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Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”Many people need no encouragement to learn and will continue to do so throughout their lives. Events can create a demand for self-help books too. While the Covid pandemic brought much misery, books in the self-help genre gave readers a greater sense of agency.According to Nielson Book Research, there has been a rise of 20% in the sales of ‘self-improvement’ books as anxious readers have turned to popular psychology and self-help titles. But self-help is not limited to psychological development. Books in this huge genre can also help readers fix their cars, bake cakes, or better understand their cats. The breadth is unlimited. So, there’s a market for learning, and you have a hunger to tap into it with your own self-help book.I’ve written several great-selling works myself and have supported countless self-help authors as they developed their own.In this article, I’ll gather together a wealth of experience to give you everything you need to know about writing a fantastic self-help book, including: Knowing what your book is about Knowing your reader Knowing your own – and the reader’s – expectations of the book Finding your voice Developing a structure Knowing and fulfilling the self-help author’s role What Is A Self-Help Book?In 1859, Samuel Smiles wrote what is often cited as the world’s first self-help book, called, unsurprisingly, Self Help. It promoted the importance of self-development.Its huge popularity encouraged countless writers from Mrs Beeton onwards to provide readers with the necessary instruction to solve problems or to self-improve.And that’s what any self-help book must succeed in doing. The outcome for your reader must be that they have changed for the better. Examples Of Self-Help Books You’ve probably seen the successful For Dummies books.A casual study of the long list of titles in the series demonstrates what people want to learn more about, from ‘LinkedIn Profile Optimisation’ to ‘Rugby Union Basics’. This proves that there is always someone out there who wants to learn something new.This is both good and bad news.Good, because there will probably be a market for your own specialist topic.Bad, because there will be competition.So, how to differentiate?Let’s take a look at some great examples of self-help books and understand what makes them remarkable. The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F**k By Mark Manson In his ground-breaking book, Manson achieves many things in his pursuit to help his readers lead more contented lives, but here are three big takeaways for upcoming self-help authors. First, the title draws you in. It’s instantly engaging because it’s profane. It’s risen above the thousands of other wannabes by punching us in the face. Of course, it’s got to be good beyond the front cover, so… Second, it’s a book that’s written in a truly authentic voice. As a prolific blogger, Manson has developed a way of communicating which is clear, authoritative and authentic. We trust him because, like any good salesperson, he persuades us. He maintains his profanity throughout, but with a purpose in mind: to shake us out of our stupor. And he needs to do this because… Third, his subject matter – anxiety – is already a familiar topic. There are thousands of books on the subject. Manson succeeds by finding a new angle. By challenging conventional wisdom, he engages his readers and differentiates his book from the competition. Mrs Beeton\'s Book Of Household Management By Isabella Beeton First published in 1861, Beeton’s book was not the first to bring together many aspects of home economics, management and cookery.However, it succeeded by helping aspiring Victorian middle-class housewives to address two basic, human instincts: to feel confident that they could feed their families, and to successfully compete with the neighbours.Furthermore, it furnished them with the skills and knowledge to do so.How To Win Friends And Influence People By Dale Carnegie Just like Mrs Beeton, Dale Carnegie addressed another essential need: to create an environment within which we are influential and liked.What’s interesting about this book is its clear focus on the outcome and the provision of instructions. It’s a genuine ‘How-to…’ The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons In Personal Change By Stephen R. Covey There’s plenty to learn from this great self-help book. First, Covey has, like Carnegie, promised an outcome: personal change.Second, the scope is helpfully contained: seven things can’t be hard to learn, and there’s the message that if we adopt these practices, we’ll achieve the promised outcome.Best of all, there’s the reference to a benchmark – highly effective people are already doing these things. It’s the ‘fear of missing out’ which plays on our aspirational and competitive streaks. Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons In Life and Business By Richard Branson Amongst Richard Branson’s many publications is this slim but characteristically engaging self-help volume in which the author shares his own unique practices and behaviours.The book is largely autobiographical. I’ll have something cautionary to say about this later, but it works here because Branson shares his wisdom. Rejection Proof By Jia Jiang This book promotes an innovative approach to dealing with rejection. Although his own story of self-discovery is crucial, Jiang encourages self-help by providing a methodology which is relevant to the challenges faced by his readers.So, while the book contains some autobiographical passages, they serve the main objective which is to assist the reader in dealing with rejection in their own lives. Goal By Eliyahu M. Goldratt And Jeff Cox This is a genre-busting book.It takes the topic of a project which has to be managed and, instead of offering a ‘how-to’ process, settles the subject matter into the body of a fictional novel.Not only do the authors find a unique angle into a familiar subject, but they also turn what could have been dry material into a page-turner. In doing so, the reader osmotically acquires knowledge rather than being obviously instructed. Who Moved My Cheese? By Dr Spencer Johnson This short story about two mice dealing with change has sold over 28 million copies.Why?There are several reasons, including the authority of the author, the fast pace and short length, and the playful nature of the story.However, one of its greatest strengths is the author’s use of a metaphor to explain something complex. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus By Dr John Gray This classic book asks the reader to conjecture that men and women originate from different planets and approach their co-existence on Earth with wildly different attitudes to each other. What sparkles is the originality of the proposition. Gray finds a way of articulating an age-old problem that affects both men and women: we have difficulty understanding each other. He goes on to provide a carefully considered explanation of the issues and, crucially, a language to facilitate dialogue towards happier relationships. The book proves that a well-articulated problem is halfway towards an answer.Can you be clear about what challenge your own readers face, and how your book offers a solution? Save The Cat By Blake Snyder This remarkable book provides the aspiring screenwriter with an insider’s insight into what makes a great movie script. The author is an acknowledged expert which helps the reader to trust the content. But better still, there’s so much to do!This slim book succeeds by placing the reader at its heart. Snyder provides exercises which help them practice new ways of thinking and doing things.By the end of the book, each reader will think it’s been written just for them. The Prophet By Kahlil Gibran Written in 1923, The Prophet has become one of the world’s most translated and best-selling books. Through 26 poetry fables, a fictional prophet shares his thoughts on a range of spiritual and practical matters which affect the human condition.It’s not an instructional book, but the reader can develop and benefit from the book’s wisdom. And being poetic, it also has a lyrical quality which makes the process of reading (and re-reading) it so rewarding.So, your own self-help book need not be a classic ‘how-to’ as long as you’ve got sufficient wisdom and experience to impart, and can do so in style. How To Write A Self-Help Book Self-help books cover a huge range of topics and their authors tackle their subjects in a range of diverse and creative ways.Here are some key considerations when creating one of your own. Identify A Clear Problem Or Opportunity That Your Book Must Address Any successful self-help book is a solution to a problem or opportunity. Can you describe what obstacle your reader would like to overcome or an opportunity they would like to benefit from?Only when you are clear on the answer to this question can you begin to assure yourself that your book will provide the solution.In pitching to agents or publishers, this will be the topic that they focus on first. Even if you\'re self-publishing, it\'s important to know what kind of problems you want your book to target.When you know the answer, it will be easier to describe what your book’s really about. Determine A Clear Objective For The Book Once you\'ve got a book idea to use as a starting point, think about your goals for the book. Write them down and share them with some potential/beta readers. What outcome do you want your book to achieve?Develop a title, sub-title and 30-word elevator pitch. (If you\'re querying agents, this is also a good first step for your book proposal.)For example...Title: ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus’.Sub-title: ‘A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships’.Elevator pitch: ‘Tells you all you need to know about members of the opposite sex and how to deal with them for positive, happy relationships’. Compare Your Objective With The Reader’s Objective For The Book What problems or opportunities do your readers face? What keeps them up at night? What can’t they do? What don’t they know? What outcome do they want from the book? What role will they expect or want to play in the book: an observer, a learner or an active participant? Compare the reader’s expectations for the book with your own.Amend your own objective until it meets your readers\', or identify a different target audience for your book. Know What You Are Able To Share With Your Readers It’s been said that we should write about what we know. When considering the development of a self-help book, I would go one step further.You have the opportunity to share with your reader a combination of four important things: your knowledge, your skills, your experience and your personality. The change in behaviour that your reader seeks won’t come from exposure to your knowledge or personality alone. They must practice new skills so that they build up their own experience. Your job is to help them do so.If all you include in your book is what you know, you’ll create a reference book.If all you write about is your personality, you’ll produce an autobiography. So, by all means, share your knowledge and personality and include plenty of real-life examples, but give careful consideration to the inclusion of exercises and tasks which will develop the reader’s skills and experience and truly appeal to your target audience. Decide How You Will Present The Material What’s your angle? If you’re tackling a subject which is already popular, how will you approach it differently? What will make your book better or more appealing to a reader?This is a question which will really start to matter when you’ve finished the book and are switching into sales mode and thinking about the book cover.Knowing your angle will help you, and others, pitch your book. What Is Your Role In The Book?  Which of the following roles will the reader most benefit from as their companion through their developmental journey?Raconteur? Authority? Exemplar? Entertainer? Educator? Researcher? Curator? Counsellor?Pick a few but not all.Give serious consideration to the character you will adopt in the book.Apart from helping your reader, it will aid you in finding a suitable authorial voice. Practice And Settle On A Confident Authorial Voice How will you address your reader? You may think it a trivial question, but your decision will have some significant consequences.  You could write in the first person. “I cooked my first sprout in 1967…” is fine if you’re a TV chef who readers want to emulate. It’s also great if you’re a celebrity who people want to know better. But this form of address can easily stray into the territory of autobiography where the book is about the author and less about the reader. We buy Branson’s books because we like him. Did you see what I did in my last sentence? While using the pronoun ‘we’ creates a sense that your readers are in a classroom, it can also divide and exclude them. Not everyone likes Richard Branson but by assuming that they do, you’ve lost those readers who disagree with you. They may decide that your book isn’t for them anymore because you’ve misunderstood them and failed to accept that they are different. So, as I’m doing here, you could settle on a second-person pronoun: you. This helps to create a closer, more personal relationship with the reader. It may also create a more explicit definition of your respective roles – teacher and student, for example. Finally, you can play it safe with good old third person. That is, “Good old third person helps the author to play it safe.” Yes, it’s a bit robotic, but it’s an option which may suit the nature of your book and its intended readership. Develop A Structure For The Material To avoid staring at a blank screen for too long, plan the book’s structure.How many chapters will there be? What will the content of each chapter be? In what order will they be best arranged? What will your chapter titles be?This will help you to articulate what may be a complex subject area. It will also help the reader to see how their own journey of development is going to unfold. Perhaps you can come up with a methodology which encapsulates the subject area of your book into an easy-to-remember structure.Is there a model which visualises and simplifies the complexity of the subject matter? Are there ‘7 steps’ or a process which the reader can be encouraged to follow? Develop A Clear ‘Reader Journey’ Think about your target reader and what you want their reading experience to be like.Where does the reader’s personal journey begin? What will you ask them to do as they read the book? How will you guide them? How will they know that their journey has ended? Will it continue after they have finished reading? How will they embed new ways of thinking, speaking and doing things? The reader of a self-help book should do more than merely read it – they must engage with it. They must invest something of themselves in the experience.Whether this means that your readers understand what you’ve written and compare it to their own experience (e.g. Branson), or that they undertake exercises to practice a new skill (e.g. Snyder), your readers will be demonstrating the change in behaviour that any good self-help book is there to encourage. Remember, your book will only help a reader when they can see it is focused on their own journey towards a more fulfilling life, so it\'s important that your book appeals to them directly.  