Product Description

Lies About Writing Your Life Story

• You have to be a famous celebrity.
• You must have an amazing life.
• You can't write your life story until you're old and gray.
• Nobody will read it, so what's the point?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24395 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-01
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060507695
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Carefully constructed and helpful for both assignment driven and creative writing." -- Kirkus Reviews

Review
"Carefully constructed and helpful for both assignment driven and creative writing." (Kirkus Reviews )

About the Author

Ralph Fletcher has always been a special person for children's literature. He is the author of picture books, nonfiction, and novels for young readers. How to Write Your Life Story is the fifth book in Mr. Fletcher's series of instructional writing books, which includes A Writer's Notebook, Live Writing, How Writers Work, and Poetry Matters. Mr. Fletcher lives with his family in New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

Fletcher pulls another gem from his ditch!
Excellent resource written for young students. I teach fifth graders and read to them regularly from Fletcher's other books... A Writer's Notebook in particular. How To Write Your Life Story brings the task of memoir to their fingertips -- makes it feel doable, important, and exciting. Fletcher cites two of my favorite authors of other resources: Katherine Bomer and Barry Lane, whom my students know well by the time we finish our inquiry into memoir. Many examples of writing from Fletcher, and other 4 - 7 grade students enrich this book and bring it home. Great for read aloud, introducing mini-lessons, or even as a class reading book if you can swing a whole set. Any teacher who investigates memoir or autobiography with young students should have this book in the classroom.

First You Read--Then You Write
"How to Write your Life Story," by Ralph Fletcher, presents an interesting and entertaining introduction to writing about the most important people in the world--yourself and your family. You can get additional ideas from larger books, but this little book, written for young people, covers the most important points about writing an autobiography.

It debunks a few common lies that people use to convince themselves they don't have a story worth telling--that you have to be a famous celebrity, have an amazing life, or be old and gray.

You already have everything you need to start writing: a character (yourself), a setting (places you have been), and a plot (the events that happened to you). Fletcher recommends making a list of memorable events and then writing about the ones that seem most interesting. These events will probably be the ones that are told and retold every time the family gets together.

He suggests gathering up the artifacts that have soaked up your personal memories and holding them in your hands until the memory rises to the top. Drawing maps of important places in your life, and a heart map of the things that really matter to you, will help you uncover the treasured and terrible tales you want to tell.

Whether you choose to write a group of vignettes, a chronology, or a multi-genre collection of short pieces, you can always switch to another form until it feels well-suited to the story you're trying to tell. The most important message in the book is that writing about your life will help you understand it better. So, read the book and start writing.

Must Have!
Fantastic book! Every writing teacher should get one. I'm buying 2 more as gifts.