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 motivation: Take a look inside
Before starting any big task we need to have a strong reason to make the first step.
What is it that is driving you to write your life story or memoir?
It could simply be ‘to gain perspective of my life’ or ‘to inform future generations’.
Whatever the reasons, write these down on a sheet of paper.
Now close your eyes and imagine you have finished your story – you are holding it in your hands or telling your loved ones about it.
What does it look like, how long is it, what format is it in?
Write this description down too.
Be as specific as you can to visualise your success.
Related article Understanding your why to write a powerful autobiography
Breaking down barriers
Next we need to think about what barriers could hold up or derail our writing journey and writing motivation.
My suggestion would be the amount of TIME you have or are willing to commit to the project.
And second, how much ENERGY do you have?
Take a minute to think and then write down the answers to these questions on your piece of paper:
Time: How much time can I realistically spend writing each day/week/month? This should pass the ‘Goldilocks’ test – not too easy and not too challenging!
Energy: What time of the day am I most productive? Is this one time of the day or short bursts throughout the day? Ideally you want to match your writing time to when you are most energetic.
Other barriers: What other things could hold back my writing motivation? Try to brainstorm these and think of ways to head problems off in advance. Do you need to ask for help or sacrifice something to get more writing done?
It’s all in the timing
Setting a deadline is a sure-fire way to motivate you to get writing.
It should be flexible but will give you a general date to aim for.
Perhaps this could be when you want to retire, a milestone birthday, wedding anniversary, arrival of a new grandchild or before you take off on that big trip?
Next think about how many chapters you plan to write and their average length, perhaps say 15-30 pages each.
Work back from your deadline and calculate how many pages (or words) you need to write each day/week/month.
Does this align with the amount of time you have allocated for writing?
Do you need to tweak things – add more writing time a week or reassess your deadline?
Commit to action now and write down on your piece of paper:
- When I aim to write each week and for how long.
For example, ‘each weekday 6-7am’ or ‘Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays 10-11am’.
- How many pages (or words) I aim to write each session to meet my deadline.
Related article – Set yourself up for success with a clear writing schedule
Final say
You should now have a clear plan for where you are heading with your autobiography project – what you want to create, what might hold you back, and how much you need to write and when.
Keep these writing motivation notes handy so you can refer to them and remind yourself regularly of your commitment to writing your memoir.
With an achievable plan you are well on your way to creating a meaningful story and a wonderful gift – like the ‘love ladder’ – to be cherished for generations to come.
Happy writing!
Writing motivation is also about having a great writing plan. I help you do this in my FREE Structure Success video training. Sign up here.
What is the next thing you are going to do to improve your writing motivation? I’d love to hear all about it. Send me an email.
Have you hit a roadblock planning, writing or finishing your autobiography? Let me know here so I can help!
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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.