How to write your memoirs – organize by decade
The first step in beginning to write your memoirs is to think by decade. Create an outline that allows you to organize your memories by decade. This is only one of many approaches, but it helps the beginner because most people just do not know where to begin.
If you map your life roughly by decade beginning with the year of your birth, you can then jot down a few bullet points on what was happening in the world at that time–a war, a technological advance, an economic upswing or downturn– that will help you remember what you were doing and thinking during that time.
You can also note what was happening in your life, your family, and your town. CAUTION: Do not branch out too much on your outline, because one of the hardest parts of writing your memoirs is knowing what to leave out. We will address that in a future blog. In your beginning outline, stick to events that happened to you only. Disregard–or be very stingy with– the lives of others, unless the event dramatically affected your life in the longterm.
I hope this is a helpful tool to beginners who are wondering how to write your memoirs.;