May 2019 - Forever Young Autobiographies

Writing time: How to schedule time for writing

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…

Case study: Helping to write the story of grandmother Bonnie, 99

Part 2: How to write a grandma book in simple steps

An amazing thing happened last week.

My grandmother turned 99.

Happy birthday Bonnie!

Anyone reaching this grand old age is remarkable.

That is a whole lot of living and a whole lot of life stories!

A year on from her last birthday, however, and my grandma can be satisfied she has these stories down on paper.

Over the past couple of years we have been working away on her book.

It has been a long but infinitely rewarding process.

Now we are getting ready to print final copies for family and friends.

This week I am going to recap the final stages of how the book came together, what challenges we faced and where we are at now.

Book review: Educated by historian Tara Westover

Educated by Tara Westover, Penguin Random House.

What every autobiography writer should know about the bestselling memoir by Penguin Random House

I recently finished Tara Westover’s Educated.

The story is gripping, horrifying and intriguing all at once.

I had this international bestselling memoir on my must-read autobiographies list for 2018.

And I listened to the audiobook version over a few days – seriously I could not turn it off!

The book was published in 2018 by Windmill Books (Penguin Random House Company) and selected as a book of the year by Amazon plus numerous publications including The Times, Guardian and New York Times.

And its reputation continues to grow.

It has also been supported by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former American president Barack Obama.

The number of accolades is staggering, especially given Educated is Westover’s first book and that she is only in her early 30s.

Keep reading to find out what the book is about, my favourite parts and what it can teach fellow autobiography writers.