How do i begin to write a book on my life?

[Pip Morgan]

It is always difficult to know where to start with a new book. The idea should be firmly in your head before you put pen to paper. Always be prepared for the idea to change and juggle about, but make sure that the original idea is still the paramount reason that you are writing in the first place.

 

This may sound a little on the weird side but bear with me. If you are starting a book on the whole of your life, you could start off by telling the reader about your present circumstances and then explain how you got to where you are today. Or you could start from the earliest point that you remember and work forward a llittle at a time.

 

I hope this is helpful, it's never easy to start something new and just as equally hard to continue with something old. I have written and completed a single novel (not yet published) and am working on a further two.

 

Good luck with your writing

 

Pip Morgan

 

Mistakes are correctable errors.

[Ron Blanco]

I want to write a book but just dont know where to begin...any ideas,? x:help:

 

Hi Dianeknell.

 

It looks like you've had a lot of useful advice already. In terms of planning a novel inspired by your experiences, one possible theme might be the effect on family-life of having a father who is in-and-out of prison. In this case you might start with a scene where the father commits a crime or where the police come to take him away. Just a thought.

 

If you've not done much writing before then why not have a go at writing a 500-word story on our monthly theme, above, to see how you get on.

[mikewain]

I am writing a book about my illness, I found that the way forward was to just jot everything down as it occured or as I remembered it. I did not actually start writing until 2 or 3 months after taking these notes. Put these in chronological order and commence writing, fattening out these notes, and adding more as you remember it. Then you require a good friend to act as an editor and to go through each section as you write it, and giving his or her thoughts on the style of writing and the content. The next stage if it is a biography or an autobiog, is to let people who are included in the book, read the relevant sections for accuracy and to avoid legal problems if you do publish.

[dianeknell]

This is not much different from most peoples lives. Just the run of the mill.

 

Older peoples lives were much more interesting when you're talking " a hard

life.

 

jaffa! well i can assure you that is just the begining of my life that is nothing really to talk about, the rest that i think that not a lot of people can say that has happened to them, eg. kidnap, family suicides, russian roulette!!, drug smuggleing, being beaten half to death, someone trying to drown my child.and thats just the begining....so if i was you id think about what you said "just the run of the mill"? I DONT THINK SO!!