If you have decided to capture a life in writing, you will quickly run into four words that seem to mean the same thing. They overlap, but the differences are real, and knowing them helps you work out what you are actually setting out to make.
Autobiography
An autobiography is the complete story of a person’s life, written by that person, told in order from birth to the present. It aims to be comprehensive: the full arc, the major events, the whole timeline. It is the most formal and structured of the four, and traditionally what public figures write.
Memoir
A memoir is more focused and more personal. Rather than covering an entire life in order, it explores a particular theme, period or set of experiences, such as a childhood, a marriage, an illness or a career, and what they meant. Memoirs are told from inside the writer’s memory and emotion. The word comes from the French for memory, and that is the distinction. An autobiography records a life. A memoir reflects on part of one.
Biography
A biography is the story of a person’s life written by somebody else. Because it is written by another person it can be researched, can draw on many sources, and can cover the person’s life after their death. When you write your parent or grandparent’s story, you are strictly speaking writing a biography, though most people call it a life story.
Life story
Life story is the friendly catch-all term, and the one families actually use. It sidesteps the formality of the other three and simply means the story of someone’s life, told properly. It can be written by the person or by a loved one, can cover a whole life or focus on the richest parts, and can be as warm and personal as a memoir. It is the least intimidating word, which is rather the point.
So which should you make?
- The complete arc of your own life, in order: that is an autobiography, or simply a full life story.
- One meaningful chapter explored in depth: that is a memoir.
- Someone else’s life, living or gone: that is a biography, usually just called their life story.
- Not sure, and not keen to worry about the label: call it a life story and tell whatever matters most.
In practice the label matters far less than the doing. Whatever you call it, the value is the same: a life, written down, before the details are lost.
Chapternity works for all four. Whether you are telling your own story or a loved one’s, in full or focused on one chapter, Sage shapes the conversation into a written book. You do not need to decide what to call it.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography?
- An autobiography is the complete story of a life, written by that person in chronological order, aiming to be comprehensive. A memoir is more focused and personal, exploring a particular theme or period and reflecting on what it meant rather than covering the whole life in order.
- Is it a biography if I write my parent’s life story?
- Technically yes, because a biography is a life story written by someone other than the subject. Most families simply call it a life story, which is warmer and less formal. Chapternity can write it whether the storyteller is the subject or a loved one telling it on their behalf.
- Which is easiest to write?
- A focused memoir or life story is usually the most manageable, because you are not trying to document every year. With Chapternity none of it requires writing at all, since you answer questions in conversation and the book is written for you.
Explore more guides or read about life storys.