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Writing as Drag: Alexander Chee’s Essays Consider the Novelist’s Craft

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By J.W. McCormack

  • June 27, 2018

HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL Essays By Alexander Chee 280 pp. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paper, $15.99.

“How to Write an Autobiographical Novel” is a disarming title for an essay collection by Alexander Chee, given that he’s fresh from the success of a novel that on the face of it was anything but autobiographical. That book, the justly celebrated epic “The Queen of the Night” (2016), was an operatic drama that followed a fictional 19th-century soprano as she rises to fame in Paris and navigates Second Empire intrigue on a scale to make Victor Hugo proud. What could be farther from Chee’s own life? But one of the things you learn in this collection is that, for most writers, “novels are accidents at their start,” an answer to questions the author never knew to ask. In Chee’s telling, the writer’s life always lurks just beyond the page, and not only in the way that Gustave Flaubert was Madame Bovary or Henry James the prepubescent heroine of “What Maisie Knew.” In a revealing essay called “Girl,” Chee recalls his first time in drag, on Halloween in the Castro in 1990. The cosmetic transformation allowed him to collapse his identities as a gay man, a Korean-American and a New England transplant into a pleasing totality: “This beauty I find when I put on drag, then: It is made up of these talismans of power, a balancing act of the self-hatreds of at least two cultures, an act I’ve engaged in my whole life, here on the fulcrum I make of my face.”

If writing, too, is a form of drag for Chee, it is also an act of mystic invocation and transference. In an essay recounting his career as a professional Tarot reader, he asks of the cards what readers ask of stories: “the feeling of something coming true.” Still, few books fit the bill of “autobiographical novel” better than this collection, which is arranged in rough coming-of-age chronology, from the author’s sexual awakening as an exchange student in Mexico (“a summer of wanting impossible things”) to the death of his father at 43, following a car accident, when Chee was 15; his beginnings as a writer at Wesleyan University, where he studied under Annie Dillard; his tenure in San Francisco at the height of the AIDS crisis; the publication of his (explicitly autobiographical) first novel, “Edinburgh,” in 2001; and his maturity as a reader, writer and instructor who longs, in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, to lead his students “to another world, one where people value writing and art more than war.” The book ends with the beautiful sentiment, cribbed from an email Chee wrote his students after the election of Donald Trump, that “a novel, should it survive, protects what a missile can’t.”

Chee leavens his heaviest topics — the decimation of the gay community in the late 1980s and early ’90s, the repressed memory of sexual abuse that inspired “Edinburgh” — with charming episodes like his stint as a waiter at William and Pat Buckley’s Park Avenue maisonette, a job that prompted a crisis of conscience given Buckley’s infamous proposal to brand AIDS patients on their wrists and buttocks. (On another catering assignment, this one at the Buckleys’ home in Connecticut, he glimpses Buckley heading to the pool to skinny-dip with a male staffer.) There is also an account of his worshipful, nigh-religious encounter with Chloë Sevigny in the elevator of a building both are subletting; a chummy reminiscence of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, which he attends against his better judgment only to wind up a convert who readily defends M.F.A. programs against their critics (“It is not an escape from the real world, to my mind, but a confrontation with it”); and an essay about planting a rose garden outside his Brooklyn apartment that affords him the opportunity to discuss the writing process under the guise of horticulturist.

Other essays have the kind of grandiose titles you’d expect from a more traditional book on craft: “The Writing Life,” “The Autobiography of My Novel,” “On Becoming an American Writer.” And, really, why write a book about writing if you can’t occasionally hold forth with such injunctions as “Think of a dream with the outer surface of a storm”? Yet even at his most mystical, Chee is generous; these pieces are personal, never pedagogical. They bespeak an unguarded sincerity and curiosity. Chee is refreshingly open about his sometimes liberating, sometimes claustrophobic sense of exceptionality. As a child he reads X-Men comics and wishes for psychic powers; as an adult he finds his ambitious first efforts as a writer at odds with prevailing literary trends. Throughout, Chee endeavors to catch himself at a distance and reckon, ever humble and bracingly honest, with the slippery terrain of memory, identity and love. “We are not what we think we are,” he writes. “The stories we tell of ourselves are like thin trails across something that is more like the ocean. A mask afloat on the open sea.”

Of the stories Chee tells, one deserves special attention: “After Peter,” a memorialization of a lover and mentor who died of AIDS in 1994. Chee chronicles their involvement with activist organizations like Act Up/SF and Queer Nation in the long years before the advent of protease inhibitors. “Why am I telling this story?” he asks rhetorically. “The men I wanted to follow into the future are dead. … I feel I owe them my survival.” He reminds us that whomever a writer pictures as his audience, he is also writing into absence, standing in testimony for the sake of the dead. Like most of the essays here, “After Peter” pulses with urgency, one piece from a life in restless motion. It is not necessary to agree that “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel” is itself a kind of novel in order to appreciate that Chee has written a moving and personal tribute to impermanence, a wise and transgressive meditation on a life lived both because of and in spite of America, a place where, he writes, “you are allowed to speak the truth as long as nothing changes.”

J. W. McCormack is the digital media editor of The Believer. His reviews have appeared in The New York Review of Books Daily, The Baffler, Bomb and Vice.

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Writers.com

At some point along your fiction journey, you may have considered writing autobiographical fiction—perhaps writing an autobiographical novel, or a shorter work based on your life experience. Many famous authors have turned their life stories into compelling works of prose, from Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian .

Most writers have life stories that can be turned into fiction, but what is the purpose of autobiographical fiction? Even more, what is autobiographical fiction?

Creative writers love to break conventions and bend genres, and autobiographical fiction (ABF) is a great hybrid of creative nonfiction and fiction. Still, ABF has certain conventions you need to know about if you want to conquer the genre. ABF stories are most often written as novel-length projects, so let’s explore how to write an autobiographical novel and grab hold of this slippery genre.

What is Autobiographical Fiction?

To offer a simple definition, autobiographical fiction is any work of fiction that is based on the real life events of the author. Autobiographical fiction is based on fact—but, importantly, not bound by fact.

Autobiographical fiction is based on fact—but, importantly, not bound by fact.

However, it’s hard to define ABF precisely, because ABF describes more of a spectrum than a genre. An ABF writer may choose to write about their life and simply change some names, embellish some descriptions, and alter the location. Or, writers of autobiographical fiction novels might loosely base their story on real life events, but they will change the plot, add additional characters, and explore “what if?” questions.

It’s better to define this tricky genre on a spectrum—including some autobiographical fiction examples. From most to least fictional, consider ABF on the following continuum. And no matter where your interests lie on this continuum, if you want more information on writing autobiographical short stories, novels, or anything in between, check out our course on writing autobiographical fiction with Jack Smith!

Writing Autobiographical Fiction

The Autobiographical Fiction Continuum

Below are some possibilities within autobiographical fiction, arranged from most fictional to most accurate to real events.

1. The Author Surrogate

Some writers choose to insert self-inspired characters into a mostly-fictional story. An author surrogate is when an author writes a character into their story for the sole purpose of having that character espouse the author’s beliefs. This character does not have to be major to the story, but they do play an important role in advancing the story’s themes and arguments.

A great example of the author surrogate is Nick Carroway, the first person narrator of The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Carroway to comment on the story’s themes of greed and relationships. Though Carroway is distinct from Fitzgerald, the writer is certainly present in the story’s events and interpretations.

Of course, you can also have fun with it. Stan Lee has a cameo in most of the Marvel movies, and why shouldn’t he?

2. The Self-Insert

The self-insert is often confused with the author surrogate, since both literary techniques rely on the author embodying themselves as a character in the book. However, the self-insert is a bit more obvious than the author surrogate.

A famous example of this is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. At several points in King’s heptalogy, a character named “King” talks about himself in relation to the greater narrative and is imbued with many of the author’s own traits, from his physical descriptions to the way he talks. In a story as genre-bent and metaphysical as The Dark Tower, it makes perfect sense for the author to write himself in the story.

3. Semi-Autobiographical Fiction

Semi-Autobiographical Fiction (SAF), also known as roman à clef , is any work of fiction wherein the central elements of both the narrator and the plot are based on the author themselves. The “semi” exists in the definition because the author may explore fictional hypotheticals, introduce fictional characters, or else digress from what happened in real life.

