ABSTRACT
Fundamental to life writing is a personal, subjective approach, and a strong focus on particular events or a particular aspect of one’s experience. The most effective life writing uses precise, sensory details and close observation to paint a vivid picture of an event or a subject. A biography tells the story of someone else’s life; an autobiography is the story of the author’s own life. Life writing can vary greatly in length, including anything from a book-length memoir to a 500-word blog post. The earliest known autobiography in the Western world was written by the theologian Saint Augustine around AD 400, recounting the experiences of his sinful youth. Life writing frequently uses devices familiar from fiction, such as selection, structuring, choice of point of view, description of place, characterisation and dialogue.
