The first thing to do is create a timeline. Beginning with your date of birth, record all significant events in your life and the dates they occurred. It can include places you have lived, jobs you had, schools you attended, and other events throughout your life.
I was very fortunate to have kept monthly at-a-glance calendars for the past 20 years. I was able to go back and see what I was doing and where I was, which allowed me to record a fairly accurate timeline, at least for these 20 years.
You may need to rely on other items you’ve saved: high school yearbooks, report cards, bibles, letters, military records, and anything else that can help you draw a complete timeline from birth to present.
Once you’ve finished the timeline, you can start writing what might be more enjoyable reading than just a bunch of dates. You could start by mentioning things that happened around the time you were born. Here’s an example of how I did it:
“My parents met around 1932, while the nation was suffering its greatest economic depression. Herbert Hoover was President of the United States, and Franklin D. Roosevelt was next in line and soon to become the only President elected to more than two terms. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, when I was only six years old, a month and a half after his fourth term.”
This can give the reader a picture of the world when you were born. Data related to your year of birth is easily found on the Internet.
At the beginning of my autobiography I described some members of my family, like this description of my mother’s father:
“Leigh Rex Smith was probably an influence on me getting into show business. He worked as an art director and assistant director on early silent movies. He had white hair and a white goatee for as long as I can remember. Getting a kiss from grandfather was like getting a broom in your face.
After establishing the scene surrounding your birth and memories of your parents, grandparents, and other members of your immediate family, you may wish to mention the early influences that helped guide you during your formative years:
“When I was in elementary school, I was chosen to be a guest on Art Linkletter’s radio show, ‘House Party.’ I was one of those precocious children that Linkletter wrote about in his book Kids Say The Darnest Things. I don’t know if I’m in his book, but I certainly could have been.”
It’s important to make your autobiography enjoyable to read, and the stories surrounding your childhood can certainly make for good reading.
“One of the TV pre-games was one we called ‘Shipwreck.’ We all spent the night sitting on the living room sofa like we were castaways, only allowed to get up from the sofa to go to the bathroom and then have to come back, each family member only allowed to bring one or two items. I was usually assigned to bring the can opener.”
Bring up stories about your childhood pets and playmates. Were you a good student in school? Who were your friends? How well did your parents get along? Did they fight or did they love each other? How did your parents show their feelings for each other? Did you have siblings? Old or young? Did you get along? Lots of stories about growing up make reading fun.
“My dad did everything he could at Christmas to perpetuate the concept of Santa Claus. One year we were sitting at the table and the doorbell rang. We ran to the door to find a stack of Christmas presents. My dad must have tampered with wires to be able to ring the bell from the dining room table.
Moving on to adolescence, you could talk about your first car, your first date, where you lived, where you went to school, filling in the blanks and using your timeline to keep everything in order.
“After a few months we moved to a vacant lot and lived in a tent while my father started building the house. He hired a carpenter to help him and the work progressed. My sister and I were getting ready for school every the days while my mother cooked over an open fire. This was early Los Angeles, when the city still had streetcars and blacksmiths, but I’m sure it was an odd sight in the middle of a residential area.”
One helpful suggestion is to use 3″ x 5″ index cards to record incidents in your life. Carry blank cards with you and write an incident or story on each, then put them in chronological order to display in your autobiography.
Certain facts, while they may not make for entertaining reading, are relevant and should be included; for example, deaths and births during your lifetime.
“My father passed away on November 9, 1968 of liver disease. He was cremated and his ashes are in Valhalla Cemetery, Garden of Rest, Plot H415, North Hollywood, California.”
Talk to your family about your childhood before they pass away or the memories are lost forever. Look for unique stories that are interesting to read and yet reveal a lot about you.
Did you serve a mission? Did you join the army? Did you spend time working or studying abroad? These are firsthand experiences you can count on.
“I vividly remember getting off the bus at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. We were a motley crew, milling around, talking, laughing, probably all scared.
“A petty officer first class greeted us and introduced himself as our training officer and tried to lead us in formation to our barracks. Untrained teenagers don’t know how to march. It was a disaster.”
How did you get to the line of work that you finally got into? Was it something you were looking for or did you just fall for it?
If you are married, turn to that phase of your life and tell how you met and courted your wife. A word of warning: romance stories can be very interesting, but remember that he is outing his life in front of many people, so always use appropriate discretion.
As you can see, your autobiography doesn’t need to be just a list of facts; you can make it enjoyable by adding little stories and events and eventually you will have an autobiography.
I suggest that you divide your autobiography into chapters and include photos related to the people and events you write about. Today it is very easy to scan, resize and embed photos into your written work.
Go back and read the entire book and add or subtract elements before binding. Your local printer or office supply store can offer several ways to bind your book for very little money.
You will be proud of your work when you finish it. It will be your life summarized in writing for all who are interested in reading.