Understand Why You Are The Right Person To Write This Book It’s easy to underestimate the responsibility that comes with writing a self-help book.You will be asking your reader to trust your instruction in a form of personal development which may carry some risk. For example, you may encourage them to try something which affects their mental health.Just as we would wish to assure ourselves of the qualifications of a doctor, plumber or pensions advisor, so too would we want to know that the author of a self-help book is worthy of our trust.It may be helpful – and it will certainly be necessary – to include your credentials. If you aren’t qualified to tell others how to think, act or speak, it isn’t the end of the world. You may still have a book inside you such as a memoir about your own journey of self-discovery. Tips For Writing Self-Help The writing process is often challenging, so here are some tips to guide you through the process.Any repetition here is intended. Some things are worth saying twice. It’s not (necessarily) about you Some 60% of the self-help books that come my way for editing or consultation are largely autobiographical in nature. That is, they focus on the author’s own experience – the mistakes they made, the challenges they faced, and the solutions they implemented. Many infer a conclusion that the reader can succeed if they do as the author did. Before turning personal experience into a self-help book, ask yourself, “Do I want my readers to learn how I succeeded, or how they can succeed for themselves?” Unless the book specifically addresses their needs, the reader may well ask, “How is this book relevant to my own journey of self-improvement?” Engage the reader Not everyone who reads a book expects to invest in the experience. A cheap novel may help a reader pass the time on a train. A self-help book requires the reader to participate. Although you may find it tiresome to develop exercises for your reader, it may well be necessary. At the very least, recognise that your reader expects you to engage and activate something inside of them that causes them to change. Write authoritatively You may be an acknowledged expert. Great! Draw on your experience to demonstrate your authority. But if you’re not, don’t pretend otherwise; the reader will know when you’re winging it.  Be honest with your reader. There’s telling and there’s teaching. They’re looking to you to help them learn new stuff. Whether your book’s about mental or emotional health, or re-building a 1968 MG Midget, your (hopefully practical) advice will have real-world consequences for your reader. Don’t try to teach what you don’t fully understand yourself.  Be different Between 1966 and 2021, there were 16,581 publications on the subject of mindfulness. How do you find a new way of entering the field? What hasn’t been tried yet? Can you create a metaphor for the subject or present it as fiction? Can you create a methodology which articulates something familiar in a more easily consumed way? Can you condense or expand the topic? Can you identify the outcomes that your readers really want to achieve by studying it? Can you teach the subject better than anyone else? Prepare It’s too easy to begin writing a self-help book without first giving thought to the big questions I have posed throughout this article. Don’t write any content until you’ve properly prepared. Settle on a clear objective that suits your own ambitions and those of your readers. Develop a structure. Familiarise yourself with the authorial voice you intend to use. Complement your own knowledge with research. Frequently Asked Questions Can Anyone Write A Self-Help Book? There are only two essential qualifications to write a self-help book. First, you must have expertise in a subject matter about which others want to learn. Second, you must be able to write about it in a way that educates your reader. This requires clarity of expression and an engaging voice. How Long Does It Take To Write A Self-Help Book? It depends, but start with a plan. List each step, including the development of the objectives and structure; a decision on your angle and authorial voice; the writing skills and time required; and the process of reviewing and editing each chapter.Don’t forget essential or possible research, and that it\'s crucial that you review and edit the entire book, which may require you to rewrite or restructure it.Against each step on your plan, place a realistic start and end date.Keep track and update the plan when things change (as they will!). When, or if, you attract a publisher, it may take a further six months or so before you see it in print. How Long Should A Self-Help Book Be? The examples I’ve described above show how varied self-help books can be in look and feel. If your book achieves its objective in 50 pages, great. If it needs 200, so be it. What’s of greatest importance is that your book must satisfy the needs of its readers… How Do I Know Whether My Self-Help Book Is Any Good? Your readers will tell you! When you’ve edited your book to what you think is a reasonable standard, share it with others. Family and friends will all tell you it’s great, so take it to someone who’s likely to be more honest!Here at Jericho Writers, we provide plenty of fantastic services to help people just like you get into print.  Writing Self-HelpWriting a self-help book is a bit like writing for children: it’s way harder than you think! However, with plenty of preparation, subject matter expertise and good communication skills, anyone can do it! Good luck!

What Is A Memoir? A memoir is, quite literally, a memory – a record written from personal knowledge or experience. It’s a form that complies with that great piece of advice, “write about what you know!” A memoir gives us the opportunity to explore major life events or a singular subject in as much detail as possible. Of course, by virtue of being shorter, a single memoir can stand on its own, or become part of a bigger collection such as an autobiography. Whether your memoir is about a time in your life that was brief yet significant, or depicts your entire life, having some memoir ideas to hand can be helpful for every memoir writer.Like any other piece of creative writing, a memoir needs to succeed in maintaining the reader’s engagement throughout. Knowing which memory to pick is often the most pressing challenge.These 50 prompts will get your creative juices flowing, whether you\'re writing about an important life lesson, the most influential person in your life, or are detailing your family history.50 Memoir Writing Prompts Prompts To Prepare You 1. Keep a journal. Capture events so that they’re there for you in 20 years’ time. What’s more, journal keeping is a discipline that maintains a writing practice. 2. Find inspiration in photographs. A picture can help us recall past events. Take a look at your phone. What were you doing 5 years ago today? Use the ‘search’ facility to find something obscure – a cherry, a ski, an ice cream. What memories do the images evoke? 3. Interview people. Friends and family, especially the elderly, are not only full of memories but also often keen to share them. Make a cup of tea and, with their permission, turn on a discrete voice or video recorder while you chat about the past. 4. Take inspiration from the space around you. What keepsakes do you have around you right now? Are they connected in any way? What story do they tell about you? 5. Identify the story. An event may be of great interest but what stories are there to tell? What happened before and after the event? What impact did it have on you and others? 6. Recall a moment of conflict. Disagreements make for drama, and dramatic tension keeps a reader engaged. 7. Write about a moment or period of emotional change. Think of a time when you moved between happiness and sadness. Engaging drama is about emotional transition… 8. Write about transformation. Can you recall a moment when your fundamental beliefs and opinions about something were changed? Perhaps you suddenly started – or stopped – believing in God? 9. Identify who you’re writing for. What questions would they have about the memories you’re describing? Prompts To Inspire You Things That Matter To Us All 10. Life and/or death. There’s little else of such significance. Have you had a near-death experience? What is your experience of witnessing birth or death? 11. What is your experience of good and ill health? Have you ever been diagnosed with a significant condition? In what way did it change you, physically, mentally and emotionally? How were those around you affected by it? 12. When did you first (or last!) fall in love? Who, or what, was it with? 13. Comedy or tragedy? Drama exists in both. Can you write about a funny situation? What caused it? What impression did it leave on you or others? If you can bring yourself to write about tragedy, how did it affect you? Was the process of writing about it cathartic?You14. Imagine that you meet a younger version of yourself. What impression do you have of them and they of you? What lesson would you share with them? What might they tell you that you’ve lost sight of over the years? 15. Can you recall a moment when you overcame your fear of something? Perhaps you asked someone out for a drink, or spoke in front of an audience, or abseiled down a cliff…? 16. Were you ever betrayed? Or did you betray someone else? How did it feel? Did you regret it, or was it in some way the right thing to do? Did it have a lasting impact on your life? 17. What has been the most exciting moment of your life, your happiest memory? Why did it thrill you so much?  18. Who or what did you want to be when you were younger? How did that ambition drive you? Did you achieve your wishes? What do you feel now that you are older? 19. What books or films influenced you most when you were growing up? Why, and in what way? 20. Are you a subject matter expert in something? Do you collect stamps? Do you breed cats? Have you been into space? Have you been through the criminal justice system? 21. What do you wish you could have discovered or learned as you were growing up? Why would it have been important to you now? 22. Looking back at your childhood, what seems odd or unusual to you? In what ways did it contribute to who you are today? Think about your earliest memory.23. Get someone else to describe you in three words. How does their view compare with your own impression of yourself? What do you keep private and what do you share? Why? 24. What makes you laugh and cry? What themes connect these things? What do they tell you about yourself?  25. At what moment in your life have you felt most loved, and most alone? When was that? Are they related in some way? How did those moments change you? 26. What cause or person would you die for? Does anything or anyone matter to you so much that you would die for it/them? Is death a price worth paying? 27. What keeps you awake at night? Why? Have you ever sought to overcome it? Can you share a recollection of when you first worried about it? 28. What are your insecurities? Do you worry about your looks, your confidence or money? Why? When did your insecurity first manifest itself? Have you ever tried to overcome it?  29. Write about a moment when you made a significant choice. Perhaps you proposed or were proposed to. In hindsight, was your response the right one? What choices would you like to face again, and why?30. Your heroes. Have you ever met them? Did they live up to your expectations? How did you feel about them afterwards? In what way did their actions, behaviours and beliefs affect you? 31. When did reality not meet your expectations? Was university not what you wanted it to be? When was a blind date a bit of a letdown? 32. What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve ever received, or offered? Is advice a good thing? 33. Can you describe a moment when you didn’t do something which, with hindsight, you regret? Why does it still matter to you? How would your life have changed if you had done something differently? 34. Find the drama in an accident and bring it to life for your reader. What happened? Who was involved? What was the outcome? What changed as a result? 35. Which incident in your life hurt you more than any other? Why did it hurt so much? What effect has it had on the rest of your life?  36. Describe something memorable that you did for the very first time. What drove you to do it? How did you feel before, during and after doing it? Relationships 37. The poet Philip Larkin famously wrote, “They **** you up, your mum and dad.” Write about family relationships; they’re full of drama. 38. How have your parents’ relationships with you and with one other affected your own personal relationships?  39. Write about your relationship with your siblings. What rivalries and friendships were there? If you were an only child, what are your reflections on being brought up alone? 40. Write about a friend. How did you meet them? What was the attraction? In what ways are they different from you? 41. Write about a stranger. How did you meet? Did you remain in touch? Why is it that you remember them? 42. Who from your own family’s history would you most like to meet? What would you ask them? What would you most like to tell or show them? Day To Day 43. Which part of the world would you revisit? What makes you long to return? How does that place make you feel? 44. Write about moving in or out of somewhere you have lived. What surprised you? What went well, or not so well? What has been the legacy of that day? 45. What did you buy with your first-ever paycheque? Why? Do you still have it? What would you buy with an equivalent amount of money today? Prompts To Improve Your Writing 46. Write about the sensual aspects of memory. What you saw is important, but what are the tastes, smells and sounds that you remember? Did you touch anything? Help your reader feel what you felt. 47. Show, don’t tell. You could write that someone was upset. Or you could describe how a tear gathered on the tip of their nose as they stared resolutely at the ground. 48. Don’t wait! Did you just create a memory? Capture it in a draft as soon as you can to encapsulate the present moment. 49. Just the facts…? The facts provide the structure around which the memoir hangs. But what engages a reader is the way in which the facts are presented and described. So, dig down to uncover or recall how you were changed by what happened. 50. Use metaphors and similes. Need to write about war? Perhaps you could pick out the tale of two neighbours on opposite sides of the conflict. Want to describe a complex emotion? Try comparing your own experience to something with which a reader may be familiar. Frequently Asked Questions Do Memoirs Have To Be 100% True? If it’s a personal memory, artistic licence is acceptable – it’s your memoir. But if you’re writing about a shared memory – a football match, a funeral, a wedding – take care that any facts are verifiable. If the reader finds something to be untruthful, the authenticity of the entire piece may be undermined. But whether personal or private, great memoirs are enriched by the author’s own insights and reflections. How Do I Begin A Memoir? Wherever possible, try to find the most reliable and truthful source. Like all good stories, a memoir should have a beginning, a middle and an end. A collection of memories – an autobiography – can benefit from some careful curation but, at its simplest, can follow events as they took place over time. What Makes A Memoir Successful? At least three things will engage your reader. First, the subject matter must be of interest. Find the common human themes in the story such as love, romance, revenge or conflict. Second, articulate how it felt to experience what was happening at the time. Emotions are a common language that allow people to connect. Third, write it as well as you possibly can. The better the standard of writing, the easier it will be for the reader to slip into your story. Memoir WritingCapture your memories. Start today! Take photos, keep a diary, talk with your friends and family and – importantly – listen! Try using one memoir writing prompt, or combine them to find the inspiration you need to get started.Polish your writing until it sparkles! 

