Now determine what most vividly touched your early life. Was it family, school? Did you move frequently? You have to feel strongly about it in order to help others see why you feel way you do.

Challenge your memory. Family members come in handy here. See if they remember it same way you do. Be careful not to get into memory turf wars. Each of us jealously guards our recollections; they make up who we are. So be gentle. This is suppose to be fun, and these are your memoirs.

Use facts to give your memoirs authenticity and accuracy. Your local library is a great place to start. Property records at a county recording office will clarify who owned property next to you (and you thought they were aliens). Court records will tell you who was married to whom (oops!). Probate records show death and inheritances. Department of education records recount public education grandma and Aunt Tilda received. Police records might allay your suspicions about your ancestors, or confirm your runaway suspicions. You might find information that shows an entirely different perspective from that you have carried all your life.

When you revisit your early life, you'll discover that each day, week, month, and year present wonderful fodder for your memoirs. Block these periods. Let your memory take you across each landscape. Write what you see. Soon you will be able to capture essence of experiences and activities that made you who you are. Don't stifle your reactions to them, even those you would just as soon forget. You survived, didn't you. If you're reading this, you've done better than simple survive; you're taking charge of your life.

As you work through each blocked period, look for these elements within your memories, and how you feel about impact each had on your life.

Church School Teachers Most influential adult Historical events Happiest event Most frightening event Proudest moment Most embarrassing event Your first love

Locate all pictures of people, places, and things you can get your hands on. Pictures, historical fact, and role each had in your life make for dynamic and interesting reading.

Congratulations. You have taken first steps to writing your memoirs.

Step 2: Lay out your information and pictures in chronological order. Use historical events to frame your stories. This makes your memoirs an excellent resource for teaching local history, sharing heritage, and instilling pride in family legacy.

Step 3: Prepare for gift-giving, as your memoirs make a most treasured gift that lasts throughout generations. Make them into a book to share with others, develop individual stories into skits and/or readings to bring excitement to family celebrations. Or,turn them into dollars as you launch your new writing and teaching career.

This article may be reproduced in its entirety as long as resource box at bottom in included.

Copyright 2001 Joyce M. Coleman. All rights reserved, except as noted above.

http://www.locusthillpublishing.com. Joyce Coleman is author of acclaimed book, Soul Stirrings - How looking back gives each of us freedom to move forward.Subscribe to her newsletter, The Business of Life at http://www.locusthillpublishing.com/newsletter/newsletter_subscribe.html for practical tools thatenhance living. Includes self improvement, wealth- building, family issues, recipes.