By Dennis Mellersh
There is a short way to write a biography, but, alas, it is not a short-cut, nor is it an “easy” or “10-day” method.”
Normally when one thinks of a traditional biography, we envisage a full-length book devoted to examining the life of one individual.
As an alternative, there are two basic approaches with the “short” technique:
(1) Write a short biography and publish it as a small book, likely as an e-book
(2) Write a number of short biographies and compile them into one full-length book
However you decide to proceed, you will need to learn the art of writing a short biography.
The key to writing a successful short biography is to focus on a single theme in the life of the person you are writing about.
Why a single theme?
If you try to provide total biographical breadth in a short biography, you will end up writing little more than a synopsis, or factual condensation of the person’s life.
This total coverage approach provides some breadth in describing a life, but it has no depth. It will have fact-centric highlights relating to the person, but it would have little appeal to the serious biography reader – the reader you want to interest. It might, however, be of interest to someone who simply wanted a collection of historical facts, such as for a school essay, for example. This is the type of deficiency you may find in some short biographical articles on the Internet, for example.
But, to repeat, there is a way to make a short biography interesting, compelling, and of interest to serious readers, and that is to focus on one aspect, or theme that resonates in the life of the person you are writing about.
The theme could be any one of a variety of factors that are central to the person’s life. It might be: childhood influences, education, an individual who significantly altered the subject’s life, a major intellectual or emotional focus of the person’s life, what inspired the individual, problems that profoundly affected the person’s development…any number of themes could be appropriate, depending on the life of the person you want to write a book about.
Here’s an example of the themed approach. If you want to write a book about the lives of famous writers, you could write about a famous author who did his or her best work when they were young. Or at the other end of the spectrum, you might want to write about an author who did not do their best and most successful writing until late in life.
The main point is to focus on a unique aspect of a life and then build your biography around that.
To make a full-length book from your short biographies, keep writing until you have, say 10 to 30 of them. At that point you will have enough for a full length book, depending of course, on the length of each individual biography. The individual stories of the lives you are exploring will be like the chapters in a traditional biography book written about a single person.
Showing posts with label How to write a biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to write a biography. Show all posts
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
What does the term biography mean as a writing genre?
By Dennis Mellersh
Biography writing as a genre is any written material which has as its main focus the overall history and significance of a person’s life.
When the written material is relatively short it is generally described by using the adjective “autobiographical” rather than being called a biography.
Examples would be biographical essays or biographical articles, such as those published in a magazine, newspaper, or on a website or blog. However, such abbreviated biographies could also be described as “brief” or “concise” biographies.
When most people use the term “a biography” they generally are referring to a book-length treatment of a person’s life. Although it could be a full length treatment in a movie or a video documentary.
Following are some of the terms used in connection with the writing of biography.
Historical biography: This term is somewhat of a redundancy as the term biography in itself implies that the writing emphasizes a historical perspective relating to the person who is the subject of the biography.
Contemporary biography: Although generally used to describe a biography of a living person, it can also refer to a biography of a diseased person who lived in a relatively recent time period.
Sometimes the term contemporary can refer to something or someone as being contemporary with, or of the same time period, such as Abraham Lincoln being a contemporary of Ulysses S. Grant.
Autobiography: This is a biography that an individual has written about themselves.
Memoir: Similar to an autobiography, but with more emphasis on personal reflections rather than on historical data about the person’s life.
Fictionalized biography: As the name implies, this involves the dramatization and imagining of particular events in a person’s life while maintaining overall accuracy in basic known facts about that person’s life. This is a popular approach in movies and novels.
Bio: This term is a colloquial expression for a resume, curriculum vitae (CV) or career accomplishments and core capabilities outline.
Biography writing as a genre is any written material which has as its main focus the overall history and significance of a person’s life.
When the written material is relatively short it is generally described by using the adjective “autobiographical” rather than being called a biography.
Examples would be biographical essays or biographical articles, such as those published in a magazine, newspaper, or on a website or blog. However, such abbreviated biographies could also be described as “brief” or “concise” biographies.
When most people use the term “a biography” they generally are referring to a book-length treatment of a person’s life. Although it could be a full length treatment in a movie or a video documentary.
Following are some of the terms used in connection with the writing of biography.
Historical biography: This term is somewhat of a redundancy as the term biography in itself implies that the writing emphasizes a historical perspective relating to the person who is the subject of the biography.
Contemporary biography: Although generally used to describe a biography of a living person, it can also refer to a biography of a diseased person who lived in a relatively recent time period.
