Prepare to Write an Autobiography
Get Organised to Document Your Life for Future Generations
Avoid writing a dry and boring autobiography by researching and brainstorming first. Try this idea of using brainstorming charts to get the creative juices flowing.
It is easy to assume that an autobiography is the easiest book to write. It is the story of the writer's own life so the old adage "write about what you know" would seem to apply. For anyone who sits down to write an autobiography unprepared however it is a disappointing truth that at some point the inspiration will dry up. These are the times where some preliminary research will be a blessed relief.
How To Research a Autobiography
A good way to start is with three different brainstorming charts. The most popular and easiest to use brainstorming chart is just drawing a bubble and writing a thought in it then another bubble for another thought and so on. The thought bubbles can then be linked with lines to show linked thoughts. This can be a very useful device when there are a lot of thoughts jostling for room and it is proving hard to sort through them.
For an autobiography three good charts to start with are:
- Memories of the writer's life: The beauty of a brainstorming chart is that it doesn't have to be chronological or linear. As a thought pops up it gets written down. The first though can be a first kiss, the second an embarrassing time at school the third that first bought home. Anything and everything gets written down and every bubble will spark those little gray cells into remembering more long forgotten moments. Don't be surprised if this chart grows and grows.
- Memories of other people's lives: An autobiography rarely just covers the life of the writer. There are invariably also many bit players, friends, family, enemies and colleagues. With each bit player there will be a back story, incidents, relationships, physical descriptions and their link to the writer. Getting these bit players down on paper can often inspire new digressions and mini autobiographies to flesh out the main autobiography.
- Facts: How many people really know how their mother went into labour, where their father went to school or about their grandparent's wedding day? Getting these basic facts down on paper can help to put everything into perspective and focus the writer on remembering that they aren't a person in isolation but are a product of their parent's and grandparent's past.
Inspiration for Brainstorming
For the memories of the writer's life chart here are some starting points:
- First memory
- First love, crush and kiss
- Most embarrassing moment
- Best friend as a child and favourite pets
- Most frightening teacher
- Favourite toy
- First job
- Leaving or being sacked from a job
- Scariest moment
- Most peaceful memory
For the chart of other people's lives:
- Memorable strange or eccentric character
- People remembered because of legend or rumours
- Brothers, sisters or cousins
- Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles
- Best friend as a teenager
- Inspirational person
- In – laws
- Person remembered from a news story
- Person who is the reason for writing an autobiography
For the factual chart create a bubble for each person with smaller bubbles coming off each one for relevant facts such as:
- Place and date of birth
- Immediate family
- Relationship to the writer
- Education and career
- Children
- Marriages
- Dates, cause and place of death (if applicable)
Why Research and Autobiography?
Although it may seem like an unnecessary, time consuming step this will eventually act as a road map and a muse to reduce the chance of the autobiography ending up as a dull “what I did this summer” style monologue. Try it. There is nothing to lose.
