Have friends said you ought to write your life story? Do family members know how you grew up, your first job? What stops you from telling? It’s time to get your story on paper: set the record straight, create your own history, record your life for your kids. If you don’t write it, who will? Don’t let your story get lost. Give a gift to your family and tell your version of your history the way you want it remembered.

Here are five tips to get started. Sit down right now at your dining room table with paper and pen. That is all it takes. Grab a pen and any type of paper: the back of an envelope, a spiral notebook or a three ring binder with loose sheets and dividers. Don’t clear your desk. The secret to recording your life is to write, don’t think. Write the answer to this question for 10 minutes: What do few people know about me?

Start with these steps from Anne Randolph’s soon to be published, Write Your Life Story 'One Page At A Time'.

RULE #1: LET THE PEN DO THE TALKING

Let anything come out of your pen: your blessings, complaints, your grocery list, sounds, groans or a story remembered. Edit later. Save spelling, grammar, punctuation for another day. Let your hand lead. Start now with this opening line: "I remember..."