Sometimes the term contemporary can refer to something or someone as being contemporary with, or of the same time period, such as Abraham Lincoln being a contemporary of Ulysses S. Grant.
Autobiography: This is a biography that an individual has written about themselves.
Memoir: Similar to an autobiography, but with more emphasis on personal reflections rather than on historical data about the person’s life.
Fictionalized biography: As the name implies, this involves the dramatization and imagining of particular events in a person’s life while maintaining overall accuracy in basic known facts about that person’s life. This is a popular approach in movies and novels.
Bio: This term is a colloquial expression for a resume, curriculum vitae (CV) or career accomplishments and core capabilities outline.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
A technique for “injecting life” into writing historical biography
By Dennis Mellersh
One of the most important attributes the author of an historical biography must have, or develop, is the ability to “bring to life” the person the biography is about and to give a strong sense or feeling for the events and circumstances surrounding and influencing the life of that person.
In other words, it is essential to supply context in writing historical biography.
This is especially true for a book-length examination of someone’s life, and is particularly true if the subject of the book lived in a specific historical period and had significant influence on that historical period.
Although a biography in its entirety must supply a contextual setting, there are a number of ways this can be done at the beginning of the book, to help the reader quickly identify with the person profiled and the times they lived in.
One of these techniques is the “day in the life of” approach as a preamble or introductory section at the beginning of the book, although it might be too obvious, and awkward to give the preamble this actual title.
William Manchester did this exceptionally well in his second volume of the life of Winston Churchill: Winston Spencer Churchill, The Last Lion, Alone, 1932 – 1940*. Manchester titled the prologue The Lion Caged and used it in part to explain the historical context of that period of Churchill’s life, when he was out of power and in a political wilderness.
By focusing on a typical day in the life of his subject Manchester was able to give the reader an excellent sense of the entire man, what his surroundings were like, who some of the main people in his life were, and a feeling for this critical historical time period.
Rather than me describing the details of the prologue, I recommend that you borrow this book from your local library, or buy it used in paperback. In addition to being instructive from a writer’s point of view, it’s a great read.
* The book is a Laurel trade paperback and was published Dell Publishing, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. 1988, New York.
One of the most important attributes the author of an historical biography must have, or develop, is the ability to “bring to life” the person the biography is about and to give a strong sense or feeling for the events and circumstances surrounding and influencing the life of that person.
In other words, it is essential to supply context in writing historical biography.
This is especially true for a book-length examination of someone’s life, and is particularly true if the subject of the book lived in a specific historical period and had significant influence on that historical period.
Although a biography in its entirety must supply a contextual setting, there are a number of ways this can be done at the beginning of the book, to help the reader quickly identify with the person profiled and the times they lived in.
One of these techniques is the “day in the life of” approach as a preamble or introductory section at the beginning of the book, although it might be too obvious, and awkward to give the preamble this actual title.
William Manchester did this exceptionally well in his second volume of the life of Winston Churchill: Winston Spencer Churchill, The Last Lion, Alone, 1932 – 1940*. Manchester titled the prologue The Lion Caged and used it in part to explain the historical context of that period of Churchill’s life, when he was out of power and in a political wilderness.
By focusing on a typical day in the life of his subject Manchester was able to give the reader an excellent sense of the entire man, what his surroundings were like, who some of the main people in his life were, and a feeling for this critical historical time period.
Rather than me describing the details of the prologue, I recommend that you borrow this book from your local library, or buy it used in paperback. In addition to being instructive from a writer’s point of view, it’s a great read.
* The book is a Laurel trade paperback and was published Dell Publishing, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. 1988, New York.
Friday, February 22, 2013
An example of research conducted in writing a contemporary biography
By Dennis Mellersh
The ability and requirement to do research is one of the major components in writing any non-fiction book, but is particularly important in writing biography.
I have touched on the subject of research in previous posts about writing a book and writing a biography, and this article also is a brief analysis rather than definitive treatment of how to do research for a book.
Rather, I thought it would be useful to outline the research methods described in a recent biography about a contemporary individual.
In the book Steve Jobs*, the author, Walter Isaacson, outlines in considerable detail in his introduction and in the notes at the end of the book the research he conducted to write this particular biography.
Most of the seminal interviews were done before Jobs died, and during the course of researching the book the author says he “ended up having more than forty interviews and conversations with him…some were formal ones in his Palo Alto living room, others were done during long walks and drives, or by telephone. During my two years of visits he became increasingly intimate and revealing…”
At the end of the book in a section titled Sources, the author lists about 100 people with whom he conducted interviews for background information. In the Bibliography section Isaacson also lists approximately 40 books he consulted.
