Book Description
Writing the story of one’s life sounds like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. This warmhearted, encouraging guide helps readers record the events of their lives for family and friends. Excerpts from other writers’ work are included to exemplify and inspire. Provided are tips on intriguing topics to write about, foolproof tricks to jog your memory, ways to capture stories on paper without getting bogged down, ways to gather the facts at a local library or historical society, inspired excerpts from other writers, and published biographies that will delight and motivate.
Customer Reviews:
Great gift.......2007-05-07
Great gift for that person in your life who loves to read but hasn't taken that leap to write yet.
Very helpful for all ages........2006-11-30
Lois Daniel taught classes specifically dealing with writing memoirs, and life stories, not only to older generations, but to younger ones as well. As a young adult, I found this book to be helpful with gathering thoughts/memories and piecing them together. This is a great book to start anyone off with, if they want to write an autobiography or memoir. Hopefully within the next few years, I'll be publishing my :crosses fingers: BEST SELLING autobiography. We'll see though!
-Jerri L. Butler
Makes the task of writing about your life not so overwhelming.......2005-09-05
I am teaching a life history class for the first time and am using Lois Daniel's book as part of my curriculum. I like the fact that she breaks down the book into categories and reminds you that you do not have to write in chronological order or even whole categories at once. She is informal and supportive, gives many writing examples and even has a section about do's and don'ts. She also does not restrict her teachings to only older individuals, but encourages younger people to begin their stories as well. Her categories are rather broad and so I am using this book in conjunction with "Legacy" by Linda Spence, which has individuals put down their story in the form of answers to questions. Between both books I feel I now have a good handle on not only teaching my class, but also starting my own life story for my child.
A New Way to Tell your Story.......2000-07-05
Using the method of writing bits and pieces as you remember them rather than chronologically, the author gently encourages you to write your story whether you believe you are a writer or not.
Best book I've found for life story writing.......1999-09-27
More than seven years ago I decided to get some folks together to write our life stories. I haunted bookstores looking for the ideal book, and when I came across Lois Daniel's book, I knew it was the right one. That was her Third Edition. The updated Fourth Edition presents the same material, plus a couple of extra chapters.
The book has been ideal for our purpose. Lois Daniel's approach to writing about your life is to suggest that you write in bits and pieces, rather than starting with your birth and what I call "plowing through your life" from birth to the present day. That can be a chore for many; whereas writing about interesting incidents becomes an enjoyable challenge.
Grandma Moses, in her autobiography, wrote, "I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones and unpleasant ones, that is how they come out and that is how we have to take them."
That is the approach suggested by Lois Daniel. And the author makes it easy for persons who shy away because, they say, "I'm no writer." She suggests that you need not be a "writer", but merely to "write as you talk."
Our weekly class is now entering its eighth year, with 43 participants, both women and men. Since the class started, the members have purchased between 250 and 300 of her books, and, without exception, they are pleased. They find the book to be interesting, while at the same time it provides many suggestions and examples to motivate the writer.
Customer Reviews:
No one can write your story like you can, Write it!!.......2007-04-07
Everyone needs to write the story of their life. My parents did not write their's which makes me sad because their story will never really be told. But by writing my own story, I was able to write some of theirs from my perspective and how they influenced my life and helped make me become who I am. As a new author, myself, I was cautioned about including a section at the end of the book, about the story of my life. I can tell you that I receive as many comments about "my story" as I do about the content of my book, which is a business book. Ask yourself why is reality TV so popular? Write the story of your life using the easy techniques outlined so well in this book, the loved ones you leave behind will appreciate it!
Rebecca D. Turner author of "Tattoo" a business book, read it-grow your business-enjoy your life!!Tattoo
A Dated "Memoir Writing for Dummies".......2007-02-16
Had Thomas written this a decade or so later, it would have been a great inclusion in the "For Dummies" series. He uses lots of lists and fills his chapters with idea starters for anyone interested in documenting his or her own life for posterity. Given that many who seek to write their own memoirs will not have any real writing background or training, Thomas provides a good range of basic writing hints as well.
