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How to Write a Biography in 8 Steps (The Non-Boring Way!)

Compelling biographies help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding. Discover the steps to write one that captivates your audience!

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Have you ever been captivated by someone’s life story? From the ancient tales of great conquerors to the modern accounts of influential figures, biographies have enchanted readers and viewers for centuries. 

The stories of real people’s lives not only entertain and educate but also provide a unique window into the human experience. In fact, according to research 1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8796048/ , human stories like biographies can help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding.

In this article, let’s dive into how to write a compelling biography, from the research phase to delivery.

What Are the Key Elements of a Biography?

The key elements of a well-written biography bring characters to life. They include thorough research, relevant interviews, clear structure, captivating prose, compelling themes, and a balance between objectivity and empathy. 

• Thorough research: Helps create an accurate portrayal of your subject
• Relevant interviews: Insights help provide a deeper understanding of your subject
• Clear structure: Helps you outline your ideas for a compelling narrative
• Captivating prose: Provides descriptive language to paint a picture of your subject
• Compelling themes: Showcases the motivations and desires behind your subject
• A balance between objectivity and empathy: Keeps biases in check and allows your subject to shine for who they are

As you develop your biography, remember that these stories hold an enduring appeal because they offer people an opportunity to explore the depths of the human psyche, unravel extraordinary accomplishments, and discover the vulnerabilities and triumphs of individuals who have left their mark on the world. 

Here are the topics a biography typically covers:

• Early life and background : Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences.
• Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life.
• Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity.
• Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions.
• Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Ready to start crafting your biography? Find greater success with this helpful goal-setting resource!

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Let’s look at the six key elements of a well-written biography more closely and the steps you can follow to develop your own.

How to Write a Biography in 8 Steps Using Key Elements

Choose your presentation format.

Presenting your biography can take on various forms, the most traditional being written form. The basis for this article assumes you’re writing a conventional biography; however, this foundation can also help you create a multimedia presentation or website as well. 

Consider these various formats to present your biography:

• Traditional Written Biographies: This classic approach provides a comprehensive account of a person’s life through the written word. Traditional biographies can be published in print or ebooks , allowing readers to engage deeply with the subject’s story.
• Multimedia Presentations: In the digital age, multimedia presentations offer a dynamic way to present biographies. Incorporate audio, video, photographs, and interactive elements to enhance the audience’s experience.
• Online Platforms: Online platforms, such as blogs or dedicated biography websites, provide accessible avenues for sharing biographies. They allow for easy updates, reader engagement, and the incorporation of multimedia elements. 

Choose your subject and conduct research

To create a vivid and accurate portrayal of a person’s life, conduct extensive research. Dive into archives, read letters, examine diaries, explore photographs, and immerse yourself in the historical and cultural context surrounding your subject. This will help you unearth the small details that breathe life into your biography. 

Whether you’re writing a biography about a historical figure, contemporary icon, or everyday individual, you’ll want to consider the different factors to focus on. Here are some examples of three types of individuals and the kind of research that will be most helpful.

• Historical Figures: When writing about historical figures, immerse yourself in their era. Understand the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped their lives. I recommend visiting your local library and connecting with a research librarian for support. Otherwise, other tools for historical research include Google Scholar. Analyze primary sources and multiple perspectives to present a well-rounded account.
• Contemporary Icons: Biographies of modern icons offer a chance to delve into their ongoing impact. Conduct interviews or gather insights from their close associates to understand their present-day influence. Stay current with the latest developments, and be prepared to update your work as the subject’s story unfolds.
• Everyday Individuals: Biographies need not be reserved for the famous. Every day individuals possess stories that can be just as compelling. Uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary, highlighting the struggles, triumphs, and personal growth of individuals who might otherwise remain unsung.
• Yourself! Want to write a biography on yourself? Autobiographies are a great way to explore who you are. Get ready to do some serious self-reflection with the steps below.

Pro Tip: Compile your research digitally using helpful cloud filings systems like Google Drive , OneDrive , or Dropbox . Organize your files by category, including information about their youth, family, achievements, and life lessons. You may also choose to write down research references or collect paper clippings on note cards, categorizing your physical files of research along the way.

Develop compelling themes and motifs 

Identify overarching themes or motifs that emerge from the subject’s life. These could be resilience, ambition, love, or societal change. Weave these elements into the narrative, highlighting their significance and impact on the person’s journey. Here are some examples:

• Overcoming Adversity: These biographies feature perseverance, resilience, and determination. Examples include Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, and Malala Yousafzai.
• Pursuit of Excellence: These biographies highlight people who have worked tirelessly to achieve their goals. Examples include Steve Jobs, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan.
• Quest for Knowledge: These biographies focus on the curiosity that led to significant contributions to our world. Examples include Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Charles Darwin.
• Personal Transformation: These biographies explore a change in beliefs, values, or priorities. Examples include Malcolm X, Oprah Winfrey, and Maya Angelou.
• Legacy and Impact: These biographies examine a body of work that made a lasting contribution to society. Examples include Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Conduct relevant interviews 

Whenever possible, seek firsthand accounts from those who knew or interacted with the subject. Conduct interviews with family members, friends, colleagues, or experts in the field. Their insights and anecdotes can provide a deeper understanding of the person’s character and experiences.

When conducting interviews for a biography, consider the following tips to ensure a productive and insightful conversation:

• Familiarize yourself with the interviewee’s background and accomplishments.
• Develop a list of well-thought-out questions that cover key aspects of their lives and experiences, including questions about your subject’s youth, family, achievements, and life transitions or struggles.
• Begin the interview by establishing a comfortable and friendly atmosphere to put the interviewee at ease.
• Show genuine interest in their story and listen actively to their responses.
• Ask open-ended questions encouraging detailed and reflective responses.
• Avoid yes/no questions and ask for their insights, memories, and personal perspectives.
• Some topics you might consider for your questions include early life, achievements, challenges, motivations, values, relationships, lessons learned, and advice.
• Pay close attention to the interviewee’s answers, body language, and tone of voice.
• Ask follow-up questions to clarify or delve deeper into specific topics.
• Show empathy and understanding, creating a safe space for the interviewee to share personal or sensitive information.
• Remain flexible during the interview, allowing the conversation to flow naturally.
• Be prepared to deviate from your prepared questions if unexpected but relevant topics arise.
• Respect the interviewee’s boundaries and be mindful of any topics they may not wish to discuss.
• Take thorough and organized notes during the interview to capture important details.
• Consider recording the interview (with permission) to ensure accurate quotes and references.
• Ask for permission to follow up with additional questions or for clarification.
• Doing a biography on yourself? Ask yourself deep questions to harvest new stories and anecdotes.

