Top 6 Tips on Writing Your Life Story

Are you thinking about writing a memoir and telling your life story to the world? It could as well be someone else’s memoir or a section of a person’s life, even a historical event or a thing.

In most cases, when someone says they want to write a book about their own life, they usually refer to writing a memoir.

You can implement certain tips in your manuscript that will not only help you share your story but also inspire your readers.

Choose a Theme

Before you start jotting things down on paper, you might want to sit down and consider the life experiences you want to share with your target audience. You must remember that you cannot start telling things haphazardly.

There should be a theme that runs through the book – your memoir. For instance, you might want to focus on the theme of loneliness or depression. Or, you can also opt for several themes – perhaps, you have experienced trauma, and that is your reason for sharing your story.

You get the point – while selecting your life experiences, you must keep in mind your theme because everything won’t be able to go in your book.

So make sure that whatever life experiences you intend to share, they should perfectly relate to the theme of your book.

Introduction Comes First!

Another tip that will help you with writing your life story is that you should start with an introduction. The truth for most of us is that we don’t have an existing audience – especially as newbie authors. In other words, most people are not going to know who you are.

That said, you cannot simply assume that your potential target audience knows who you are, your life experiences, or even know enough about you to engage in your life story. So, the first place that you should start while writing a book about your life is with an introduction.

The introduction is the section of your book where you explain who you are, why you have decided to share this particular story, and what your potential reader will gain from reading your book. Ensure that your introduction is well-written so that it entices the readers to continue reading until the very end of the book.

The first chapter of your book – or the introduction- is the most important part of your book as it sets the expectations of your readers. Besides, it also sets the tone for what your book will be about.

This is also the point where your readers decide whether you are relatable or not and whether they should purchase your book or not. That said, put loads of consideration into writing the introduction to your memoir.

Hire a Ghostwriter

A ghostwriter can help you immensely with writing your life story – typically, a ghostwriter takes the story and uses all the elements of good storytelling (plot line, characters, hero’s journey, etc.) and transforms it into an appealing narrative.

By hiring the best literary fiction ghostwriters, you will have a narrative that people will actually want to read rather than something that will cause them to place the book back. Understandably, you wouldn’t want your life story to sound like a series of dry Wikipedia pages,

You might have come across biographies and memoirs written by people that can be labeled as boring. Biographies like those aren’t appealing to the immediate family members, and you certainly don’t want this to happen to you. So, sometimes hiring the best ghostwriter is an ideal way to get one’s life story out in the world.

Don’t Follow a Specific Order

When writing a memoir, most newbie authors mistake following a chronological order as they might deem it the best way to write a memoir. In reality, it is the other way around – your memoir doesn’t necessarily have to be in chronological order.

On the other hand, your focus should be on keeping the order in a way that will keep your readers engaged. Despite that, writing in chronological order might be easier – especially regarding your life story, you are not obliged to follow an order.

You don’t have to start with your birth and end at the present day, as this isn’t an ideal way to keep your readers engaged.

You want to tell your story in a way that is enticing and logical for your readers so they can develop a better understanding of why and how you got to where you are at present.

Write to Inspire

While writing your life story, your focus should be on inspiring and motivating your readers. More importantly, make sure that you stand by and hold true to any promises that you made to your readers in the introduction.

For instance, if your life story is about financial difficulties and how you successfully overcame the struggles, you must remember why your reader is reading the book.

For obvious reasons, they aren’t reading the book to know the details of your financial struggles, but they are more interested in knowing how you overcame those financial difficulties.

This way, your readers are seeking motivation and inspiration for overcoming their own financial difficulties that they might be having in their life at the moment – while reading your life story.

You get the point – you must remember to inspire and motivate while writing your life story.

Be Honest!

Do you know what can turn your life story into a best-selling memoir? It all comes down to your willingness to become completely honest and not being afraid of expressing your vulnerable side in the book,

While you are not obligated to share any aspects of your life (at all), as a golden rule, when you are truly sharing different aspects of your story with your readers, you must ensure that you are doing so truthfully and authentically.

Honesty and the willingness to become vulnerable and raw in front of your readers tend to resonate so much better with your target audience. This way, your readers will find it easier to relate with you or the characters in the book.