Many literary experts consider Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar to be an example of a semi-autobiographical novel. Much of the plot, as well as many of the characters, resemble Plath’s own life and struggle with mental illness. Plath may have chosen to write this story as SAF because, sometimes, it is easier to tell one’s own story when it has the façade of fiction.

4. Fully Autobiographical Fiction

At the far end of the spectrum is completely autobiographical fiction. In this form of fiction, the author pulls directly from their life experiences and makes only aesthetic changes. Names, dates, and locations will be muddled, but the plot fully mirrors that of the author’s own life.

It’s hard to draw a line between SAF and ABF. Since readers don’t know the precise details of the author’s life, one can never be quite sure whether certain events of the story are fictional. For example, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Mandarins accurately examines the dissolution of the French Communist Party, but does she ever embellish her relationship to Jean-Paul Sartre? And Elif Batuman’s The Idiot is about the author’s experiences at Harvard, but how much of the novel is fact, and how much is distorted by memory?

When the past feels like fiction, why not write it as such?

When the past feels like fiction, why not write it as such? What’s important is that the genre is flexible and allows for a conversation between fictional and nonfictional elements. Some literary theorists abide by “Death of the Author,” in which the author’s opinions are unimportant to the work’s interpretation. If any genre directly challenges this assertion, it’s autobiographical fiction.

Why Write Autobiographical Fiction?

Alongside this discussion of the ABF spectrum, you might be wondering what the purpose of autobiographical fiction is. Why not just write a memoir or personal essay?

Every writer’s intentions for writing autobiographical fiction are different. We can’t say for certain why anyone chooses to write in ABF, but there are a few major reasons why authors generally write autobiographical fiction novels.

To Tell Better Stories

For many novelists, the purpose of autobiographical fiction is to create a more satisfying story that is based in the strangeness of truth. The form allows us to consider what an autobiographical piece needs to feel more “complete,” or to bring across its core truths, and then write accordingly.

Autobiographical fiction can create a more satisfying story that is based in the strangeness of truth.

ABF also allows you to explore using your life as a starting point: write alternate endings, explore “what if?” questions, and pursue a different ending. You already know how your story is told, but will you tell it differently after changing X, Y, and Z?

To Create a Bit of Distance

ABF may also allow us to explore difficult moments in our lives through a protective lens, such as Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar. When nonfiction is too bright, autobiographical fiction can help shade us from our own harsh realities by creating a degree of separation between ourselves and our personal histories. Ironically enough, fiction gives us opportunities to be more objective about our lives.

Autobiographical fiction can also be useful for some writers who want to write with a sense of anonymity. They may be protecting certain names and identities in their stories, and the ABF form allows them to mask otherwise personal details

Finally, you might write ABF simply to have fun with it. Writing isn’t always a serious business, so why not insert your life story into the plot of Macbeth ? What’s stopping you from injecting yourself into your own fictional world? The ABF genre is just as much of a literary technique as it is an opportunity to enjoy the fiction writing process, your way.

Autobiographical fiction is an opportunity to enjoy the fiction writing process, your way.

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Some Starting Places

Whether you’re writing an author surrogate or pulling stories directly from your own life, writing autobiographical fiction requires some innovation. Creative genres require creative thinking, so while the following four methods are tried-and-true ways to write autobiographical fiction novels, they aren’t the only ones.

ABF commonly presents itself in the novel form. If you’re interested in writing an autobiographical novel, below are a few possible jumping-off points.

1. Begin with a Noun

If you are an ABF writer who wants their novel only loosely based in truth, start with a noun. Specifically, start with a person, place, thing, or idea that is true, but leave the rest of the story up to fiction.

For example, let’s say there was a time in your life where you were a chocolate taster, like Roald Dahl. You might decide to start your story with a chocolate factory, but then form characters and events around the themes of inequality.

Of course, Willy Wonka is purely fiction, and probably not a self-insert for Roald Dahl. You will still need to base some aspect of the story off of your own life to make it ABF, but starting with a noun can help base a fictional story on an inkling of truth.

2. Edit a Nonfiction Piece

You might decide that real-life events provide enough content for your story. If that’s the case, start by writing a memoir or autobiography, then edit after the first couple of drafts.

You have several options for editing your memoir into ABF, though you may already have a sense of direction after writing the first draft. To make it a true-to-life account, you can simply edit the nouns—change names, locations, dates, and objects so that the story remains anonymous.

Or, if “what if?” questions arise that you don’t want to leave open ended, you can write fictional scenes and change the ending.

3. Start with What You Don’t Know

The autobiographical novel helps us explore the incompleteness of our own memories. To remember is to distort, and many of us have personal histories that are hard to disentangle, dissect, and distinguish.

ABF allows us to explore what we don’t understand from our memories and create a story that makes sense. Many memoirists find that the act of writing nonfiction is cathartic, but when real life feels strange, writers can find catharsis in autobiographical fiction instead.

Write a novel that explores what you don’t know. Keep writing autobiographical fiction until you’re satisfied with the answer, or comfortable with the ambiguity.

4. Start with Two Disconnected Ideas

Sometimes, the fun of writing fiction comes when the author is able to connect two seemingly unconnected ideas. A great example of this is the story “ Especially Heinous ” by Carmen Maria Machado, which connects ghosts and magical realism to a New York murder mystery.

Why not connect random events from your own life? Psychologists call this “apophenia,” a state of mind in which we connect two things which actually have no relationship to each other. Taking an “apophenic” approach will help base your novel in truth but create a wholly different narrative, resulting in a novel that’s fun, engaging, and exploratory.

For example, you might try to connect an event that happened at your sixth birthday party to an event that happened on your lunch break last week. Or, you might try to construct a narrative based on a christmas present you received every year. Apophenia allows us to find magic and mystery in the details of our lives, and who’s to say the connections you develop aren’t true?

How to Write Autobiographical Fiction: Write with Friends!

Autobiographical fiction is a challenging form to master, since your story is attempting a relationship between fiction and nonfiction. If you’re stuck on a draft or need an extra set of eyes, joining a writing community will help you conquer the genre.

The instructors at Writers.com can get you there! Learn more about our courses and our community , and let’s work on writing your autobiographical novel together.

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Sean Glatch

10 comments.

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Re: ‘Shot into the darkness.’©SM

Thanks for your tips about writing biographical fiction or ABF. That is always a great “exciter’. That gave me ana idea, that is not really new, but if it worked could be interesting. Of course, it depends on who is in it.

I would invite someone (who could write) to write a Semi-Biographical-Fiction book. I could write the synopsis as an azimuth, and I would start it, then together, we would finish it. No time no pressure. Know somebody? Yes, I ‘know’ how to write. So I would like to pair with someone also who would have some training. I don’t even need ideas, I lived it.

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Hi Sydney, what an interesting idea! I don’t know anybody off the top of my head, however, you are welcome to join our community group on Facebook to discuss your writing ideas! https://www.facebook.com/groups/146546396684638/

Warmest, Sean

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Great article!

My dilemna is how to deal with incovenient truths. Talking about them can expose loved ones and cause strained relationships or even legal action. But leaving out such material will significantly water down the emotional truth you want to convey.

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This is the Problem I am having also I am having trouble remembering some of the details of certain stories in my life but it is based upon my trials and tribulations and big mistakes and choices that I made throughout my life I am not sure if I’m going to let anyone in my family read this before I have names changed and tell them that it is partially fictional

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Thank you for clarifying the concept of the fictional autobiography/memoir.

I have been assisting my husband who has written a series of books that I have described as an impressionistic account of the people and events of his life as recorded by him in his journals but altered somewhat for the sake of privacy and the exercise of artistic license. As such, I feel they cannot be classified as nonfiction/memoir and are better represented as fictional autobiography/memoir. A major difficulty arises when submitting the books to self-publishing platforms such as Kindle Direct and Ingram Spark. These platforms do not offer ABF in their listings of categories, nor is there a comparable BISAC subject code. The closest match there is for Biographical Fiction—close, but still not accurate. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with this?