The author includes literally hundreds of questions that would be good joggers for those having difficulty thinking of anything "worthwhile" to write about themselves and could also be a resource for anyone seeking to learn more about their own family's oldest generation. Unfortunately, the book's sample memoirs and even some of these questions seem dated (not surprising, given that the book has been in print over 20 years!). Of even more concern is the lack of updating to current technology; computers are essentially non-existent, so his hints on things like first drafts and final format for publishing are irrelevant.
For the price, this is a good book to have just for the idea starters, but it will need supplementing with more recent texts for anyone interested in writing memoir from start to finish.
Well organized; great prompts.......2000-11-11
This is a great read for those interested in writing their life story. Mr. Thomas goes from early childhood through retirement, so having been born in the 1970s, some of the information did not apply personally. However, it is still well worth the reading. He has specific prompts, and works with small "chunks" of life. Entwined are guides to good writing, and other aspects of writing a great story.
A Must Read For Autobiographers.......2000-06-26
I've worked most of my adult life as an actor. One of my grandchildren was watching television and saw an old movie in which I appeared. "Grandpa, is that you?" After having to explain what I did for a living, it occurred to me that I was no different. I knew very little about my ancestors. At the time, I didn't know what my own grandfather (who died before I was born) did for a living. I wanted to make sure that future generations of my family know that I existed and what I did for a living. It was then that I realized how important it was to write my life's story to preserve my legacy.
Of all the books I researched when I first set out to undertake this task, I found Frank P. Thomas' "How to Write the Story of Your Life" to be among the most concise and most helpful. It became my constant companion as I spent those long hours at night in my study pounding away on my keyboard or sitting at the dining room table handwriting a vignette to be added to the book.
Thomas' book is laid out in an easy-to-read format, lending itself not only as a step-by-step guide, but sectionalized in such a way as to be used as a handy research resource manual. There is a lot of sound advice contained within his book that I found to be highly effective. For example, it helps not to ignore news and current events occurring during the telling of one's life, even if you don't actually relate the news items directly. By spending a few hours in the library to research certain magazine articles and newspaper headlines from a particular period, I found my memory banks were stimulated and I was often able to capture a flavor of the political climate, social mores, fashions, and/or cultural fads of the time. Those influences were incorporated into the events of my life. Sometimes I was able to relate to current events of the time directly, which helps to allow readers to identify with you personally.
Another important lesson I learned was that in order to capture and maintain a reader's attention, you must stimulate as many of his/her senses as you can. Therefore, I found myself going through my text trying to find places where I could introduce stimuli to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
This is but a mere sampling of the invaluable direction I received from Thomas. The result was my autobiography was published under the title "Surrender the Jealous Mistress" (available through amazon.com), which I'm told is engaging and reads like a novel. If that's true, then I attribute a large portion of that compliment to Frank Thomas' sound advice and guidance.
No matter how insignificant you may perceive it to be (it's not), I encourage you to attempt to write your life's story. Once that decision is made, I highly recommend obtaining a copy of Frank Thomas' book, "How to Write the Story of Your Life," to guide you through the process.
Product Description
Writing the Stories of Your Life: How to Turn Memoirs into Memoir shows you HOW TO:
- write freely and enjoy writing
- gain access to your memories and shape them into stories
- set goals for your memoir project and complete it
- turn journal entries into stories
- bring out the character in people and pets
- turn places into settings
- find stories from your family's past
- structure a story to engage your reader
- polish your stories and edit your memoir
- illuminate the theme in your story
- discover your own life themes
- decode how to publish your story
Customer Reviews:
disapointed.......2007-09-26
I am a long time customer of Amazon and Amazon is my first place to look for books online. Normally the order arrives as ordered, on time or better.
However this time was a major let down. A 3-5 day shipping turned out to be estimated to be delivered in 3 weeks from the date of the order!
While that is outragous, the fact that is was never delivered is even worse. To top that the response time of support via email is measured in days and not hours. Overall - big big disapointment in Amazon. I hope this is an abberation and the great service and reliable Amazaon will re-emerge quickly.
Just what I wanted.......2005-02-24
At last a book I can understand and follow and one that gives me the inspiration to "try" for myself.
I have always wanted to write about my own experiences but never felt confident enough--now I do.
So many of my questions have been answered with this book, such as "would anyone be even interested in my life" if so where do I start---how do I start--what comes next.
