Business
Communications
Writing
Write Your Life Story
4.5 (70 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
744 students enrolled

Write Your Life Story

Share Your Biography With Future Generations
4.5 (70 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
744 students enrolled
Created by Steve Alcorn
Last updated 1/2019
English
English [Auto-generated]
Write Your Life Story
Current price: $61.99 Original price: $94.99 Discount: 35% off
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This course includes
  • 3.5 hours on-demand video
  • 49 downloadable resources
  • Full lifetime access
  • Access on mobile and TV
  • Certificate of Completion
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What you'll learn
  • Turn your life into story
  • Tell the story of your ancestors
  • Share your experiences with the next generation
  • Add excitement and energy to your writing
  • Dozens of writing prompts will jog your memory
  • Write thematically, chronologically or anecdotally
  • Bring your work to life with great dialogue
  • Polish your writing and get into print
  • Share your life with family and friends
Requirements
  • Open to everyone with a story to tell
Description

Everyone has a story to tell. Don't let yours be lost! 

Share your life story, or the story of family members with future generations. Children and grandchildren cherish the words we pass on to them and will return to them time and again. 

This course shows you how to create an exciting and engaging biography or autobiography to share with friends, family and the world. It begins by introducing you to what makes a great biography, including:

  • Why Write Your Life Story?
  • Biography or Autobiography?
  • How to Write Your Story
  • Journals, Blogs, Articles, Recordings, Stories and Novels
  • Tailoring Your Story for Your Audience
  • Do’s and Don’ts

Then you'll choose the approach to organize your story:

  • Fact or Fiction
  • Chronological Organization
  • Thematic Organization
  • Anecdotal Organization

You'll learn techniques for creating professional writing including:

  • Plot vs. Story
  • Story Structure
  • Viewpoint and Tense
  • Dialogue
  • Settings

The heart of the course is a series of writing prompts that will get you brainstorming and turn your ideas into reality. Following these suggestions, your life will take shape on the page, almost magically:

  • Writing Prompts - Photos
  • Writing Prompts - Conversations
  • Writing Prompts - Q&A
  • Writing Prompts - Ancestors
  • Writing Prompts - Where Were You When...?
  • Writing Prompts - Childhood
  • Writing Prompts - Toys and Possessions
  • Writing Prompts - Pets
  • Writing Prompts - Growing Up
  • Writing Prompts - Accomplishments
  • Writing Prompts - Spirituality
  • Writing Prompts - Holidays
  • Writing Prompts - Romance
  • Writing Prompts - The Black Moment
  • Writing Prompts - Changes
  • Writing Prompts - Children and Grandchildren

Once your story is written, we'll look at the fun process of polishing and publishing your story:

  • Writing Big
  • Polishing Your Work
  • Illustrations and Covers
  • Copyrights and Permissions

Finally, with your manuscript finished, we'll show you how to share it with the world:

  • Getting Into Print
  • E-books
  • Marketing
  • Next Steps

In this lively and fun course, Steve Alcorn shows you how to achieve your dream. Step by step, you'll bring your story to life. Imagine the fun you and your family will have sharing these experiences! 

Whether you're a first time or experienced writer, Write Your Life Story will show you how to share your history with others. Enroll now!