Do you dream of seeing your own cookbook on the shelf?  If so, this article is for you.From key considerations before you start, to exploring different kinds of cookbooks and knowing what to expect from the creative process, this guide can help you bring those recipes to the page.So put on your apron and let’s get started! Things To Consider Before Creating Your CookbookWhat Is Your Concept? If you met someone for the first time and they asked about your cookbook project, could you describe it in less than two sentences?If not, it’s time to refine your concept. You’ll need it to stand out in the crowded cookbook market with a clear unique selling point.Whether you’re the next star of vegan baking or want to share the healthy Mexican recipes your dad taught you, you will need to hone your idea before you go any further.It needs to be memorable, authentic and true to you and your style of cooking. Who Is Your Audience?  It is so important to have a core readership in mind. Perhaps you already have an online community via social media or a blog – if so, try to understand who they are and how they respond to your posts and recipes. Do they love quick, simple midweek meals, or blow-out complicated dishes for impressing friends?Many of the most successful cookbook authors engage with their audience from the earliest stages, involving them as they create a book concept, asking them questions and generally building excitement and buzz with a ready pool of potential readers.  If you don’t have an online following, it’s still helpful to consider who you are writing for.Is it likely to be a self-purchase or a gift? Perhaps your writing reflects contemporary concerns such as budget, health, or sustainability, in which case, how might your book make a difference? Do you love writing about the stories behind food, as much as the food itself?Food brings us together, and the best cookbooks offer the same sense of connection you get from sharing a meal. Once you have your reader in mind, you can return to them whenever you’re making decisions.So, for instance, before you add that micro-herb to your garnish or start describing an elaborate way to chop up an avocado, ask yourself: will this appeal to my reader?Maybe it will, and that’s fine too, but keep checking back.Find Your Tribe Building a community with other food writers can help you share ideas and create a supportive environment for planning and publishing a cookbook.From Twitter to FoodTok to Instagram, there are so many like-minded cooks sharing ideas, bringing up the next generation of writers, forging partnerships, and organising food pop-ups and supper clubs.It’s a vibrant, inspiring place to be, and super exciting if you are just starting out.Get involved and bounce ideas around and it will help you get a broader sense of what you want to do. Plus you have a ready group of cheerleaders when the book comes out, and some of them may even help you when it comes to the recipe testing process.Knowing The Market Many of us have favourite cookbooks with scribbled notes and splattered pages. Do you look at other books on the market, too?Try reading consumer reviews on Amazon and other retailer websites. Take frequent trips to bookshops to see what is already out there and figure out how your book might stand out. Flick through pages of the books to see what you like and don’t like.Get a sense of the different book formats (hardback and paperback, size and number of pages). Compare how books are structured. Do you like an illustrated approach or a photographic one?Consider how many photographs should be included and if the food looks aspirational or easy to achieve. It’s also worth looking out for the smaller details like icons and tip boxes.What elements would you bring together for your dream cookbook?All of these factors can help you decide on the type of cookbook you’d like to write, whether that’s with the backing of a publisher or as a solo venture. Popular Types Of Cookbooks Traditionally Published CookbooksThis is often seen to be the dream scenario for cookbook writers. Although it depends on the size of the company, there are huge benefits to working with a publisher’s expert team: from editorial guidance to design and photography, and from sales and commercial channels to marketing and PR support.If you want to explore this option, create a list of publishers that already publish books in similar areas, ranging from those with the largest to smallest lists.This is a very competitive route to publication, because cookbooks are the most expensive kind of books for publishers to create and print. Many writers feel the benefit of working with literary agents to navigate the early stages and their relationship with a publisher.Editors are often happy to look at proposals directly from authors (especially at smaller publishers), so both routes are open to you. Self-Published CookbooksIncreasingly, writers self-publish cookbooks, either by setting up an e-book that’s downloadable from their website or working with a small printer to print and bind small print runs of physical books.Self-publishing has the advantage of being a faster process, so you can bring your book to market quickly, plus it is a great way to build demand and engage with your community.However, it can be an expensive and time-consuming process, and you won’t have the expertise and commercial benefits touched on above, so just keep this in mind as you plan.It might be worth considering crowd-funding – especially if your book is responding to a real need.Many writers begin by self-publishing their books and make the switch. The authors Shaun and Craig McAnuff started with a self-published cookbook that they sold through their channels, to huge success, before they went on to publish the bestselling Natural Flava with Bloomsbury.  Examples Of Cookbooks To give you an idea of the broad spectrum of cookbooks on the market, I’ve selected five cookbooks that are all very different but have been very successful in their space. The Roasting Tin – Rukmini Iyer (Square Peg, 2017): With its vibrant design, compact size and deliciously simple food, the bestselling The Roasting Tin (and subsequent spin-offs) is a fantastic example of how a totally fresh concept can captivate readers.   Ottolenghi Simple – Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, 2018): Simple brings together richly flavoured, easy and inventive recipes from bestselling author and chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Thanks to the simple and fast methods, this book reached a wider audience than previous books as it appeals to both adventurous and less confident cooks around the world.  Pinch of Nom – Kate and Kay Allinson (Bluebird, 2019): The fastest-selling cookbook of all time, this phenomenon comes from the team behind the huge online community of the same name. Packed with full-flavoured, home-style recipes that also happen to be slimming-friendly, Pinch of Nom has become the go-to cookbook for millions. Midnight Chicken – Ella Risbridger (Bloomsbury 2019): This illustrated cookbook breaks convention, by charting the redemptive power of cooking during difficult periods of life. Part memoir and part cookbook, this is a deeply personal, beautiful read as well as a collection of creative and achievable home recipes. Made in India – Meera Sodha (Fig Tree, 2014): The best cookbooks take you on a journey in the kitchen. With Meera Sodha’s debut cookbook, she brings the home cooking from her Indian family home in London to a broader audience – with easy methods, fresh flavours, story-telling and an incredible, bold design.  How To Write A Cookbook Step By Step These are the key steps to take when writing a cookbook.1. Choose Your Concept As mentioned above, owning your concept is a vital stage of the process. Think about what your concept is and what makes it really fresh and different.Test it with friends and family. Keep it punchy, fresh and authentic to you. Once you have this completely planned out, think about title ideas. You don’t have to land on the final title straight away, as it might percolate as you write.You’ll also need a clear subtitle or strapline to help explain what the book is and its unique selling point. Make sure there isn’t another title with the same name on the market. 2. Plan Your Structure There are lots of ways to organise cookbooks. Don’t be afraid to think creatively, providing the book is still user-friendly and clearly signposted.How do your readers like to cook? This might be led by your concept. For instance, if your book is about speedy cooking, perhaps you could organise it into ’10 minute’, ’20 minute’ and ’30 minute’ chapters.Or is it best to lead with the method of cooking or main ingredient? Consider your audience and what will grab their attention. Now start populating your list, balancing the number of recipes in different chapters. This might change and develop during the writing stage, but creating a list like this upfront will help you to avoid repeating ingredients and give you the skeleton to work from.At this stage don’t worry if your recipe titles aren’t the best, as they can be refined and checked as you go through the process. Don’t forget to plan for the other chapters too – your introduction, key ingredients list, and favourite kit, if appropriate.Perhaps you want to write about what has inspired your love of cooking, or a family member or place that is special to you. Adding your personality and your story makes it feel impactful. 3. Create A Proposal If you have decided to self-publish, you may wish to skip this step and move straight to developing your book, although the process is still likely to be worthwhile.Putting together a book proposal (a visual document introducing you and the concept) is key if you want to approach a publisher. If you get an agent, they will help you to put this together. So, what should it contain?Start with your concept and structure. Include a detailed biography, detailing any experience and social stats if relevant. Why are you the person to write this, and why now?It is advantageous to have an awareness of the market and the books you\'ll be competing with, and also how your book could be marketed and promoted. Do you have any partnerships or existing relationships to boost its profile?If you have no idea about this, don’t worry, but it could make you stand out. Consider when you want to publish. How long do you need to write? Do you need to coincide with a particular season – Veganuary, or the perfect gift for Mother’s Day? Include several complete versions of your own recipes in the proposal, so readers can get a sense of your writing. Choose your recipes carefully so they show your potential and varied repertoire.An optional extra is to include designed-up recipe pages featuring images. It could help editors quickly visualise your project. Most importantly of all: do not forget to proofread your proposal, and ideally, ask another person or two to read it before you send it anywhere. 4. Write Your Recipes Some writers like to record voice notes as they cook, and then write up the recipe afterwards. Or they split their time by spending one complete day cooking and taking brief notes, followed by a day of writing recipes in more detail and editing at their desk.Having an organised process and writing everything up quickly while things are fresh in your mind can help you capture important aspects you discovered as you were cooking. If you can, list all the ingredients in the order they appear. Do you need to consider the correct measurements for your readers, for instance, metric or imperial, or cups? Do you need a piece of special equipment, such as a blender, that it would be good for readers to know about before they start? Do you want to list prep and cook timing? Consider the cost of ingredients, and how much is used. Recipes need to be clear and precise, without assuming knowledge that might put off less confident cooks. Do you think your reader will understand the word ‘sauté’? Is there another way to describe it?Also, think about ways to make the recipes accessible and achievable. Could you suggest ingredient swaps or additional options to change things up? Are there tips that will make trickier techniques easier to understand? Don’t forget the details: oven temperatures, size of tins etc.  It’s also really useful to include serving, storing, and freezing advice, if appropriate.Think about the features you love when cooking yourself.Never steal recipes from other sources or people – this must be your own work, consisting of your own recipes, from the perspective of copyright laws as well as ethics. The nature of cooking is that many recipes are passed from one person to another and adapted along the way, so always consider whether you should credit anyone.Do you want to mention friends, chefs or other food cultures that have introduced you to ideas or influenced the recipes in your list?If one of your recipes is inspired by Thai flavours, for instance, but you’re not from the culture yourself, make sure you mention the authentic dish and explain how you’ve made it your own. Respect food traditions.Food writer Mallika Basu has helped to put together insightful cultural appropriation guidelines for the Guild of Food Writers website, so I urge you to take a look here.   5. Test Your Recipes Test, test and test again. Ask friends to test, and maybe point them in the direction of specific feedback – for instance, ask your recipe testers to focus on whether it works within the time suggested or tastes good. You could even allocate one element for each recipe tester to pay the most attention to.This is so important with all recipes, as when you’re writing yourself it is too easy to skip over a step by accident or leave out an ingredient.Don’t only pick your foodie friends, but also ask people who never cook and you’ll get the most interesting feedback from your recipe testing.This is especially important with baking recipes, which have so many variables. No one likes to invest time in a recipe that doesn’t work, so remember to take this stage seriously. 6. Edit The Text If you’re working with an expert editor, they will fine-tune and sense-check your recipes with you, and if you are self-publishing, you should consider paying a cookery editor to check your text if you can.A good copyeditor will put together a style guide for your book, like a checklist that avoids inconsistencies or any confusion.They will ask the fiddly questions you might not have thought of, like: is it black or white mustard seeds you’re using here? What level of heat should your hob be on? How finely should you chop the onion?  7. Finalise The Design  Now, this is when the fun can begin – bringing your book to life!Depending on your publisher, there might be the opportunity to be collaborative in the design of your book. Decisions will be made as to whether it should be black and white or full colour, with illustrations and/or photographs.Many of us assume that a cookbook should have images, but some of the biggest global successes have featured black-and-white line drawings (see Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan).As well as the inside design, the cover design is so important in grabbing attention and positioning your book in the market.Should you be on the cover, or does your audience need to see the food? These decisions are a real balancing act between budget, vision, commerciality, and market.  If a photoshoot goes ahead, perhaps you will be photographing the recipes yourself, but there are amazing food photographers working with publishers who specialise in making the food look the best it can be. These people will work with a whole team including a food stylist, prop stylist and art director.  8. Proofread And Index Proofreading is an incredibly important stage, as it’s the last opportunity to check for mistakes, typos, and to make sure everything is correct in the design before you get your cookbook published. Publishers will organise this for writers, but if you’re self-publishing, try to get a professional proofreader to do the job. Do you need an index? It may be that you decide a recipe list at the front of the book is enough, but the most user-friendly cookbooks include a detailed index so that readers can easily find the page numbers for a recipe by ingredient, cooking technique, key words, and more.   9. Announce Your Book The timing of your book announcement should be carefully thought through. It’s not necessarily the best idea to publish as soon as you can – for instance, if it’s a book of barbecue recipes, time it with late spring or early summer.Think about your commitments too, because you don’t want to publish just before a two-week holiday or a period when you’ll be really busy with other work.If you have an online community, it’s a good idea to announce a few months early to give them a chance to pre-order and get excited about the book. Perhaps you want to do an ‘unboxing’ video, where you share a video of you seeing your finished book for the first time.If you’re working with a publisher, they should help you put together a strategic plan for your announcement. And don\'t forget to take some time to celebrate your achievement!Celebrate in whichever way suits you. Have a party, spend a cosy night in, or, for a nice change, order a takeaway instead of being the one who does the cooking!Frequently Asked QuestionsHow Do I Write My First Cookbook? Choose your concept carefully, start with a detailed plan and immerse yourself in the cookbook market. Think carefully about the structure and layout. Keep your audience in mind at every stage. Involve other people in your project if you can – whether that’s by bouncing ideas, recipe testing, checking and editing recipes or giving you their honest feedback.  Can Anyone Write A Cookbook? Yes! Nothing is stopping you. You don’t need to be a trained chef or have worked in the food industry, as successful home cooks and cookery writers Jack Monroe, Nigella Lawson, and Nigel Slater have proved. You just need a lot of passion for food and a great concept that resonates with a readership. And in a competitive market, you need to inject something fresh and new. How Do You Structure A Cookbook? Most cookbooks include around four or five recipe chapters, but this is very much an individual approach. You can choose how to structure your cookbook best according to your concept and readership.If you can, try to spread out the recipes evenly through the chapters so you don’t end up with a super short or long chapter. As long as the recipes are clearly signposted and easy to follow, the rest is up to you.  How Many Recipes Should Be In A Cookbook? The standard expectation is that a cookbook should have between 70 and 100 recipes, but larger compendiums have at least 200. Think carefully about how many you want to include. You might want to save some back for cookbook number two! Creating A Cookbook Hopefully, this guide has given you the inspiration and tools to start writing your own cookbook. Feel free to express your style of cooking, and let your voice shine through. The best cookbooks are as much about the people and stories behind the food as the recipes themselves.  

