Website design By BotEap.comThe first thing you need to do is create a timeline. Beginning with your date of birth, record all the significant events in your life and the dates they occurred. You can include places you’ve lived, jobs you’ve had, schools you’ve attended, and other events throughout your life.

Website design By BotEap.comI was very fortunate to have kept at-a-glance calendars by month for the last 20 years. I was able to go back and see what I was doing and where I was, which allowed me to record a pretty accurate timeline, at least for these 20 years.

Website design By BotEap.comYou may need to rely on other items you’ve kept: high school yearbooks, report cards, bibles, letters, military records, and anything else that can help you plot a complete timeline from birth to the present.

Website design By BotEap.comOnce 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 were happening around the time you were born. Here is an example of how I did it:

Website design By BotEap.com“My parents met around 1932, while the nation was going through its greatest economic depression. Herbert Hoover was President of the United States, and Franklin D. Roosevelt was next in line and would soon become the only elected president for more than two terms. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, when I was only six years old, a month and a half into his fourth term.”

Website design By BotEap.comThis 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.

Website design By BotEap.comAt the beginning of my autobiography I described some members of my family, like this description of my mother’s father:

Website design By BotEap.com“Leigh Rex Smith was probably an influence for me to get into show business. He worked as an art director and assistant director on early silent films. He had white hair and a white goatee for as long as I can remember. Getting a kiss grandfather was like receiving a broom in your face.

Website design By BotEap.comAfter establishing the scene surrounding your birth and the memories of your parents, grandparents, and other members of your immediate family, you may wish to mention early influences that helped guide you through your formative years:

Website design By BotEap.com“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 the book for him, but I certainly could have been.”

Website design By BotEap.comIt’s important to make your autobiography enjoyable to read, and the stories surrounding your childhood can certainly make for good reading.

Website design By BotEap.com“One of the pre-TV games was one we called ‘Shipwreck.’ We all spent the night sitting on the sofa in the living room like we were castaways, we were only allowed to get up from the sofa to go to the bathroom and then we had to go back, each member of the family could only bring one or two items. I was usually assigned to bring the can opener.”

Website design By BotEap.comBring back 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.

Website design By BotEap.com“My dad went to great lengths 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 pile of Christmas presents. My dad must have tampered cables to be able to ring the bell from the dining room table”.

Website design By BotEap.comMoving into 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.

Website design By BotEap.com“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 got ready for school every 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 a strange sight in the middle of a suburb.”

Website design By BotEap.comOne 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 one, then arrange them in chronological order for your autobiography.

Website design By BotEap.comCertain facts, while they may not make for entertaining reading, are relevant and should be included; for example, deaths and births during your lifetime.

Website design By BotEap.com“My father passed away on November 9, 1968 from liver disease. He was cremated and his ashes are in Valhalla Cemetery, Garden of Rest, Parcel H415, North Hollywood, California.”

Website design By BotEap.comTalk to your family about your childhood before they pass away or the memories are lost forever. Look for unique stories that make interesting reading and yet reveal a lot about you.

Website design By BotEap.comDid you serve a mission? Did you join the army? Did you spend time working or studying abroad? These are first-hand experiences you can count on.

Website design By BotEap.com“I vividly remember getting off the bus at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. We were a motley bunch, milling around, talking, laughing, probably all scared.

Website design By BotEap.com“A petty officer first class greeted us and introduced himself as our training officer and tried to take us in formation to our barracks. Untrained teenagers don’t know how to march. It was a disaster.”

Website design By BotEap.comHow did you get into the line of work you eventually got into? Was it something you were looking for or did you just fall for it?

Website design By BotEap.comIf you are married, skip 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 disclosing his life to many people, so always use proper discretion.

Website design By BotEap.comAs you can see, your autobiography need not simply be a list of facts; you can make it enjoyable by adding little stories and events and eventually you will have an autobiography.

Website design By BotEap.comI suggest you divide your autobiography into chapters and include photos related to the people and events you write about. These days it’s so easy to scan, resize, and embed photos into your written work.

Website design By BotEap.comGo back and read the entire book and add or subtract items before binding. Your local print shop or office supply store can offer you several ways to bind your book for very little money.

Website design By BotEap.comYou will be proud of your work when you finish it. It will be your life summed up in writing for all who are interested in reading.