This excellent book has given me these answers and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to write but feels "timid" at starting out.
A million thanks to the Author Elsa McKeithan.
Your new fan Pamela
Product Description
"How to Write Your Memoirs" has grown out of workshops I've been leading, for more years than I care to admit, with people from the corporate world, the world of wellness, and most recently, Pawprints literacy and creative writing programs for kids, adults and seniors.
It contains organizing ideas, prompts and reminiscences from both my own and students' lives. Use these to jump-start your own creative juices. You'll see your musings will range from spicy, zestful and smile-inducing to calm, informative, and believe it or not, un-boring!
Is there a philosophy underlying the prompts and the whole process? Absolutely! We all need to lighten up! If my work has shown me anything, it's that many of us fear we cannot write anything, or be creative, for a whole variety of reasons. It's also shown me that not taking ourselves too seriously coaxes our creative genies out of their bottles. Consequently, from time to time you might find a little surprise in the pages that follow; I'm sure you'll find many in your own memory banks.
So go ahead. Use the tips and examples in the pages of this book, and banish those "I'm not creative" and "I can't write" monsters from your vocabulary. I'll bet once you start jotting down your recollections, you'll have a hard time stopping! In fact, you may wind up joining me in the Computer Cooking Club™. That's the one that features my special breakfast recipe:
Ina's Magic Egg
Take a small pot, just big enough for one egg
Put egg into pot
Add cold water to cover
Add ½ tsp salt to keep eggshell from cracking
Turn on heat to high
Go back to computer, resuming project
When you hear the explosion, the egg is done.
Customer Reviews:
At last, out of the shoe boxes!.......2006-02-10
Thanks, Ina. After years of scattered, aimless writing, magical sense! And now the printed word...makes me feel complete.
Jane Madeline, contributing author, "Stories From The Heart, Vol. 2"
Opened the floodgates...and made me remember an actual flood!.......2006-02-10
"How to Write Your Memoirs" really sets the old brain in motion. I always remember that first prompt about what's your earliest memory, and I flashed on that story, and the whole scene with that old truck they put me in came into my mind. It's amazing what will pop up with just a simple prompt, and the stories just kept coming up.
I strongly recommend this book!.......2006-02-10
"I find Ina Hillebrandt's 'How to Write Your Memoirs' to be a comprehensive and concise manual. It starts with basic information which systematically leads into a variety of ideas and examples of style and substance....a helpful tool for future writers...I believe it will even inspire some that think of themselves as not possessing writing skills. I enjoyed the book and strongly recommend it." David Brook, member Pawprints Writing Club, and contributing author to the group's Amazon.com bestseller Stories From the Heart, V. 2
Book Description
Creating stories allows individuals and their families to see and honor their connection to older and younger generations. The authors believe that through such writing, individuals not only communicate the meaning and spirit of their lives to their loved ones but also gain perspective on the larger world. This beautifully designed and illustrated guide escorts readers through the process of writing down their stories and illustrating them with photographs, memorabilia, and other images, including digital format. By offering readers questions to draw out events and memories, the book emphasizes a person's full life, in all of its highs and lows, magic moments, and simple pleasures. The book's supportive approach will inspire even first-time writers to forge a collection of stories to share and pass on to the important people in their lives.
Customer Reviews:
Living Legacies.......2003-04-12
All of us have personal life stories to share, but many of us don't really know how to best preserve those stories for future generations. Living Legacies: How to Write, Illustrate, and Share Your Life Stories, from Duane Elgin and Coleen LeDrew, is filled with practical suggestions on how you can "uncover the seeds of stories in your life, [and] follow a simple process for writing them."
Elgin and LeDrew on focus on what they call the "life story," which is more than photographs or a biography. Life stories delve into feelings about what happened or why it mattered. They incorporate visual images and memorabilia as well as the written word. As well as sharing events with others, "when we record our life stories, we enter a process of self-reflection that often leads to new insights about our lives."
Recording a life story can be very simple, and often only takes only a page or two. Elgin and LeDrew provide step-by-step instructions for deciding what stories to share and how to get to the essence of each one. They also explain how to choose the visual images that best illustrate the story, with lots of examples.
