conviction that change cannot be resisted and will come.”

Navalny wrote the entire memoir himself, dictating some parts, and Yulia Navalnaya is working with the publisher to edit and finalize the manuscript, according to a Knopf representative. The book has already been translated into 11 languages, Navalnaya wrote on X , and a Russian-language edition of the book will be available.

The project is a more sensitive endeavor than most memoirs by high profile political figures. Navalny’s supporters and his team, which has carried on his work, continue to draw the scrutiny of Russian authorities as they direct criticism at the Kremlin against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Navalny began working on his memoir in 2020, after surviving a near-fatal poisoning with a nerve agent, an attack that Western intelligence officials believed was a state-sponsored assassination attempt . The book covers his youth, his rise as a political activist, his marriage and family, his political career as an opposition leader, and the attempts on his life and attacks on those close to him, according to the publisher.

Navalny had political aspirations, but was barred from a presidential run following a conviction on fraud charges by a Russian court, widely seen as politically motivated. He exerted his political influence in other ways: organizing protests against Putin and building offices and investigative teams across the country to uncover corruption.

Navalny wrote much of the memoir while he was in Germany and recovering from poisoning. In February 2021, he returned to Russia, knowing that he would likely be detained or attacked again. He was arrested at the airport, and was later charged with embezzlement and fraud in a trial that international observers concluded was also politically motivated. In August 2023, he was charged with “extremism” and given a 19-year sentence. His harsh treatment in Russia’s severe penal colonies included lack of medical care and many stints in solitary confinement.

Addressing why he chose to go back to Russia to face almost certain imprisonment and possible death, Navalny said remaining in exile felt like a betrayal of his cause.

“I don’t want to give up either my country or my beliefs,” Navalny wrote in a Facebook post in January, shortly before his death. “I cannot betray either the first or the second. If your beliefs are worth something, you must be willing to stand up for them. And if necessary, make some sacrifices.”

Navalny’s return to Russia led to weeks of protests around the country, but they were eventually quashed in a fierce crackdown by the Kremlin. Even as Russia has shut down or driven away independent news media outlets and silenced many of its internal critics in an effort to smother political opposition, Navalny remained a vocal and influential figure who came to embody the country’s beleaguered pro-democracy movement.

Navalny maintained a presence on social media even behind bars, and remained a ferocious critic of Putin. His team, which was living and working in exile, continued to release exposés on corruption in Russia. He also kept working on the book, which includes never-before-seen correspondence from prison, according to the publisher.

Within Russia, thousands of his followers gathered for his funeral, despite the risk of being arrested by Russian authorities. Outside the church on the outskirts of Moscow where the service was held, people in the crowd chanted phrases like “Love is stronger than fear” and “Thank you, Aleksei.”

Even after his death, those who seek to carry on Navalny’s work and extend his legacy face threats and attacks. Last month, Leonid Volkov, who served as one of Navalny’s top organizers, was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home in Lithuania’s capital.

Navalny was well aware that his activism put him at risk, but remained cheerfully defiant, with a wry, prankster-like persona that helped drive some of his viral online activism.

“I’m trying not to think about it a lot,” he said in an interview with CBS News in 2017. “If you start to think about what kind of risks I have, you cannot do anything.”

Alexandra Alter writes about books, publishing and the literary world for The Times. More about Alexandra Alter

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Follow this autobiography where Pharrell Williams shows his imaginative and creative process using Lego, as he constructs Lego models representing his artistic development. Each build reflec... Read all Follow this autobiography where Pharrell Williams shows his imaginative and creative process using Lego, as he constructs Lego models representing his artistic development. Each build reflects a different creative milestone. Follow this autobiography where Pharrell Williams shows his imaginative and creative process using Lego, as he constructs Lego models representing his artistic development. Each build reflects a different creative milestone.

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How To Write an Autobiography 2024 (Tips, Templates, & Guide)

What Is an Autobiography?

What Should I Include In an Autobiography?

Autobiography Structure Secrets

How To Write an Autobiography Quickly: Strategies & Templates

How To Write an Autobiography: Step-by-Step

Brainstorm Your Autobiography

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 Your Autobiography

How To Write an Autobiography (All the Best Tips)

How Do I Format an Autobiography?

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Memoir vs. Autobiography: Are They The Same?

What Is the Difference Between an Autobiography and a Biography?

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1) Anything That Readers Will Skip

2) Character Attacks on Others

3) Skipping Highlights

How To Write an Autobiography: Autobiography Examples

Autobiography Examples for Adults

Autobiography Examples for Kids

Final Thoughts: How To Write An Autobiography

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How To Write An Autobiography: A Detailed & Comprehensive Guide

What is an Autobiography?

How An Autobiography is Different from a Biography

How an Autobiography is Different from a Memoir

Future Tense in an Autobiography

Tips on How to Write an Autobiography

Autobiography Questions

Your Background

Write About Hardship or Failure

Come Up with a Catchy and Compelling Title

Significant Events

Have a Central Idea

The Steps Involved to Write an Autobiography

Create an Autobiographical Outline

Do Your Homework

Complete the First Draft

Revise and Rewrite

How to Properly Structure an Autobiography

Write in Chronological Order

Don’t Fictionalize Names or Places

Add Family Photos or Other Personal Touches

Be Thorough in Describing Pivotal Moments

The Final Draft When Writing an Autobiography

The Last Revision

Make Sure the Title Agrees with the Content

Autobiography Format

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Table of Contents

Understanding the Essence of an Autobiography

Distinguishing Features Of An Autobiography

Pre-Writing Stage: Planning Your Autobiography

Selecting Key Life Events

Establishing A Timeline

Identifying Your Audience

Writing Techniques for an Engaging Autobiography

Incorporating Dialogue

Using Vivid Descriptions

Narrative Techniques

Structuring Your Autobiography for Maximum Impact

Creating Chapters

Crafting Compelling Beginnings and Endings

Ethical Considerations When Writing an Autobiography

Respecting Privacy: Telling Your Story Without Invading Others’

Navigating Sensitive Topics With Care