Remember, the goal of the interview is to gather valuable information and personal perspectives that will contribute to the authenticity and depth of your biography. Approach the interview process with sensitivity, respect, and genuine curiosity about the interviewee’s life and experiences.

Develop a clear structure

Outline your biography, ensuring a logical and engaging narrative flow. Consider the chronological order, significant milestones, and turning points in the subject’s life. Organize your gathered information to capture the essence of their journey while maintaining a compelling rhythm throughout. 

A good outline for a biography can vary depending on the specific subject and the desired structure of the narrative. However, here’s a general outline that can serve as a starting point:

A. Introduction

a) Hook or engaging opening to capture the reader’s attention

b) Background information (birthplace, date, family, etc.)

c) A brief overview of the subject’s significance or why they are worth exploring

B. Early Life and Background

a) Childhood and upbringing

b) Influences, such as family, education, or cultural factors

c) Formative experiences or events that shaped the subject’s character or interests

C. Major Achievements and Milestones

a) A chronological exploration of the subject’s notable accomplishments, contributions, or milestones

b) Focus on key moments or achievements that highlight their impact or significance.

c) Provide context and details to paint a vivid picture of their achievements

D. Challenges and Obstacles

a) Discussion of the challenges, setbacks, or adversities the subject encountered

b) How they overcame obstacles or grew through difficult experiences

c) Insights into their resilience, determination, or problem-solving abilities

E. Personal Life and Relationships

a) Exploration of the subject’s relationships, such as family, friends, or romantic partners

b) Insights into their personal joys, struggles, or transformative experiences

c) How their personal life intersected with their professional or public achievements

F. Legacy and Impact

a) Examination of the subject’s lasting influence, contributions, or impact on society

b) Discuss how their work or actions continue to resonate or shape the world today

c) Reflection on their legacy and the lessons we can learn from their life story

G. Conclusion

a) Summarize the key aspects of the subject’s life and their significance

b) Provide a final reflection or insight on their overall journey or impact

c) Leave the reader with a lasting impression or call to action

Pro Tip: Looking for help drafting an outline to get you started? Use free tools like ChatGPT to jumpstart your outline by putting in a prompt request like, “Write an outline for a biography about X, including any relevant details on the subject that should be included.”

Craft captivating prose

Employ descriptive language to transport readers into the subject’s world. Paint vivid portraits of their physical appearance, mannerisms, and surroundings. Use sensory details to evoke emotions and create a strong connection between the reader and the subject. 

Here are some examples:

• “She was a force of nature, with a fierce determination and an unwavering commitment to justice.” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
• “His piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through you, and his voice had a commanding presence that demanded attention.” (Winston Churchill)
• “She moved with a grace and elegance that belied her inner strength and resilience.” (Audrey Hepburn)
• “His rugged features and piercing gaze made him a natural leading man, but it was his depth and vulnerability that set him apart.” (Marlon Brando)
• “She had a contagious energy and a magnetic personality that drew people to her like a moth to a flame.” (Princess Diana)
• “His quiet intensity and unwavering dedication to his craft made him one of the greatest artists of his time.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

Action Step: While writing descriptive prose takes some practice, it’s an art you can master with little creative writing skills. To help you write descriptive prose, practice closing your eyes and imagining your subject. 

• What expression is on their face? 
• How are they dressed? 
• What does their body language express? 
• How do they smell? 
• How do they make you feel? 
• How do they make others feel? 
• What’s in their surroundings? 
• What are they doing with their hands? 
• What do you imagine they’re thinking about? 

With questions like these, you’ll start to use descriptive language to bring your subject to life.

Build a balance of objectivity and empathy

Strive for an objective portrayal while infusing empathy and understanding into your writing. Remain aware of biases and preconceived notions, giving your subject the space to shine in their unique light. 

To check yourself, filter your writing and interviewing with these tips:

• Verify Information: Cross-reference information from various sources to ensure accuracy. Use tools like Fact Check Explorer to fact-check claims, dates, and events to avoid errors or inaccuracies that could skew the narrative. 
• Multiple Perspectives: Seek out different viewpoints on the subject. This includes interviewing or reaching out to people with significant interactions or relationships with the subject. Incorporating diverse perspectives can counterbalance biases and provide a broader understanding.
• Empathetic Listening: During interviews or conversations, practice active listening and empathize with the interviewee’s experiences and emotions. This allows you to understand the subject’s perspective and incorporate their insights and feelings into the narrative.
• Contextualize Emotions: When sharing the subject’s emotional experiences or personal struggles, provide sufficient context and background. This helps readers understand the motivations and circumstances behind their actions and allows for empathetic understanding without veering into excessive sentimentality.
• Credible Interpretation: While interpreting the subject’s thoughts, motives, or intentions, be clear about what is factual and what is speculative. Clearly distinguish between evidence-based information and your interpretations to maintain objectivity.
• Respect Boundaries: Be mindful of the subject’s privacy and any requests they may have regarding sensitive or personal information. Respecting their boundaries shows empathy and allows for a respectful portrayal while maintaining the necessary level of objectivity.
• Acknowledge Limitations: Recognize that achieving complete objectivity in a biography is challenging. Biases can inadvertently seep into the narrative. However, by being aware of your biases and consciously presenting a fair and balanced account, you can mitigate their influence.

Respect truth, privacy, and sensitivity

Remember, writing biographies carries ethical responsibilities. It’s important to maintain accuracy through credible research and gain consent while being sensitive to controversial or difficult topics. Here are some considerations:

• Accuracy: Maintain a commitment to truth and accuracy. Verify facts and corroborate information from multiple sources to ensure the reliability of your narrative. Cite your sources and be transparent about any uncertainties or gaps in knowledge.
• Privacy and Consent: Respect the privacy of living individuals mentioned in your biography. Seek consent when sharing personal details or sensitive information. Balance the subject’s right to privacy with the importance of honesty and transparency.
• Sensitivity: Approach sensitive or controversial topics with care and empathy. Consider the potential impact of your words on the subject’s loved ones or affected communities—present differing perspectives without sensationalism or bias.