Who this course is for:
  • For First time or Experienced Writers
  • Everyone has a story to tell - It's your turn!
Course content
Expand all 41 lectures 03:40:21
+ – Your Life Story
7 lectures 40:20
Meet Steve Alcorn and explore the complete syllabus of Write Your Life Story.
Introduction
Preview 09:25
It may seem like a silly question, but there are lots of good reasons to write your life story, and understanding all of them will help you to decide what to include in yours.
Why Write Your Life Story?
Preview 03:50
Are you writing biography or autobiography, and should you write your autobiography as a biography? This lecture helps you answer those questions
Biography or Autobiography?
03:31
The lecture helps you decide what to write about, and explains how to use your "Idea Notebook."
How to Write Your Story
04:13
What form will your life story take? Block, article, short story or book? This lesson helps you decide.
Journals, Blogs, Articles, Recordings, Stories and Novels
04:34
Explore your readership and the themes your want to convey to them.
Tailoring Your Story for Your Audience - Themes
08:44
What to do - and not do - when writing your life story.
Do’s and Don’ts
06:03
+ – Structure
5 lectures 18:58
How much can you bend the truth in your life story?
Fact or Fiction
03:51
One way to tell your life story is by placing events in chronological order.
Chronological Organization
03:29
A second way to organize your life story is by theme.
Thematic Organization
03:49
The third way to organize your life story is as a series of anecdotes.
Anecdotal Organization
03:02
There are a number of different types of life stories. This lecture helps you decide which one works best for you.
Types of Life Stories
04:47
+ – Writing Tools
5 lectures 39:39
Great writing requires understanding the difference between plot and story. This lesson reveals all.
Plot vs. Story
03:38
Three Act Structure and my Nine Checkpoints are the key to writing a life story with impact and emotional flow.
Story Structure
11:58
Choosing the best viewpoint and tense makes it easier to tell your story.
Viewpoint and Tense
06:04
Great dialogue is the key to bringing your life story to life.
Dialogue
12:47
Vivid settings are essential to transporting your readers to another place and time. This lecture shows you how to build vivid settings, step by step.
Settings
05:12
+ – Writing Prompts
16 lectures 55:17
Photos are great inspirational tools for telling your life story. Here's how to collect them and use them to inspire you.
Photos
05:03
Conversations and dialogue are different. Here's how to use your memories of the former to create the latter.
Conversations
03:01
An interview process, whether by correspondence or in person, is a great way to gather material for telling your life story.
Q&A
02:57
How to use your ancestors as a part of your life story is explored in this lecture.
Ancestors
02:24
Using a timeline of modern history is a great way to capture your memories of specific dates.
Where Were You When...?
03:31
Childhood memories are some of our most vivid. Here are some ways to capture yours.
Childhood
04:49
The toys we remember from childhood - and adulthood - tell a lot about who we are.
Toys and Possessions
04:59
Pets can be very special parts of our lives. Be sure to tell readers about your in your life story.
Pets
02:12
The trials and joys of growing up - at all ages - are a big part of your life story.
Growing Up
03:27
What are the major accomplishments of your life that you'd like people to know about?
Accomplishments
02:44
If you are a spiritual person, be sure to include that in your life story, to inspire others.
Spirituality
02:10
Holidays and their traditions are a fun topic to share with the readers of your life story.
Holidays
03:58
Readers love to hear about romance. Here are some tips on sharing your romantic moments.
Romance
02:45
Into every life a little rain must fall, and you should be honest about how you dealt with hard times during your life.
The Black Moment
02:44
All of life is about change. This lesson will show you how to identify the pivotal moments of yours and share them with others.
Changes
04:29
If you are a parent, it's likely your children are a most important facet of your life. Here's how to share that with your readers.
Children and Grandchildren
04:04
+ – Your Manuscript
4 lectures 40:46
Writing Big means using simple techniques to make your story as vivid, lively and memorable as possible. Here's how.
Writing Big
07:53
Editing can be fun! Here are some simple techniques that will make a world of difference to your manuscript.
Writing Well - Polishing Your Work
10:13
Adding cover art and interior illustrations to your book is easier than you might guess, but there are some things you need to check.
Illustrations and Covers
16:38
Check to make sure you have the rights to material you plan to include in you life story.
Copyrights and Permissions
06:02
+ – Publishing Your Work
4 lectures 25:21
Getting published is easier than you think! Here's how.
Getting Into Print
08:12
E-books now outsell printed books. You'll probably want to publish in both forms. These steps make it easy.
E-books
04:29
These fun and easy marketing techniques will help you introduce your life story to readers.
Marketing
11:05
Thanks for taking this journey with me. Here are some next steps you can pursue with your writing.
Next Steps
01:35