Stories can be simply typed out on plain paper, or they may incorporate fonts and backgrounds that enhance them. The authors explain how to choose what materials and techniques that best communicate what you want and how to best use your personal information and style.
Life stories aren't just for the older generations-one chapter is devoted to helping children tell their special stories.
The authors present their guidelines in a practical, easy-to-understand manner that allows lots of room for individual creativity. They also provide a resource guide with additional tips, organizations, and vendors of speciality materials.
Your life is filled with unique and priceless experiences. Living Legacies provides all the information and tools you need to share those experiences with others.
Long Over Due.......2001-08-13
A book like this, which is superbly written, is long over due to come in our midst. Think about it, for generations of human kind, almost all life experiences are lost forever when we individuals pass on. We've been left with a few diaries, history books, memoirs of famous people and other literary works but none that strikes at the heart of the rich indivdual experiences from us all that can so profoundly enrich the lives of our loved ones and others.The reader of "Living Legacies" has been given an fabulous opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of so many people by producing and sharing his/her own living legacy. This book shows the reader how clearly and simply it can be done. Every single sole owes it to themselves and to their loved ones to read this book and create their own living legacy. Too bad the rating system only goes to "5"; Id rate this one a "10" if I could.
"For it is in giving that we receive...".......2001-06-24
"For it is in giving that we receive," is a phrase from the Prayer of St. Francis. I remember it so well from my childhood and am struck by how true this is in reference to this book. "Living Legacies" is the perfect gift to ourselves and our loved ones because, through Coleen's and Duane's gentle coaching, we open up memories that can bring healing, restoration, enrichment and so much more. Putting this inspiration to paper and sharing it makes both this process and the product a precious gift to the writer/giver and the recipient. I have given this book to more than 50 people since its publication in January of this year. Every single recipient has remarked on the quality of the information and the simple beauty of its message. This is a sure thing if you're looking for a special gift that communicates how much you care!
Life Memories.......2001-06-20
Rarely does one see such a comprehensive work involving this subject. Thus book has just enough detail included to help the reader to become the writer. Anyone with a family needs to read this and heed it's advice so as to be able to leave a history to the generations to follow. How often do we see folks struggle to find their heritage? Had previous generations followed the wisdom found in this book the knowledge would be readily available. Good work. I shall certainly recommend it to anyone who cares to leave their own legacy.
Living Legacies.......2001-06-20
We bought one book , loved it so much , bought one for each of our grown children for their families. Since we are the last of our line , we wanted our life stories to be on record. This book helped us organize our family memories in a way we haven't been able to before we purchased the book. M.& V. Emery of Maine
Average customer rating:
- First You Read--Then You Write
- Fletcher pulls another gem from his ditch!
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How to Write Your Life Story
Ralph Fletcher
Manufacturer: Collins
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Similar Items:
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A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer within You
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Live Writing: Breathing Life into Your Words
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How Writers Work: Finding a Process That Works for You
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Notebook Know-How: Strategies For The Writer's Notebook
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Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid
ASIN: 0060507691
Release Date: 2007-06-26 |
Book Description
Lies About Writing Your Life Story
- You have to be a famous celebrity.
- You must have an amazing life.
- You can't write your life story until you're old and gray.
- Nobody will read it, so what's the point?
Customer Reviews:
First You Read--Then You Write.......2007-10-03
"How to Write your Life Story," by Ralph Fletcher, presents an interesting and entertaining introduction to writing about the most important people in the world--yourself and your family. You can get additional ideas from larger books, but this little book, written for young people, covers the most important points about writing an autobiography.
It debunks a few common lies that people use to convince themselves they don't have a story worth telling--that you have to be a famous celebrity, have an amazing life, or be old and gray.
You already have everything you need to start writing: a character (yourself), a setting (places you have been), and a plot (the events that happened to you). Fletcher recommends making a list of memorable events and then writing about the ones that seem most interesting. These events will probably be the ones that are told and retold every time the family gets together.
He suggests gathering up the artifacts that have soaked up your personal memories and holding them in your hands until the memory rises to the top. Drawing maps of important places in your life, and a heart map of the things that really matter to you, will help you uncover the treasured and terrible tales you want to tell.
