Don't Lose Your Story - The Complete Guide to Writing Your Memoirs or Family History

Here’s a question for you: what’s the most valuable thing you can pass onto the next generation of your family?

Now if you happen to live in a stately home, the answer might be obvious.  But for most people, I’d suggest it’s not the house or any savings.  Not even an old engagement ring that’s going to the next generation, dear to the heart as that might be.

No, I think it’s the stories – the knowledge of where you come from and what that means.

Whether that’s your family history or your own personal memoirs, I think passing on who you are and where you come from really matters.  After all, even in the case of the engagement ring or the stately home, it’s what it stands for that makes it so important: it’s about who had it before… its history.

The thing is, writing down your story isn't easy. There are plenty of things that can trip you up if you have a go:

• Not knowing where to start – it can be harder than you’d think (and “start at the beginning” isn’t always a good idea).
• How to actually write it down.  It sounds daft (after all, you learnt how to write a long time ago!) but “writer’s block” can be a real problem.
• And of course there’s the technology.  It makes it so much easier than it used to be to write this sort of thing… and to share it with other people.  But we all know technology can sometimes seem like it’s out to cause you as much trouble as possible… unless you know what you’re doing.

That’s why if you don’t want your past to be lost, you might find this book helpful.

For example, you’ll discover:

• Before you start, here’s what you should ask yourself.  Takes a few moments, but makes it all work better.
• Choosing what software to use: it doesn’t have to be expensive.  In fact it can often be free.
  
• Whether you want to keep track of everything on paper or electronically, being organised makes it work better.  Easier said than done, though, if you don’t know how.  Here’s how to keep it all on track.
• Have you ever had that feeling where you know you know something… but can’t quite remember it?  Here are tips on digging out memories you’d forgotten you had – my favourite is listening to music you listened to back then – works a treat for me.  Others might be better for you, though.

Best order now. After all, if you're not happy with it when you get it, for any reason, then just send it back for a full, no quibble refund.

Discover Life Story Week
From the 5th-9th June 2023, we celebrated our stories and the stories of our families here at Helpful Books with Life Story Week. We’re going to leave the articles up here for you to come back and enjoy whenever you like! Discover Life Story Week - click here.

Why not order the book now and we'll get it straight in the post to you.

These books are suitable for PCs, Laptops and Apple Macs.  You can do this stuff on tablets and smartphones too, although I think you'll be making life harder for yourself if you try to use the smaller-screen devices for something as big as this.  It's much easier with a proper computer – but it's up to you!