With a new electronic world at our fingers autobiographies and memoirs are no longer just a paper based affair. There are now a growing number of software packages which help people writing for pleasure to document their lives in mixed media.
Personal Author Software
This software is published by Biography Software Corporation and can be used to create a family history and also to write a biography or autobiography. It has areas in which to complete a daily journal, add videos, photos and audio. There are hints and tips to writing a good story and “Memory Jogging Questions” designed to stop writer's block. There is a book building feature to guide the writer through creating an index, contents page and title page and the capability to create and merge multiple biographies.
Familyware
Familyware is one of the few free software packages and is online based. It was created by a man named John Ward after the death of his friend in his 40s. This inspired him to create a way to document his life for his children and he chose to share this software with the world. There is a Premium Membership with many additional benefits but there is also a free membership which gives the subscriber the facility to write their own life story and add up to 100 photos. The way the writer is inspired to write is through choices such as creating their own topic headings such as “Education” and “Work”, sending questions to relatives with the answers automatically populating the program, being asked questions generated by the program to jog your memory, a “Memory Jogger” page to enter little thoughts which may later develop and the facility to add photos.
Family Tree and Genealogy Software
For anyone writing a legacy or epic of an autobiography then a family tree program could be a useful way to go. The better packages do all of the above and also give a more flexible and larger facility for adding details about a large number of relatives. There are many software packages out there for genealogy and the better ones can be quite expensive so anyone interested in buying one to help them write their autobiography should research the options fully
The Future of Autobiographies
The world is now turning rapidly towards becoming 100% technology based and the number of mobile devices such as PDAs and iPhones increases day by day. It is only a matter of time before the autobiography of your favourite star is available not only in paper back and hard back but also in multi media downloadable files.
 |