Whether you choose to write a group of vignettes, a chronology, or a multi-genre collection of short pieces, you can always switch to another form until it feels well-suited to the story you're trying to tell. The most important message in the book is that writing about your life will help you understand it better. So, read the book and start writing.
Fletcher pulls another gem from his ditch!.......2007-07-20
Excellent resource written for young students. I teach fifth graders and read to them regularly from Fletcher's other books... A Writer's Notebook in particular. How To Write Your Life Story brings the task of memoir to their fingertips -- makes it feel doable, important, and exciting. Fletcher cites two of my favorite authors of other resources: Katherine Bomer and Barry Lane, whom my students know well by the time we finish our inquiry into memoir. Many examples of writing from Fletcher, and other 4 - 7 grade students enrich this book and bring it home. Great for read aloud, introducing mini-lessons, or even as a class reading book if you can swing a whole set. Any teacher who investigates memoir or autobiography with young students should have this book in the classroom.
Product Description
In this Encouragement story, a man learns that his son has been born with hemophilia and autism. The stress of the situation catapults the father into single parenthood and he is forced to endure a difficult court battle for sole custody of his disabled son. Through diligence and determination, he develops methods to further help his troubled child. More importantly, he stumbles upon what he believes is his personal calling in life and his purpose for living. With the realization that he has discovered unique methods and tools to cope with parenting difficulties, the man's focus is now fulfilling his dream of establishing himself as a writer of children's literature. While very "personal," my story is written in such a manner as to impart a lesson and to aid parents of (Autistic) physically/mentally/emotionally challenged children by helping them to cope with the situations they face. I am not necessarily saying that my way is the way, but rather I am saying, "Here are examples that you can use to help to 'imagine' coping mechanisms that will work specifically for your Book Review Quotes: Caroline Ganz (parent) says "You have uncovered the treasure of life - thanks for persevering and revealing this truth to others." Andree Perreault (ECE) says "This book is a true inspiring story of courage, unconditional love and determination against all odds." Dr. Bob Rich, M. Sc., Ph.D., (counseling Psychologist multiple award winning author) says, "Many parents despair, feel resentful at fate, and buckle under the strain. Well all of us are likely to do so from time to time. I am sure Chris has. However, he is a shinning example of how to turn adversity into an opportunity for personal growth, giving and love. To view the full book review that was published in the Australian Journal of Counselling Psychology and News broadcast please visit www.masterpiecefactory.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUAmHIFVdHY
Average customer rating:
- Best guide I'd found
- Took the dread out
- It WAS everything I needed to know!
|
How to Write Your Own Life Story
Patrika Vaughn
Manufacturer: Cappela Publishing (FL)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0965630951 |
Book Description
This audio book is a workshop in a box. It will show you how to painlessly turn your story into an unforgettable book:
How to write it
Tools that make it easy
How to make it interesting to others
How to begin, follow through, and end
What to include, what to leave out
the three indispensable pages
How to publish it
Whether you're writing it for yourself, for your family or for a wider audience, you'll learn how to self-publish and how to present your books to a major publisher
How to market it
Want to go public? Here's the information you'll need to gain an audience, whether you self-publish or are published by a major publishing house
Customer Reviews:
Best guide I'd found.......1999-10-06
I've been trying to write my memoirs for years, have read all the books. But there was something about HEARING this good guidance, and listening to the examples of everything she said to do, that made it real for me. This was the best aide I've found - and I found a lot of them.
Took the dread out.......1999-10-06
I'd always wanted to write my family's history but couldn't get started....didn't know how. This took me step-by-step and showed me how to make it interesting. A terrific guide.
It WAS everything I needed to know!.......1999-10-06
Patrika: I read your book this morning, and it summed-up in 200 short pages what I had to garnish from probably 50 - 60 previously read books on writing and publishing. I enjoyed every page of it. What's more important, is that it answered several questions that I had about current trends in the publishing industry.
Thanks again for being the pioneer "Author's Advocate", it's good to know that someone understands and is willing to help.
Mike White
________________
Average customer rating:
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Write Your Life Story: A Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Tips on How to Get Published (The Learning)
Nancy Smith
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0806515953 |
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