This is a great question! And unfortunately I don’t have a great response–self-publishing platforms have a lot of control over how you can market your work.

Part of the reason there isn’t an “autobiographical fiction” category is because it’s not a unique enough genre. At the end of the day, genre categories are marketing tools, and if there isn’t a large enough difference between biographical and auto biographical fiction (other than who’s writing it), self-publishing services won’t bother with the distinction. You might be able to petition one of those services to create the category, but unless a lot of people are asking for that, you probably won’t have much success.

My best advice is to clarify the book’s genre and intent in the actual book description. Search engine optimization is a major component of online retail sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble; if you hone in on the book’s description and pitch it towards the right audiences, you will be able to make up for the lack of a specific category.

I’m not an expert in KDP or Ingram Spark, so if other authors have more experience working with these platforms, your insight is greatly appreciated.

Best of luck to you and your husband!

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Quite educative on ABF.It appeals to me.20 years ago a friend urged me to be a writer but i dismissed the idea ! Today i feel inclined to the idea.

You should definitely do it, Peter!

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My name is Bill, I am 73 years of age, ad currently living a retiring life with my wife in Adelaide. Without going into details, I have lived a complex, varied and sometimes difficult life, ending with my current situation here now. Some people I’ve known have suggested that I should write a book of my life, and I have considered doing so. In fact I have attempted on several occasions without success, due to memory loss (amongst other things). My daughter suggested I get someone to help me through the process, eg get a student writer/journelist/etc to help . That sounded like a good idea at the time, but now at home by myself., I’m not so sure. Am I knocking on the best option doorway?, or, can you suggest where else to seek assistance.

' src=

Thanks for much for the autofiction article. I am unable to find an example of a query letter for the genre, Any ideas on where I could find?

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Alexander Chee’s new essay collection is a searing examination of the costs of writing

The author of Queen of the Night and Edinburgh turns to essays in this achingly vulnerable collection.

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How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel , a new essay collection by Alexander Chee, is a book that will leave you breathless, as much for its vulnerability as for its exquisite sentences.

Chee is no stranger to the kind of writing that leaves you aching. He’s the author of 2001’s Edinburgh and 2016’s Queen of the Night , and he tends to write the kind of rich, sprawling books that take years and years to put together — hence the decade-and-a-half-long gap between his two novels. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel works on a smaller scale, but it’s no less ambitious or moving.

Its essays cover Chee’s life: his time as a 15-year-old foreign exchange student in Mexico (where “when people looked at me, they saw me, and they didn’t stare at me as if at an object”), his father’s death, his time in college and grad school, his time as a cater waiter working for the Buckleys, his time as a published novelist, and up through the 2016 election (“the election that for now we all speak of only as ‘the election,’ as if there will never be any other”). Much of the book delves into Chee’s struggles as a gay writer of color, but the heart of it comes toward the end, in a string of three essays built around the writing of Edinburgh .

The original plan, Chee writes, was for Edinburgh to be his easy book. He was desperate for cash after graduating from the Iowa Writers Workshop, and throwing together an easy, formulaic book seemed like the way forward. “I’m just going to write a shitty autobiographical first novel just like everyone else,” he decided, “and sell it for thousands and thousands of dollars.”

Instead, he spent five years writing a novel about his own trauma, layered with images borrowed from Japanese mythology and plot structure borrowed from operas. “I set about making up someone like me,” Chee writes, “but not like me.”

Edinburgh is about a boy soprano who is sexually abused by his choir director. And writing it, Chee concludes, “let me practice saying what I remembered out loud until the day I could remember all of it.” It created a space in which Chee could wrestle plainly with what happened to him.

But there’s a certain ambivalence in the catharsis Chee finds in How t o Write a n Autobiographical Novel . In the title essay, Chee warns, “Write fiction about your life and pay with your life, at least three times.” Writing Edinburgh meant destroying the version of himself that he presented to the world, to his closest friends and family, and creating a new self, one he’s not entirely sure is any more true than the last one.

And Chee is willing to immerse himself in this ambivalence, to explore fully how writing his autobiographical novel both wounded him and healed him. And what he concludes is that the project of writing holds immense value. “All my life I’ve been told this isn’t important, that it doesn’t matter, that it could never matter,” Chee says. “And yet I think it does.”

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How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

  • Staff Reviews

"Chee takes on the impulse toward autobiography in fiction, and closely examines his own—he freely admits that his first novel, Edinburgh , was based on his own life. His writing is sharp and holds the kind of honesty achievable only through distance and introspection. These essays are like an ouroboros—a fitting metaphor, as ouroboros often symbolize the cycle of creation and destruction, and Chee writes from a place of never quite knowing what comes first."

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"Alexander Chee understands."

From the author of  The Queen of the Night , an essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist—and how we form our identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as “masterful” by Roxane Gay, “incomparable” by Junot Díaz, and “incendiary” by the  New York Times.  With  How to Write an Autobiographical Novel,  his first collection of nonfiction, he’s sure to secure his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation as well.   How to Write an Autobiographical Novel  is the author’s manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover, and a friend. He examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and the nation’s history, including his father’s death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing—Tarot-reading, bookselling, cater-waiting for William F. Buckley—the writing of his first novel,  Edinburgh,  and the election of Donald Trump.   By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry,  How to Write an Autobiographical Novel  asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art, and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack.

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Home » Blog » How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps

How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps

how to write an autobiographical novel essays

TABLE OF CONTENTS

If you’re thinking about writing an autobiography, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will be telling you all about how to write an autobiography – breaking it down and helping you along with the process.

1. What is an Autobiography?

So you want to know how to write an autobiography? First off, let’s start with what an autobiography is. Put simply, a biography is a book written about someone’s life. It includes all elements of their life, particularly featuring any significant events that took place.

The word ‘autobiography’ is made up of the two Greek words ‘autos’ and ‘bios’, meaning self and life. Put them together and you get a book that is a mix of who you are, and the life you have lived.

2. Memoir vs. Autobiography

Before you start any kind of writing process, it is important to know what kind of a book it is you are wanting to write. There is no way to know how to write an autobiography if you can’t distinguish the two. Memoir and autobiography are often plumped into the same genre, because they are both about someone’s life.

But they are two genres of their own. So here’s the difference:

It’s pretty simple – if the book is about the person’s entire life – it’s an autobiography; if it’s about one or two events, themes or memories within their life, it’s a memoir .

Knowing the difference will save you time and energy. It will also help you to shape and plan your book (if that’s your style).

You can always change your mind and switch genres, but at least you will know what you are doing and how both of them work. Whichever you choose will change a lot about your book – particularly the content you choose to include and the structure of the entire piece.

Memoir is the perfect platform to share your personal life experience, and you don’t have to share every other significant moment of your life. (A wise decision if only one really interesting thing has happened to you during your lifetime.)

Writing an autobiography is much different. While they are both to do with the author’s life, biography is more to do with what happened throughout your life.

That means all significant events from birth ’till now.

If you set out to write a biography and it turns into a memoir, this is not a problem. The problem is when you don’t know what you’re doing at all. This leads to confusion in the writing process. And a lack of professionalism outside of it.

A great way to learn how to write an autobiography is to read. A lot. Reading other autobiographies will give you an idea of which direction to go in and how this genre is structured. It can also help you to develop your style and tone of voice, and to pinpoint which writing techniques you find most effective. All good tools to have in your writing toolbox.

Here are a few examples of autobiographies you might want to read:

  • My Autobiography, Charlie Chaplin (1964)
  • The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
  • Long walk to freedom, Nelson Mandela
  • The story of my experiments with truth, Mahatma Gandhi
  • The story of my life, Helen Keller
  • The autobiography of Malcolm X, Alex Haley, Malcolm X
  • An Autobiography, Agatha Christie (1965))
  • The confessions of St. Augustine, Augustine of Hippo
  • Scar tissue, Anthony Kiedis, Larry Sloman
  • Open: An Autobiography, Andre Agassi
  • Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
  • Autobiography of a yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda

4. When to Write an Autobiography

how to write an autobiographical novel essays

Cellini (1500-1571) wrote one of the finest autobiographies of the renaissance. He stated:

“No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem great achievements, if he cares for truth and goodness, ought to write the story of his own life in his own hand; but no one should venture on such a splendid undertaking before he is over forty.” Cellini

Knowing how to write an autobiography can have a lot to do with your life experiences. This fact brings into question the age of the reader.