Writing a Biography FAQs

The length of a biography can vary greatly, depending on the subject and the depth of exploration. Some biographies span a few hundred pages, while others extend to multiple volumes. Focus on capturing the subject’s life’s essence rather than strictly adhering to a predetermined length.

Some common mistakes to avoid when writing a biography include the following: Lack of thorough research or reliance on a single source. Inaccurate or misleading information. Excessive personal bias or projection onto the subject. Neglecting to verify facts or failing to cite sources. Poor organization or a disjointed narrative flow. Neglecting to balance objectivity with empathy. Overloading the biography with irrelevant details or digressions. Failing to respect privacy or ethical considerations.

While chronological order is commonly used in biographies, it is not required. Some biographers employ a thematic approach or explore specific periods or events in the subject’s life. Experiment with different structures to find the most engaging way to tell your subject’s story.

The purpose of writing a biography is to capture and share an individual’s life story. Biographies provide insights into a person’s experiences, achievements, and challenges, offering readers inspiration, knowledge, and understanding. They preserve the legacy of individuals, contribute to historical records, and celebrate the diversity of human lives.

When choosing a subject for your biography, consider someone who inspires you, interests you, or has significantly impacted society. It could be a historical figure, a contemporary icon, or even an everyday individual with a remarkable story. Choose a subject with sufficient available information, access to primary sources or interviews, and a narrative that resonates with you and potential readers.

Key elements to include in a biography are: Early life and background: Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences. Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life. Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity. Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions. Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Including personal anecdotes can add depth and humanize the subject of your biography. However, be selective and ensure that the stories are relevant, contribute to understanding the person’s character or experiences, and align with the overall narrative. Balancing personal anecdotes with factual information is critical to maintaining accuracy and credibility.

Conducting research for a biography involves exploring a variety of sources. Start with primary sources such as personal papers, letters, journals, and interviews with the subject or people who knew them. Secondary sources such as books, articles, and academic papers provide additional context and perspectives. Online databases, archives, libraries, and museums are valuable resources for finding relevant information.

Consult a wide range of sources to ensure a comprehensive and accurate biography. Primary sources, such as personal documents, letters, diaries, and interviews, offer firsthand accounts and unique insights. Secondary sources provide broader context and analysis, including books, articles, scholarly works, and historical records. Remember to evaluate the credibility and reliability of your sources critically.

Organize the information in your biography logically and engagingly. Consider using a chronological structure, starting with the subject’s early life and progressing through significant events and milestones. Alternatively, adopt a thematic approach, grouping related information based on themes or significant aspects of their life. Use clear headings, subheadings, and transitions to guide readers through the narrative flow.

Writing Biographies Key Takeaways

In summary, take note of these ideas and tips before you start writing your biography:

• Biographies hold enduring appeal, offering a glimpse into the human experience across time.
• Thorough research, interviews, and captivating prose are essential for crafting compelling biographies.
• Ethical considerations, such as accuracy, privacy, and sensitivity, are crucial when writing about real people’s lives.
• Choose subjects that genuinely inspire and resonate with you.
• Immerse yourself in the subject’s world to understand their motivations and challenges.
• Develop strong research skills and utilize a wide range of sources.
• Craft a compelling narrative that engages readers from the very first page.
• Seek feedback from trusted sources to refine your writing and storytelling abilities.
• Continuously explore new biographies to broaden your understanding of different styles and approaches.
• Embrace the unique voice and perspective you bring to the storytelling process.

Writing a biography book? Check out this helpful article, How to Write a Book: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing !

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How to Write a Biography: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Hannah Yang

Table of Contents

What is a biography, a step-by-step guide to writing a biography, tips for how to write a great biography, conclusion on how to write a biography.

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.

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 crucial for both writers and readers. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key differences between a biography and other related genres.

Biography: a detailed account of a person’s life, usually written in the third-person POV and supported by extensive research 

Autobiography: a self-written account of the author’s own life, usually written in the first person POV and following a chronological order 

Memoir: a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events that took place in their life, usually in the first person POV and in an introspective and personal way

Narrative nonfiction: a book that tells true stories using the techniques of fiction writing, such as character development, narrative arc, and detailed settings

Best Biography Examples to Study

The best way to learn how to write well is to read other successful books within the genre you’re writing. 

Here are five great biographies to add to your reading list. For a longer list, check out our article on the 20 best biographies to read . 

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand: the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian and World War II hero.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: a comprehensive and engaging account of the Apple co-founder’s life.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow: the biography that inspired the hit musical, providing a deep dive into Hamilton ’ s life and legacy.

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford: a nuanced story that uncovers the family connection between the three Millay sisters and their mother.

Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston: the story of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade.

As with writing any book, writing a biography is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s easier to think of it as a series of smaller steps than as one big challenge to tackle. 

Let’s break down the process step by step.

1. Choose Your Subject

Decide who you want to write about. It could be a well-known celebrity, a historical figure, or someone close to you.

In addition to figuring out who you’re writing about, this is also the step where you figure out why you want to write about them. Why is this a story worth telling, and what makes you interested in it? 

Maybe the subject of your biography overcame major hardships in life to achieve success, and that story will inspire others facing similar struggles. Or maybe they made a really unique contribution to the world that not enough people know about, and you want to shine a bigger spotlight on that impact.

Knowing why you’re telling this story will help you make the right decisions about how to research, outline, draft, and edit your biography.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is a crucial step in writing a good biography. You should tailor your biography to the interests and knowledge level of your audience.

A biography for a general audience will differ from one written for experts in a particular field. For example, two biographies about Emily Dickinson would be vastly different if one is written for young children and the other is written for adult poets. 

3. Conduct Research

Dive deep into your research. Use a variety of sources to get a well-rounded view of your subject’s life. Take detailed notes and organize your findings.

Gather as much information as you can about your subject. This includes primary sources like interviews, letters, and diaries, as well as secondary sources such as books, articles, and documentaries.

Here are some primary sources to look for: 

Letters and diaries: These provide intimate insights into the subject’s thoughts, feelings, and daily life, and can often be found in family archives, libraries, and historical societies.

Birth, marriage, and death certificates: These documents can provide crucial dates and familial relationships.

Census data: Census records can provide demographic information and track changes over time.

