Notes from James:

I don’t care if you’ve never written a word before—if you’ve lived, you have a story worth telling. The people who write the most impactful books aren’t the most famous or the best trained. They’re the ones who tell the truth with clarity and heart.

In this episode, I show you how to do exactly that. You’ll learn how to structure your life story for emotional and commercial impact, and how to weave in other stories, research, and personal growth without losing the power of your own voice.

Episode Description:

This episode picks up where Part 1: Why You Should Write Your Autobiography left off. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, I highly encourage you to go back and start there first—it lays the essential groundwork for what we’re doing here.

In this (Part 2) episode, I walk you through how to identify the core of your story, pick the right style of memoir or hybrid book, and build your narrative around proven storytelling frameworks like the arc of the hero. I also introduce my “Six U’s” checklist for great autobiographical writing—so every page you write is unique, useful, urgent, unforgettable, uplifting, and universal.

Whether you’re writing a classic memoir, a hybrid self-help book, or an autobiographical novel, this episode gives you the exact structure you need to make it work.

Also—if you’re serious about writing and publishing your own book, check out my full course: Write and Publish a Book in 30 Days. It’s everything I’ve learned from writing over 25 books that have sold millions of copies.

This is the blueprint I’ve used for every bestselling book I’ve written. You’ve got the raw material. Now it’s time to build.

What You’ll Learn:

How to turn intersecting life moments into a compelling narrative
Why your story needs to follow the arc of the hero (and how to do it)
The Six U’s of great memoir writing—and how to apply them on every page
How to protect real people in your story without sacrificing truth
Why memory doesn’t matter as much as you think when writing your life story
How to turn your autobiography into a nonfiction bestseller (with examples from Limitless, Choose Yourself, Atomic Habits, and more)

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Autobiographical Writing

00:28 Finding Your Core Story

01:34 Types of Autobiographical Works

02:32 Example: Craig Stanley's 'Blank Canvas'

05:24 The Hero's Journey in Autobiography

14:23 The Six U's of Compelling Writing

21:58 The Universality of Autobiographical Stories

23:32 The Six U's of Autobiographical Writing

25:03 Analyzing a Memoir: Prozac Nation

26:31 Turning Your Autobiography into a Hybrid Book

34:08 The Importance of Memory in Autobiography

36:08 Ethical Considerations in Writing Autobiography

39:55 Using AI for Research and Inspiration

42:53 Final Encouragement and Next Steps

Books Mentioned

Blank Canvas by Craig Stanley
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Puzzler by A.J. Jacobs
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
The Power of No by James Altucher
The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Quiet by Susan Cain
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Choose Yourself by James Altucher
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Losing the Nobel Prize by Brian Keating
The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Limitless by Jim Kwik
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant

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Ep 216 | Northam Under Fire, The Straw Police & No Smoking (at all)