Many biographies are written later on in life, when experience has been gathered and there are many exciting moments to draw from. But this isn’t always the case.

If you are a younger writer and feel that your life has been sufficiently fantastic, or you feel a growing desire to get down all of the details of your childhood days, there is no rule that says you can’t. So don’t let others’ perceptions stop you.

Twenty-one-year-old Edouard Louis, for example, published a hugely successful fictional autobiography (aka an autofiction), The end of Eddy about his childhood and adolescence. So it is possible. Sorry Cellini.

That said, an older, more experienced writer may have an easier time writing an autobiography, simply because they have more material to draw from.

Like memoir, autobiographies tend to center around a theme, even though you are including many life events. That is because people tend to also be themed, in a way. Want to know how to start an autobiography? Thinking about theme can be a useful way in.

If you are a professional dancer, and that is the passion of your life, it makes sense that your book would also center around the theme of dancing and how you reached that success.

If you are ghostwriting for a celebrity, naturally they will be famous for something in particular.

The main theme, of course, is the person’s life. But that is not enough to sustain interest across time. So bear in mind a secondary theme that ties it all together.

If your theme or themes are relatable, then that will stand you in good stead. If you are not writing a glitzy celeb autobiography, then having a very relatable and original theme is more likely to find a readership than any other. Be careful not to choose and manufacture your theme, however. If you are meant to write an autobiography, you will likely already feel compelled to write about your life. So try not to put too much thought into it. Just keep it in mind, as it will keep you on track.

6. How to Pick a Theme

How to start an autobiography? One way is to pick a theme. And stick to it.

One way of picking a theme is to choose an aspect of your personality that you feel is awesome and make that your sole focus. Maybe you’re great at maths, for example. Perhaps you made it to the world championships on mathematics or something. That would be a story worth telling.

Another is to look at your philosophy in life and make that the focal point of your book. Showing your values throughout the book can inspire and uplift the reader as it can show a good example of a life well-lived. It also reveals quite clearly who you are as a person, without you having to explicitly spell it out.

A third would be to consider the things that are most important to you in your life and to make a reference to these as you work your way through each significant event mentioned in your book. (This works especially well if you are writing an autobiography for those who know you.)

7. Exceptions

You might also be wanting to know how to write an autobiography, because you want to share your story with your family. This is an admirable reason to write a story. It means that your family will always have a special connection to you through story, no matter what. It also means that generations to come will have that link to their own past and history.

From that sense, everybody should write one!

This kind of story can even be compiled as an oral history of your families’ history and lives, which makes for an extremely personal keepsake.

Autobiographies are sometimes written in short form, as essays for college assignments. This is a similar exercise to writing a full book , but in a condensed format.

Another form of autobiography is as an autofiction. This book is based mostly upon autobiographical content, but is also a work of fiction. This is an easy way of avoiding any concerns you might have about privacy. If you are wanting to distance yourself a little and take more control over the content, then this may be the way to go.

You can also consider other formats, such as writing an autobiographical graphic novel, which has the essence of cool written all over it. If you are an artist or have a passion for strong visuals, this is something to consider.

8. How to Plan

“Look for the times when your life changed the most, and when you changed the most, those are the times of peak drama in your life.” Janice Erlbaum, The Autobiographer’s Handbook

An excellent practice when learning how to start an autobiography, is to begin by writing out all of the significant events in your life. These could be anything; from graduating college, to losing your virginity, to being born. Whatever you think is most important and noteworthy, write it down.

You can later play with the order of events if you like, to shake things up a little bit,  but for now, just get anything and everything you can think of written down.

When considering how to write an autobiography, it seems to be the most natural of all genres to plan. This is because within it’s very construction there is a presumption of what it will be about: events in your life. From this sense, it is already set up for you. In some ways, this makes writing a lot easier. On the other hand, the risk that easy planning poses, is boredom. For the reader or yourself. The challenge then becomes, how to make these life events interesting and stand out. But we’ll get to that a bit later on…

Nb If you are a pantser (someone who likes to write by the seat of your pants) then you might want to skip this step. In all likelihood you have something in mind to write about, so just start there.

9. Writing Schedule

A schedule helps you to get things done. You will know what works best for you after trying a few things out. You could try planning out how much you are going to write by the hour (i.e. I will write for an hour a day, every weekday) or by word count (I will write 500 words a day). Be realistic and don’t overwhelm yourself. If you are too overambitious, you may find you end up not writing at all.

Otherwise, you could aim to write a certain section of the book per week or month if that works better for you. Because autobiography is so clearly and easily arranged into story beats (was born, had first pimple, dyed hair red etc.) organizing your writing by these events works for almost all writers, even if you are not a fan of planning.

Ask yourself the question, what’s the minimum I could manage on a regular basis? And be honest.

Everyone has their own writing style, including the way they schedule (or don’t schedule) their writing habits. So don’t ever let anyone tell you how you should be writing. It’s up to you.

10. How to Start an Autobiography

how to write an autobiographical novel essays

Well, now you have a list of important events in your life, starting to write should be pretty straight forward. If you don’t like planning, it’s even simpler, just pinpoint a significant moment in time and get to work! If you have a plan, all you need to do is start writing out a first draft of each event.

Next up we have a few tips and tricks to get you started.

11. Go Digging

While figuring out how to write an autobiography, you will want to have everything you are writing as fresh and vivid in your mind as possible. This clarity will translate onto the page and give your readers a strong impression of each moment.

To do this, you will be wanting to dig out any old photos of you and whomever you might be writing about, and begin filing things away for each chapter or section of the book.

You also might find it beneficial to interview anyone who remembers what happened. This can bring a new light on old events. Try using a recorder or dictaphone and typing up the best bits once you’re done.

12. Fill Up Your Senses

A good way to get into the moment before a writing session is to surround yourself with the materials relating to that particular event. Look at photos or listen to recordings from around that time, and jot down any thoughts you might have about them.

You may also want to listen to some music from the time. If you have any old clothes or keepsakes from the person, you will also want them to be around or near as you write. Listen to any interviews about the time or the characters before writing.

13. Write a letter

If you’re struggling to start writing, you can try writing a letter to yourself or to other members of the family from the time. This is a very personal way of connecting with the past. Remembering your connection to your characters will help your writing to flow more easily and mean you have material to draw from before you even start writing.

14. Emotions

Writing about certain life events is likely to be emotional. Say you had a car crash when you were younger, or had to deal with some maltreatment of some kind, this will impact your writing, and how you feel about it.

It can be a difficult balance. You need to care enough about your subject matter to write it. But you don’t want your emotions to take over to the point where style and the content of your book suffers.

While feeling impassioned by your writing, it is also important to be able to step back and take a second look at your viewpoint. This may take several rewrites to get right.

If you are finding it difficult, then consider writing out as many different viewpoints of the event as you possibly can. This will open up how you see it and may even lead to an inspiring revelation for both you and your book.

15. New Insights

One of the benefits of learning how to write an autobiography, is that, as you develop as a writer, new insights will likely occur.

So while emotions can run high, it is good to know that writing about anything difficult that has happened in your life can help you psychologically.

Dr. James Pennebaker, a professor at Austin Texas university discovered that students who wrote for just fifteen minutes a day over three days about difficult or emotional experiences had a better level of wellbeing. He found that going through the process was upsetting for them, but it was the new insights the students discovered through the process of writing, that led to their improved levels of psychological health.

16. Take Care

As with memoir, if you feel that it is too much to write any subject matter, always take a break and come back to it (or not). Your mental health and general wellbeing are always more important than a book.

17. Know Your Why

Make sure that you don’t add in topics or incidents simply to vent about them. Instead, get all your feelings out about it during your first draft, and then start with a fresh perspective. If your writing is only about venting, it will not interest the reader. You may come across as petty or whiny.

