Hello Everyone, I am in the initial thought process of starting an autobiography. I was wondering if anyone has done one themself, and has any tips on how you started yours?
I took a lecture on memoir at a conference once. I don't read or write them, so, I didn't retain a whole lot of it. The part that stuck with me was this line someone said. "Memoir isn't about what happened to you. It's about how you felt about what happened."
I have understood that there is often also a time span difference. Memoir: this period or this thematic aspect. Autobiography: this life. https://www.liferichpublishing.com/AuthorResources/Nonfiction/Differences-Between-Memoir-AutoBiography.aspx Tips? Most important: wide and deep self reflection + self reflection + self reflection and self reflection. Start with your flaws and weaknesses. 1. Adair Lara: Naked, Drunk and Writing. 2. Cowden &al: Heroes & Heroines 3. Choose: memoir OR autobiography. 4. Think about your personal character arch. 5. Do a beat sheet. It must have both storyline and character arch. 6. Play with the thought that meaningful people represent different character archetypes. 7. "Listen" to your "voice" as an author/narrator. What subgenre works well with that "voice"? 8. Do not try to teach your readers or you spoil your story. Don't write at all if you want to teach by teaching. 9. Don't make yourself a hero. 10. After publishing you can come to Finland. We have rural areas where nobody knows you. It is even legal to hunt bears (Ursus Arctos) if you don't use fire arms only knife. And you can hunt moose by running & strangling them with bare hand. (No knives here, sorry.)
So I got to thinking more about writing. I’m 24 so not a ton to write about that’s happened thus far. I decided instead to write about my experiences as a Volunteer firefighter in my career so far. I have been one since 2015. Thanks for the helpful tips anyhow.
Read memoirs. Lots of them. There are several ways to approach this. You might want to look at This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff and The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham. Both very good, but they take different approaches to telling their stories. Just Kids by Patti Smith was really good. I heard she came out with another one, but I haven't read her new one.
I don't read or write biographies of any kind but I'll think first thing you should do is asking yourself if you really got enough material at 24 - firefighter or not. Why should people read about your life? I mean, most peoples life are dull and should not in an way or form be written down in other than maybe blog form. If you do think you got enough - make it interesting. Real life of not - if something is boring it won't be worth peoples time.
