Forever Young Autobiographies

Midyear 2019 highlights: Best of 2019 articles and writing tips for beginners

How to write an autobiography in four simple steps

How to write an autobiography in four steps. Green hedge with a heart-shape hole with blue sky in background. Photo by Pixabay

What a writing coach knows about how to write a memoir and how to write a book about someone’s life

I once went into a maze in England.

It was one of those high-hedge varieties that you see in Alice in Wonderland movies.

Although I didn’t encounter The Queen of Hearts or a Mad Hatter, I definitely felt like I was going a little bit crazy looking for an exit.

The fact that I was laughing at myself the whole time didn’t help!

It wasn’t until I remembered the ‘maze secret’ – always turn left – that I had a path to freedom.

What a difference a good tip makes!

The same can be said about how to write an autobiography.

There are so many tasks to think about and do to complete your life story that it can be overwhelming without a ‘roadmap’.

Don’t waste your time jumping down rabbit holes, follow these key steps to create an extraordinary family record.

Book review: Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales

Photos: Penguin Books Australia and Daniel Boud.

The quick and easy guide to the 7.30 report journalist’s memoir-biography

As a fellow journalist and writer, I was extremely keen to read Leigh Sales’s latest book.

Any Ordinary Day by Hamish Hamilton (Penguin Books) was released in October by the popular ABC broadcaster anchor.

It is an eye-opening book about “Blindsides, resilience and what happens after the worst day of your life”.

Part memoir, part biography, the work will make you think about how you live your life and love those dearest to you.

Keep reading to find out more and why this book is a must read for any life-story writer…

New course! Introducing the Setting Writing Goals Guide for life-story writers

Everything memoir writers need to know about imagining inspiring dreams and setting smart goals

This week I’m excited to share I have a new writing goals course for sale specifically for life-story writers!

The Setting Writing Goals Course is designed especially for writers of autobiographies, memoirs and biographies.

It is all about imagining inspiring dreams and smart goal setting to start, write and finish a writing project for yourself or a loved one.

As readers of my website you are the first to hear about the writing goals course!

Case study: Zookeeper helps great uncle publish autobiography

Three generations work together + new memoir in making

English zookeeper Sarah Blake helped her great uncle Hedley record his autobiography when she was a teen and was struck by how much joy the process brought him.

While Hedley and his wife Barbara started the project it was Sarah and her mother who helped them finish the book for family and friends.

Years later Sarah has been inspired to write about her own life experiences.

She is in the middle of writing a memoir about the 15 months she travelled around the world using wild animals as her guide.

Today Sarah shares more about Hedley’s autobiography to inform and inspire fellow life-story writers.

Writing accountability: Personal accountability + accountability partners

Amazing accountability secrets to write your autobiography

First published September 2017. This article has been updated and improved.

Writing an autobiography, memoir or life story can be exciting and fun but it can also become a chore if you are not careful.

Sometimes it can feel like you are muddling along at your writing desk without any clear direction for weeks, months, even years.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Here are some writing accountability suggestions to help keep you motivated to finish your story.

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.

Surefire tips to end feeling overwhelmed about writing your life story

Easy ways to stop procrastinating and re-ignite your writing

Amy had great intentions about writing her life story.

The first few months were full of ideas, excitement and writing!

She prepared her chapter structure and went to the state library to get more details for her family tree.

One thing led to another and she disappeared down a family history rabbit hole.

After three months, she had discovered a lot of information dating back to convicts in Tasmania.

But unfortunately she had been sidetracked and now felt overwhelmed to do more autobiography writing.

While the historical records were interesting to her children and grandchildren, they were definitely not as interesting as her memories and life story would have been!

Does this sound like a familiar story?

In this article I offer tips to help you stop being overwhelmed and get that life story finished.

Top 3 posts you have loved so far this year