![]() An autobiography involves more than recalling memories. Readers expect an autobiography to represent a form of first-hand journalism. Research and verification present a challenge for writers going back in time. Some also explore the earlier years, when there’s a good reason to do so. The traditional “This was my life” autobiography tells a story covering a significant portion of your adult life. Do so with your eyes and mind wide open to the potential outcomes. You might still decide an exposé must be written. If you plan to write to settle scores, to seek some personal form of retribution, contemplate and question your motives. Still, some famous works ruined relationships and did lasting harm to their authors. Works exposing problems need to be published. You know the answer: Could the book harm anyone else, intentionally or unintentionally? That’s not to say that a work critical of some people or groups should not be published. “Are there reasons not to write one of these?” You might return to a strict from or you might create something unusually great. This is your story, so stitch it together in the quilt pattern you like most. Include letters or journal entries in a traditional autobiography. “What is a good reason to write about myself?”Īgain, there isn’t one answer, but there is a good two-part test: Will other people learn something valuable from your story and is the story a captivating page-turner? You need both ingredients for a good personal story. Any text longer thanħ5,000 words must offer a value that justifies its length. Memoirs and autobiographies traditionally average 90,000 words. The shorter works range from 50,000 to 60,000 words, but we haveįound shorter works. We understand the question and our usual answer applies: As long as it needs to be! If you want a general guideline, works covering a specific period of time or a major event tend to be shorter Vignettes: Short essays or creative pieces that could stand alone.Collected Essays: Essays representing a memoir of sorts.Literary Memoir: Creative memoir, aiming for a “truth” beyond researched and verified facts. ![]()
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