Property records: These can reveal where the subject lived and owned property.

Employment and school records: These records offer formalized insights into the subject’s education and career.

Military records: If applicable, military records can provide information on service, ranks, and honors.

Photos and videos: Look for photographs and videos in public libraries, historical societies, online databases like the Library of Congress, and family photo albums.

Historical newspapers: Access archives of local and national newspapers for articles, interviews, and obituaries related to the subject.

Digital archives: Use online resources like ProQuest, Chronicling America, and newspaper databases available through public libraries.

You can also look for secondary sources, which provide more context and perspective, such as:

Existing biographies: Search for existing biographies and books about the subject or their era. How does your project stand out from the crowd? 

Academic articles and papers: Access journals through university libraries, which often have extensive collections of scholarly articles.

Documentaries and biographical films: You can often find these on streaming services or public television archives.

Websites and blogs: Look for reputable websites and blogs dedicated to the subject or related fields.

Social media platforms: The things people say on social media can offer insights into public perception about your subject.

Finally, you can also conduct your own interviews. Talk to the subject if they’re still alive, as well as their friends, family, and colleagues. You can ask them for personal anecdotes to add more color to your book, or more information to fill in any gaps in your knowledge. 

4. Ask Engaging Questions

Great biographers start from a place of curiosity. Before you start writing, you should know the answers to the following questions: 

What makes your subject’s story worth telling?

What was your subject’s childhood like? 

What were your subject’s early interests and hobbies?

What level of education did your subject achieve and where did they study?

What was your subject’s personality like?

What were their beliefs and values? 

How did your subject’s personality and beliefs change over time?

What were the major turning points in your subject’s life? 

How was your subject affected by the major political, cultural, and societal events that occurred throughout their life?  

What did their career path look like?

What were their major accomplishments? 

What were their major failures? 

How did they contribute to their field, their country, or their community?

Were they involved in any major controversies or scandals?

Who were the most important people in the subject’s life, such as friends, partners, or mentors?

If the subject is no longer living, how did they pass away?

What lasting impact did the subject leave behind? 

5. Create an Outline

An outline helps you structure your biography. You can write an extensive outline that includes every scene you need to write, or you can keep it simple and just make a list of high-level bullet points—whatever works best for your writing process. 

The best structure to use will depend on the shape of the story you’re trying to tell. Think about what your subject’s life looked like and what core messages you’re trying to leave the reader with.

If you want to keep things simple, you can simply go in chronological order. Tell the story from the birth of your subject to the death of your subject, or to the present day if this person is still living. 

You can also use a more thematically organized structure, similar to what you would find on a Wikipedia page. You could break your book down into sections such as major life events, personal relationships, core accomplishments, challenges, and legacy.

Or, if you want to be more creative, you can use a nonlinear story structure, jumping between recent events and older flashbacks based on which events feel thematically tied together. 

6. Write Your First Draft 

Now that you have an outline, it’s time to sit down and write your first draft.

Your opening chapters should hook the reader and give a preview of what’s to come. Highlight a compelling aspect of the subject’s life to draw readers in.

In your middle chapters, cover all the key events you need to include about your subject’s life and weave in themes and anecdotes that reveal their personality and impact.

In your final chapters, wrap up your biography by summarizing the subject’s legacy and reflecting on their overall significance. This provides closure and leaves the reader with a lasting impression.

Remember that it’s okay if your first draft isn’t perfect. Your goal is simply to get words down on the page so you have something to edit. 

7. Make Developmental Revisions

Now that you’re done with your first draft, it’s time to make big-picture revisions.

Review your biography for coherence and organization. Does the overall structure make sense? Are there any arcs or themes that aren’t given enough attention? Are there scenes or chapters that don’t need to be included? 

8. Make Line Edits

Once you’ve completed your developmental edits, it’s time to make smaller line edits. This is your time to edit for grammar, punctuation, and style.

Make sure you keep a consistent voice throughout the book. Some biographies feel more conversational and humorous, while others are serious and sophisticated. 

To get through your editing faster, you can run your manuscript through ProWritingAid , which will automatically catch errors, point out stylistic inconsistencies, and help you rephrase confusing sentences. 

Don’t be afraid to ask others for feedback. No good book is written in a vacuum, and you can ask critique partners and beta readers to help you improve your work.

What makes a great biography stand out from the rest? Here are our best tips for how to take your manuscript to the next level.

Tip 1: Focus on Key Themes

Identify the central themes or patterns in the subject’s life—the ones that will really make readers keep thinking about your book. These could be related to the subject’s struggles, achievements, relationships, or values.

Tip 2: Balance Facts and Narrative

A good biography should read like a story, not a list of facts.

Use narrative techniques like imagery, character development, and dialogue to create a compelling and coherent story.

Tip 3: Add Your Own Perspective

Biographies need to be objective, but that doesn’t mean the author has to be entirely invisible. Including your own perspective can make the biography relatable and engaging. 

Letting your voice shine can help illustrate the subject ’ s character and bring their story to life. It will also help make your biography stand out from the crowd. 

Tip 4: Create a Timeline

Organize the key events of the subject’s life in chronological order. This will help you see the bigger picture and ensure you cover all important aspects.

Tip 5: Be Considerate

Because biographies are about real people, you should be mindful of who will be impacted by the story you’re telling, especially if your subject is still alive or still has living family members.

If the subject is still alive, ask them for permission to tell their story before you start writing. This also helps ensure that you don’t get sued. 

Writing a biography is a journey of discovery, not just about the subject, but also about the craft of storytelling.

By combining thorough research, a clear structure, and engaging narrative techniques, you can create a biography that not only informs but also inspires and captivates your readers. 

Don’t forget to run your manuscript through ProWritingAid so you can make sure your prose is as polished as possible. 

Now, pick your subject, gather your resources, and start writing—there’s a fascinating story waiting to be told.

Good luck, and happy writing!

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Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.

Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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How to Write a Biography

Learn how to write a biography with our comprehensive guide.

Last updated on Dec 8th, 2023

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How to write a biography can be a fun challenge as you share someone’s life story with readers. You may need to write a biography for a class or decide to write a biography as a personal project. Once you’ve identified the subject of your biography, do your research to learn as much as you can about them. Then, immerse yourself in writing the biography and revising it until it’s best. What I am going to share with you in today’s post is how to write a biography. If you want to know the rules of how to write a biography correctly then this post of ours is essential for you. 