Instead, you will want to make sure you can see the benefit of sharing your experiences with people. When you truly know how to write an autobiography, it should empower and enlighten people and help them connect to your story, rather than reading like an unfinished diary entry. It is perfectly acceptable for it to start out that way. But by the end of your writing process, you should be confident in the purpose of why you are writing your book, and what kind of impact it will have on its readers.

Knowing why you are writing will keep you on the right track, and help you like a compass in the storm, when you are lost.

18. Tone of Voice

An important aspect of telling your story will be your narrative style and tone of voice. This completely depends upon who you are writing for and the purpose of your book.

If you are writing for your grandchildren, for example, you may use more simplistic language. If you are writing for a broader audience, then you may use a more neutral tone. Writing for friends? You might want to use more familial or colloquial terms.

This also depends a lot on what kind of person you are, and you will want your attitude and personality to be reflected in your writing. This should happen naturally, but don’t be afraid to write as if you are talking or to use a recording device and write up your account of each chapter afterwards.

Pro tip: Relax. You won’t find your tone of voice by constantly thinking about how you might come across. Just write as you think and your natural expression will do the rest.

19. First or Third Person?

You can experiment with viewpoint as you go along, but once you have chosen, you will be wanting to stick with it. Third person gives us the feeling it has been written by someone else. So, if you are employing a ghostwriter or are working on a fictional work, then this is a good way to go.

First person is the generally accepted viewpoint for most autobiographies, because it is your story, and you are the one writing it.

20. Conflict

As you recall the people in your life, adding in any conflicts, even if they are comical, will add to the richness of the book. Conflict drives drama, intrigue and interest. And that’s what you want, if you want your book read, that is.

21. Story Arc

how to write an autobiographical novel essays

One of the most critical components of how to write an autobiography is story arc. Like most genres of story, autobiography is no exception and will need some sort of an all-encompassing story arc. This is one of the main challenges you may face while writing this kind of book.

It simply can’t be a long list of events and then an ending. They have to all meld together cohesively in order to have some sort of an impact on your reader.

A story arc gives writers a structure, in which our main character aims to do something, and then either manages (or doesn’t) to achieve it. There are normally many obstacles in the protagonist’s way, and they must overcome them. Simply put, our main character must get from A to B. And you will need to decide at some point, what your start and end points in the story will be.

This ties into your overall message in the book. The great thing about autobiography is that it basically tells your reader who you are as a person.

You can start by making a note of your core beliefs and who you feel you are as a person before you begin. But don’t be surprised if, as you write, you reveal a value you hold that you had never especially acknowledged. This is a true gift to the reader, to leave them with your wisdom or knowledge.

Your philosophy can play a big role in the book, as it has likely led you to make certain decisions and can be featured and interlaced with certain events when your process of decision making was integral to the direction of your life.

22. Comedy and Funny Anecdotes

While you don’t want to overdo it on the comedy (unless it is a comedic autobiography, in which case, carry on!) a little comic relief can work wonders in this genre. It can lighten the mood and even make sad moments even more poignant. Funny stories specific to your family can add to the color of your characters, so they don’t fall flat .

23. Where to Begin ?

Think about when you might want to start your story. The logical point to start is from birth, but as your writing evolves over time, you may change your mind. You may want to add some perspective about your life from before you were even born. Your heritage may also be a large influence on who you are as a person today.

Once you have written a full first draft, you can consider changing around the order. Editing in this way can make for a more dynamic and varied read. If placed in the right way, you can even add in a plot twist or add to the suspense of your book.

24. Consider Your Reader

Don’t rest on your laurels. This can especially be a risk if you are writing only for friends or family. Just because someone knows you, it doesn’t mean your story will automatically become interesting to them. It will likely make it more interesting than if you were a random passerby, true. But this is not something to take for granted.

This point can be ignored during the first draft, but as you begin to develop your story, it becomes an implicit part of the process.

If you are wanting your book to sell, this becomes even more important as the reader’s interest and word of mouth can mean the difference between a book being put down or another sale.

25. How to Make Events More Colorful

Once you have written the thing, you will want to make sure that it is an interesting read. Even if you are writing just for friends and family, they will want to be excited by your life. And surely, that is why you are writing this in the first place?!

So a few tips to make sure that each story beat pops with color is to:

  • 1. Keep a notebook with you at all times for when you remember particular details about a person or place. Details will always give your story more originality and color.
  • 2. Show don’t tell – this is always relevant to any kind of writing and autobiography is no exception. Try adding in things you saw, smelt, tasted or touched within the scene. Avoid making a statement and describe what happened in the moment, instead.
  • 3. Add metaphor or simile- when describing a character or a vivid memory, don’t just describe how it looked on the surface. Unless this is not at all your writing style, you can enjoy emphasizing how something made you feel through descriptions that include metaphor. (use ext link for how to use metaphor) For example, ‘she was as fit as a fiddle’.
  • 4. Avoid common descriptive words – words such as ‘nice’ and ‘good’ should be considered with great caution once you have reached the third draft of your book.

26. Consider Your Reader

An important part of knowing how to write an autobiography, is having an awareness of the reader throughout the entire manuscript. This is not only a book for you. So don’t rest on your laurels.

This can especially be a risk if you are writing only for friends or family. Just because someone knows you, it doesn’t mean your story will automatically become interesting to them. It will likely make it more interesting than if you were a random passerby, true. But this is not something to take for granted.

Many new writers are tempted to leave in every detail of their life. But longer doesn’t always equal better – often it means that you simply haven’t cut out the parts that aren’t needed. So make sure you have your ego in check – don’t make your book too long just for the sake of it. Just because it’s interesting to you, does not mean every reader will want to know about it – family and friends included.

The average autobiography is around 75,000 words long. Much shorter than 60,000 and you might want to find other sources to write about, and any longer than 100,000, you might want to cut it down a bit.

28. Consider Privacy/Confidentiality

Much like memoir, autobiography includes characters who are real people. This means that some might be negatively affected by your work. So make sure to talk to those involved and to have an attorney at hand, just in case.

If you are unsure about leaving in their real name, it is best to give their character a pseudonym.

29. Editing

Both editing your book and getting it proofread will make or break it.

That means that you will want to find a professional editor to work with, who knows what she or he is doing. Ideally, you will want to find someone who is experienced in editing autobiography or memoir. Check that you have similar values and that you are both clear on what you are going to be working on, before you start.

30. Proofreading

Make sure that all your hard work shows. You can have a strong storyline and everything else in place, but if there’s a typo on the front cover, there is no way you will be taken seriously.

So, ask friends to check over your manuscript, or better yet, employ a few proofreaders to check it over for you. Don’t use the same editor to proofread, as they will find it more challenging to spot minute mistakes by the time they have reread the story more than once. A fresh pair of eyes will likely do a better job.

31. Autobiographies on the Shelf

The autobiographies in our bookshops today, you will notice, are mostly written by celebrities. This is because they often have interesting lives that we want to read about. They include incidents that we could never have access to otherwise, in our day to day lives.

And that’s what makes them so appealing.

Most people are not so interested in other’s lives, unless they have done something extraordinary. So if you’re thinking of writing something purely to try and get it sold, then you might want to rethink the genre you are writing in. We’re not saying it doesn’t happen that unknown authors sell a lot of autobiographies. It does. It’s just a lot less likely.

But don’t dismay, this is only a problem if that is the only reason you are writing your book. If it is because you feel impassioned to do so, then that is all the reason you need.

If it is for your friends and family to read, then you need not worry about big sales or landing a large publisher. It is so easy to self-publish these days on a relatively small budget, that you are pretty much guaranteed to achieve your aim.

If you are looking for a book deal, then you might be hard pushed, if you can’t say your life has an original element to it at all. If this is the case, consider writing a memoir , instead. There are many more memoirs written by ordinary people with extraordinary stories, than autobiographies. Because people love to hear about how ordinary people overcame the odds.

No matter what your reason, if you believe in your book enough to start writing the first page, then don’t let anyone stop you from writing the book inside of you.

So there you have it. Hopefully you will now feel confident about how to write an autobiography and ready to start. All it takes, is putting pen to paper.

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'how to write,' yes — but alexander chee's latest is more mesmerizing memoir.