I’ve always felt that writing is an intimate activity; neither the writer nor the reader misses the inner workings of the writer’s mind. More so is the case with writing an autobiography. You’ll not only delve into the nitty-gritty of your thoughts but also critique your own life in the process of penning it down.  Sounds a tad uncomfortable, doesn’t it? And yet, it is this very genre of non-fiction that has one of the strongest readerships. Besides, no matter the discomfort you put yourself through whilst writing it, the minute your autobiography reaches the reader, it takes on the task of inspiring others. There’s a tendency to believe that a biography, and more so an autobiography, is meant to be written by only a subject who’s a stellar performer in their career and highly popular for it. This is far from true. Sure, such a person could have a great ability to inspire their fans and readers, but even an ordinary person is capable of it.  You see, it’s in how you tell your life’s story that the inspiration lies, not necessarily in the popularity of it. Famous or not, every one of us deals with hardships in life and does one thing or another to overcome them. And therein, lies the narrative for every gripping autobiography... In this article, I’ll help you understand what an autobiography is; go through the differences between biography, autobiography and memoir; provide some autobiography examples; tell you what to include in an autobiography; highlight the things that make for a compelling autobiography; and tell you how you can research your own life (yes, you read that right) to make your autobiography as authentic and balanced as possible. What Is An Autobiography? When thinking about the meaning of the word autobiography, it can be helpful to compare the subgenre with others which it\'s confused for (biography and memoir). So, in this section, I\'ll highlight the nuances of each genre/subgenre.Autobiography DefinitionAn autobiography is a non-fictitious story by a person about their own life. It’s a subgenre of the larger genre of biography.  Let\'s look at biographies in more detail.Biography A biography is typically written by a writer who’s highly knowledgeable about an individual and their life. They might be written post-humously (sometimes, the individual could still be alive), and may or may not be authorised (given express permission by the individual or their family).  Take, for instance, the award-winning Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by author Sally Bedel Smith. This book does the behemoth task of showing the reader what it meant for a young woman – Queen Elizabeth II – to take on the monumental task of being a monarch and do so successfully for decades. This book is certainly a magisterial biography. Though it doesn’t explicitly mention whether or not it is authorised, it certainly seems like it was, because the writer met the Queen on various occasions during the course of her research. So, if watching The Crown on Netflix has left you thirsting for more, you need only read this biography. Another highly compelling biography is Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs. Openly authorised, this book is a testament to not only its visionary of a subject, Steve Jobs, but also life in the digital era that we live in. In over forty interviews with Jobs himself, and more than a hundred interviews with his friends, family, colleagues and competitors, Isaacson chronicles Jobs’ rollercoaster life as a creative entrepreneur. Jobs was known to irk his friends and foes alike with his brutal honesty and this is reflected in his biography too. He holds nothing back and neither does anyone that talks about him, making this book one of the sincerest biographies ever written. Autobiography An autobiography, however, is written by the subject themselves. The writer looks back on their life, putting all major events from their birth up until the time they complete the book under the microscope. They explore their past with the wisdom-filled lenses of their present. Needless to say, the authenticity of such a story is arguably higher than in a biography. I mean, who better to write your life’s story than you! Here are some great examples of autobiographies. One of the most-read autobiographies of all time is perhaps Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk To Freedom. The book details the story of the man who spent twenty-seven years in prison for marching against South African apartheid and then went on to become the president of a free country. It’s not only the narration of a revolutionary man (which in and of itself is significant), but also a story of triumph over racism and colonialism.  Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s Playing It My Way was a stellar record breaker with a pre-order of 1,500,000 copies of the autobiography, easily overtaking even Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs! The man was a legend on the cricket pitch and it’s no wonder fans want to read about what his life is really like, directly from the horse’s mouth. Suffice to say, Tendulkar’s penmanship matched pace with his batsmanship; his innings began even before the match did! I’m one of those people who’s rather reluctant to watch a movie unless they’re certain it’s an inspiring, or at the very least a positive, one. One such movie that’s an all-time favourite of mine is The Pursuit Of Happyness starring Will Smith (who incidentally happened to publish his own autobiography Will earlier this year). The movie is an adaptation of Chris Gardner’s own autobiography by the same name. We’ve read many a story of single mothers struggling to make ends meet. But Gardner’s is that of a single father’s rags-to-riches story, which also shows him doing his best to be a good father to his son. For someone who grew up without a father, Chris’ own parenting is both heart-warming and inspiring, even keeping his overnight rags-to-riches story aside. Where there’s a woman of colour who runs a Fortune 50 company, there shall be an autobiography of her. Ex-CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi’s My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future isn’t simply a story of her life but also a critique of the lack of work-life balance that society so readily accepts. Somewhat cut-and-dry, this autobiography makes the reader picture a rather ditch-feelings-be-formidable Indra Nooyi. But, perhaps, that’s exactly what it took her to get where she did.  What’s common amongst all these autobiographies is that they are highly inspirational, some with a big message for society in general. Where there’s talk of autobiographies, Anne Frank’s Diary Of A Young Girl is never far behind. The epistolary by the teenager lays bare her experiences as a Jew during World War II. The progression of her diary shows the maturing girl’s growing difficulty in maintaining self-awareness, a direct reflection of the impact of the Nazi regime. However, though the book falls under the umbrella genre of biographies, it’s more accurately a memoir. Memoir A memoir is another subgenre that’s all about a real person’s story written by the subject themselves, making them autobiographical. It is a long non-fiction narrative of the writer’s memory of their own life. Memoirs are often known – and read – for their exquisite literary quality. We had a memoir as part of the curriculum for my bachelor’s degree in English Literature. I recall a week during that semester when our whole class was really glum. When one of our professors asked us what was wrong, we all sighed collectively and told her we were reading Elie Weisel’s Night.  Imagine that. A whole class of students were deeply saddened by the subject of a memoir, some even on the verge of tears, as we explained to the professor why we were all low. Elie Wiesel sure knows how to translate his pain into poignancy for the pages.  The memoir (it also falls under another subgenre called faction) is heartbreaking to readers as it details the harrowing experiences that the writer lived through and perhaps relived as he wrote it. Night is a haunting rendition of Elie Wiesel’s experience of the Holocaust as a teenager. This event in history marks the failure of humanity, and to intimately feel a survivor’s account of this horror is a grieving experience. This, right here, is what memoirs are capable of.  A memoir and an autobiography are similar on these counts – they’re both about real people and the real lives they lead. One way in which they differ is in their goal – memoirs are written to move the reader, to connect with them by way of emotive storytelling, while autobiographies are generally meant to inspire the reader, through a detailed exploration of who the writer really is. This is how they function primarily, even though both memoir and autobiography could potentially move and inspire just the same.  Sometimes, autobiographies might be marketed as memoirs and this can be quite confusing. Even experts make the mistake of using ‘autobiography’ and ‘memoir’ as synonyms. A key difference is that autobiographies record the subject’s life from birth to present time, chronologically, whilst memoirs may go back and forth in time and often cover smaller time spans. Autobiographies place importance on facts and history, whilst memoirs lean heavily on emotional experience. This also means that autobiographies are more general in terms of the topics they cover, even though certain events may be highlighted more than others. On the other hand, Memoirs can be thematic with a singular event or experience or emotion taking the forefront.  How To Write An Autobiography If you’re excited to write your life’s story, then you’re in the right place. Here are the steps to writing an autobiography: Do Your Research Yes, it’s your own story. You might even assume that you’re the foremost expert on the topic of you. But think again. You might be surprised by how much you don’t know about your past, by simply going through family photos, and talking to your family and relatives about your childhood. They could give you several anecdotes that could brighten up your autobiography. Even talking to your ex-employers and bosses about the great and not-so-great things about your time in their company could give you a whole new perspective about yourself that you can then share with your readers. Create An Outline Writing an autobiography might seem like a mammoth task, especially if you’re not clear on what your narrative is. Are you telling your rags-to-riches story? Are you looking at the work-life balance battle you lead throughout? Or are you depicting your struggle against the societal restrictions placed upon you? If you have the narrative clear in your mind, then the outline is simply about listing all the various events of your life and seeing what aspects of them fit your narrative. Jot these aspects down; they’ll be the key points in your chapter breaks. Voila! You have your narrative, outline, and key points per chapter. Write The Draft Once you start writing your autobiography, try to get through it as quickly as possible. Aim for progress, not perfection, at this stage. The thing is, you’re bound to second-guess your own perspective the more you dwell on it, simply because everything seems important. After all, it is your life you’re writing about. However, this is exactly what could keep you stuck. Instead, move through it at a good pace, and later, when you edit it, you can slow down and decide what works and what doesn’t.  Give It Time Before Editing It I never edit my writing soon after I’m done. To have a fresh outlook on my own writing, I need some time and distance from it. So, I give it at least two days, when it’s a small piece. But for an autobiography, I’d suggest giving it much longer; perhaps a month or two. Completing the manuscript in itself could take you months, if not years, and tire you out at the end of it. Take a long break, maybe even a vacation, where you work on something else completely. That way, when you return to edit your autobiography, you’ll have a renewed eye for error and detail. After this, maybe give it another two weeks before you fact-check and proofread. Once this is done, you’re ready to send it off to an agent. Write A Book Proposal Another thing to consider is that most agents will want a book proposal from you when you query them. Of course, before you do that you need to know which non-fiction agents to reach out to and what they are looking for. Be prepared for rejections; you knew this was never going to be easy. Do not take the rejection to be a personal critique of your life. Just keep pitching your book to agents until the right one picks it up.  Tips For Writing An Autobiography Apart from the obvious – write in the first person – if you’re considering giving autobiography writing a go, then, you’ll need to bear in mind the following: What Gives The Full Picture?An autobiography compulsorily covers the subject’s whole life until the point they are done writing it. This means you’ll need to cover your childhood, upbringing, education (or lack of it), adolescence, career, relationships, lifestyle and more. So, knowing what to include in your autobiography can be tricky. Of course, you can’t place equal importance on each of these. If you’re a fitness expert, then it makes sense to spend more time on your lifestyle section than any other. Still, it’s important to let your readers know everything that shaped you into who you are today. So, whilst the emphasis might be on you as a fitness expert, the reader will also want to know how you handled life as a parent, child, employee, friend and more. They’ll want the full picture, the complete you. How Much Is Too Much? The best autobiographies provide as much information as a reader might crave about the subject, yet know when to stop. Keeping the reader – who doesn’t know you – in mind is crucial at every turn. The things you think are very important to you, might not be very interesting for the reader. Yes, this is your story, but once your story reaches the reader, it’s their review that decides how impactful it really is. What Ties It All Together? Life is messy; it’s hard to sort through the clutter and find the thread that ties it all together. But this, you must do, for your autobiography. Even though it will contain various aspects of your life, they need to have a common narrative. At the end of the day, it’s a book. It is a story. So, you’re going to have to write it like one. Here are some examples of narratives: transformations throughout life, lessons you learnt from every stage or area of life, you versus your public persona, you versus the society. These narratives don’t have to be combative, just problematic enough for any human to relate with. How Balanced Is It? By its very nature, an autobiography is revealing. It can unfurl the good, the bad, and even the ugly. How elegantly each of these is handled can make or break the autobiography. Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs does this with a flair unmatched by most other books of the biography genre; the extensive research he did makes for a balanced view. Despite the candid voices, none of it reads like a smear campaign. You can take a leaf out of his book and apply it to your own autobiographical writing. If you can research your own life, by way of getting varied perspectives from friends, family, and even foes, then, you might have a nuanced approach to the storytelling of your own life. Frequently Asked QuestionsHow Do You Write An Autobiographical Story?There are lots of things to include when you\'re writing an autobiography. Autobiographical stories cover an entire lifetime, pay close attention to detail, are often written in chronological order, and have a clear narrative. They also have balanced characters and are well researched and fact checked.What Is The Purpose Of Autobiographical Writing?Autobiographical writing is generally written with the aim of depicting an important experience, topic, or challenge in the writer\'s life. Beyond this, the aim tends to be much more personal, and dependent upon the subject of the book. Writers may hope to entertain, educate, or inspire their readers, or showcase a different perspective.How Long Is An Autobiography?There aren\'t any specific rules when it comes to the length, or word count, of an autobiography, but they tend to be between 250-450 pages long. Autobiographies written by people who are well known and already have an audience tend to be longer, as their readers are more likely to commit to the text and take the time to read a lengthier tome.Autobiographical Writing Writing an autobiography is a highly intimate affair; it’s bound to bring back certain uncomfortable memories, perhaps even trauma. If at any point, you feel it’s getting too heavy to handle, put the project on hold, seek out a therapist and come back to your book once you feel it’s safe to do so. Let your therapist know that this is in fact the reason you’re there – to be able to write your book from a safe space. You may want to consider not talking about your book with loved ones until you’ve completed the first draft. Then, let them know that your book might include them and not all of it might be easy to digest. They might not like it, but in the end, this is your story and you get to tell it from your point of view. If you ensure to focus on your own journey in the book, rather than blame others, then this shouldn’t be an issue. If someone still feels uncomfortable with the contents of your book, know that there isn’t much you can do about it. It’s their job to deal with their own feelings. Don’t let them guilt trip you. Try not to worry too much about the repercussions of writing your life’s story before you even begin. Remember why you’re writing this in the first place – your life is inspirational and there are readers who’d love to read about you. With that in sight, just get started and complete your autobiography. 

