7th Grade - Autobiography First Draft Tips

Autobiography Tips—Creating First Drafts

The process of starting an autobiography chapter can be an overwhelming one. Where do you begin? What do you focus on? How do you organize the information? Remember that each of you tells stories everyday—about a funny thing that happened on the way to school, a confusing conversation you had, etc. You are all expert storytellers already. The following list of tips is designed to help you begin the process of writing these stories down.

• Focus on what you remember in detail. When you remember a particular time in your life in detail, when an event from a few months or a few years before stays with you, this usually signifies that it was important to you in some way. If there is a moment you keep coming back to, jot down as many details as you can come up with. Reread what you’ve written. After you’ve done that, ask yourself why this moment or even has stayed with you? Why was it significant to you?
• Focus on a specific moment in time. Even if you are writing a chapter about a large topic (a favorite hobby, a family member, etc), try to focus on a few key moments that stand out to you. If, for example, you’re writing about a friendship, think about a few moments that give a reader a window into that relationship. It’s generally more exciting to show how a person might be funny rather than simply telling the reader.
• Balance scene and summary. The most important moments in memoirs are usually told in scene. Using sensory detail, try to help the reader to feel like he or she is there with you. What details, big and small, do you remember? How did you feel in that particular moment? What important bits of dialogue can you recall? Why was this moment so significant to you? At other times, you need to share background information so that the reader knows what’s going on. This information is necessary, but not the focus of the piece. This information is best told in summary.
• Don’t be afraid to take risks. First drafts are a great place for experimentation. Many writers believe that it is through writing a first draft that you figure out what you want to write about. So, if you keep thinking about a particular moment but don’t know why it was important to you, write about it in detail. This will help you to figure out its significance.