Help on writing an Autobiography

‘Few of us write great novels; all of us live them.’

Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Uinvue allows its members to create an online record of their lives from photos, audio and video to family tree and diary. We also know that many of our members will want to write their own autobiography to put in words that which photos, video and audio cannot tell. In order to do this we have created the Ubook to enable you to write, update and edit your own autobiography and link this to your umedia, utree, udiary and then to share this with whom you chose or keep it private for your eyes only.

**You can of course use uBook to write any story you wish not just an autobiography.

Reminder Feature on uDiary

Members can use this feature as a memory jogger to remind them to add a new entry. You can set Reminder to send you an email monthly, weekly, or daily reminding you to create an entry.

Autobiography Definition

This is a historical record and account of the authors life, this can include anything that the author wishes to write about, their thoughts, the people they have met, the places they have been, their feelings, their family, their faith, their health etc.

This is a unique first hand account of the author’s life that will add to the authors family history as well as on a larger scale human history.

So do you have a story to tell?

Yes we ALL have a story to tell and there will always be someone somewhere in the world who will want to know about your story. Who would want to read your story you ask? Well lots of people, your family for one (don’t forget about your extended family from around the world that you probably don’t even know exist). Then there will be others who share in your hobbies and interests or have worked in the same field as you, the list goes on. In short I guarantee that there are a lot more people interested in learning about the ongoing story of your life than you ever imagined.

But I think the main reason for starting an autobiography is for you, yes YOU!

The story of your life is unique, the people you have met, the places you have been, the mistakes you may have made, the lessons you have learned the successes that you have achieved, this story is yours and yours alone. But the older you get so the memories get little bit more faded, an autobiography provides you with a permanent record of your life which you can look back on in the years to come. So the sooner you start your autobiography the better it will be. Also remember by knowing your past will you better be able to find your future.

What age should I start my autobiography

The sooner the better of course, as the longer you leave it the more you can forget. Do you remember the names of all your friends at your first school or how about that first holiday you really liked, you will be able to answer this far more accurately as a teenager than in retirement. So the sooner you write about the events that happened in your life the more accurate they will be.

Why Should I Write an Autobiography

It could be that you want to share your life story with other family and friends or the general public. It could be you want to leave a record of your life that future generations will one day read. Maybe it’s to tell people about your beliefs, what you have learnt, the people you have met the places you have been.

Another very good reason for writing your own story is that most of us still carry lots of baggage around in our head that we should have let go of years ago. What do I mean by this? Well it could be you were bullied at school, or maybe you were the bully, or it could be a teacher who made your life a misery, perhaps it was a relationship breakdown, maybe a business venture that went wrong. It is a lucky person who will go through life without anything going wrong for them, and without knowing we carry a memory of these events like a dead weight in our minds. Believe me by writing your story you will better understand your emotions and be able to finally forgive those people who have hurt you, leaving you feeling that much better with yourself.

However the main reason by far for writing an autobiography should be that you want to write it!

My Life is Not Interesting so Why Bother!

This is the main reason why people never start or soon give up on their story. Let’s look at what they are saying for a second, ‘My life is not interesting’ this many psychologists will tell us is a direct result of how the world tries to program us. How are we programmed? Well from a young age most of us have been told what we should and should not do. A simple way to see how this happens is by looking at young Joe who when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up said ‘An Astronaut’ but that same Joe asked the same question in high school replies ‘Mechanic’. You see young Joe saw the world without limitations but by high school Joe had now set his limits, for good or bad he has been taught to keep his feet on firmly on the ground. Only a very few, lucky in most cases, gifted in some, will lead lives that seems to the rest of us beyond our wildest dreams. Most of us are like Joe we get on with living what we consider to be uninteresting lives, we don’t see how our lives touch so many others and the difference we make to the world, and as such what truly interesting lives we do indeed live.

Let me give you an example I was told a story about my friends wife’s grandfather who was the manager of a sewage works. Not the most exciting of jobs you may think except that on one side of the sewage works, one of the world’s first motor racing tracks was built, and sometimes during the course of a race one of the racing cars would fly off the track and land in the sewage works. It was then the manager’s job to fish out the motor cars that landed in the works and even on some sad occasions the body of the driver. Needless to say there would be many a motor racing enthusiast who would have loved to have talked with this man and heard his stories. I am also sure it would not only be his stories of the motor cars that would have been interesting, but also how he lived his life, the home he lived in, what family did he have, how did he look after them and so much more.

So always remember your life is important, first and foremost it is important for you! And being able to look back at the course of your life will help you to know where you are going and stop you forgetting.

Secondly for your family, ask yourself would you like to read an autobiography by your mother or father or your grandparents? I am sure in most cases it would be one of the most prized possessions you have, to be cherished and handed down to future generations. So how do you think your children, and their children’s children and so on would think of your autobiography and what they would learn from you!

Finally there are many more people than you realize who will be interested in reading your autobiography. This could be because they may have worked in the same field as you or have the same hobbies and interests or may have lived and grown up in the same area or are distant relations of yours the list goes on. For me I think all our life stories are interesting and the better we understand each other the better all our lives become.

We all have stories to tell, we are all connected, and we can all learn something from each other.

Security Settings

As discussed you can write your auto biography for just yourself , for you and your family, or for the whole world to share. In order to do this you need to select the security setting you wish for your uBook in your uProfile.

In uProfile – ‘Security Settings’ – ‘uBook’ you can select:

Private - Only you can read

Family & Friends- Only you and those in your family & Friends network can read.

Public- All members can read.

Suggested Topics For Your Auto Biography

Infancy

Childhood

Primary School

Teenager

High School

Senior School

Young Adult

University /Higher Education

Adult Life

Work Life (Repeat for each job you had)

Work in General

Holiday & Travel

Social Life

Sport, Hobbies & Interests

Special Occasions

Anecdotes

Family & Friends

People & Places

Good Bad & Ugly

Health

Food

FREE AUTOBIOGRAPHY www.uinvue.com