Martha Anne Toll

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

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Two-thirds of the way through Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel , I abandoned my sharpened reviewer's pencil in favor of luxuriating in the words. Chee's writing has a mesmerizing quality; his sentences are rife with profound truths without lapsing into the didactic.

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel purports to provide wisdom on the writing life, and in fact Chee has two chapters of writing tips, arranged in lists that will amuse and possibly thrill fledgling and not-so fledgling writers. In totality, however, this collection is not so much a lesson on writing as a deeply considered memoir.

Chee is half European American and half Korean American. Having grown up in Maine and been bullied for his mixed heritage, Chee recounts his struggle to come to terms with his ethnic identity and his painful teenage years, during which his father died of complications from a car accident. He interrogates his childhood history of sexual abuse, embraces his homosexuality, becomes an activist during the terrifying and tragic early years of the AIDS epidemic, and figures out how to thrive as both a writer and a man.

Chee addressed many of these themes with grace and insight in his debut novel, Edinburgh . In his new book, he circles back from his last book, the epic Queen of the Night, to further mine his inner core with a refreshing candor that poses answerless questions and owns misjudgment and uncertainty. Anticipating his mother's reaction to learning — from his first novel — that he'd been sexually abused, he writes:

The child in me had wanted her to figure out what had happened ... That adolescent wish that the mother knows your pain without your having to describe it. But children have to learn to say they are in pain. To name it. The naming helps heal it.

Of the first time he puts on make-up and cross-dresses for an ACT UP event in San Francisco:

I feel more at home than I ever have, not in San Francisco, not on earth, but in myself. I am on the other side of something and I don't know what it is. I wait to find out.

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On the Same Page: How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

How to write an autobiographical novel.

How to Write an Autobigraphical Novel - Essays

Alexander Chee

The short essays that make up Alexander Chee’s accessible volume How to Write an Autobiographical Novel are full to the brim with feeling, and don’t make for a simplistic portrait. It’s more of a Picasso- different angles showing a complex identity. This isn’t an instruction manual for writing autobiographically. This collection shows one person’s experiences over decades that ended up producing an author.

For those who are writers, or those who are interested in the writing process because they love reading, there’s much to take away from this book. There’s also intense material on queer activism at the height of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, thoughts on growing up Asian and mixed-race in America, romance, and family. The book contains moments of joy and trauma and growth.

You can jump around this book looking for the material that’s most obviously related to your own interests, but you’ll do well to read all of it, and reflect on the many things that make up your own identity.

Cover of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

About the Author

"What would you read to someone who was dying? Annie Dillard had asked our class. She wanted this to be the standard for our work. There, at the memorial service for my friend, I thought of another: Dying, what stories would you tell?"— Alexander Chee, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

Connect with Alexander Chee | @alexanderchee | @cheemobile

Alexander Chee

For more, see the Read This! Interview with Alexander Chee

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How to Write an Autobiographical Essay: Tips and Examples

How to Write an Autobiographical Essay: Tips and Examples

Writing an autobiographical essay is a great way to reflect on your life and share your unique perspective with others. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, this article will provide you with the tools and guidance you need to craft a powerful essay that showcases your experiences, thoughts, and interests.

When writing an autobiographical essay, it’s important to first think about your purpose and audience. What do you hope to accomplish with your essay? Are you looking to simply tell your story or do you aim to provide insights into a specific aspect of your life? Understanding your purpose will help you choose the right topics and structure for your essay.

One of the most crucial steps in the writing process is outlining your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your essay flows smoothly from one topic to the next. A clear outline will also make it easier to stay focused on your main thesis statement and avoid veering off track.

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When structuring your essay, consider the narrative form. Autobiographies are often written in a chronological order, starting from your earliest memories and progressing through significant events in your life. This approach allows your readers to travel along with you on your journey, experiencing each moment as it happened. However, you can also choose to organize your essay thematically, grouping similar experiences or topics together.

In the body of your essay, it’s important to remember to provide specific examples and evidence to support your statements. Whether you’re discussing a historical event, your personal achievements, or your thoughts on a particular philosophy or topic, make sure to back up your claims with facts, anecdotes, or personal experiences. This will add depth and credibility to your writing.

Lastly, don’t forget to revise and proofread your essay before submitting it. This extra step is crucial in ensuring that your essay is free from errors and that your thoughts are clearly communicated. Consider having a trusted friend or mentor read through your essay and provide feedback. Their fresh perspective may help you identify areas that need improvement and make your essay even stronger.

Writing an autobiographical essay can be a deeply personal and introspective process. It requires the writer to reflect on their life experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and presents an opportunity for self-discovery and self-expression. By following the tips and examples provided in this article, you’ll be well-equipped to embark on your autobiographical writing journey and create a compelling essay that leaves a lasting impact on your readers.

Understanding Autobiographical Essays

When writing an autobiographical essay, it is necessary to take certain steps in order to achieve a well-structured and compelling paper. This article will provide you with tips and examples to help you understand why these essays are important and how to write them effectively.

First and foremost, it is important to identify your target audience and the purpose of your essay. Are you writing for a professional party, a degree awarding committee, or simply for your own personal satisfaction? Understanding your audience will help you to tailor your writing style and content accordingly.

Next, you’ll need to outline the major events and experiences in your life that you want to focus on in your essay. This could include your upbringing, education, career, hobbies, or any significant moments that have shaped your life. By having a clear plan in mind, you can structure your essay in a logical and coherent manner.

As you write your essay, be sure to revise and edit your work to ensure clarity and coherence. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure that your thoughts flow smoothly from one paragraph to the next. It can also be helpful to have someone else read your essay and provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.

While writing an autobiographical essay, it is important to remember that it is not just a dry recitation of facts. Instead, it should be a compelling narrative that engages and captivates the reader. Use vivid descriptions, personal insights, and examples to bring your story to life.

Finally, don’t be afraid to include personal reflections and thoughts about the larger world and society. Autobiographical essays have the power to not only tell a personal story but also to shed light on broader issues such as politics, economics, inequality, or other topics of interest. By connecting your personal experiences to larger themes, you can make your essay more relatable and impactful.

Key Tips for Writing an Autobiographical Essay

By following these key tips, you can write a compelling autobiographical essay that shares your life story and leaves a mark on the reader. Remember to have fun with your writing and let your unique voice shine through!

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Examples of Autobiographical Essays

When it comes to writing an autobiographical essay, it can be helpful to read examples to get a better understanding of the format and structure. Examples can provide insights into how to effectively share your thoughts, experiences, and perspectives with others.

Here are three examples of autobiographical essays:

  • Title: My Journey in Engineering
  • Summary: This autobiographical essay takes the reader through my journey in the field of engineering, from my childhood interest in building things to my professional accomplishments. It includes reminiscences of studying at a top engineering school, the lessons I’ve learned along the way, and my thoughts on the inequality in the field.

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  • Title: A Memoir of My Literary Journey
  • Summary: This autobiographical essay takes a more personal approach and focuses on my passion for literature and writing. It explores how my love for reading and analyzing literature evolved into a hobby and eventually a profession. It includes thoughts on the power of words and the influence of literature on society.
  • Main Body: The essay starts by describing my early encounters with literature and how they sparked my interest. It then dives into my literary education, the books that shaped my perspectives, and my experiences in writing and publishing. It also includes reflections on why literature is important and how it can inspire change.
  • Title: From Politics to Journalism: My Journey in the Media
  • Summary: This autobiographical essay explores my transition from a career in politics to pursuing journalism. It includes my experiences working on political campaigns, my decision to switch careers, and the challenges and rewards of working in the media.
  • Main Body: The essay starts by outlining my involvement in politics and the skills I gained from that experience. It then goes on to detail my thought process when deciding to make a career change and the steps I took to enter the field of journalism. It includes insights on the media industry and my experiences as a journalist.

Reading these autobiographical essay examples can be a helpful guide when starting to write your own. It’s important to choose a title and format that best fits your story and interests, and to build a clear and well-structured essay. Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and experiences, as they can provide valuable insights to others. And remember to proofread your essay to ensure it’s free of errors and has a powerful impact.

What is an autobiographical essay?

An autobiographical essay is a piece of writing that tells the story of someone’s life. It usually focuses on significant events, experiences, and personal reflections.

