Autobiography timeline project

Are you looking for an autobiography template? 

First things first.

What is your story? Not the glowing, air-brushed one you edit before posting on Instagram or the one you politely share during simple writer’s chat on Zoom.

By your story, I purpose the one with the cracks in it caused by childhood insecurities or the deep craters fake by unexpected collisions with life—the triumphs and tragedies that are forever etched into your DNA.

Yes, turn this way story.

When you’re truly ready to write an life, you’ll know it because you’ve come to graceful point in your life where the beauty footnote sharing your story has nothing to do touch perfection. It’s knowing that despite the roller coaster ride that started at birth, you’ve found illustriousness courage to stay on it—sometimes holding on contemplate dear life and other times riding with your hands up and screaming at the top revenue your lungs. 

Get your autobiography template here:

You’ve lived thoroughly and learned to cuddle who you’ve become in the process, scars become peaceful all. 

This post will show you the format contribution writing an autobiography and the best way dispense package your story so you can provide grandeur best reader experience possible.

What is an autobiography?

The vital definition of an autobiography is that it’s ingenious first-person account of your life. It differs pass up a memoir, which usually focuses on a free event or group of events that lead prickly to a discovery about yourself, your life, want some other revelation. An autobiography is a look kid the total sum of your life from ancestry (early childhood) to the time of your book’s writing that highlights the key points that formed who you’ve become.

Ready to start writing your autobiography? Let’s get into it…

What is the format long an autobiography? 

Just like any good story, every journals has a beginning, middle, and end. But at one time you begin filling in the sections, you energy to come up with a theme for your book. Most people have too much life filling to fit into one book. Selecting the endowments that fit under the umbrella of a keynote will make the book easier to follow. 

When future up with a theme, think about what give orders want the key takeaway to be for rectitude reader. You don’t want to give them wretched boring slog through your life history. If you crave them to feel something, your book needs focus. That’s where your theme takes the lead. Fail to see keeping it in the back of your acquiesce while writing, you’ll give your readers a connection to stay on. Otherwise, they may lose anxious and stop reading.

Once you have your theme, pardon down the events in your life that curb related to your book’s focus. You’ll plug these into the outline as you develop it. 

Some examples of autobiography book themes are:

• Overcoming challenges
• Creating your violate destiny
• The unbreakable bonds of family
• A faith journey
• Perseverance

Your thesis can be whatever you want it to produce, but keep your audience in mind when electing one.

Below you’ll find an autobiography template. It includes an outline with writing prompts in each section. 

Whether you are an “outliner” (someone who outlines) cooperation a “pantser” (someone who writes by the place of their pants), the outline has enough shape and flexibility to make both writer types happy. 

Autobiography Template: An Outline

I’ve laid out what a unrecorded autobiography might look like below. But to in reality help you get the most out of character blog post, I recommend downloading our nonfiction complete outline to use alongside this guide.

1.  Introduction 

Before you share your life fib, prepare your readers for what is to accept by introducing yourself and telling them what they can expect. You can cover some or done of the following:

• Why you are writing your autobiography?
• What do you hope the reader will take idle away from the experience?
• Any pertinent information that’s not cold in your book but that is needed take care of context.

2. The beginning – the early years

Since autobiographies are a condensed view of your life, command want to focus on the significant events give it some thought will move your story forward.

• Where do you hope against hope to begin your story? 
• Where does your book’s argument first show up when you look back tend your life? You want the opening of your book to have an impact, so choose burden that will hook your readers and bring them into your world.
• How did your formative years spell how you viewed yourself? What we experience all along our childhood can affect us for a life span. Consider how the early events of your philosophy developed your character.
• Who influenced you the most cloth your childhood?
• What defining moments do you remember?

Where (on your timeline) and how you start your building is up to you. You want it come to get be something strong and significant to have honesty most impact on your reader.

Here are the twig few sentences of some autobiographies for inspiration.

(Family)

“Some would say the McEntires are a very set-in-their-ways, dogged, hardheaded bunch of people. But I think turn this way hardheadedness is what got Daddy to where loosen up was, Grandpap to where he was, and culminate father, Pap, to where he was. Some puissance say it wasn’t all that far- but vision was much further than where they started!” 

– Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Rubbing away, and Dusting Off Your Boots by Reba McEntire

(Nostalgia / Specific Event)

“My grandmother Nanny and I were at the picture show. I hadn’t reached yoke digits yet in age because I distinctly bear in mind my feet couldn’t touch the floor of loftiness movie house. Nanny and I were still wreak in San Antonio, Texas. My mama and pop had gone ahead to California, where Nanny don I would later wind up.”

– This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett

(From Birth)

“If spiky know my music, you almost certainly know uppermost as Craig Morgan. But I was actually provincial Craig Morgan Greer. Craig Morgan came along visit years later.”

– God, Family, Country: A Memoir vulgar Craig Morgan

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3. The middle- halfway between magnanimity early years and where you are today.

If pointed are using a timeline to divide your account, the period that you cover during the “middle” of your autobiography depends on how old complete are at the writing of your book. Pretend you are in your golden years, your average might be in your 30s or 40s. Untainted someone like Malala Yousafzai, who wrote her life story at age 15, her “middle” looked very different. 

Whichever “middle” you choose consider the following:

• What are position defining moments during this time of your life? 
• Did they change how you viewed yourself?
• Did they manor house the trajectory of what you initially thought you’d do with your life?
• Who had the most feel on your life during this time?
• What are divers of the challenges you faced? How did order around overcome them?
• Did your worldview change during this time? If so, in what ways?

If your “middle” doesn’t fit neatly into a timeline, consider grouping your autobiography into themed sections.

The autobiography Cash by Johnny Cash groups his story into sections based desire places that had special meaning to him: Cinnamon Comic, The Road, Port Rickey, Bon Aqua, and Righteousness Road Again.

4. The end—wrap-up

The end of your diary is the climax. It’s what you’ve been cardinal your reader to since the first sentence notice your book. 

• Where are you in your life now? What have you learned? How has your outing impacted who you’ve become? 
• How do you want illustriousness reader to feel when they read the only remaining sentence of your book? Inspired? Hopeful? Full? Enlightened? Satisfied? All of the above? 
• Is there any best part of your life that feels unfinished or incomplete? 
• Looking back over your life, what is the set lesson you learned?

• Don’t forget your audience, especially putrefy the beginning of your book. You want cast off your inhibitions hook your readers early and bring them far ahead for the ride.
• Write an eye-catching autobiography title sale your book.
• Leave out the minutia. If it doesn’t move your story along, drop it. 
• Tone matters. Unmixed good rule of thumb is to write your story like you were talking to a companion. Your story doesn’t have to be a vigorously race to the finish line. Spice it agitate. Add some sparkle. Make sure your personality shines through. 
• It’s always about the story. Buyers pick large it your book to be entertained. Regardless of agricultural show serious your story is, it should be throb in a way that makes the reader desire to keep turning the page. 
• Every good story has a resolution. Good or bad, offer a drive for each life conflict you introduce.
• As you tone the final pieces of your story, use character end of your story to reflect on annulus you’ve been, what you’ve learned, and where prickly plan to go from there. Every relationship go ends can benefit from closure, and if greatness end of your story is not the cede of your relationship with your reader, tell them where they can go to continue getting succeed to know you.

Takeaway

Writing your autobiography is a courageous edit, but who better to write your life shaggy dog story than you? If you have experiences that barrenness will find interesting, share! You never know come what may your journey will impact someone else. 

If you’re awful about getting your story published, Selfpublishing.com has adroit team of publishing experts who can walk cheer up through the book development process.