Introduction

While it’s true that most biographies involve people in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. But most of the time, famous or not, the person we’re talking about has an incredible life. Although your students may have a basic understanding of How to write a biography, you should take some time before putting pen to paper to come up with a very clear definition of biography.

Before knowing how to write a biography, let’s first understand what a biography is. A biography is an account of a person’s life written by someone else. Although there is a genre called fictional biography, by definition biographies are mostly non-fiction. In general, biographies trace the subject’s life from early childhood to the present day or until death if the subject is deceased. 

Biography writing is not limited to describing the bare facts of a person’s life. Instead of just listing basic details about their upbringing, interests, education, work, relationships, and deaths, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of a person’s personality as well as that person’s life experiences.

Tips and Tricks For How To Write a Biography

1. ask the subject’s permission to write a biography.

Here are the first tips on how to write a biography. Before starting your research, make sure you get your subject’s consent to write their biography. Ask them if they’re ready to be the subject. Getting their permission will make writing a biography much easier and ensure that they are open to information about their lives.

If the theme does not allow you to write a bio, you can choose another theme. If you decide to publish a profile without the subject’s permission, you may be subject to legal action from the subject. 

If the topic no longer exists, you don’t need to ask permission to write about them. 

2. Research primary sources on the topic

Primary sources may include books, letters, photographs, diaries, newspaper clippings, magazines, Internet articles, magazines, videos, interviews, existing biographies, or autobiographies on the subject. Find these resources in your local library or online. Read as much as you can about the topic and highlight any important information you come across in your sources. 

You can create research questions to help you focus your research on this topic, such as: 

What do I find interesting about this topic? Why is this topic important to readers? 

3. Conduct interviews with subjects and their relatives

Interviewing people will turn your research into reality: the people you interview will be able to tell you stories you can’t find in history books. Interview the subject as well as people close to them, such as spouses, friends, business associates, family members, co-workers, and friends. Interview in person, over the phone, or via email.

For in-person interviews, record them with a voice recorder or voice recorder on your computer or phone. You may need to interview the subject and others multiple times to get the documents you need.

4. Visit places important to the topic

Whenever you want to know how to write a biography, to understand the history of the subject, spend time in places and areas that are significant to the subject. This may be the subject’s childhood home or neighborhood. You can also visit the subject’s workplace and regular meeting places. 

You may also want to visit areas where the subject made important decisions or breakthroughs in their life. Being physically present in the area can give you an idea of what your subjects may have felt and help you write about their experiences more effectively.

5. Research the time and place of the subject’s life

Contextualize your subject’s life by observing what’s going on around them. Consider the period in which they grew up as well as the history of the places they lived. Study the economics, politics, and culture of their time. See current events happening where they live or work.

When you studying how to write a biography, ask yourself about time and place: 

What were the social norms of this period? 

What happened economically and politically? 

How has the political and social environment influenced this topic?

6. Make a timeline of a person’s life

To help you organize your research, create a timeline of a person’s entire life, from birth. Draw a long line on a piece of paper and sketch out as many details about a person’s life as possible. Highlight important events or moments on the timeline. Include important dates, locations, and names. 

If you think about how to write a biography You can also include historical events or moments that affect the topic in the timeline. For example, a conflict or civil war may occur during a person’s lifetime and affect their life.

7. Focus on important events and milestones

Major events can include marriage, birth, or death during a person’s lifetime. They may also achieve milestones like their first successful business venture or their first civil rights march. Highlights key moments in a person’s life so readers clearly understand what’s important to that person and how they influence the world around them.

For example, you might focus on one person’s achievements in the civil rights movement. You could write an entire section about their contributions and participation in major civil rights marches in their hometowns.

8. Cite all sources used in  biography

Most biographies will include information from sources such as books, journal articles, magazines, and interviews. Remember to cite any sources that you directly quote or paraphrase. You can use citations, footnotes, or endnotes. If the biography is for a course, use MLA, APA, or Chicago Style citations according to your instructor’s preference.

9. Reread the biography

Check the biography for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Circle all punctuation marks in the text to confirm they are correct. Read the text backward to check for spelling and grammar errors. 

Having a biography full of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can frustrate readers and lead to poor grades if you submit your work to the class.

10. Show your biography to others to get their feedback

It is a momentous step of how to write a biography. Once you have completed your draft biography, show it to your colleagues, friends, teachers, and mentors to get their feedback. Ask them if they have a good understanding of someone’s life and if the biography is easy to read. Be open to feedback so you can improve the biography and make it error-free. Revise profile based on feedback from others. Don’t be afraid to trim or edit your biography to suit your readers’ needs.

11. Use flashbacks

Flashbacks happen when you move from the present to the past. You can start with the present moment, and then bring in a scene from the person’s past. Or you could have one chapter focusing on the present and one focusing on the past, alternating as you go.

The flashback scene must be as detailed and realistic as the present-day scene. Use your research notes and interviews with subjects to better understand their past to reminisce. 

For example, you can move from a person’s death in the present to reminiscing about their favorite childhood memory.

12. Outline Your Story Chronologically 

This is another important step in how to write a biography is to write an outline that describes your story in chronological order. An outline is a tool that helps you visualize the structure and key elements of your story. This can help you organize your story into chapters and sections. 

You can write your plan in a digital document or draw it with pen and paper. Remember to store your outline in an easily accessible place so you can refer to it throughout the writing process.

What citation style should I use for my biography?

Use MLA, APA, or Chicago Style citations based on your instructor’s preference when citing sources in your biography.

Should I include personal opinions in a biography?

No, a biography should be objective and based on facts. Avoid injecting personal opinions or bias into the narrative.

What’s the difference between a biography and an autobiography?

A biography is written by someone else about a person’s life, while an autobiography is written by the subject themselves about their own life.

Can I write a biography about a living person?

Yes, you can write a biography about a living person with their consent. Ensure you respect their privacy and follow ethical guidelines when writing about them.

Conclusion 

Other than creating a sense of closure, there are no set rules about how a biography ends. An author may want to summarize their main points about the subject of their biography. If the person is still alive, the author can inform the reader about their condition or circumstances. If the person has died, inheritance can be discussed. Authors can also remind readers how they can learn from the biographical subject. Sharing a closing quote or about a person can leave the audience with a point to consider or discuss in more detail.

