We all have the urge to pen our own life story, capture those most memorable and inspiring moments, and hopefully, make some dollars in the process. Whatever your motivation is in writing your life’s adventures, it is safe to say that doing so would need some dedication and creativity on your part.
Before jumping on the task of writing your life, you have to first ponder on some things and perform exercises to get you all warmed up for your book writing.
Are you ready to share your life with strangers?
Some people may have the urge to pen their memoir and turn it into a book but are not comfortable with the idea that it’ll be an open book to others they don’t know. Think it through and if the answer is “yes”, then you can proceed.
Spend some time self-reflecting
Reflecting on the events of your life from the time that you were a toddler will help you understand what will be the theme of your book. While you are reminiscing of your adventures, pick out the memories that you want to be included in your book, and write them down.
Create a mindmap
Your thoughts and memories will just pop up from your mind and will be a jumble. Using a mind map will arrange those thoughts and memories in a comprehensible order. You are now creating your book progression and even your chapters.
Set a time every day to get parts of your book done
You don’t have to set aside the whole weekend just to write your book. An hour every day will be enough. However, if things are too crazy at the moment and you just don’t have time to do it, you can leave the task to a professional life story writer. As mentioned at https://www.shareyourlifestory.com.au/, you can get your book written in four easy steps. You will just have to provide the details for your book during an interview and voila, you’ve got a book coming out!
If you have really decided to work on your book yourself, complete the steps above. When all of these are done, you are now ready to create your life book.
How to Start Writing Your Memoir?
Penning your book is a process and it takes time. Though you won’t have to be in a hurry since you are your own boss in this project. After all, masterpieces are not made overnight. So let’s get going and guide you in creating your life’s most precious work of art.
Write a journal of your memories
Remember the memories you’ve arranged using the mind map? Now, you will have to write them down as vividly as you can.
The key to creating a journal for your memoir is writing it down as if you are telling the story to someone together with a description of the surroundings and how you felt at that moment. This is the time when you can get lost from the now and let yourself be overwhelmed by the feelings, scent, and atmosphere of that instance in your life.
Journaling will take the longest in your book writing process but it will be the most therapeutic. Letting you confront some of the not so easy moments of your life, forgive yourself, and cherish the triumphant moments.
Organize and make an outline of your book
After months of journaling, you will now need to arrange those journals so that it creates a free-flowing story of your life. It does not have to be in chronological order but it should be organized in a way that your readers can follow through.
Some memoirs that have been written give its readers a glimpse of the memory and take this to reflect on their lives. An enjoyable book is that which opens all your senses, excites you, and makes you want to reflect on your own life too. This makes the reader not only enjoy your book but also partake in it.
Research your book
You might be surprised that you have to research your own life story. That’s because you are not the only character in your life story though you are the focus of it. You have to get the dates right especially on publicly known occasions like the Sydney Opera House completion or the Olympic games dates in Australia. You will not be a responsible writer if you get these wrong.
You would also need to dig into the memories of your friends and family members to confirm your recount of the events in your life and theirs. You can just pick up the phone and have a chat with your brother or sister. This would also be your time to tell certain members of your family and some friends that they are in the book. You have to understand that some may not like having themselves be portrayed in published material.
Spruce up your book with photos
Images make the book more interesting for your readers. This will give them a clear picture of you and what you are describing in your book. It can even set the tone for the chapters of your book. Just remember to ask for permission from people that may be captured in the shots too.
Publish your book
Now, you’re all done. The next step will be publishing the book itself. You would need a little bit of help with that. Partner with your local publishing outfit to understand how to dress your book and be reader ready. You may choose to publish a hard copy or share it with readers in an e-book. The latter will be much more pricey but a book that you can touch and flip the pages is still incomparable.
Penning a memoir is a tedious but rewarding adventure. At the end of it, you might find yourself satisfied that you’ve lived a full life, or feel a sense of gratitude to your people and even yourself for choosing particular decisions in your life. You can even find a lesson from those memories. Writing your life story will also be a measure of your determination and patience too. So make sure that you are in for the long haul.