Your Life Story, Part 2 — telling it well.
You have a pile of memories from Part 1. Now the craft: turning "we were poor but happy" into the story of the winter your father sold his watch. AI helps — as your editor, not your ghostwriter.
The ideaMoments, not summaries
The difference between a report and a story is the scene. Take one summary line from your sessions and ask AI to interview you deeper into that single moment: who was in the room, what was said, what happened next. One good scene is worth ten paragraphs of summary.
Your voiceDraft it — then make it sound like you
Once a scene is fully remembered, ask AI to draft it "in my own words, from my answers, in first person, plain and warm — do not make it fancy." Then read it aloud and fix any sentence you would never say. Your grandchildren should hear YOU in it.
Read the draft to someone who knows you. If they say "that sounds just like you," it is done. If they laugh at a fancy word, change it.
The hard partsWriting about pain
Every real life has losses. You decide what goes in. A useful trick: ask AI to help you write the honest version first, just for you — then a gentler version for the book if you prefer. Writing the first one is often worth it regardless.
Your turn
Make one real scene:
- Pick the most interesting line from your Part 1 summaries.
- Do a deep-dive interview on that one moment.
- Draft it in your voice, read it aloud, and fix what is not you.
What you can do now
- Expand a memory line into a full scene
- Keep drafts in your own voice, not AI’s
- Test a scene by reading it aloud
- Handle painful memories on your own terms