For further insights into writing and to avoid common mistakes, check out our article on Most Common Mistakes in Writing . Additionally, explore the Best Writing Tools for Writers to enhance your writing skills and discover the tools that can assist you. If you’re looking to improve your typing speed and accuracy, our article on How to Type Faster with Accuracy offers valuable tips.

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• Current Version
• Dec 8th, 2023
• Oct 22nd, 2023

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How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

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Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Dario Villirilli

Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

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While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

Book Proposal Template

Craft a professional pitch for your nonfiction book with our handy template.

Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character development to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

Which biography should you read next?

Discover the perfect biography for you. Takes 30 seconds!

When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

• Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
• Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
• Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

• Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
• Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
• Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
• Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in the middle of the action  in medias res, Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to publish your own  biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and edit your own manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing applications , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

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How to Write a Biography: 11 Step Guide + Book Template

So you’d like to know how to write a biography. We can help with that! Learning how to write a biography doesn’t have to be intimidating. In fact, it can be a lot of fun!

In this guide, we show you how to write a biography from the initial book idea all the way through to publishing your book , and we throw in a free template to help you on your way. 

Ready to learn how to start a biography ? Let’s jump right in. 

Get Our 6″ x 9″ Pre-Formatted Book Template for Word or Mac

We will send you a Book Template for US Trade (standard paperback size).

How to Write a Biography in 11 Simple Steps

Here are the steps you need to take to learn how to write a biography:

1. Read other biographies 

Austin Kleon, Author of Steal Like an Artist , says “the writer tries to master words. All of these pursuits involve the study of those who have come before and the effort to build upon their work in some way.”

In other words, if you want to learn how to write a biography, you need to read the best biographies written by other excellent authors!

In this case, it would behoove you to read several biographies – whether historical, celebrity, or business biographies is up to you and your sub-genre. 

A good author to start with? Walter Isaacson . He’s written highly acclaimed biographies on everyone from Abraham Lincoln and Steve Jobs to Leonardo Da Vinci and Elon Musk. 

Once you’ve read some well-crafted biographies, you’ll have a better idea of how to start a biography of your own.

2. Identify your subject

In order to learn how to start a biography, you need to choose who you’d like to write about – if you don’t already have someone in mind.  

The most important factor will be, of course, your interest in the person you’re planning to write about. You’ll spend months (or even years) deep-diving into this person’s history, so you want to choose someone who you’re unlikely to tire of. 

When learning how to write a biography, here are few factors to consider: 

• How impactful has your potential subject’s life been? In other words, will people care to learn more about this person? 
• How readily available is information about your potential subject? Biographies require extensive research, so it’s critical to choose someone who has enough information out there to dig into! Consider whether your subject has done interviews, written journals, has family or a partner willing to speak with you, and more. 
• Are there already books written about your potential subject? Just because there’s an existing biography about the person you’re interested in doesn’t (necessarily) mean you can’t write another one. But if there are two or three biographies, you may want to reconsider. If you do choose to write about someone who has already been well-documented, be mindful about approaching the topic with a new angle or perspective. For instance, there are several biographies about George Washington, but author Alexis Coe wrote one about how Washington isn’t “quite the man we remember.” This brilliant iteration has over 12,000 ratings on Goodreads .
• Is there a market demand for a book about your potential subject? If you’re learning how to write a biography, you need to be mindful of whether folks will want to read it. Do some research to determine if readers will be receptive to a book about the person you’re interested in. 

Related: Is a Biography a Primary Source?

3. Get permission to write about your subject

We’ll start by stating the obvious. It’s a good idea to get permission to write about your subject, even if you’re not legally required to. For one thing, it’s just good manners. Plus, you’re much more likely to get unfettered access to the information and sources you need to write your book. 

But do you have to get permission? It depends.

In some cases, if your subject is considered a “public figure,” permission may not be required. The definition of a public figure varies depending on your jurisdiction, so you should always consult a lawyer before writing a biography. 

If you do decide to proceed without permission, be mindful of how your book will be received and any legal issues that may arise. That’s why we always recommend asking permission from your subject when learning how to write a biography.

• Difference Between A Memoir and Biography
• Autobiography vs Biography: Differences and Similarities

4. Create an outline

The next step of learning how to write a biography is to outline your story. It’s critical to outline your biography before you begin writing it. Among other things, it helps ensure you cover every topic you’d like to and get the book in the correct chronological order. It also helps you identify themes that emerge as you organize your ideas. 

Need help creating your outline? Learn how to do it (and take advantage of free templates!) in our guide to outlining a book . 

5. Select a working title (using a title generator) 

Now is the fun part of learning how to write a biography! It’s time to create a working title for your book. A working title is just what it sounds like: it’s a title that works – for now. 

Of course, it’s helpful to have something to call the book as you’re working on it. And it encourages you to think about the message you’d like your book to convey. When your biography is complete, you can always do a little more research on how to write book titles for your specific sub-genre and update your working title accordingly.

Or, you can decide you still love your initial title and publish your book with that one! 

We’ve made it easy for you to develop a working title – or multiple – using our book title generator . 

Book Title Generator

Don't like it?

6. Write a rough draft 

Okay, now it’s time to start writing your rough draft. Don’t be intimidated; just focus on getting something down on the page. As experts on all things writing and self-publishing, we’ve got a rough draft writing guide to help you get through this phase of writing a biography.

Remember to be as balanced and objective as possible when learning how to write a biography.

Make good use of your primary and secondary sources, and double-check all of your facts. You’ve got this!  

7. Self-edit

There are several different types of editing that we recommend each manuscript undergo. But before you give your rough draft to anyone else to review, you should edit it yourself. 

The first step to self-editing?

Take a break! It’s essential to give your mind some time to recuperate before you go over your work. And never self-edit as you go!

After you’ve completed your break, here are a few things to consider as you edit: 

• Grammar. This one is self-explanatory and usually the easiest. You can use an AI editor to make a first pass and quickly catch obvious spelling errors. Depending on prompts and your experience with the tool, you can also use AI to catch some grammar and syntax issues as well.
• Content and structure . This is the time to make sure the bones of your piece are good. Make sure your content flows logically (and in chronological order), no important pieces of information are missing, and there isn’t redundant or unhelpful information. 
• Clarity and consistency. Keep an eye out for any confusing copy and ensure your tone is uniform throughout the book.
• Try reading your draft aloud. You’d be surprised at how many errors, shifts in tone, or other things you’d like to change that you don’t notice while reading in your head. Go ahead and do a read-through of your draft out loud. 

