CNF (5)

• Autobiography


  A detailed account of events a person experiences in their life written by that person
• Reasons to Write an Autobiography

  • To leave a message to future generations
  • To pass on your heritage
  • To put closure to a period or episode
  • To process experiences
  • To preserve family history
  • To share what and who you are
• Four Focuses in Writing an Autobiography

  • Who you are in life (how would you describe your personality)
  • What major life events or critical issues have had an impact on your life
  • What life means to you
  • What your outlook on the future is
• Steps in Writing an Autobiography


  1. Make a list of your ten best moments

  2. Make a list of your five worst moments

  3. Draw a Life Map

  4. Think about what moves you emotionally and write these things down

  5. Examine your life for meaning and purpose

  6. Look for connections between your best and worst moments. Outline any connections you find

  7. Interview people who know you
• Biography


  A genre of nonfiction that tells the story of the life -- or part of the life -- of a real person and focuses on the person's relation to historical events going on at the time
• Steps in writing biography

  • Settings are clearly & accurately depicted
  • Full of interesting social details
  • Linked to the development of the subject's character & accomplishments
  • Plots blend factual background with a good story
  • Distinguishes between fact and opinion
  • Subjects portrayed as multidimensional – with strengths and weaknesses
• Memoir


  • Based on events in the life of the author
  • The author selects certain events from their life to bring out a particular theme
  • Not meant to be a source of facts, but a story of the subject's life in the subject's own words
• Steps in writing Memoir

  • Write memoir, not autobiography
  • Diagram a moment in your life
  • Don't begin at the beginning
  • Use all your senses
  • Build your writing muscle
• Tips in Writing a Memoir

  • The other half of successful memoir writing is retrospection
  • Memoir demands that you write about what you've learned from your experiences
  • In many ways, writing a memoir is like painting
  • It's an attempt to figure things out. It's the search for your truth