Why writing an introduction to your biography will improve it

By Dennis Mellersh

When you are writing a biography, having an introduction or an author’s forward can be a big help to your readers in assisting them to better understand and appreciate the contents of your book.

The introduction, prologue or preamble can be:

(a) A brief synopsis of the key events and/or developmental points in the life of the subject of your biographical book. Part of this could be a simple timeline highlighting key dates and period’s in the subject’s life
(b) A short essay by you as the author explaining why you think the life of the person written about in the biography is significant and should be of interest to the reader

Or, it can be a combination of both of these approaches.

In general, writing a prologue or preamble helps to “set the stage” or prime the reader for the main contents of your book. Providing such a guideline or series of “signposts” can help alert the reader better appreciate the content of your book as a coherent whole rather than as a collection of seemingly unrelated events.

One of the best ways to become familiar with this biographical writing technique, and without spending a lot of money on buying biographies, is to examine a lot of this type of book at your local library.

Then read in more detail and make notes on the ones that have effective introductions that you feel would help you to better understand the biography’s contents, and most important better understand the life and importance of the person the book is about.