There are a truly endless number of poetic types, especially if you consider the forms created across languages and those people create for themselves. While this can seem overwhelming, it means that there truly is a form of poetry that suits everyone and every style. So, whether you’re looking for more poems to read, or want to find a new form to write in and experiment with, this guide of the 25 main types of poetry (complete with examples of each type of poetry) will provide you with a spark of inspiration. What Are The Different Types Of Poems? For those who like structure and enjoy the challenge of a rigid poetic form, there are forms such as the sestina, the villanelle, and the pantoum. For those who favour fluidity, there’s free verse, lyrical poetry, and occasional poetry. If one form intimidates you, simply try another! Or break the rules of its form and experiment. Here are some of the most well-known types of poetry. 1. Ode Odes are one of the most well-known forms of poetry. They tend to serve as a tribute to a subject. This subject can be a person or an inanimate object, and the voice in the poem praises the subject in a ceremonial manner. Odes are short lyric poems, which convey intense emotions, and tend to follow traditional verse structure. They are generally formal in tone. Romantic poet John Keats wrote several odes, including Ode To a Nightingale. 2. ElegySimilarly to odes, elegies are tributes to certain subjects, though in this case that subject is largely a person. These poems reflect on death and loss, and traditionally include a theme of mourning. Sometimes they also include a sense of hope, through themes like redemption and consolation. Elegies are generally written in quatrains and in iambic pentameter, with an ABAB rhyme scheme. These are loose guidelines, and many poets adjust them. There is a strong tradition of poets using the elegy in order to honour and pay respects to their departed literary compatriots, such as in W.H. Auden’s poem In Memory of W. B. Yeats.3. VillanelleVillanelles (yes, this really is a type of poem, not just the name of one of the main characters in the TV show Killing Eve) are a little stricter and more complicated in form. They tend to have a fluid, almost lyrical feel to them, as they use lots of repeating lines. Villanelles consist of nineteen lines, in the form of five tercets and a closing quatrain, and they have a very specific rhyme scheme. The tercets follow the rhyme scheme ABA, while the quatrain’s rhyme scheme is ABAA. The first line repeats in lines 6, 12, and 18 of the poem, while the third line repeats in lines 9, 15, and 19. These repeated lines need to be signifcant and well-crafted as they occur so frequently. Villanelles often describe obsessions and intense subject matters. Well regarded examples include Sylvia Plath’s Mad Girl\'s Love Song and Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. 4. SonnetSonnets are among the most popular forms of poetry. They are fourteen lines long, and typically centre around the topic of love. The rhyme scheme varies depending on the type of sonnet used. Shakespearen sonnets have three quatrains and an ending couplet. The quatrain has an ABCB rhyme scheme, the couplet has a DD rhyme scheme, and they are written in iambic pentameter. Petrarchan sonnets have one octave and one sestet. The octave uses the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA, while the sestet most commonly uses the rhyme scheme CDE CDE, but also sometimes uses CDC CDC. Sonnet Number 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a particularly well-written sonnet. 5. Free VerseFree verse is a type of poem that appeals to those who find strict forms intimidating. There are no rules, the poem can establish any rhythm, and rhyme is entirely optional. This is a great form to try if you’re new to writing poetry, or want the freedom to explore all kinds of structures and ideas. Free verse is often used in contemporary poetry, such as in Ada Limón’s How to Triumph Like a Girl. 6. SestinaThe sestina is a complex French verse form which usually features unrhymed lines of poetry. It has six sestets, and an ending tercet. The ending words of each line from the first stanza are repeated in a different order as ending words in each of the subsequent five stanzas. The closing tercet contains all six of these ending words, two per line, and they are placed in the middle and at the end of these three lines. The sestina is one of the most complicated types of poetry, but its intricacies create beautiful poetry. It often helps to look at examples of complicated poetic forms, so you can see how they’re structured. A Miracle for Breakfast by Elizabeth Bishop is a great example of a sestina. 7. AcrosticAcrostic poems are fun, and very well-known. You may have written an acrostic or two during your time at school. Acrostics vertically spell out a name, word, or phrase, with each letter that begins each new line of a poem. Lewis Carroll’s Acrostic spells out the names of three children he knew, to whom he gave the poem as a gift. 8. EkphrasticThe term ekphrastic poetry refers to any poem that uses a visual image or work of art as inspiration. Ekphrastic poetry is not about form, rigidity, or structure, but the connection between poetry and art. It’s often created by poets writing down details about an art form and how it makes them feel, or imagining when and how the art form was created. Self-Portrait with Sylvia Plath’s Braid by Diane Seuss is a contemporary example of an ekphrastic poem. 9. HaikuHaikus are very popular types of poetry. The haiku originated in Japan, and it is a short and fun form. These poems often refer to nature, though this is optional, and the form comes from the use of syllables. Haikus are three lines long, with the first line comprising 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, and the final line 5 syllables. The fact that this form is so short and simple means that haikus are very accessible and pleasant to write. That being said, it can be difficult to express something meaningful within such limited parameters. Suicide\'s Note by Langston Hughes is an exceptionally well-executed haiku (note that it’s a newer form of haiku). 10. BalladA ballad is a form of narrative verse, and its focus on storytelling can be musical or poetic. They typically follow the pattern of rhymed quatrains, which use a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB. Though this is often how they are structured, this is not always the case, as the form is loose and can be altered. An example of a ballad is Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 11. Lyric PoetryThe term lyric poetry houses a broad category of poetry that centres around feelings and emotions. These poems are often short and expressive and tend to have a songlike quality to them. They can use rhyming verse, or free form. Lyric poetry differs from epic and narrative poetry as the focus is on a feeling rather than a story. Emily Dickinson’s The Heart Asks Pleasure First and her Because I could not stop for Death are both strong examples of lyric poetry. 12. Erasure/Blackout Poetry Erasure (or blackout) poetry is a form of found poetry, wherein you take an existing text and cross out or black out large portions of it. The idea is to create something new from what remains of the initial text, creating a dialogue between the new text and the existing one. This form is great for experimentation as you can use books, magazines, newspapers, anything you can think of. A great example is Doris Cross’ Dictionary Columns. 13. EpicsEpic poetry refers to very long poems which tell a story. They contain detailed adventures and extraordinary feats performed by characters (they can be real or fictional) whom are often from a distant past. The term ‘epic’ was derived from the accomplishments, adventures, and bravado of these poems. Homer\'s The Iliad and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen are famous epics which are often studied at length by students and scholars alike. 14. Narrative PoetryNarrative poems are similar to epics as they too tell a story, but they are not as long nor as focused on adventures and heroism. They focus on plot over emotion, and tell fully developed stories from beginning to end. Narrative poems are typically told by one narrator or speaker, and they often have some kind of formal rhyme scheme. An example of narrative poetry is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. 15. LimericksLimericks are short, comedic poems, which can be crude and are largely trivial in nature. They often include pithy tales and brief descriptions. Limericks are five line poems of a single stanza with an AABBA rhyme scheme. The first, second, and fifth lines tend to have 7-10 syllables, while the third and fourth lines tend to have 5-7 syllables. Edward Lear wrote many limericks, such as There Was a Young Lady. Limericks are often prevalent in nursery rhymes such as Hickory Dickory Dock. 16. Occasional PoetryThe term occasional poetry refers to poems written to describe or comment on a particular event. They are often written for a public reading, and their topics range from sad, serious matters like war, to more joyous ones like birthdays and presidential inaugurations. Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander is an example of occasional poetry. 17. PantoumPantoums are a more complicated type of poetry. They are poems of any length and are composed of quatrains. Within these quatrains, the second and fourth lines of each stanza are used as the first and third lines of the following stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first. An example of a pantoum is Charles Baudelaire’s Harmonie du Soir. 18. Blank VerseBlank verse is poetry written with a precise meter, often iambic pentameter, but it doesn’t rhyme. That’s all there is to it! So it’s another interesting form to experiment with, and help you decide which kind of structures you prefer (long or short, rhyming or not, with or without meter etc). Paradise Lost by John Milton is an example of blank verse. 19. Prose PoetryProse poetry, as the name suggests, combines elements of the poetic form with those of the prose form. It tends to look like a standard paragraph of prose with standard punctuation and a lack of line breaks, but utilises poetic elements such as meter, alliteration, repetition, rhyme, and rhythm. As some of these devices/elements feature in other forms of writing too, there have to be a combination of them featured in the writing in order for it to be determined as a prose poem. If you’re looking for an example of a prose poem, Bath by Amy Lowell is a great one. 20. Concrete PoetryConcrete poetry is designed to create a particular shape or form on the page which echoes the poem’s message. This form of poetry uses layout and spacing to emphasise certain themes, and they sometimes take the shape of their subjects. For instance, a poem about the moon may have a decidedly crescent shape. Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree by George Starbuck is a wonderful concrete poem (and is a sonnet too; poems often belong in several poetic groups). 21. EpitaphEpitaphs are like elegies, but considerably shorter. They often appear on gravestones and can also include an element of humour. There are no strict rules regarding rhyme scheme and the like, so they are another poetry form suited to those who feel restricted by stricter forms. Epitaph by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a lovely example. 22. Palindrome PoetryThis type of poetry combines poetic form with palindromes, so the words reflect back upon themselves, hence why they are also referred to as mirror poems. These poems start with an initial set of lines and then hinge on a line that usually repeats directly in the middle of the poem before they work through the rest of the lines in reverse order. This form is another complicated form which seems less daunting once you read an example of it. Try Doppelgänger by James A. Lindon.  23. Diminishing VerseDiminishing verse is a poetry form with unknown origins. Its main rule is to remove the first letter of the end word in the previous line and then repeat it. For instance, if the first line ends with the word blink, the second line would end with link, and the third would end with ink. There are no other strict rules, though diminishing verse poems tend to be written in tercets. This is a newer form, so there are very few well known examples of it, though you can find some written by various people on the internet. 24. List PoemsAs the name suggests, list poems are made up of lists of things or items. They don’t follow any strict rules, though the last line is often funny and/or impactful and sums up the entire poem. Sick by Shel Silverstein is one great example. 25. Echo VerseEcho verse refers to poems which repeat the end syllable of each line. This ending syllable can be repeated at the end of the same line, or it can be placed on its own line directly underneath it. Other than this repetition, this type of poetry doesn’t follow any rules. An example of echo verse is Jonathan Swift’s A Gentle Echo on Woman. Different Types Of Poems And Poets There are numerous different types of poetry, to match every poet or every mood. Hopefully this guide has given you some inspiration, or helped you discover a new form. There are endless poetic styles and forms for you to explore, but if all else fails simply make up your own! 

