Writing a Biography

Biography is a written account of a series of events in a person’s life. When writing a biography, the writer has to create a balance between merely listing raw facts and telling a good story. Here’s a 4-step guide to writing a biography that is both informative and captivating.

Research and collect facts about your subject. This step is of enormous importance in writing a biography. When gathering information about your subject, go beyond basic facts such as educational background, family information, and major and minor accomplishments. To best illuminate your subject’s life and accomplishments, get as much primary (e.g. diary, letters, interviews), secondary (e.g. interviews with persons who know your subject), and tertiary (e.g. almanacs, bibliographies) sources as much as possible.

Make an outline. Determine what information to include, what to leave out, what part of the person’s life to highlight, and how you’d order the events in the person’s life.

Write the biography. Put together what you have researched but avoid mere dry listing of materials. A biography is both information and writer’s interpretation. Some points to consider when writing a biography are: the influence of historical time on your subject, events that shaped your subject’s life, influential relationships, and learning from life’s experiences.

Edit your work. Make sure there is no repeated information, and there are no grammatical and spelling errors.