Do I need to have a specific structure for my autobiographical essay?

While there is no strict structure for an autobiographical essay, it is generally recommended to have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction should provide some background information and set the tone for the essay. The body paragraphs should explore different aspects of your life and experiences, while the conclusion should sum up the main points and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Is it necessary to include all the details of my life in an autobiographical essay?

No, it is not necessary to include every single detail of your life in an autobiographical essay. Instead, focus on the events and experiences that have had a significant impact on you or shaped you into the person you are today. Select the most relevant and interesting stories to share with your readers.

How can I make my autobiographical essay engaging and memorable?

To make your autobiographical essay engaging and memorable, try to incorporate vivid descriptions, personal anecdotes, and your own unique voice. Show, rather than tell, your experiences and emotions to draw the reader into your narrative. Additionally, consider using literary techniques such as foreshadowing or symbolism to add depth and complexity to your writing.

Do I need a title for my autobiography essay?

Yes, it is recommended to have a title for your autobiography essay. The title should be concise, eye-catching, and reflective of the overall theme or message of your essay. It should give the reader a glimpse into what they can expect from your writing. Spend some time brainstorming and come up with a title that truly captures the essence of your story.

An autobiographical essay is a piece of writing that narrates the writer’s own life story. It typically focuses on significant events, experiences, and accomplishments that have shaped the writer’s identity.

How do I start an autobiographical essay?

You can start an autobiographical essay by introducing yourself and providing some background information about your life. You can also begin with a captivating anecdote or a memorable event that has had a significant impact on your life.

Alex Koliada, PhD

By Alex Koliada, PhD

Alex Koliada, PhD, is a well-known doctor. He is famous for studying aging, genetics, and other medical conditions. He works at the Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics. His scientific research has been published in the most reputable international magazines. Alex holds a BA in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California , and a TEFL certification from The Boston Language Institute.

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How to Write an Autobiographical Essay in 7 Easy Steps

POSTED ON Sep 28, 2023

Shannon Clark

Written by Shannon Clark

Is anyone ever really comfortable writing about themselves? Have you tried to write a simple bio for your website or filled out the About section of your social media profile? It’s not always the most comfortable thing to do. What do you say? It can feel awkward talking about yourself.

Surface-level accomplishments are one thing, but what about the deeper, nitty-gritty details of life that have shaped us into the person we’ve become? Yeah, that stuff. How do you clean it up and make it presentable enough to share with an audience? 

If you’ve ever considered writing an autobiography or a memoir , beginning with an autobiographical essay might be a good place to test the waters. 

This guide about autobiographical essays answers these questions:

What is an autobiographical essay .

Well, you’ve likely guessed that it’s writing about yourself , but what makes it different from any other personal writing like memoirs , autobiographies , and biographies ? An autobiographical essay (also called a narrative essay) is a subcategory of an autobiography. It’s similar in that it’s about your life story but a lot shorter. It is considered a primary source since it is written in the first person and based on facts (not autobiographical fiction ) pulled from personal experiences. A well-written autobiographical essay follows the same structure as a standard five-paragraph essay that’s divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion. They can be any length, but those used for work and school applications are usually no more than 650 words. 

What should I do before writing an autobiographical essay?

Before beginning the writing process, ask yourself the following questions:

Why am I writing this essay? 

Autobiographical essays are often written for college applications, and since they are in first person, they are not the best fit for book bios; however, they can work for an author website bio if you want to give readers a close peek into your backstory. 

Who is my audience? 

Similar to the previous question, knowing who (audience type) will be reading your essay will make it easier for you to create a more engaging piece. Knowing your audience’s expectations can help to guide your writing. A single story can be told in many different ways. You are not trying to build your story into something it is not, but rather, develop it in a way that answers the questions your audience may want to know.

What part or parts of my life do I want to share? 

It’s up to you. Similar to an autobiography, you can share your life story (summarized, of course) or you can select an event or group of events that shaped your life in some way (similar to a memoir). 

Who do I want to include in my story? 

Unlike an autobiography or memoir , an autobiographical essay is short and sweet, so there’s not a lot of room to bring other characters into the story if you’re giving an overview of your life history. An exception is if you choose to focus on a specific incident or event, but only a brief mention of others is recommended since the story is about you.

What should my writing process look like?

It’s up to you. There are different ways to write and it just depends on how you process, develop, and write information. As mentioned in this article on prewriting strategies , planning and researching before you begin writing will save you time and make the process smoother. Some examples of prewriting include:

Mind-mapping – a process that allows you to visually connect ideas to create cohesiveness in writing.

Research/ Notetaking – allows you to gather information and then put it into a form that you can use later, which is critical to a well-written essay. 

Free-writing / Journaling – writing freely without regard to format, punctuation, or order. It allows you to get all of the words out onto the page without rules. 

Storyboarding – the use of sticky notes or other forms of quick notes like index cards to write down story parts and rearrange them until you create the ideal story order. 

What are the steps to writing an autobiographical essay about my life?

Autobiographical Essay - Journaling Before Writing

There are 7 steps to writing an autobiographical essay. As previously mentioned, a standard essay consists of five paragraphs that make up three parts:

  • Introduction (one paragraph) 
  • Body (three paragraphs)
  • Conclusion (one paragraph) 

Step 1: Create an outline

Whether you’re a plotter (someone who prefers outlines) or a pantser (someone who prefers to “fly by the seat of their pants” when writing), autobiographical essays have a particular structure, so outlining can definitely save you time and frustration. You have a finite amount of space to say what you want, so every sentence has to be placed strategically in order to get the details in the proper order so that it makes sense. 

Start with a basic three-part outline: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Step 2: Expand the outline

What part or parts of your life did you decide to share? Remember that you only have three paragraphs so you want to narrow your story down to the most impactful moments. Expand the body section of your outline to include these parts. 

In the case of autobiographical essays, less is more. Trying to cram too many things into your story can minimize it’s impact. 

Step 3: Start your essay with an engaging introduction

Greet your reader with who you are and what you are about to share. The introduction is your space to hook the reader so that they’ll want to read the rest of your essay. 

Step 4: Fill out the body of your essay. 

Chronological order is best. With autobiographies and memoirs, there’s room for flashbacks and playing around with sequence, but not with essays. The safest route is from point A to point B.

Step 5: Wrap up your story

Your conclusion is the nice pretty bow that you add to the gift of your life story that you’ve just shared. Sharing your story takes a lot of courage, no matter how short it is. It’s inviting someone into the deeper parts of you who are, and that’s a big deal. The conclusion is a great place to remind the reader why you shared your story and what you hope they’ll glean from it. Maybe it’s to get to know you better or perhaps take something from it that can help them in some way. Whatever you choose to say, make it memorable. First impressions are important but last impressions leave a mark.

Step 6: Edit, and then edit again 

Similar to writing a book, editing is everything. Great editing shines a light on what you may have overlooked while also pushing you to write authentically and succinctly. Unlike writing full-length books where hiring a professional editor is essential, autobiographical essays can get by with a good spell-checker, a writing app , and an alpha reader (someone you trust who can give honest feedback.). 

This is not to say that you can’t hire a professional editor. There are very talented editors available who would be more than happy to assist, but if that is not in your budget or just not part of your big-picture plans, make the best of the resources you have at your disposal. 

Some writing assistants you can use include: Hemingway App

Prowriting Aid

Once you’ve finished writing and editing your essay, read it out loud to yourself or use the text-to-speech option available with some writing editors like Google Docs. Do you like the way it sounds? How's the flow? Do your ideas connect seamlessly or are they disjointed? Be honest with yourself, so you can decide the next best steps. 

Step 7: Finalize your essay

If you need to go back and rewrite some things, don’t let that discourage you. The best writers understand that rewrites can help you fine-tune your story and create the best version possible. 

Writing an autobiographical essay is not only a way to share a part of your life story with others. It’s good practice if you've ever considered writing an autobiography. The shorter version might be what's needed to spark your interest. You never know.

No two life experiences are the same. Maybe yours is exactly what someone else is looking for to give them a new perspective on life.

Are you ready to write your life story? 