Have you always wanted to write a poem, but don\'t know where to start? Trying something new is often daunting. But the wonderful thing about poetry is that it\'s all about you - your feelings, your ideas, the way you see the world. And there are no rules! But there are plenty of things you may wish to learn first to give you a deeper understanding of the most beautiful form of written expression.In this article I will be explaining what poetry is, the key elements of a poem, how to find inspiration, and how to edit your poetry.What Is Poetry? When you think about poetry, your mind may go back to English lessons at school, and memorising and interpreting poems by the likes of Shakespeare, Coleridge, and Emily Dickinson. While those poets are rightfully revered, there is so much more to poetry than just the classics. There truly is a poem for everyone. And it’s wonderful to see that, with the rise of intersectional feminism, poets by women of colour such as Amanda Gorman and Rupi Kaur (as well as their predecessors Maya Angelou, bell hooks, Toni Morrison) are being recognised for their talent and hard work.Poetry is varied not just in terms of who writes it, but also in terms of form. For those who prefer to process things auditorily rather than visually, there’s spoken word poetry (try Button Poetry if you’re interested). For children, there are nursery rhymes and acrostics. And many modern poets post their poems on social media so that you can enjoy their wonderful words while you’re scrolling. The definition of poetry has expanded greatly in recent years, but essentially, it is distilled language that intends to resonate with the reader. The effect poetry produces varies greatly and is largely determined by the poet’s intent. Whether you want to make your reader cry, laugh, or want to go on a hike, the limit of the form’s length means that every word counts. And every line should be working towards that goal of making the reader feel.  The Key Elements Of A Poem There are multiple components to a poem, and each of them has its own value. Individual poets often have a signature style, which tends to be based around the poetic element which they focus on and excel at. Before you start writing a poem, you need to know more about how they are shaped. Voice The voice of a poem is arguably one of the most important parts. It carries much of the tone and emotion which helps the reader connect to the poem. The speaker in poetry is often somewhat vague, which enables the reader to empathise with them more. A popular, compelling way in which voice is utilised is through the poetic I (frequently using the word \'I\' to frame the speaker’s feelings and experiences). It also affects the timbre of the poem when it is read aloud as the voice of a poem carries certain emotions, which determine how we vocalise. Form The form of a poem often indicates much of its structure and rhyme scheme. As it determines the shape of a poem, it is another vital component. Form includes the type of poem (villanelle, haiku, free verse), its overall length, line breaks, the number of stanzas, and the length of the stanzas. Some poets like to start off with a very strict idea of the form they would like their poem to take, some just start writing and see what happens, while others will add elements of form when they edit. Rhythm Rhythm is one of the ways in which poetry stands out from other writing forms. While, of course, almost all writing has some element of rhythm, in poetry it is the centre from which the voice, form, content etc stem, and it influences how they are expressed. It’s also linked to structure, as long poems with long lines tend to be more fluid than short poems with short stanzas and lines which often have an urgency to them. Rhythm involves pace and can be altered by things like syllable count and alliteration. Enjambment can be used skilfully to disrupt the rhythm and bring the reader’s attention to a specific line. Caesura and line breaks work similarly, and these sections can be further developed when paired with an interesting rhyme scheme. Rhyme Contrary to popular belief, poems do not have to rhyme. Whether a poem utilises full rhyme, half-rhyme, or no rhyme at all, rhyme usually influences how the poem is perceived and helps create its overall message. The rhyme scheme can be very regular throughout the entire poem (e.g. four stanzas with a common ABCB rhyming pattern), or entirely inconsistent, with a rhyming couplet placed at the end to act as the poem’s memorable thesis statement. Assonance and consonance can also be used to create more subtle rhymes, as can homophones because they don\'t visually appear to rhyme. Iambic pentameter (favoured by Shakespeare) is a frequently used rhyme scheme, which is linked to form, as it’s often used in sonnets. It also relies on meter to create strong sounds and emphasis. Meter Meter refers to the pattern of stressed syllables and the number of syllables in a line, stanza, or poem. It’s more frequent, and notable, in traditional poetry, and highlights a poem’s rhyme, rhythm, and structure. Often, if you’re writing a poem and find that a section sounds off, it’s because you’ve been using meter in a regular pattern- intentionally or not-and then diverged from that pattern. Literary Devices Poetry is often rife with literary devices. Many poems are focused on clear images, and literary devices are often used to describe them. Motifs and symbolism are some of the broader ones used, and lyrical language, irony, metaphors, and similes are used to describe specific details. Choosing a literary device that interests you and trying to write an example of one can be a great way to start a poem or revitalise one you’ve already begun. How To Start Writing Poetry One of the unique things about writing poetry is that there is no set starting point. Want to start with the last stanza? Fab! Want to shape your poem around an interesting title? Great! Want to have a freewriting session that produces a long meandering poem? Go for it! You can always edit later. Ultimately, when it comes to writing a poem, you can start wherever you want to. For some, this can be freeing. If it leaves you more daunted than excited, then one way to start is by using one of our poetry prompts.  It’s also important to consider why you want to write poetry. If you want to take 5 minutes to write a poem because it’s a quick, accessible form of creative expression, then experiment with a few methods and just enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about finishing poems either (many writers never feel as though their work is finished; you could edit your writing in perpetuity). If you want to write a poem to the best of your ability, then you’ll approach things differently and spend more time on it.Not only can you start a poem wherever you like, but you can also decide how long you want it to be, what style you want to emulate (lyrical, free verse, stream of consciousness, prose poetry), and how it’s structured. Poetry can be very personal, so if it reassures you, know that your poetry can be written just for you. No one else has to read it. Poetry can be a great outlet, and a poem’s value is about so much more than how many people have read it.  Reading poetry out loud (to yourself or to others) is incredibly helpful, too. Rhythm is a key element of poetry, and it can be better emphasised and understood when we hear it compared to when we read it. Processing your work in a different way can give you ideas about what to write in a new stanza or help you to edit a section of an existing part of it. Start With Structure When it comes to writing a poem, a good place to start is with the structure. Decide whether you want to write a poem with a strict form (a villanelle that has a predetermined rhyme scheme and length) or whether you want to start with a free writing session that ends up as a poem written in free verse. It really helps to know what kind of writer you are. Do you find restrictions helpful, because they focus your ideas and give you clear boundaries? Or do you find them confining, and feel that more freedom enables you to think more creatively? Regardless of your answer, knowing the extent to which form and structure can help you provides you with a rough idea of what your poem will look like, which means you can then start to focus in a little more on the specifics. You could even start with a great title which you came up with (finding a strong title is often very difficult, so if this is the case, congrats!) and build the poem from there. Start With Your Content In poetry, as with all kinds of writing, the main content and message are key. Therefore, starting with the content of your poem can be helpful. Often, if you’re eager to write a poem it’s because you have a topic in mind. Maybe you want to write an ode to a loved one, process and express your feelings, or write about a current topic/event. If you already have a topic in mind, just start writing! You can always edit it later, and at least you’ve got something to work from. If you have no idea what you want to write about, fear not! You could do a short timed free write, and just see what comes up. If any lines or phrases stand out to you, use them as a starting point. Alternatively, you could use one of our poetry prompts to help you get started. Seek Inspiration If you’ve written poetry before, and find yourself feeling stagnant, or if you want to try something new, then seeking external inspiration is great. Read interviews from poets you admire or read lots of poems you like. Your inspiration doesn’t even need to come from the world of poetry. You could hear an interesting line from the song playing on the radio or watch an exchange between characters on a TV show which intrigues you. Be open to receiving ideas, wherever they might come from. You could even write a poem with a friend, and exchange alternate lines back and forth. Edit! The hardest part of writing a poem, as with many things, is getting started. Once you’ve chosen your form, decided what your poem will be about, or chosen a prompt, just start writing until you reach a natural endpoint. Or until your hand starts to cramp, and your eyes get tired. Which is a natural endpoint too. Then, once you’ve rested, it’s time to edit. People often think of editing as checking spelling, punctuation, and grammar. While those things are all important too, with poetry you can really have fun with the editing process. Move the first stanza so that it becomes the final stanza. How does that change the pacing, the message, the mood? If it doesn’t work, move it back. You could adjust the rhyme scheme by adding or subtracting words. You could even try erasure poetry, where you cross/black out words, lines, or whole stanzas, creating a new, sparser poem from what’s leftover. Regardless of the outcome, keep focusing on the joy you get out of writing. It doesn’t have to be perfect; no one has to read it if you don’t want them to, and it doesn’t have to be Pulitzer Prize level writing for you to consider yourself a poet. Keep moving things around and changing things until you are happy with how your poem ends up. Though, as Paul Valéry said, “a poem is never finished; it’s always an accident that puts a stop to it- i.e., gives it to the public.” Writing Poetry When it comes to writing a poem, you can do it however you want to. The most important thing is that you enjoy it and find it interesting. There are so many distinctive styles and forms of poetry, and numerous ways in which it can be shared (spoken word performances, audio recordings, and in classic print). So there truly is something for everyone. But if you’re struggling with where to start, or want a refresher on the key components of poetry, I hope this article is helpful. And remember, you don’t have to write using a quill and scroll to be deemed a poet. Though it may be more fun than using a laptop.  

