August 9, 2007
How To Write A Biography
Simply stated, a biography tells the story of a person’s life. Biographies attempt to make connections and explain the how and why of the subject and their life actions. Biographies are often about famous people, but lesser known biography subjects can offer interesting illuminations into accomplishments that impacted public life. Biographies of average citizens might also be written to teach about life in a given time.
Research
Complete biographies begin with research, and it is essential to the credibility of the story to be accurate. Research is a biography’s foundation.
To begin, make a list of the questions the biography will answer. Start with the who (subject), what makes them interesting, accomplishments, effects on the world as a whole. Consider life obstacles, changing events, and who’s life would be different if they’d never lived.
Start with primary sources of facts. If possible, interview the biography subject.
Ask everything you can imagine. Take extensive notes and tape record interview sessions (with permission). It helps to explain that tape recording is to ensure the most accurate account possible, so that you can refer back to the sessions to clarify your notes, quote directly from the source and check to see that the context of a conversation is portrayed correctly.
Ask to read through letters, journals, and personal notes (including correspondence to the subject).
Move on to secondary references. Interview friends, family members, acquaintances, and coworkers. Collect different points of view. Find out from others what it was like to live with this person, how outsiders perceived them, what the person may have missed in life when enveloped with their undertaking. If the subject is deceased, the biography will rely very heavily on the impressions of these people and what they offer will give you leads as to where else to look.
Research education and accomplishments and verify everything through public records, former employers, educational establishments, and trade groups.
Outline
Start with a list of the subject’s life highlights and memories. These should form the framework of the biography’s outline.
Arrange a rough outline and decide what part or parts of the person’s life you will focus on. Will this be a full-life story? Will the story focus in large part or in whole only on the most interesting life phase?
Biographies can follow chronological timelines from birth to present day or death, or a biography can be arranged around certain life themes, flashing back in each instance to the life events that shaped them.
Tell a Story
While a biography may seem like a simple piece to write because the story is already written, a successful biography depends upon the author’s ability to craft the information into an interesting read.
All the essential elements of writing need be present in a good biography, including plot, tone, dialogue, character development, and conflict. It is not enough to simply restate facts; a successful biographer communicates what life was like in a factual read that is as entertaining as any piece of fiction.