Welcome to the Easy Writing Newsletter, a weekly 
blast of inspiration to help you and your writing 
– creatively and financially. 

=================================================

I hope the weather’s good in your part of the world. 
It’s raining here in the normally sunny South 
Australia.

I should have guessed it was about to rain – I hung 
out the washing about half an hour ago! I’ve just 
spent the last ten minutes bringing it all back 
in again. That, after using up the morning tidying 
the rooms my toddler trashed over the weekend.

I’ve got just about half an hour to write before 
I head down to the hardware store to buy blades 
for a hacksaw…

So you see, being a writer isn’t always as glamorous 
as you might suppose!

C’est la vie, as they say.

As always, contact me for any reason at:
rob@easywaytowrite.com

I’d love to hear from you.

=======================================

Writing for a Living: The Only Logical Choice 

Autobiographies 

One of my esteemed correspondents recently asked 
for advice on writing their own life story. They 
wondered if I might have a point of view – an 
‘Easy Way’ approach to the subject.

Here’s my thoughts.

To start, you need to build a list of memories, 
arranged chronologically.

I’d recommend starting with index cards or dot 
points on a PC with headlines and trigger words 
that suggest events or anecdotes you will 
elaborate on later.

Spend perhaps a week thinking of all the events 
that you might want to include in your life story.

You don’t have to include everything, just the 
most important, relevant and interesting.

At the end of this process, you might end up with 
a hundred or so triggers that you will need to 
rearrange a coherent order.

Organize the cards into periods, for ease, 
probably decades or half-decades, of time. 

Think of these lumps of time as chapters.

Try to find start and finish points that suggest 
a progression of ideas or events with significant 
outcomes or revelations that you can end chapters 
with.

This is important.

Nobody wants to read a dry recitation of facts and 
events, however novel. 

You need to find some point to the information you 
want to tell people.

Think of your life as a journey. Perhaps from 
ignorance to wisdom or from adversity to success. 

Find the message that your life has given you, 
however tenuous. 

Next, using that message, decide on a ‘theme’ for 
your autobiography. For instance: ‘the pursuit of 
love leads to redemption through adversity’ or 
‘experience teaches wisdom’. 

Write down the theme and place it in your workspace.

Then, start writing and make sure each chapter 
reinforces that theme in some way.

Try to attain an objective viewpoint where you, 
the author, is separate from you, the character, 
that you are creating on the page.

Never be afraid to be honest. Quite often the 
hardest things for you to write are the most 
revealing and the most satisfying for the reader. 

Admitting to faults, frailty and weakness is not 
only cathartic, it gives your writing a depth and 
credibility that will endear you to the reader.

Don’t worry about anything on your first draft. Put 
it all in. Only when it’s finished will you know 
what to leave in and what to take out.

After the first draft (written as quickly as 
possible!) go back and ‘shape’ the story, just 
as you would with fiction.

By which I mean tie up the inconsistencies and see 
that there is sufficient ‘motivation’ for the 
decisions you’ve made and events you chose for 
your life. 

You need to do this because, even if everything 
you’ve written is ‘true’, a reader will still 
need to find your story ‘believable’. 

Okay, this is only a short article on a very 
complex area. 

I hope this helps in some way, if only to get you 
to think about how to see your life as something 
you might share with others, to educate, illuminate 
and entertain.

robparnell 2004

============================================

Inspiration – Which Rock Is That Under?

Here’s a good one if you’re ambitious.
            
Think of five anecdotes pertaining to your life, 
humorous if at all possible. 

Write them down as short 200 word articles.

They might be amusing incidents or cautionary tales. 
They might include a celebrity or just be 
heart-warming stories involving your family or 
friends.

When you’ve edited them to your satisfaction, learn 
them off by heart.

Guess what, you’re now ready for Oprah! Indeed, for 
any brush with the media, whether it be a radio or 
press interview or maybe a book signing.

People love stories and it’s hard sometimes to come 
up with them spontaneously. Best that you’re always 
prepared with ready-made ones. 

Try it. You might be pleasantly surprised by your 
own wit and erudition!

============================================

Ever thought your writing could do with editing - 
but perhaps you needed more information and guidance
to do it yourself? This will help:
http://easywaytowrite.com/selfediting.html

Till next time,

Keep well and happy

Rob@easywaytowrite.com
Yor Success is My Concern
http://easywaytowrite.com
=========================

One-Click Safe Un-Subscribe
http://secure.MakeBuyingEasy.com/r.cgi?ID=55591

Powered by MakeBuyingEasy.com
 http://MakeBuyingEasy.com/x.cgi?id=730