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A 3-part project to help you Reflect
on Your Life, Fill in the Blanks & Print Your Memoir or Autobiography 
You’ve spent your whole life telling and retelling
the story of your life. It’s what humans do. Making
a story is a way of making sense of the things that happen to us. It’s a way of giving meaning to our past so that we
can have some control over our future. Just like we need to eat and drink water every day, we need to tell ourselves stories.
We even tell stories in our sleep: that’s called dreaming. You know how to nourish and hydrate yourself because you’ve
been doing it your whole life. But, it’s a curious fact that although life has but one big storybook ending, it has
infinite beginnings. Many people think their life started with first memories and the Hundred Acre Wood of childhood.
But what about the life that began when you moved out of your parent’s house? Or when you first stepped off that C-130A
in Vietnam? Or the birth of your first or last child? A divorce? The corner office? A second marriage to the love of your
life? You see what I mean? You’re all great storytellers, but where do you start?  The
Book
The first part of the
project is the Write,
Memory book,
a 270-page chronological
series of questions that takes the reader through a process of remembering, evaluating, pattern recognition, and the selection
and arrangement of stories. There is plenty of room for taking notes, making lists, and generally preparing (mentally and physically)
to write and complete a memoir or autobiography. Write, Memory is great tool for those who have always wanted to write an autobiography or memoir, and haven’t known where
to start. It can also be a lifesaver
for those who have started an autobiography or memoir and
have gotten stuck with too much material, too many choices, too little time.
You start writing and the words flow out no problem. The words
flow and flow and then suddenly you look up and  discover you're in the middle a lake of words. All around there are waves of words, large and small,
but no horizon, no
life raft, no landmarks, no lighthouse. You, the writer, set off in this direction, then that direction, but the movement only causes the words to move away from you in ever enlarging circles. Eventually your strength
flags, no rescue
ship arrives, and you, the writer, loses hope and sinks beneath the surface.
Life’s
patterns are the landmarks of storytelling. They’re
the rocks and shoreline that orient the writer (and the reader) to his
or her position in space. They also act as reference points of where you've been and where you're going.
What are these patterns and how do you
find them?
 Ah, there’s the rub.
The only way to find your life’s
patterns is to get into the so-called water of words and start swimming around. Sounds like a real Catch-22, doesn’t it?
Fear not. The water is full of rocks to climb
on and get your bearings.
Think of it like this — your life is like a lake.
A big lake. And in order to write this
autobiography or memoir, you’re going to have to wade into that lake. You’re going to
have to get wet. Sometimes it will be still and sometimes choppy. You might meet some strange fish. You’ll definitely go under a few times.
But everywhere around
this lake, poking up their heads and shoulders, are big rocks. Here’s how it works: Let’s say you begin a story about your
teenaged years. You might write about posters that went up on your walls, or a stereo that you rescued from the basement.
That story might lead to another story about how you went to live in the basement, which might lead to a story about sneaking
out or sneaking in, which might lead to a story about getting caught…
But then you get stuck. You’ve made this little island, but where to go now? Do you talk about
how much you hated your parents, or do you talk about how you caught your kids doing the same thing, or do you talk about
fly fishing in the American West? Don’t worry about it. Step off the island onto the nearest rock—or in this case,
the next question. Just end whatever story you were telling and start telling another. For example: Are there books,
music, or TV from your teenaged years that you feel influenced the path your life took?
And when you finish
with that, go on to the next:
Did you introduce those books, music, or TV to your own children? How, when, and what was their reaction?
Tell us about a piece of music that particularly moved you in your youth. Where did you first
hear it? Where did you last hear it?
The questions are designed to function as natural stepping-off
points within a theme, or in this case, a chapter about books, music, and TV. Even if you decide to skip a question or two,
you won’t disturb the overall flow of the chapter/theme.
The
CD After you've read through the book, reflecting and making notes in the spaces provided, the
next step is the writing. For this, there are 2 options: 1) you can order a CD of all the files (Word)
here, 2) or you can use this link to get your free online download
Be aware that the files do not include any of the exercises,
tips, tools, or instructions for how to submit your book for printing. Those are only to be found in the Write, Memory book.
The Write, Memory book and files are tools, not a
test. You are not required to fill in all the questions to make the book work. You are not required to complete
all the chapters. You are completely free to rearrange the order of the chapters, or even to insert questions from one chapter
into another.
Printing Your Book The complete instructions for how to (re)arrange chapters, add photos and captions, and make playlists
are in the How To section of the Write, Memory book.
There are also instructions for how to choose your interior design, your cover, and how to submit your work for printing.
Here are some cover examples. You choose the title, photo and color. Your autograph appears on the cover.      
And here are the 2 interior style choices. The first one is called Classic and the second,
Noir.  
 How much does it cost?
The production cost and printing of two 6 x
9" softcover copies of your book is $300 (US). These books look and feel just like any paperback book you would buy in
a store. They have color covers and black and white interiors. There is no page limit and you may include up to 70 photos
in your book.
When you receive your books, you will also be given a Web link to your own bookstore at Lulu.com, a digital print-on-demand service. There, you will be able to order as many books as you like at cost. The following
are average book costs at this time:
The cost for a single, 50-page book averages is about $5.50.
The cost for a single, 100-page book averages is about $6.50.
The cost of a single, 200-page
book averages is about $8.50.
These prices go down the more books you buy
at one time.
If
you wish to use the PDF file of your book for printing locally or to place your book for sale at Amazon or Barnes & Noble,
you can download the file at your Lulu.com store. See more about
how the Write, Memory book works by pressing The Book button at
the top of the page.
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