Who should i do a biography on
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How to Write a Biography: A Step-by-Step Guide
Writing a biography can be a rewarding endeavor, but it can also feel a bit daunting if you’ve never written one before.
Whether you’re capturing the life story of a famous person, a family member, or even yourself, creating a compelling biography involves a mix of thorough research, narrative skill, and a personal touch.
So, how exactly do you write a successful biography?
In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials to help you craft a biography that’s both informative and engaging, as well as our top tips for how to make it truly shine.
What Is a Biography?
A biography is a detailed account of someone’s life.
A well-written biography needs to be objective and accurate. At the same time, it needs to depict more than just the basic facts like birth, education, work, relationships, and death—it should also portray the subject’s personal experience of those events.
So, in addition to being a good researcher, a good biographer also needs to be a good storyteller. You should provide insights into the subject’s personality, motivations, and impact on the world around them.
What’s the Difference Between a Biography, a Memoir, and an Autobiography?
Understanding the distinctions between different genres of life writing is
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Start Writing a Biography—in 10 Easy Steps
Ask around. Contact other authors, not just biographers. Reach out to libraries, historical societies, or family members of your subject.
Know when to stop researching. You will likely have more than enough. You can always go back later and fill in the gaps.
Use your research selectively. You can always use excess material in blog posts or videos, articles, speaking appearances, or future projects.
You’ll need to devise a thesis—a main takeaway. You might instead, or also, have various themes that run through the book.
8. Start outlining.
You need an outline—early on. You can start this as early in your process as you like.
The traditional bulleted list works well for most—but others will start with a handwritten "mind map” or by writing on and rearranging virtual (or actual) sticky notes.
As you make your outline, refer to your thesis and/or themes. Refer to your timeline. Start to figure out how you might want to divide the chapters.
You will aim to have six to ten chapters, of roughly equal length, plus an introduction and a conclusion, all amounting to no more than , words. A book that’s shorter than that may be easier to sell to traditional publishers. (Click here to read my article “What’s the ideal word count f
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8 Min Read
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Write Pine Who?
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