In another 20-page section, the author indicates, chapter by chapter, the sources for the information given in each chapter, and this includes some source material, such as articles, not cited in the previous acknowledgement sections.
This particular biographical book serves as a good example of the type research that you might need to do if you want to write a serious biography on a contemporary person.
Writing a book about an historical individual who is no longer alive would obviously be much more confined to written documentary source material.
* Information for this article was sourced from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Simon & Shuster, New York, 2011
The ability and requirement to do research is one of the major components in writing any non-fiction book, but is particularly important in writing biography.
I have touched on the subject of research in previous posts about writing a book and writing a biography, and this article also is a brief analysis rather than definitive treatment of how to do research for a book.
Rather, I thought it would be useful to outline the research methods described in a recent biography about a contemporary individual.
In the book Steve Jobs*, the author, Walter Isaacson, outlines in considerable detail in his introduction and in the notes at the end of the book the research he conducted to write this particular biography.
Most of the seminal interviews were done before Jobs died, and during the course of researching the book the author says he “ended up having more than forty interviews and conversations with him…some were formal ones in his Palo Alto living room, others were done during long walks and drives, or by telephone. During my two years of visits he became increasingly intimate and revealing…”
At the end of the book in a section titled Sources, the author lists about 100 people with whom he conducted interviews for background information. In the Bibliography section Isaacson also lists approximately 40 books he consulted.
In another 20-page section, the author indicates, chapter by chapter, the sources for the information given in each chapter, and this includes some source material, such as articles, not cited in the previous acknowledgement sections.
This particular biographical book serves as a good example of the type research that you might need to do if you want to write a serious biography on a contemporary person.
Writing a book about an historical individual who is no longer alive would obviously be much more confined to written documentary source material.
* Information for this article was sourced from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Simon & Shuster, New York, 2011
In writing a biography, emphasis and focus are essential
By Dennis Mellersh
Writing a successful and compelling biography of someone does not mean describing every last detail of that person’s life with equal emphasis. In fact, such an approach would result in a lifeless and boring book.
What I am writing about here is the need for you to decide on what will be the basic focus and emphasis areas of the book you are planning. The overall general concept of how to write a biography is a wide and deep topic more suitable for a larger and more definitive article.
Writing a biographical article is not as demanding a task as writing a book of biography. Writing a book about a particular person’s life is one of the toughest assignments you can give yourself as a writer, and for the beginner writer, it can be a lengthy learning process.
In planning your biography it is important to remember that there will likely be formative and the productive periods in the life of your subject that should have focus and emphasis in your book.
There are three ways to approach writing a biography (1) You can focus your biography on a chronological basis in describing the person’s life; or (2) you can examine their life on a topical, or “area of interest” basis.
Or ideally, and (3), it will be a combination of both (1) and (2).
If you are writing about a famous musician, for example, you will want to focus on formative periods, and musicians or schools of thought that were key influences in the person’s artistic development.
The key point is that your biography will need acknowledge and draw attention to the most important parts of the person’s life, rather than just being a “history” of all their life events presented in a forward moving timeline.
For example, if particular people influenced and contributed to the intellectual development of the subject of your biography, you should focus on those people. If a particular book or historical event was a major influence, there should be some focus on the significance of that influence.
If the person’s childhood was a key factor in how their life developed, then the childhood should be emphasized, with explanations as to how and why it was a formative period in the life of the person you are writing about.
As you do research and gather information on the person you are writing about, you will become aware of the development periods and the key influences in the subject’s life. Further research will give you the additional information you will need to emphasize and focus on these areas effectively.
In discussing research, I am assuming that the subject of your planned biography is someone on whom there are already readily available “secondary” source materials, such as articles and books. Later on in your research process you may need to read more “primary” source material for your research.
One of the starting points in figuring out what should be emphasized in your biography is to read general articles on the person, perhaps starting with an article about your book’s subject in Wikipedia.
Bear in mind with Wikipedia however, that it is a creative commons resource and the articles are not necessarily written by experts, and may contain some inaccuracies. So you will need to do research involving other articles that you know have been written by experts. You should then read several authoritative biographical books on the subject, written by recognized authorities.
In doing research for biographical information, you will not be able to get all the information you need on the Internet alone. It will require going to your local library and perhaps a larger regional library with a lot of reference material available.
Once you have done this preliminary research, you should have a firm idea of the areas you should emphasize and focus on in your book and will be ready to do further reading of primary documents such as the personal letters and correspondence of your subject.