100 Phenomenal Poetry Prompts To Inspire Your WritingPoetry is an expressive and compelling form of writing, but it can be hard to know where to begin. Between form, structure, and content, there are lots of factors to consider when you’re deciding how to write a poem. These poetry prompts will help you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and give you that all-important start. These prompts are separated into 6 categories containing 15 prompts each, with one miscellaneous section at the end:Poetic form prompts Imagination focused prompts Nature/the outside prompts Media and objects as inspiration prompts Sentimental/reflective prompts Structure prompts Miscellaneous prompts Sometimes coming up with a clear, exciting idea can be the hardest part of writing poetry. But luckily we’ve done it for you! So let’s get started with our poetry prompts. Poetic Form Prompts When it comes to writing poetry, deciding on the form you want to use is a great place to start. Whether you’re deciding between writing in free verse or using a regular rhyme pattern; wondering which era of poetry you want to reflect; or what type of poem (acrostic, sestina etc) you want to write; knowing the overall shape of your poem will help you get started. So here are some poetry prompts in the realm of poetic form. Write an acrostic poem using your name or that of a loved one. Write an ode to someone or something you love. Start with your favourite thing about them. Write a sonnet or rewrite one of Shakespeare\'s or Petrarca’s. (Sonnets are 14 lines long and are traditionally written in iambic pentameter. But feel free to bend the rules a little; it’s your poem!) Write a poem in the style of, or in honour of, your favourite poet. Flick through a poetry book. Find a line which resonates you. Use that as your starting point and carry on from there. Write a poem that is also a letter. To your past or future self; to a friend; to an emotion; to a loved one who passed away. Write a poem in a \'stream of consciousness\' style. Write in the style of a poetic era which interests you (romantic poetry, metaphysical poetry, Renaissance poetry). Write a sestina (an unrhyming poem consisting of 6 stanzas of 6 lines and a final 3 line stanza). To help you get started, write about the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning. What’s your favourite/lucky number? Write a poem consisting of that many lines. Write a poem listing and connecting mundane objects around you. Consider how you interact with them, and how they interact with each other. Write a poem without taking your pen off of the paper. Your starting point is your favourite vegetable. Write a haiku (5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, 5 syllables in the last line). For your starting point, use any word which interests you that begins with the same letter as your surname. Write a poem using the poetic ‘I’. Write about your day so far (feel free to exaggerate and embellish). Write a poem personifying whichever emotion you’re predominantly feeling right now. Imagination Focused Prompts Poetry is very focused on images, which means you can truly let your imagination run wild when writing it. Be descriptive, have fun, and don’t be afraid to lean into the bizarre. These creative poetry writing prompts will help you craft unique, engaging poems. Pick a colour. Use the 5 senses to explore and inhabit it. Keep a notebook by your bed. When you wake up in the morning write down everything you can remember about your dreams. Then write a poem based on your notes. Write a poem about a mirror. What was your favourite fairy tale/fable as a child? Write a poem from the perspective of a secondary character (like Little Red Riding Hood’s Mum) or the antagonist (like the wolf). Think of a cliché which irritates you. Write a better version of it (think ‘show, don’t tell’), and build your poem from there. Think about your favourite scent. Write a poem depicting the things and activities it reminds you of (fresh laundry, apple picking, the ocean, blossom on the trees). Write about the aftermath. Of an argument, a panic attack, crying, a break-up, a dizzy spell, the best news of your life. If you were an animal what would you be? Write from an animal’s perspective. There are flowers on a doorstep. Write a poem about them from the perspective of the sender or the recipient (or both). Are they a celebratory gift (for a birthday, promotion, engagement etc)? An apology? A thank you present? Explore. Think of something bizarre or ridiculous you once saw or heard about (the dream you had about a 20-foot-tall flamingo playing the violin, or your niece’s conversation about the elves who helped her with her homework) and use that as the opening to a poem. Write a poem which takes place in a time of transition. On the bus home, in the moment between being awake and falling asleep, the day before starting a new job... If you were to create your own Coat of Arms, what would it look like? Consider what animal, what kind of plant/flower, what colours etc you would include. Write a poem describing the details and what they represent. Write a poem about a secret. Think about a big decision you made. Write a poem exploring what may have happened if you’d chosen differently. Write a poem about a terrible birthday. Nature/The Outside Prompts Classical poetry is what most people think of when it comes to poetry. Lush forests, budding flowers, babbling brooks. Some may think it cliché, but it’s a classic for a reason. And a good reminder to writers to get some fresh air every once in a while. Use this as a nudge to take a break, go for a walk, and who knows; maybe a half-finished poem will come back with you. Try these nature and outdoors focused writing prompts for poetry. Write about the month you’re in now. What comes to mind when you think about it/this season? Draw from memories, the five senses, seasonal activities.  Which element (earth, air) is aligned with your star sign? Write a poem exploring it. Look out the window or go for a walk and admire the nature around you. What draws your attention? Write about it in as much detail as possible. Write a poem that starts with a tree. Think about what season you want it to be and thus what it looks like (are there leaves/blossom/bare branches)? Think about where you are in relation to it (sat underneath it, looking at it from a passing car, walking up a hill towards it). See where the poem takes you. Write about an open window. What kind of building is it in? What’s on either side of it? How high up is it? What does it represent?People watch as you gaze out of the window, or look at the people across from you as you walk down the street. Make up a life/story for them in your head. Craft a poem around it. Write about a bonfire or a fireplace. Are you someone who loves the smell of them, and how it lingers on your clothes afterwards? Or someone who hates that the smoke gets in your eyes and you have to get really close to them if you want to escape the surrounding cold? Write about water. The ocean, drinking a glass of water, washing yourself or the dishes, the rain. Where’s your favourite place to be? It could anything from the corner of your bedroom, to a small cafe in town, to an African island. Write a poem about it. Write a poem about the weather. We always want what we don’t have. Write about the season (autumn, spring etc) you wish you were experiencing now. Write a poem about being snowed in or having a power outage. Explore the intimacy of being in close quarters with others or trapped alone. When you’re out and about, pay attention to the words around you. Write a poem based on the tail end of a conversation you overheard, the slogan on someone’s t-shirt, or the curious sign in the shop window. Think of any old buildings near where you live or grew up. Contemplate who might have occupied them 50/100/200 years ago. Write about them.Write a poem from the perspective of someone sullen and sitting alone on a park bench.Media And Objects As Inspiration Prompts When trying to figure out how to write poetry that is compelling and meaningful, there are many available options. In a technological world, using media as inspiration is one of the simplest solutions. Let your interests converge and use the images/messages/themes from your favourite forms of media to help you write your next poem. Write a poem based on the first news article which comes up on your TV/phone/the internet. Find a picture of you as a child. Write from the perspective of your child self. Look back at the picture from time to time as you write. Fill in a crossword puzzle or other word game. Write a poem using as many of the words from it as possible. Write a poem about your favourite book. Think about an item of clothing or an accessory (the t-shirt that’s worn and well loved, the dress you wore every week when you were in your 30s, the necklace that’s been in your family for generations) that means a lot to you. Write about it. Think about all the places you went and emotions you felt when you wore it. Conversely, personify the object and write a poem about what it experienced with you on those occasions. Write a poem about or from the perspective of one of your favourite (or least favourite!) characters from a book/TV show/movie. Listen to a song which you enjoy/resonates with you deeply. Dance, close your eyes; do whatever comes naturally. Once it’s finished, sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Think about a key lyric, how it makes you feel, or what your experience was like the first time you heard it. Pick a photo you love, your favourite piece of art, or search for interesting images online (volcanoes, Victorian furniture, classical paintings). Write a poem responding to the image. Watch the trailer for an upcoming film you’re eager to see. Write a poem based on an interesting moment, or in response to it. Think about a memorable concert, play, or fair you attended as a child. Write as though you’re experiencing it now. Pick a quote that resonates with you/which you admire. It could be an old adage, something your parents told you, or from a famous writer. Ponder over it for a while, and then write about or in response to it. What’s the oldest object you own? When did you get it? What does it mean to you? Write about it in detail. Write a poem set in a school. You can recall your own school experience to help you, entirely make it up, or use a scene from a TV show or film as inspiration. If you keep a journal, write a poem based on one of your journal entries. Pick an older one (such as the entry you wrote exactly a year ago today) so that you’re a little distanced from what you were experiencing then. Reflect. Contemplate. Use the power of hindsight. Spend five minutes or so on a social media or gaming app. Jot down any words or images which interest you or evoke some kind of response in you. Use them to help shape your poem. Sentimental/Reflective Prompts Poetry writing can be very reflective and personal. When you’re in need of inspiration, sometimes the best place to start is your own experience. Whether you favour poetry that is sentimental and melancholy, or nostalgic and exuberant, these prompts for poetry will help you out. Write something that you aren’t ready to say out loud yet.  Write about the age you are now; the stereotypes of your demographic, how comfortable you are with your current age, the joys and sorrows it has bought you. Think of a really happy day/experience you had in your childhood. Maybe it was when you made a new friend, or read a great book, or went on a trip to the fair. Write a poem describing your unadulterated joy. Write about the experience of losing something dear to you. Write about someone who taught you/helped you grow but who wasn’t your teacher, parent, or caregiver. Think about a memorable birthday you once had. Write a poem about the first one which comes to mind. Write a poem about a nightmare or a ‘there’s a monster under the bed’ type fear which you had as a child. Write a poem to/about someone, addressing the things you regret not telling them. What was your favourite toy/game as child? Write about the devotion you had to it. Are there any parallels between it and your favourite hobbies/passions now? Write about a small random thing which brings you joy (your favourite cup of tea, your cat running towards the door to meet you when you come home, the smell of a cinnamon scented candle). Write about a haircut/hairstyle or sense of style you once had that differs from how you present yourself today. Who was that version of you? In which ways are you different now? Write a poem about a theme or topic which is important to you (animal rights, mental health, education) without explicitly naming it. What does home mean to you? Write a poem ruminating on it as a concept and a physical space. Write a poem about a cultural moment which resonated with you (old or current). Write about a time when you were overlooked. How did you react? Would you respond differently now? Structure Prompts The structure of a poem is as important as the words which it contains. And it can be just as meaningful. Starting with the outline of what you want your poem to be like gives you some restrictions so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the myriad of things a poem can be about, while also giving you the freedom to explore your ideas. Here are some creative writing poetry prompts associated with structure. Open any book. Write a poem based on the first word which draws your attention. Pick a number between 5 and 100. Write a poem containing that exact number of words. Make a copy of one of your favourite poems and adjust it to make it your own. Rearrange stanzas/lines, cut out words, change the layout, remove every 5th word and see what happens. Using a random name generator- or just flick through a dictionary/thesaurus/book- come up with 5 random words and craft a poem around them. Write a poem without using the letter e. Write a poem with each line representing a year of your life (you can do it in calendar years e.g. 1989, 1990, 1991 etc, or in ages e.g. aged 29, 30, 31) and the key memories/emotions/experiences from that time. If you speak a second language, try writing a poem in that language instead. Write using a different medium. If you usually type your poems on a computer, use pen and paper instead. Or try writing on a whiteboard, in coloured market on a huge piece of paper, using scrabble tiles, in chalk on your garden path, or on a typewriter. Write a poem with nouns which start with the letter of your first name. Find a poem which you have written but aren\'t satisfied with. Read through it, and try and figure out what you don’t like about it. Then, either pick out a line you like and use that as a starting point, or rewrite the poem focusing on its key themes/thesis. Write a poem using commas as the only form of punctuation. Write with a friend! Agree on an approximate poem length (for instance, 16 lines). Choose someone to start by sending the first line to the other person. They then send the second line back in response. Continue until your poem is complete. Write a poem without any full stops. Pick up a pen and a paper and free write. About your day, your state of mind, anything. Set a timer for 5-15 minutes and keep writing the entire time. Don’t correct your spelling or cross things out. Just. Keep. Writing. After your time is up, go back through and circle/highlight/underline words or phrases which you like. Use one or two of them and begin crafting a poem. Write a poem structured as a poetic transcript of a story a loved one/relative is telling. Use spacing and punctuation to indicate pauses, and include fillers. Miscellaneous Prompts There are so many different types of poetry that it can be hard to define as a writing form. And hard to write prompts for, apparently! So here are some extra prompts which refused to be defined by any one category, perfect for the poet whose imagination cannot be contained. Write about silence. Is it eerie, peaceful, anxiety provoking? Explore.  When was the last time you danced? Where were you? Were you alone/who were you with? How did you feel? Write about it. Write a poem about any traditions you have, and whether or not you’re attached to them. Think of an act of injustice/news story which upsets you. Write about its intricacies and why it angers/saddens you. Listen. What’s the most prominent sound you hear? Write about it. Write about a part of the body. Any one! Explore all the things about it which you take for granted and the ways in which it brings you joy (arms for hugging, legs for dancing, eyes for watching the sunset etc). Write a poem exploring the etymology of your name and your relationship to it. Do you have any physical injuries? Write a poem about how you got them and, if relevant, how they affect you now. Write a poem about a coincidence that you experienced. Write a poem about the gestures/facially expressions you frequently use and what they communicate. How do the people around you use gestures? Using Poetry Prompts We hope these poetry prompts give you some great inspiration for new avenues to explore with your writing. Many of these prompts can be used again and again if adapted slightly. You can use them as the basis for a brief freewriting session, to help edit or focus poems you’ve already written, or to help you develop your skills in an area of poetry you’ve been working on (maybe you’re trying to become an expert in all things sonnets). Feel free to adjust these poetry prompts in any way which suits you; we find that a shift in perspective often helps. Happy writing! 

