As with any biography writing project, the first step is to consider what you want to say. What does the reader need to know about this person in order to understand them better? These questions become tedious and you flunk at the very beginning.
How will your voice and style reflect the subject matter? When it comes to writing a biography, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, there are certain steps you can take to get the ball rolling
Things to do before you start Writing a Biography:
As with any writing project, the first step is to consider what you want to say. What does the reader need to know about this person in order to understand them better? How will your voice and style reflect the subject matter?
If you’re planning on writing a biography on someone who’s still alive, you’ll need to send a formal letter of request for their permission. If they say yes, make sure you keep this letter with your research materials, as it might come in handy if you get sued later on.
In addition to your own research, start by looking over as many previous works on the subject as possible.
- How have other biographers approached their subjects?
- What are the most common tropes and narrative strategies?
- Does this person have a well-known story that needs little embellishment?
- You might even consider contacting some of these authors yourself to see what they think.
Steps You Should follow while Writing a Biography:
- Starting a biography from scratch might seem daunting. However, it is easier than you might think. A good first step is to gather your materials. Gather any written pieces about the person you are writing about. This could include reviews, newspaper articles, and other written pieces that have been published on or about them. It is also important to get in touch with people who have known them well and can talk about their experiences with them, either in an interview or over the phone.
- If you know a lot about your subject, start writing about them right away. You can add in details as you learn them later on. If you know little about your subject, do some research. Make sure you’re clear on what you want to say before you start writing.
- Once you have all of your materials together, it is time to start outlining the book. It is important to take notes while reading through these materials so that you can keep track of everything you find out while writing. After gathering all of these materials, it’s time to start writing the book!
- The best thing to do when writing a biography is to organize facts in an organized fashion; this will help make the biography flow smoothly for your readers. Start off with a short introduction that gives basic information about the person: where they were born (and if possible what year), where they grew up, and when and how they died if they are no longer living.
- After this introduction, go into more detail about their childhood (if they are still alive). You can describe their childhood and lean over to the stories that have kept happening.
- Most biographies take place over decades or centuries, so it is important to plan out which events are most pertinent and which details will help readers understand the subject. After deciding what to include in the bio, the author needs to decide how he or she wants to format the book.
- The style will depend on whether the book is nonfiction or fiction, but overall it should be organized logically and have a clear beginning, middle and end.
- An author should also decide whether he wants to write in first-person or third-person point of view; either choice can work depending on how much the author wants his own voice to be heard within the book. Once all these decisions are made, an author can begin writing each chapter for his or her biography.
Things to Keep in Mind, When you’re the Author!
As an author, if you are thinking of writing a biography, you should be very careful about how to go about it. There are certain things to take care while writing a biography:
There has to be a proper structure to the biography. The chapters have to be in such a way that the flow is perfect so that each chapter can stand on its own.
The next step would be to look for reliable sources for research, and then he can begin to collect information. The author may use interviews or correspondence from other books as sources.
The author should always remember that the end reader has to relate themself to the character in the story. This is the most important thing one should remember while writing a biography.
While writing a biography, the author should maintain neutrality; this will help the reader get into the book and enjoy it fully.
While writing any book, it is always very important for an author to decide about the media through which they will relate their thoughts or ideas. In the case of biographies, with proper research, facts and events, other sources verify it.
Every writer will write differently; hence, no one else can know if they have justice with their work.
He can also collect interesting photographs to support his text while writing the biography. The author should ensure he doesn’t repeat anything in his book.
The writing style is another important aspect that must be kept in mind while writing a biography. It is better if the language used is simple so that it’s easy for everyone to understand and enjoy reading it.
Writing a biography of a famous person is a big task for an author. He has to read about the life of that person and collect information about his childhood, family, education, career, awards and achievements. He should have adequate knowledge about the people who had influenced that particular personality in his early years. The author should know the history of that particular field in which the person was working. The writer should also keep in mind the things that were happening at the time of that personality’s death, or any other highlight impacting his life.