One of the first items covered in the book A Guide to Writing Your Memoir or Life Story is the exploration of which FORMAT would be best for the telling of your particular “Life Story.” In order to determine which format is best, a lot will depend upon how much of your story you should tell!
Three major formats would be biography, memoir or family history. Biography would include birth to the present. Memoir is a short segment of your life, such as your teen years. A family history is based on genealogy, would include a great deal of photographs and could incorporate the distant past–before you were ever born.
Wayne Groner has developed a helpful, handy, fit-into-your-hand book called A Guide to Writing Your Memoir or Life Story (Tools, Tips, Methods, and Examples). I reference it often for its concise advice and practical outlining of every aspect of getting your Life Story in book form.
In these preliminary days of choosing a format, it might be helpful to consider your motivation. Here’s the list from page 5 of Groner’s Guide:
- to leave a family legacy
- to celebrate charitable or public service
- to bridge gaps between generations
- to tell how you went from rags to riches
- to witness a life of faith or struggle to find faith
- to relate lessons learned from a health tragedy or loss of life
- to share business advice based on experience.
- to inspire, guide, persuade, influence, empower, teach, or heal
- to discover one or more purposes in life
- to make a difference
- to share stories of romances won or lost, childhood adventures, family fun, or exciting travels,
- to heal your wounds and restore relationships.
Of course, I would add to SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY to the world in a positive, personal, and powerful way.
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Further Reading:
Primary Source
Your Faith Story
What are the elements of great storytelling?
