What every autobiography writer ought to know about finding time to write
First published August 2017: This article has been updated and improved.
I love watching the Olympics.
The swimmers are amazing to watch.
They have trained countless mornings and afternoons for weeks, years.
They have a major goal in mind – swimming at the Olympics – and plan to achieve that goal.
The same can be said for writing an autobiography, memoir or a loved one’s life story.
You want to have the book finished to share with friends and family.
But you have to get smart about committing to writing time or a writing routine.
You need to ‘take five’ to put a writing plan down on paper and have it clear in your mind…
Writing time: Chasing that ‘gold medal’
Your big goal will be to write a life story.
But you need to dig deeper.
- When do I want to have it done by?
- How many chapters do I envision?
- How many hours can I write for per week?
- What time on what days of the week will I write?
This will all be dependent on your prior writing experience, writing output, your daily schedule, lifestyle and energy levels.
As an example, you might decide for your writing time to write 6-7am Monday and Wednesday, plus 5-6.30pm Friday every week for one year to finish an autobiography of 50,000-60,000 words with 10 chapters.
Whatever your writing time goals, make sure they are not too easy or too hard – you need a realistic balance.
Related article – New year’s resolutions 2019: Set top writing dreams and goals
Dive into writing time
If you haven’t done a lot of writing in your life you need to start slowly and make it a habit, a good habit!
Get your confidence up and work writing time around your daily routine.
You might like to just start out with a warm-up exercise for 5-10 minutes.
This could be writing about three things you are thankful for that happened to you that day or anything else that takes your fancy.
You can then dive into your main autobiography writing for say 40 minutes.
And maybe after this give yourself another 5-10 minutes to re-read, check some details or work on planning or research for other chapters.
Of course if you are on a writing roll keep on going!
You’ve found your groove.
Conversely, if you miss a writing time session aim to make it up that week and don’t skip more than two sessions in a row.
Related article –Surefire tips to end feeling overwhelmed about writing your life story
Review your performance
Just like the Olympic athletes you need to look at your training and results each week to chart your progress.
It can be helpful to have a diary or spreadsheet to record details about each writing time.
For example:
- What time of the day did I write?
- Where did I write?
- How long did I write for?
- How was I feeling during my writing time?
- What did I write about?
- How many words did I write?
- Average words per minute?
Over time you will start to see patterns in this data.
You can see what circumstances or at what times you write more or less.
This is valuable information that can aid you to plan your weekly writing time and be more productive.
Showing a friend or writing partner this data can also help you to gain a different perspective about your writing and keep you honest!
Related article –Writing motivation: How to finish writing a book about your life
Final say
Setting yourself up with a successful writing time schedule is not rocket science.
You need to get motivated like those Olympic swimmers and hit the pool – or writing desk – with a clear goal, routine and a way to review your hard work.
Yes we can spend years ‘tinkering’ on our autobiography but the finite nature of life should inspire us to write with story-telling urgency until the task is complete.
It can be a hard-won victory to finish your memoir or life-story project but it will also be immensely satisfying and memorable.
Think of it as your Olympic gold medal.
Happy writing!
Free gift!
A good next step is to review your book structure by brainstorming, prioritising and organising what stories you want to include. I’ve recorded a short video on how to do this. Sign up here.
Your say
What does your writing time look like? I’d love to hear all about it. Send me an email.
Get in touch
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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.
