This chapter provides ideas for different book structures and how to accommodate other contributions.

Thinking laterally

You can be creative in how you structure your book. A few of the more conventional ideas are listed here, but feel free to let your mind wander.

Expressing your life in time spans

The early years of our life can usually be associated with certain ages. The following would be an example:

0-5	Pre-school and family background
5-11	Primary and junior schools
11-16	Secondary school
16-18	Early working life
18-21	National Service
21-25	Meeting Mary and settling down
25-30	Early married life and children.

If this pattern can be followed relatively neatly throughout the later stages of your life as well, you might like to consider structuring your writing in this way.

Using the decades

A variation on the above theme is to write your book in decades. These can either be the decades of your life or of the twentieth century:

My life	The twentieth century
Early years	1930s
My teens	1940s
My twenties	1950s
My thirties	1960s
etc.	etc.

Placing your life in specific compartments

The methods expressed so far have been consistent with a chronological approach to writing your life story. If you want something a little more adventurous you could consider writing in various compartments each spanning the whole of your life:

Jim the student
Jim the family man
Jim the working man
Jim the friend
Jim the sportsman
Jim the traveller
Jim the poet

Unless there are several quite distinct areas of your life, this is probably not a recommended structure. However, these ideas might help you to think more laterally about your own project.

Mixing structures

Of course, even within the more conventional chronological book structure, there is nothing to stop you introducing creative chapters. You might want to write about ‘The Swinging Sixties’, ‘Life in my Thirties’ or ‘My Thespian Career’. Alternatively, you can include a ‘Soapbox’ where you put the world to rights, or perhaps have a more reflective, ‘What If . . .’ chapter.

Undertaking a joint project

There is no limit on the options available to you or the number of contributors to a book. For example, seven brothers and sisters can each write a chapter for a family archive. Cousins, business partners or friends joining forces provide other options.

Such projects tend to have a simple structure with each contributor writing either a chapter or section of the book.

There is greater scope for interweaving chapters when the book is written by a married couple, or by different generations of a family.

Writing as a couple

This is a very popular project for those who enjoy working closely together. Having a sounding board and someone else who can share the joys and frustrations of writing is a great benefit. Additionally, such a book tends to be more well-rounded, capturing the personalities of both parties.

There are two main types of project you might like to consider here:

• equal partnership
• one partner taking the lead.

Contributing as equal partners

Each partner will write about their background, childhood and early life before they met. Once their lives join together, the subsequent chapters will be written by either party. Some subjects like children and work will probably fall quite neatly into place, but decisions will have to be made as to who writes about holidays, grandchildren, etc.

Of course, there is no reason why certain subjects should not be written about by both partners. Indeed, for events like when you first met it can be fascinating to read accounts from two different view-points.

• Q:My husband and I are working on a joint book. How much should we confer about our writing?
• A:For subjects that clearly have to be written by one partner, like early childhood, it may help to discuss ideas to stimulate the memory. Where you are writing about the same subject, for example your wedding day, it is better to write independently as the interest often lies in the difference of recollections and emphasis. However, this can lead to some disappointment . . . for example, the man who described the highlight of his wedding day as seeing a peregrine falcon on the way to the church!

Weaving the book together

The two most popular ways of interspersing chapters can be seen in Figures 5 and 6.

As can be seen, whichever structure is chosen, once the two lives come together the rest of the book follows the same format.

Of course, as with the sole author, the structure can be refined as you proceed; the only difference is that it involves a little communication.

If both partners choose to write their independent life stories there is no reason why the two accounts should not be placed after each other and bound in the same cover.

However, this is not so much a joint autobiography, as two separate autobiographies produced in the same volume.

One partner taking the lead

While many couples are equally enthusiastic about the prospect of writing, more often than not the passion for the project is weighted heavily in favour of one of the parties. George might be writing his book, but Irene is happy to contribute a chapter about her early life for the benefit of the grandchildren.

In such a case, it is recommended that George structures the book as if he were doing it entirely by himself.

Trying in the partner’s contribution

When George gets to the point in his story where he disappears off on honeymoon with Irene he might now write something along the lines of:

‘Before I continue with our married life together, Irene has provided a few pages about her family and early life.’

Irene’s chapter covering the time until she married George is then inserted, after which George continues with his book.

If Irene is happy to add some further material later, perhaps about the children in their early years, this can similarly be tied in at the appropriate stage in the narrative.

Writing as separate generations

Asking the children to contribute

A person writing an autobiography might ask the children if they would like to contribute a few pages about their childhoods. These can then either be included within the body of the book, or alternatively as appendices, whichever is more appropriate. See Chapter 13 for ideas.

There is no reason why other members of the family, particularly siblings or grandchildren, should not be given a similar opportunity.

In this instance, the book is likely to be written by the grandparent with various small contributions from other family members.

Writing as a family

A more adventurous project might be for several family members to contribute to one book. They can decide their own content, or all write on the same subject. A title like ‘My Childhood’ would provide a fascinating record, especially among the different generations.

It may be that a grandparent acts as narrator for the book, providing the framework and introducing the various family members at the appropriate places.

Such a project needs strong coordination but is a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Checklist

• Is there anything else you can add to the structure of your book?
• Is their anyone you might ask to contribute to your book?

Assignment

• Review your book structure to see if it can be improved in the light of this chapter.