Before you begin writing your personal history, you will want to research and find all of the necessary documents you will want to use. Although your memory will supply much of the material, documents from your past might provide further information or insights. Talk with your friends or family members about any materials that might be useful, such as pictures, government documents, or family papers.Some examples of important documents might be your birth certificate, photographs or videos of you, correspondence (letters and emails) with other people, and old social media posts.
 Talking to the various people in your life is another excellent way to find information to include in your history. Your family members will be particularly valuable sources since they have known you the longest. Be sure to record the interviews for later use.Many cellphones have a recording function that will help you save your interviews.
 Once you have conducted your interviews and gathered your materials, you will want to begin reviewing them. Read through the documents you have collected to find important pieces of information that you would like to include in your history. Listen to the recordings or read the transcripts of the interviews you conducted. Use a notebook or word processor to keep track of this information for later use.Try creating a spreadsheet that lists all of the sources that you would like to use. This will help you find them quickly and not lose them.
 Once you have all of your documentation, you will want to begin thinking about how you would like to organize your history.Ask yourself what events you would like to highlight and which are less important. Determine whether you would like to write about your entire life or a specific period. Answering these questions will help you get a better idea of how to organize your story.You can organize your story thematically to emphasize important interests or life lessons. For example, if you want to highlight your skills as an athlete, you may only mention the life events that are relevant to that subject.
You can also chronologically format your history to tell a sequential story. Start with the earliest relevant event and move forward in time from there.
Ultimately, it is up to you how you organize your story, find a style that makes sense and tells your history.
 Once you have a structure for your history, you will want to begin writing it. Initially, this can be an intimidating prospect. In order to make the process of writing your personal history more manageable, try to write a little every day. If you focus on achieving small goals, over time you will finish your history.Try setting a timer for 45 minutes and write until it goes off. Then, take a 15 minute break and start writing again once those 15 minutes are up. Repeat this process as long as you feel fresh and engaged in your writing.
Find a writing schedule that works best for you., When you have finished writing your history, you will want to edit it. Initially, read it yourself to clean up any typos or errors in the writing. After you have given it a glance, find someone to edit it further. This can be anyone who you trust to do a thorough job of editing. If the story has any juicy details, it should also be someone who you feel comfortable reading it. Although you do not have to accept their edits, it is important to give them a good consideration.If you are publishing your personal history, you will have to work with an editor to get your manuscript ready for publishing. In this circumstance, the editor’s comments often need to be addressed in the manuscript.
Find important documents.
Interview people.
Review your documents.
Decide on how to organize the history.
Begin writing.
Edit your history.
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