8. Work with an editor

Once you’ve created the best draft you can, it’s time to hire an editor . As we mentioned, there are multiple types of book editing, so you’ll need to choose the one(s) that are best for you and your project when learning how to write a biography. 

For instance, you can work with a developmental editor who helps with big-picture stuff. Think book structure, organization, and overall storytelling. Or you might work with a line editor who focuses on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and the like. 

There are also specialized copy editors, content editors, fact-checkers, and more.

It’s in your best interest to do a substantial amount of research before choosing an editor since they’ll have a large impact on your book. Many editors are open to doing a paid trial so you can see their work before you sign them on for the entire book. 

9. Hire a book cover designer

Once you’ve worked with your editor(s) to finalize your book, it’s time to get your book ready to go out into the world. So the next step in learning how to write a biography is to hire a book cover designer to create a cover that grabs readers’ attention (pssst: did you know that all SelfPublishing authors get done-for-you professional book design? Ask us about it !).

10. Get an ISBN 

The next step in learning how to write a biography is getting an ISBN number for your book – or an International Standard Book Number. It’s a unique way to identify your book and is critical for ordering, inventory tracking, and more. 

Bear in mind that each rendition of your book – regardless of when you publish them – will need their own ISBN numbers. So if you initially publish as a softcover and hardcover book and then decide to publish an ebook with the same exact content, you’ll need 3 total ISBN numbers.

To get an ISBN, head to ISBN.org and follow the steps they provide.  Or reference our guide right here for step-by-step instructions (complete with photos) on how to get an ISBN number for self-published books.

11. Create a launch plan 

Now is the most exciting part of learning how to write a biography. It’s time to get your book out into the world! You’ll need to map out your plan, schedule events , finalize your pricing strategy, and more. 

And you can’t just launch your book in a single day. When you go through all the work of learning how to write a biography, you want your book to succeed – and that requires a strategic marketing plan . Luckily, we have an entire guide to launching a book to help you figure it out. 

Get your free book template!

Learning how to write a biography can be challenging, but when you have a clear plan and guidance, the process is much easier. We’ve helped thousands of aspiring authors just like you write and self-publish their own books. We know what works – and how to become a successfully published author faster.

Take the first step today and down the book template below!

And, if you need additional help with learning how to write a biography, remember that we’re standing by to assist you. Just schedule a book consultation and one of our team members will help answer any of your questions about the writing or self-publishing process.

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• Learn How to Write a Biography: A Step-by-Step Guide.
• Self Publishing Guide

Human lives are intricate tapestries woven with experiences, emotions, challenges, and triumphs. Biographies and autobiographies serve as windows into these remarkable stories, offering insight into the lives of individuals who have left their mark on history or those who wish to chronicle their own journeys. 

I n this guide, we will explore the art of writing biographies and autobiographies, delving into the nuances of both genres and providing valuable tips on how to craft compelling narratives.

Understanding Biography and Autobiography

• Biography: Exploring Lives Beyond the Surface A biography is a literary exploration that unveils the intricate layers of a person’s existence, transcending the mere listing of events. It provides a comprehensive account of an individual’s life, offering insights into their achievements, struggles, societal impact, and distinct qualities that define them. These narratives serve as windows into history, allowing readers to traverse time and understand the legacy left by remarkable individuals. Biographies are usually crafted by biographers, individuals skilled in research and storytelling. They undertake a meticulous journey of gathering information from diverse sources, such as historical records, interviews, letters, and secondary literature. The biographer’s role is to curate these fragments of information into a coherent narrative, painting a vivid portrait of the subject. This comprehensive approach lends credibility and depth to the portrayal, enriching the reader’s understanding of the subject’s contributions and character. Example:  Consider the biography of Mahatma Gandhi. A biographer compiling his life story would explore not only his role in India’s fight for independence but also his principles of nonviolence, his experiments with truth, and his impact on the world’s political landscape. By presenting a holistic view of Gandhi’s life, the biography reveals the nuances of his personality, beliefs, and the larger context in which he operated.
• Autobiography: The Intimate Dialogue of Self-Discovery An autobiography is a narrative journey undertaken by the subject themselves—a profound sharing of one’s life experiences, emotions, and reflections. This genre provides readers with an intimate insight into the subject’s psyche, allowing them to witness their life’s trajectory through personal recollections. Autobiographies carry a unique authenticity, as they are composed from the vantage point of the person who lived those moments, providing a firsthand account of their journey. Autobiographies draw from the subject’s reservoir of memories, emotions, and introspections. This self-exploration leads to a narrative that is often more than a linear chronicle; it becomes a tapestry woven with the threads of emotions, thoughts, and personal revelations. By directly communicating with the reader, the autobiographer creates a powerful connection, allowing readers to step into their shoes and experience their story from within. Example:  A notable example of an autobiography is “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank. Written during her time in hiding during World War II, the book offers a candid portrayal of Anne’s life, fears, hopes, and dreams. Through her own words, readers gain a deep understanding of the challenges faced by Jews during the Holocaust, as well as the resilience and humanity that Anne exudes even in the face of adversity.

Writing a Biography:

Research: The Foundation of a Compelling Biography Thorough research is the cornerstone of a captivating biography. Delve into reputable sources like books, articles, interviews, and archives to gather a comprehensive view of your subject’s life. By immersing yourself in these materials, you gain insights into their experiences, motivations, and contributions. Scrutinise the historical context to understand the era’s impact on their journey. Successful research forms the bedrock of your biography, enabling you to present an accurate and nuanced portrayal that resonates with readers. It’s through meticulous research that you uncover the hidden stories and connect the dots, allowing the subject’s essence to shine through the pages.

Selecting a Focus: Defining the Narrative Scope Choosing a focal point is essential for a well-structured biography. Decide whether to cover the subject’s entire life or concentrate on specific periods or achievements. This decision shapes the narrative’s trajectory, preventing it from becoming overwhelming or disjointed. A focused approach allows you to delve deeply into pivotal moments, providing a more profound understanding of the subject’s journey. By clarifying the scope, you enable readers to follow a coherent storyline, making it easier for them to engage with the subject’s life in a meaningful way.