Writing a successful and compelling biography of someone does not mean describing every last detail of that person’s life with equal emphasis. In fact, such an approach would result in a lifeless and boring book.
What I am writing about here is the need for you to decide on what will be the basic focus and emphasis areas of the book you are planning. The overall general concept of how to write a biography is a wide and deep topic more suitable for a larger and more definitive article.
Writing a biographical article is not as demanding a task as writing a book of biography. Writing a book about a particular person’s life is one of the toughest assignments you can give yourself as a writer, and for the beginner writer, it can be a lengthy learning process.
In planning your biography it is important to remember that there will likely be formative and the productive periods in the life of your subject that should have focus and emphasis in your book.
There are three ways to approach writing a biography (1) You can focus your biography on a chronological basis in describing the person’s life; or (2) you can examine their life on a topical, or “area of interest” basis.
Or ideally, and (3), it will be a combination of both (1) and (2).
If you are writing about a famous musician, for example, you will want to focus on formative periods, and musicians or schools of thought that were key influences in the person’s artistic development.
The key point is that your biography will need acknowledge and draw attention to the most important parts of the person’s life, rather than just being a “history” of all their life events presented in a forward moving timeline.
For example, if particular people influenced and contributed to the intellectual development of the subject of your biography, you should focus on those people. If a particular book or historical event was a major influence, there should be some focus on the significance of that influence.
If the person’s childhood was a key factor in how their life developed, then the childhood should be emphasized, with explanations as to how and why it was a formative period in the life of the person you are writing about.
As you do research and gather information on the person you are writing about, you will become aware of the development periods and the key influences in the subject’s life. Further research will give you the additional information you will need to emphasize and focus on these areas effectively.
In discussing research, I am assuming that the subject of your planned biography is someone on whom there are already readily available “secondary” source materials, such as articles and books. Later on in your research process you may need to read more “primary” source material for your research.
One of the starting points in figuring out what should be emphasized in your biography is to read general articles on the person, perhaps starting with an article about your book’s subject in Wikipedia.
Bear in mind with Wikipedia however, that it is a creative commons resource and the articles are not necessarily written by experts, and may contain some inaccuracies. So you will need to do research involving other articles that you know have been written by experts. You should then read several authoritative biographical books on the subject, written by recognized authorities.
In doing research for biographical information, you will not be able to get all the information you need on the Internet alone. It will require going to your local library and perhaps a larger regional library with a lot of reference material available.
Once you have done this preliminary research, you should have a firm idea of the areas you should emphasize and focus on in your book and will be ready to do further reading of primary documents such as the personal letters and correspondence of your subject.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
How to write a biography: Do you want to write about yourself or someone else?
By Dennis Mellersh
Based on the questions and search queries I have seen from beginner writers on the subject of how to write a book, it appears there is some confusion in people’s minds about the terminology or correct word for writing a biography and writing a biography about one’s own life.
Here are some of the common search queries:
How to write a personal biography
How to write a biography on someone
How to write a biography on yourself
How to write a short biography
How to write a biography for kids
How to write a professional biography
How to write a biography about myself
How to write a self-biography
What these queries show is that many people do not know the correct term for a self-biography or a biography on yourself, or your own life.
The correct term is autobiography.
The correct term for a book about someone else is biography.
So, if you are looking for information on how to write a biography about your own life, use the term autobiography in your Internet searches and library research. Similarly, use the term biography for information on how to write a book about someone else’s life.
Using the correct terms, biography and autobiography, will give you much better Internet search and library research results and therefore better information to help you in your program of learning to write a biography or autobiography more effectively.
Based on the questions and search queries I have seen from beginner writers on the subject of how to write a book, it appears there is some confusion in people’s minds about the terminology or correct word for writing a biography and writing a biography about one’s own life.
Here are some of the common search queries:
How to write a personal biography
How to write a biography on someone
How to write a biography on yourself
How to write a short biography
How to write a biography for kids
How to write a professional biography
How to write a biography about myself
How to write a self-biography
What these queries show is that many people do not know the correct term for a self-biography or a biography on yourself, or your own life.
The correct term is autobiography.
The correct term for a book about someone else is biography.
So, if you are looking for information on how to write a biography about your own life, use the term autobiography in your Internet searches and library research. Similarly, use the term biography for information on how to write a book about someone else’s life.
Using the correct terms, biography and autobiography, will give you much better Internet search and library research results and therefore better information to help you in your program of learning to write a biography or autobiography more effectively.
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