January 2019 - Forever Young Autobiographies

Story detail: Identifying key details in a story to make your autobiography shine

What every memoir writer should know about finding details in a story

First published July 2017: This article has been updated and improved.

If I told you a story about a father helping to deliver his daughter in a hospital car park at night, you might think it an uncommon event.

It I then told you that it was Father’s Day and this dad had to hold the torch for the midwives while the baby was delivered in a matter of minutes, you might think it was pretty interesting.

Now what if I told you that this father was actually himself born on Father’s Day and that his last child was born on Mother’s Day, you might think I was making the whole story up!

Writing motivation: How to finish writing a book about your life

The surefire way to motivate yourself to write your autobiography or memoir

First published June 2017: This article has been updated and improved.

I read a viral email several years ago about a ‘love ladder’.

It was a heart-warming story about an elderly husband and wife in central China.

They had lived together simply in a mountainous area for over 50 years.

During this time, the husband carved more than 6000 steps into the hillside so his wife could more easily climb up and down from their home.

It is a remarkable story and made me think about how this man began the epic task.

Starting and finishing a memoir can similarly seem like a huge task!

Here are three writing motivation suggestions to help keep your autobiography on track to completion.

Writing flow: Finding the best places to write your autobiography

How to set up your writing zone and writing environment in three simple steps

First published June 2017: This article has been updated and improved.

Ahhh, the actual act of sitting down to write.

This is the serious part!

As a journalist I’ve had to learn to write in all types of situations.

Most commonly it is in a noisy newsroom with the screech of a police scanner two feet away, a news channel blarring on an overhead television, not to mention the often ‘enthusiastic’ sarcasm and cussing of my colleagues as they race to file for deadline.

Once a few years ago, after Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia hit our town and ripped up 1800 power poles in the area, I had my handy neighbour rig up my laptop to a solar panel on the front lawn!

Clearly you REALLY can write anywhere and everywhere – you just need the time and a way to record your thoughts.

But to make writing your autobiography easy it is best to prepare a designated space in which to relax and get creative.