The easy way to find 2018 best autobiography writing tips
Happy Valentine’s Day
Today I’m going to share and foster your love of writing with a few ‘sweet surprises’.
Looking back at the website’s best of 2018 articles and videos it is clear there
I’ve picked the most popular from a range of categories; planning to write, tips for new writers, polishing your writing and publishing your autobiography
This also includes a number of ‘case study’ feature stories
These best of 2018 articles are full of writing shortcuts and practical ideas to motivate you to get writing from the start to the end of the year
Top autobiography books to read in 2018
Over the Australian summer
I love reading and learning about other people’s stories
Top on my ‘list’ this year are a number of books on and about life stories I’d like to share.
Related article –Best books of 2018: Must-read books about life stories to enjoy these holidays
Case study: Helping my grandmother, 98, write her autobiography
Last week my grandmother celebrated her 98th birthday
What a HUGE achievement!
Helping her write her autobiography has been a big task
I’ve had a few false starts, muddled along in sections and wished I could make myself work faster
In this
In this
- How we got started
- what was the breakthrough moment
- How I regained momentum when life slowed me down
- What I did to get 50,000 words onto the page – and how to organise them!
Related page – About Forever Young Autobiographies
How to write about painful memoir stories in three simple steps
This Anzac Day I’ll be thinking of our
Being sensitive and respectful about difficult memories is important, whether you are writing about them yourself or compiling them for a loved one
They may be hard to record on many levels but this does not mean they should be overlooked or forgotten entirely
In this
- The importance of knowing the reasons why you started this project
- Acknowledge that your readers are on your side
- And that it is only natural that some memories take privacy and time to work through
Related article – Everything you need to know about making characters sparkle in your memoir
What a professional print sub-editor knows about editing autobiographies
Pruning and tightening is an essential step for all good writing, including publishing a life story
A small amount of time spent editing and ‘polishing’ your chapters is a wonderful investment
In this
In this
- What key phrases to leave out
- Common word traps
- What type of sentences will most capture your reader’s attention
- One of my fave tactics for spotting copy errors
Related article – Writing tools to help you beat bad spelling and grammar woes
Life story challenge: The quick and easy way to record a loved one’s biography
This Easter I’ve set you a FUN challenge to sit down with a loved one and record their life story
This week we are using tips from my new system Your Family Stories: Easily capture your loved ones’ memories for future generations to help you to prepare for an interview
In this article you will learn:
- How to get the interview ball rolling
- Key questions you should ask
- How to help get memories percolating in
advance Sign up for FREE training!
Related article – Life Story Challenge – Part 2: What a professional journalist knows about conducting interviews
Related article – Life Story Challenge – Part 3: Amazing ways to organise and present interview gold
Case study – Daughter helps recently retired father, 85, write his autobiography
Beginning a life-story project is sometimes all about timing
This was the case for former editor Jan and her father when they recently compiled his biography
Both were newly retired and had been thinking about the idea, somewhat unbeknown to each other
With a little help from my new system Your Family Stories, Jan said she was prompted “to get cracking”.
In this
- About how Jan’s life-story project unfolded
- What was the hardest part of the experience
- What was the most rewarding part of the exercise
- Her top tip for those just starting out
Related article – Case study: Filmmaker Luke Graham tells powerful father and son story
Best of 2018: Final say
I hope you found these ‘best of 2018’ articles helpful and motivating to write your own stories
Knowing they bring you value also inspires me to keep writing!
This year I plan to bring you autobiography and memoir book reviews plus lots of helpful writing tips, advice, interviews
and case studies.
I’m scheduling out this year’s content for the website and would love your input.
If you have a topic or an article suggestion please let me know.
Happy writing!
A few best of 2018 memoir articles focus on the Your Family Stories system. You can access the first few sections for FREE by signing up here. The full system goes through step-by-step how to interview a loved one and record their life story before memories fade forever.
Please let me know what is your favourite best of 2018 website article. Drop me an email!
Got a question or idea for an article? You can let me know here.
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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.
