Writing Your Life Story: Creating a Memoir Journal

Every person has a story. Every single person has his or her own unique personal story that is filled with trials and triumphs, ups and downs, and problems and solutions, all of which have shaped the individual's current beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. Quite often, we find that reaching back - particularly if the experiences weren't good - is a difficult thing to do, yet more and more it is being viewed by many as a healthy way to deal with one's issues. Memoir writing can also be a great way to reach back to remember good memories that makes us smile - something we haven't thought about in many years.

Here I'd like to offer a few suggestions to creating your own memoir journal. Now, whether you get your final writings published or not is up to you. My goal with this article is to offer you something to help guide you through three stages of your life in a 'homemade' journal, so hopefully you'll be able to remember things that will help you along the way.

Perhaps you're at a time in your life when you are starting to feel like there are some issues you need to work on and you'd like to find a healthy tool to help you. Or perhaps you're a writer who'd like to write a memoir of your life and you need some help with recalling certain pieces of information. No matter what your reason is for writing about your life, it all boils down to self-discovery - finding one's self.

First of all, you should use a special journal or 3-subject notebook for this venture. I will be offering three suggested sections to divide your journal or notebook into so you can touch on each of the three stages of your life at any time you feel like it. The following stages of life will be your sections in your journal or notebook - Childhood, Teen Years, and Adult Life. Very simple and to the point.

Be sure to divide your journal or notebook up equally using bookmarks or whatever method is best for you and title each section with the stages of life listed above. I used terms that can be viewed as broad, however, they sum up each stage of life we go through regardless of who we are and where we come from.

For this venture, visit each section as you see fit. I won't offer any specific writing exercises here because it's up to you write things you remember in each section. However, I do have some suggestions to help you remember certain details about your life.

Tip #1: Photographs. Use pictures from each stage of life to help conjure up memories that may have been long forgotten up until now. I've found in my own personal memoir writing that using pictures from childhood have helped spark memories. Whether the memory was good or bad, we tend to block things out over the years, not because we don't want to remember, but because there's so much going on in our lives at the present time. I know for me while I'm in the present moment, I'm not making room in my mind for a past memory. Therefore, the pictures help a great deal.

Tip #2: Movies, Music, and Other Memorabilia. Use movies, music, and other things from your past to help spark memories. Maybe you'll remember all the details of your first date through watching a movie from your teen years or you'll relive that moment at a school dance when you hear a favorite song from a long time ago. If you have a yearbook from all your schools or old tickets from past concerts or anything of that nature, by all means, get them out and look them over to help you remember some things about your life. There are so many things we keep over the years that we haven't looked at in a long time. But once we take them out and look them over, a tidal wave of memories comes and we're on a ride to our past.

Tip #3: Overcoming Obstacles. Did you ever have to overcome an obstacle in your life that may have started in your childhood? This is the time to look at that specifically in your 3-part journal. If you can identify a specific obstacle you've overcome in your adult life that started in your childhood - this is a great place to start. Then, use the pictures, music, movies, etc. to help your memories along the way. Perhaps, you suffered through child abuse, yet you've found the courage to heal yourself over the years. Perhaps, you were a drug addict and learned how to live a healthy, balanced life. Perhaps, you used to eat meat and made the transition to vegetarianism and want to share your experiences with others. Perhaps, you used to be a Christian and converted to Buddhism or Islam and you want to share how you came to that decision in your life and why. Our personal goals aren't always 'obstacles' in the traditional sense, but some times the transitions we go through to get from point A to point B can be somewhat challenging.

Once we've managed to get through a challenging transition, we may feel the story is worth telling to those who may be facing challenging transitions themselves. I hope you find the suggestions I've made here helpful to your memoir writing endeavors.