Many people have lives that would make incredible stories, yet it can be difficult to figure out how to unpick that life and set it on the page. How do you write a memoir? And is memoir the only option?  In this article I will be walking you through different ways to write your life story and offering tips to help you get started and narrow your focus. What Is A Memoir?A memoir is a first-person account of someone’s nonfictional life story that uses the techniques and crafts of fiction to make it a page-turning read. The word comes from the French word for “memory” or “reminiscence.”  The promise to the reader is that whatever is inside is as true as the author can make it. Of course, writing your exact memories is challenging as very few of us have photographic memories. Readers will forgive small fictions, like writing out a conversation verbatim when you only remember the jist of what was said, but not larger ones.  There are plenty of examples of authors who made up memoirs. The best known one in recent years was James Frey in A Million Little Pieces. Readers felt betrayed and angry because the author had broken the pact and the promise. However, if you still want to use a kernel of the truth but not be beholden to it, read on to learn more about autofiction and other options.Do Memoirs Sell?Memoirs are incredibly popular, especially in the age of COVID. Some recent examples are the Obamas’ memoirs: A Promised Land was 2020’s bestselling book (2.4 million copies in one year alone) and Becoming was also an extraordinary bestseller (came out in 2018 and has sold 3.4 million as of the end of 2020). Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime (2016) provides an interesting and heart-breaking account of race in South Africa as he recounts his life with his signature humour.  I don’t know about you, but I am unlikely to ever become President of the United States and have people desperate to know my story. Luckily, people are also hungry for stories from people who haven’t brushed fame or become public figures. This is evidenced by memoirs such as Educated (2018) by Tara Westover. Her memoir’s about growing up as a fundamentalist Mormon and her quest for education—her first day of school was university at Brigham Young when she was a teenager. Maid (2019) by Stephanie Land is about an impoverished white woman cleaning the houses of the ultra-rich. The Glass Castle (2005) by Jeannette Walls, is about her eccentric, nomadic upbringing and her troubled father’s dream of a better life. Roxane Gay’s Hunger (2017) focuses on her relationship with food and her body, as informed by trauma. Many of these have also been adapted into TV shows or films, showcasing memoirs have massive crossover appeal. Memoir Vs Autobiography (And Other Options)Memoir is part of a spectrum from narrative nonfiction to fiction inspired by fact. You might realise, once you start working on your story, that there are gaps in knowledge that have been lost to time. Or perhaps you’d like to weave several generations together, which of course moves it away from your own lived, first-person experience.  Many people ask, ‘are memoirs nonfiction?’ The answer is yes…and no. Let’s take a look at how flexible written memories, and this genre, can be. MemoirAs we said, memoir aims to be true with small liberties. It rarely starts with your birth and tells the story in a straight As we said, memoir aims to be true with small liberties. It rarely starts with your birth and you telling the story in a straight line, ending with however old you are when you finish writing it. For example, Mary Karr has written three memoirs: The Liar’s Club (1995), which focuses mostly on her childhood, Cherry (2000), which focused more on her late adolescence and blooming sexuality, and Lit (2009), which focuses on her journey of faith and her divorce. Trying to focus on all three of those in one book would have been too much and they wouldn’t have had the space to be as hard-hitting. There is also nearly 15 years’ difference from the first memoir she wrote and the last—the memoir is a snapshot of the writer as much as the contents of the book, as the tone is affected by the author’s age and experience. Autobiography Autobiography, by contrast, does tend to be more linear. The author here functions more as a historian. It tends to be less intimate, more expansive. There’s less room to zoom in on certain moments and it can feel more of a summary of a life. This is useful if you want to know what, say, Benjamin Franklin, Malcom X, Nelson Mandela, or Agatha Christie thought about their own lives, but autobiographies are less common for people who aren’t public figures. AutofictionIf you realise that there’s no way to tell the story in a compelling way while remaining fully married to truth, or the truth is unknowable, you may consider autofiction.  There has been a lot of discussion of the ethics of writing fiction based on truth, particularly if the subject has not been made aware (just fall down the rabbit hole of “Cat People” or “Kidneygate / The Bad Art Friend” to see discussions on this). Autofiction still focuses on yourself but gives the story the opportunity to come alive in a different way. You can even write it in third person, if you wish. You can change timelines more dramatically or add characters or subplots who are amalgamations or completely fictive. Because you haven’t promised it’s a straight memoir, readers are fine with this.  On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019) by Ocean Vuong is a great example of autofiction — the main character, Little Dog, is a Vietnamese refugee living in America, writing a letter to his illiterate mother he knows she will never read. Vuong is also a gay Vietnamese refugee, and his mother does not read English or Vietnamese. The story delves into his grandmother and mother’s stories in third person, as well as his own, yet crucially it’s sold as fiction and he doesn’t give us a detailed post-mortem of what is or isn’t true.  Other well-known autofiction authors include James Baldwin, Ben Lerner, Rachel Cusk, Tao Lin, Karl Ove Knausgaard, and more. This is sometimes also called the autobiographical novel, with ‘novel’ signalling that it’s leaning heavily into the fictional side.AutobiografictionAnd to make things slightly more confusing, there’s also the term autobiografiction, which combines autobiography, fiction, and essay. Stephen Reynolds coined the term in 1906 and describes it as a “record of real spiritual experiences strung on a credible but more or less fictitious autobiographical narrative.” It’s often published anonymously or under a pseudonym, and many queer people used this form to express themselves in times of oppression. It’s not as common a term and tends to be lumped with autofiction: indeed, you could make an argument that Vuong’s book falls more into this category in some respects as there are essays within it.  So, now - the nitty gritty. How do you get started on your project based on truth? Tips For Writing A Memoir (Or Autofiction)Start Researching Now – And Beware The SkeletonsEven if you don’t think you’ll start writing your memoir for a while, start gathering information as soon as you can. Depending on the project: sign up for a trial of ancestry.com, interview your family members, start journaling about your memories, look up articles in newspapers.com, flip through photo albums or belongings, request court or other official documents.  It’s so easy for these things to become lost, or for us to tragically lose those close to us, taking their memories with them. You might also have to prepare yourself for more secrets potentially coming to light. You might need to have a discussion with how family members might feel about sharing the truth. Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro discovered this when they started properly digging into everything for their podcast Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia (2019). The TV adaption I Am the Night (2019), starring Chris Pine, added an entirely fictive noir subplot to make it more dramatic on the screen. What’s Your Promise To The Reader?How fictional do you plan to be? You don’t necessarily need to know immediately but notice if you start to shift further away from the facts.  This happened with my current project: it focuses on three generations, so I knew it would always have an element of fiction since my grandmother died before I was born, so I can’t exactly ask her how she felt about any of the facts we know. My mother also wrote her sections and I edited over them, and we made-up certain details or massaged timelines so the scene was more evocative. Each draft has had it depart more from the truth and become its own entity. I felt conflicted about this before I realised that my goal is to use the truth as a jumping off point. I don’t actually owe the reader the truth; I owe them a good story. For me, it was more freeing, and I also knew I’d feel less exposed if the project is ever published.  This brings me to: Check In With Your Mental HealthI barrelled right into my project, thinking I was ready. From a craft standpoint, I was – but not from a mental standpoint.  If you are still processing your trauma, you might consider some therapy first, so you are better protected if you have to delve into some painful memories. Remember: it’s all right to take a break and come back, and it also might still be challenging once you return.  As Mary Karr says in her 2015 how-to The Art of Memoir (highly recommended!): “I’ve said it’s hard. Here’s how hard: everybody I know who wades deep enough into memory’s waters drowns a little.”Focus On Experiences And EmotionsWhether memoir or autofiction, your reader wants to experience what it was like to be you or this version of you. You might find you’re tempted to relay the information quite factually, but it may read cold. This is fine for the first draft as you focus on story, but when you edit, focus on making it come alive.  Don’t Attempt To Cover Your Whole LifeAs mentioned, there won’t be room. Think of those touchstones, the main themes you wish to draw out and examine. Again, it might take you a while to hone in on this. That’s all right, as long as you’re willing to set aside writing that doesn’t serve your overall purpose. Save it for another book, potentially!Engage The Reader From The BeginningOne thing I found in my previous draft was the opening was too slow and needed a clearer hook. Read the openings of some memoirs and notice how they draw the reader in. And of course… Read A Lot Of Memoirs And Autofiction & Examine FormI’ve recommended a large selection of creative memoir novels I’ve enjoyed in this article, but there are so many more incredible ones out there. The bestseller charts on Amazon are a good place to start (though do consider ordering from an independent bookstore!). Some are even written in innovative and experimental styles, such as In the Dream House (2019) by Carmen Maria Machado. Reading a lot of memoirs or autofiction might give you some ideas on how you can lay out your story. Think About ToneFor some projects, humour might work very well (Trevor Noah, Mary Karr, Caitlin Moran). For others, it might be horribly jarring, and you should consider a more sombre tone. Experiment with this until you find the right voice and approach. Remember Your ReaderYou, of course, have no idea who is reading your work once it’s out there. But memoirs have a common theme: they all seem to focus on making sense of the past to inform our present. With a lot focus on healing and letting go, these can be cathartic for both the writer and the reader. That’s the magic of memoir: your book may save your readers without them knowing they had a void that needed filling.  I hope this article has helped you consider how you might start thinking about writing your memoir, or whether taking a more autofictional approach works better.