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How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays: Library Edition

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Alexander Chee

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays: Library Edition Audio CD – Unabridged, December 4, 2018

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An essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist-and how we form our identities in life and in art.

As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as masterful by Roxane Gay, incendiary by the New York Times, and brilliant by the Washington Post . With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection of nonfiction, he is sure to secure his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation as well.

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover, and a friend. He examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and the nation's history, including his father's death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing-Tarot-reading, bookselling, cater-waiting for William F. Buckley-the writing of his first novel, Edinburgh , and the election of Donald Trump.

By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack.

The collection is candid, recursive, and well matched to narrator Daniel K. Isaac's understated sincerity. From moments of wry humor to shattering honesty, Isaac carries listeners through with sophisticated equanimity, underscoring the sense of intimacy created by Chee's words.

The sixteen essays that knit together his profound and resonant collection are a nimble study in radical self-invention...The revelations that follow crackle with the same glowing, essential truths.

A searing examination of the costs of writing.

Alexander Chee explores the realm of the real with extraordinarily beautiful essays. Being real here is an ambition, a haunting, an impossibility, and an illusion. What passes for real, his essays suggest, becomes real, just as life becomes art, and art, pursued this fully, becomes a life.

Alexander Chee is one of our most important writers and we should listen to every damn thing he has to say.

A knowing and luminous self-portrait.

An absolute gift of a book for writers everywhere. Every single essay is a pearl.

Chee has written a moving and personal tribute to impermanence, a wise and transgressive meditation on a life lived both because of and in spite of America, a place where, he writes, you are allowed to speak the truth as long as nothing changes.

Chee remains introspective and self-reflective without arrogance...Chee is able to write about himself and, by extension, about all of us.

Chee's insights about writing, love, and activism are hard won, honest, and incredibly wise.

Chee's writing has a mesmerizing quality; his sentences are rife with profound truths without lapsing into the didactic.

Every essay, no matter the subject, exhibits warmth, rigor, tact...The mask conceals and it reveals; writing transfigures and it uncovers. That's the gift that writing has given Chee, and it's the gift that his wonderful new collection gives its readers.

He beckons readers to experience his private moments with such clarity and honesty that we're immediately brought into his consciousness. At the same time, he asks us to contemplate the largest questions about identity, sexuality, family, art and war.

His essays are an invitation not to review the rules of writing but to trace a unique pathway into knowledge and being in and through writing.

Meditates on how art shapes who we are, unpacking its author's own coming-of-age as a gay Korean man to craft persuasive, engrossing arguments.

  • Language English
  • Publisher Blackstone Publishing
  • Publication date December 4, 2018
  • Dimensions 6.75 x 1.25 x 6.25 inches
  • ISBN-10 1982597011
  • ISBN-13 978-1982597016
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  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged edition (December 4, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982597011
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982597016
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1.25 x 6.25 inches

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About the author

how to write an autobiographical novel essays

Alexander Chee

ALEXANDER CHEE won a Whiting Award for his first novel, Edinburgh, and is a recipient of the NEA Fellowship in Fiction and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Ledig House, and Civitella Ranieri. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Slate, and NPR, among others, and he is a Contributing Editor at The New Republic. He lives in New York City.

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IMAGES

  1. 40 Autobiography Examples ( + Autobiographical Essay Templates)

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

  2. Free Autobiography Essay Examples: Topics, Outline, Samples

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

  3. (PDF) THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, THE NOVEL, AND THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

  4. The Best Way to Write an Autobiographical Essay

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

  5. 40 Autobiography Examples ( + Autobiographical Essay Templates)

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

  6. Example Of Autobiography About Yourself New Autobiography A Highschool

    how to write an autobiographical novel essays

VIDEO

  1. How to write and develop critical essays

  2. How to write a Novel in less than 0.0084 minutes #shorts

  3. Youth, a Narrative (FULL audiobook) by Joseph Conrad

  4. what writing a novel is actually like

  5. How to write essays, thesis and research

  6. HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT

COMMENTS

  1. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

    By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art, and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack. Buy the book Praise for How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

  2. How To Write An Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean ...

  3. Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide

    Written by MasterClass Last updated: Aug 26, 2022 • 6 min read As a firsthand account of the author's own life, an autobiography offers readers an unmatched level of intimacy. Learn how to write your first autobiography with examples from MasterClass instructors.

  4. Writing as Drag: Alexander Chee's Essays Consider the Novelist's Craft

    HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL Essays By Alexander Chee 280 pp. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paper, $15.99. "How to Write an Autobiographical Novel" is a disarming title for an ...

  5. How to Write Autobiographical Fiction

    Creative genres require creative thinking, so while the following four methods are tried-and-true ways to write autobiographical fiction novels, they aren't the only ones. ABF commonly presents itself in the novel form. If you're interested in writing an autobiographical novel, below are a few possible jumping-off points. 1. Begin with a Noun

  6. How To Write An Autobiographical Fiction Novel

    1. What is autobiographical fiction? 2. How is autofiction different from fiction? 3. How is it different from a nonfiction autobiography? 4. What are some examples of autobiographical fiction books? 5. Can I write a fiction book based on my life? 6. What are the 8 steps in writing autobiographical fiction? 7. Take your next step today

  7. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel review: Alexander Chee in top

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, a new essay collection by Alexander Chee, is a book that will leave you breathless, as much for its vulnerability as for its exquisite sentences....

  8. How To Write An Autobiographical Novel : Essays

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction...

  9. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    From the author of The Queen of the Night, an essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist—and how we form our identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as "masterful" by Roxane Gay, "incomparable" by Junot Díaz, and "incendiary" by the New York Times.With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first ...

  10. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art, and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack.

  11. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. Alexander Chee. In Stock Online. Paperback$17.49 $18.99. In the age of internet hate-reads, when the most intimate of horror stories or partially-baked ideas turn into clickbait, personal essays have taken a lot of heat. At worst, they're embarrassing, meant to be memorialized in a journal (and perhaps ...

  12. How to Write an Autobiography in 31 Steps

    A lot. Reading other autobiographies will give you an idea of which direction to go in and how this genre is structured. It can also help you to develop your style and tone of voice, and to pinpoint which writing techniques you find most effective. All good tools to have in your writing toolbox.

  13. 'How To Write,' Yes

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel purports to provide wisdom on the writing life, and in fact Chee has two chapters of writing tips, arranged in lists that will amuse and possibly thrill ...

  14. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel Summary

    One of the book's centerpiece essays, "The Autobiography of My Novel," which tells the story of how he came to write and publish Edinburgh, brings all the strands of the book skillfully ...

  15. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

    Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels The Queen of the Night and Edinburgh. He is a contributing editor at the New Republic, an editor at large at Virginia Quarterly Review, and a critic at large at the Los Angeles Times. His work has appeared in The Best American Essays 2016, The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Guernica, and ...

  16. On the Same Page: How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

    Alexander Chee. The short essays that make up Alexander Chee's accessible volume How to Write an Autobiographical Novel are full to the brim with feeling, and don't make for a simplistic portrait. It's more of a Picasso- different angles showing a complex identity. This isn't an instruction manual for writing autobiographically.

  17. How To Write An Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him.

  18. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him.

  19. How to Write an Autobiographical Essay: Tips and Examples

    See also The Yellow Wallpaper Characters Writing an autobiographical essay can be a deeply personal and introspective process. It requires the writer to reflect on their life experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and presents an opportunity for self-discovery and self-expression.

  20. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays [Chee, Alexander, Isaac, Daniel K] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

  21. How to Write an Autobiographical Essay in 7 Easy Steps

    A well-written autobiographical essay follows the same structure as a standard five-paragraph essay that's divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion. They can be any length, but those used for work and school applications are usually no more than 650 words. What should I do before writing an autobiographical essay?

  22. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

    An essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist-and how we form our identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as masterful by Roxane Gay, incendiary by the New York Times, and brilliant by the Washington Post.With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection of nonfiction, he is sure to secure his place as one of ...

  23. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays: Library Edition: Chee

    How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays: Library Edition [Chee, Alexander, Isaac, Daniel K] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays: Library Edition