Planning an autobiography

What is an autobiography? Simply put, it is a timeline.

It is a record of your journey through life so far, that has been written by you. It is a chance for you to tell your version or side to a story, and to offer your perspective and thoughts on things…without being interrupted! An autobiography is often accompanied by photos of various important times and people in your life.

You should include things and events that made a difference to you, or changed you in some way. You should also include memories of events, places or people that stand out for a particular reason. (Their importance will become clear to you later, as you re-read what you have written).

You can also include anything that made you feel SOMETHING. Tell the event or memory, and see if you can describe what you felt. Try to figure out why you felt that way.

What is the purpose of an autobiography? The most obvious purpose is ‘to tell your life story’ to other people. However, it can be used as a journey of discovery tool.  Most people who have written an autobiography have looked at their life story after it has been written, and realize things about themselves they did not understand before. It’s a bit like laying down the facts and clues to a mystery in the right order before you, so that solving the puzzle of who you are becomes an easier task.

HOW DO YOU BEGIN?

There are many ways to begin an autobiography. You can either work in a linear way (start at the beginning and work your way up to today), you can plot things down as you remember them, or you can use a mixture of both. Either way, there needs to be a plan!

The most important thing is to get your information into CHRONOLOGICAL order.

This is one Autobiography planner you might like to use.

Notice there is a place on the planner for photos. You do not have to have a photo of each event – probably you don’t have one – but any photo you do have could find a place in your plan.

You can use these prompts to get you started. But do not use these as the only content for your autobiography. We do not want everyone’s final piece to say the same thing!