Forever Young Autobiographies

Painful stories: How to write about sad memories and hard conversations

3 ideas for approaching and exploring painful memories in your writing

First published May 19, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

Australia recorded its most deadly day for coronavirus deaths last week.

Certainly it is such a scary time for all of us around the world as the pandemic takes hold in successive waves.

The new normal feels sombre and has me thinking about important memorial days such as Anzac Day.

Likewise these can bring up sad and painful stories.

Wars and the loss of a loved one are difficult topics to address in an autobiography, memoir, biography or a life-story interview.

Many do not know how to sit down and write about or approach such stories no matter how much they want to.

But this doesn’t mean painful stories should be left out of writing stages.

Some memories, even painful ones, need to live on, be understood and learnt from.

Here are a few tips to help keep you writing when you come to painful stories …

First draft: Don’t start writing a first draft before reading this!

What a life-story coach knows about how to start writing (while beating overwhelm and procrastination)

First published February 22, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

One question I hear time and again from new writers working on a first draft is: “I can’t seem to get anything done! I am constantly agonising over each sentence and self-editing as I write.”

Indeed sitting down to write an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project can be a painful thing for a lot of people.

They are so self-critical that they are paralysed to jot more than a few sentences during the writing phase.

Certainly, I know I was like this when I first started my cadetship at a daily newspaper.

But over time I developed a system to get my first draft out of my head quickly and in a way that’s actually fun!

So keep reading for ideas to write that first draft without torturing yourself.

Music and memories: 3 song memory tricks to use while dancing up a storm!

Feel the beat with these writing ideas for musical memories

First published January 25, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

Popular music festival Splendour would usually be held this time of year in Australia but it has been canceled because of coronavirus.

However, I know this is the case too for many Northern Hemisphere summer music festivals.

Certainly, at the moment, it’s hard for me not to think about seeing live music!

As a result, when I hear certain songs I saw in concert it gets me thinking: who was with me, what were we doing, when was this, where were we, how good was it?

Indeed, music is a wonderful way to stir up memories for your autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

So today I’m going to take a look at ways you can use it to get your memories flowing when you are planning or starting to write.

One, two, three… let’s feel the beat!

Midyear 2020 highlights: Best of 2020 articles and writing tips for beginners

Best 2020 writing advice about writing challenges, a life in pictures, dialogue + publishing a 100yo’s autobiography!

Recently I took some time out from my writing projects.

Firstly, I needed to focus on the Forever Young Autobiographies podcast launch (check out the show here!).

But also because 2020 has been one hell of a ride – I needed a break!

So as we hurtle into the back half of the year I thought it was time we re-energised our writing groove to keep working on our autobiographies, memoirs, biographies and other life-story projects.

Therefore to get you motivated I have gone back through this year’s articles for 2020 highlights.

So here are the best 2020 planning, writing, polishing and publishing posts you have been finding most popular and helpful …

Inspirational quotes: 10 positive quotes you should try to boost your writing!

Quick and easy motivation quote tips + writing goals course deal!

Can you believe we are halfway through the year?

And what a crazy year it has been!

I’m assuming, like me, some of your writing goals have been battered by COVID-19 and the dramas of life?

However, let’s all pause to take a deep breath, refocus our writing goals and get set for a good finish to the year.

Therefore, to help you get motivated to sit down and write I’ve gathered a few inspirational quotes.

Certainly, these inspirational quotes will help whether you are writing an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Plus, keep reading as I have a special half-yearly deal available on the Setting Writing Goals Guide for writers!

Let’s do this!

New podcast! Why you should listen to audiobooks and podcasts today … you’ll be happy you did!

Everything you need to know about why audiobooks and podcasts are great for writers

I’ve got some exciting news!

The Forever Young Autobiographies podcast show is up and running.

You can check it out here!

New episodes are released weekly plus there is a HUGE back catalogue with 20+ shows on planning, writing, polishing and publishing life stories.

I’m a huge fan of listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

For instance, I ‘read’ most of the autobiography, memoir and biography books I review for the website via audiobook.

So to celebrate the launch of the FYA podcast, this week’s article is all about why you should listen to audiobooks and podcasts to improve your own writing.

Plus there is an audiobook competition at the end you will want to enter!

Case study: Retired school principal Terry pens memoir inspired by his grandfathers

Victorian retiree shares how he self-published his life story for family and friends

Retired principal Terence Bourke says his memoir Dance in the Rain was inspired by his late grandfathers and how little he knew about them.

“How intriguing it would be to know more about them and my great grandfathers,” he writes in the preface.

As a result, the 75-year-old recently celebrated his book’s launch with friends and family.

“My book consists of recollections of my life over the years,” he said.

Today Terry lives with his wife Sandra and their dogs in a beautiful bayside village on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, Australia.

And in this week’s article he shares his life-writing journey plus tips for others sitting down to write …

Book review: Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Becoming by Penguin Books Ltd

A revealing memoir about life before and during the office of US president Obama

The book Becoming by Michelle Obama has been a powerhouse bestseller for years.

This memoir’s been on my reading list since it was published by Penguin Books Ltd in late 2018.

However, a document a ry about the Becoming book tour has also been released this year on Netflix.

I recently got hold of the audiobook version, read by the former First Lady of the United States of America herself.

It was an eye-opening account of a woman who is much more than what is portrayed on stage and in the media.

She has a fighting spirit and much to teach us as fellow writers who are planning, writing, polishing or publishing an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Let’s take a look…

Book layout: Don’t start a book layout without these 7 book-design tips!

Amazing book page layout help about fonts, chapters, running heads and MORE!

Ever get the feeling you are opening a can of worms?

I sure do when I check my young bug-loving son’s pant pockets to put on a load of laundry.

What will I find: a ‘fossil’ rock, a dead caterpillar, a fistful of sand?

Likewise, you might feel you have opened a ‘book layout’ can of worms when you get to the polishing stage of your life-story project.

This is because book layout and design terms can seem like another language!

I recently went through the book layout process for my grandmother’s autobiography.

So today I’m breaking down the key terms in plain English for newbie writers.

Keep reading for my top book-layout tips and secret book-design weapon …

Case study: Secrets to writing my 100yo grandmother’s autobiography

Part 3: What every aspiring life-story writer ought to know about telling family stories

“It’s beautiful” my grandmother Bonnie, 99, said through tears as she took the first look at her printed autobiography book.

“We did it together,” she said hugging me.

My family and I were visiting Bonnie earlier this year in a nursing home and were excited to finally give her a reader’s copy of her life story.

She was soon flipping to a photo of her younger self with long plaits to show my daughter, 7, as her doctor and a nurse popped by.

“Isn’t that amazing! I’m so glad you did this,” Bonnie’s long-time doctor said shaking his head incrediously.

It had taken my grandmother and me four years of planning, writing, polishing and publishing to get to this point.

There had been some serious ups and downs along the way but the writing had been worth it.

This is the third and final article about Bonnie’s life-story project (see articles part one and part two here!).

So keep reading to find out how we went from final draft to finished autobiography book in time for her 100th birthday this month during a global pandemic.