Structuring the Biography: Chronology and Themes The organisation of your biography greatly impacts its readability. Structure your work into logical sections or chapters, employing either a chronological or thematic arrangement. Begin with an engaging introduction that captures readers’ attention and provides essential context. A chronological structure follows the subject’s life in sequential order, offering a clear timeline of events. Alternatively, a thematic structure groups events by themes, allowing you to explore different facets of the subject’s life. A well-structured biography guides readers smoothly through the subject’s experiences, fostering a deeper connection and understanding.

Show, Don’t Tell: Evocative Storytelling Vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes breathe life into your biography. Rather than merely listing facts, employ descriptive language to recreate scenes and emotions, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the subject’s world. Use anecdotes to illustrate key moments, capturing the essence of the subject’s character and the impact of events on their journey. Integrating quotes from the subject, contemporaries, or relevant sources adds authenticity and depth. Through this technique, you transport readers into the subject’s experiences, enabling them to witness the moments that shaped their lives.

Balanced Perspective: Portraying Strengths and Flaws A balanced portrayal adds credibility and depth to your biography. While it’s tempting to focus solely on accomplishments, a well-rounded view includes the subject’s strengths and flaws. This authenticity humanises the subject, making it relatable and multidimensional. By acknowledging both successes and challenges, readers gain a more honest understanding of their journey. Balancing positives and negatives helps readers empathise with the subject, connecting them on a deeper level and offering a more genuine insight into their lives.

Engaging Emotions: Creating Emotional Resonance Emotions are a potent tool in biography writing. Delve into the subject’s feelings, struggles, and aspirations to create an emotional connection with readers. By tapping into their emotional experiences, you make the narrative relatable and engaging. Sharing personal challenges and triumphs allows readers to empathise and reflect on their own lives. This emotional resonance elevates the biography from a mere factual account to a compelling and moving story that lingers in readers’ minds, leaving a lasting impact.

Citing Sources: Ensuring Accuracy and Credibility Accurate information is vital in biography writing. Properly cite your sources to maintain credibility and integrity. Clear citations not only lend authority to your work but also provide readers with the opportunity to explore further if they desire. Accurate referencing safeguards against misinformation and ensures that your portrayal is based on reliable evidence. In addition to enhancing your credibility, thorough citations demonstrate your commitment to thorough research and ethical writing practises, contributing to the overall trustworthiness of your biography.

Complete Guide to Write a Biography. Start Writing Your Biography Now

Writing an Autobiography:

Reflecting on Significant Moments and Experiences Initiating an autobiography involves introspection into your life’s pivotal moments. Delve into memories that have influenced your journey, such as turning points, challenges, relationships, and achievements. Reflect on these experiences, dissecting their impact on your personal growth and development. By contemplating these key events, you gain insight into the narrative threads that weave your life story together. This reflective process sets the foundation for an authentic autobiography that resonates with readers on a profound level.

Developing Your Unique Voice and Tone Crafting an autobiography demands a consistent voice and tone that reflect your personality. Write in a way that feels true to you, capturing your unique perspective and emotions. Authenticity is key, as it allows readers to connect with your narrative on a personal level. Whether your tone is introspective, humorous, or contemplative, ensure it aligns with the essence of your experiences. By embracing your genuine voice, you create an autobiography that not only tells your story but also conveys the essence of who you are.

Structured Storytelling for Engagement While autobiographies can be more flexible in structure compared to biographies, organising your narrative into coherent sections or themes enhances its readability. By grouping related experiences together, you provide readers with a clearer understanding of the themes that have shaped your life. This structure helps maintain their engagement by guiding them through your journey in a logical and compelling manner. While allowing for creativity, a structured approach ensures that your autobiography remains focused and accessible.

Embracing honesty and authenticity Honesty is the bedrock of an impactful autobiography. Share not only your triumphs but also your mistakes and failures. Authenticity creates relatability, allowing readers to connect with your humanity and vulnerabilities. Your journey’s challenges and setbacks are just as integral to your story as your successes. By being candid about your experiences, you demonstrate resilience and growth, inspiring readers to reflect on their own paths. This level of authenticity fosters a deeper connection, making your autobiography a source of empathy and encouragement.

Adding Depth Through Reflection Incorporate reflection to imbue your autobiography with depth and meaning. Explore the lessons you’ve learned from your experiences and the transformations they’ve prompted. Delve into how these moments shaped your beliefs, values, and perspective on life. By offering insights gained from introspection, you provide readers with wisdom and a broader understanding of your journey. Reflection transforms your autobiography from a chronicle of events into a thoughtful exploration of personal growth and the profound impact of life’s moments.

Creating vivid details for immersion Immerse readers in your world by employing sensory details and vivid descriptions. Paint a picture with words, allowing readers to visualise the scenes and emotions you’re describing. By incorporating sensory elements like sights, sounds, smells, and feelings, you transport readers into the moments you’re recounting. This immersive experience draws them closer to your story, fostering a stronger connection. Vivid details not only make your autobiography more engaging but also enable readers to forge a deeper connection with your experiences and emotions.

In the realm of literature, biographies and autobiographies stand as powerful testaments to the diversity and richness of human existence. Whether you’re capturing the life of a historical figure or penning your own life story, the art of writing these genres involves meticulous research, introspection, and a keen understanding of human emotions. 

Through carefully chosen words and evocative storytelling, biographers and autobiographers alike can craft narratives that resonate with readers and offer a deeper understanding of the human experience. So, whether you’re writing about the extraordinary or the everyday, embrace the challenge and privilege of narrating lives through the written word.

Publish your book  with  BlueRoseONE  and become a  bestselling author . Don’t let your dream of becoming an author fade away, grab the opportunity now and publish your book – be it fiction, non fiction, poetry or more.

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Mansi Chauhan

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How to Write a Biography

Biographies are big business. Whether in book form or Hollywood biopics, the lives of the famous and sometimes not-so-famous fascinate us.

While it’s true that most biographies are about people who are in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. Primarily, though, famous or not, the person who is written about has led an incredible life.

In this article, we will explain biography writing in detail for teachers and students so they can create their own.

While your students will most likely have a basic understanding of a biography, it’s worth taking a little time before they put pen to paper to tease out a crystal-clear definition of one.

What Is a Biography?

A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else . While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.

Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of childhood to the present day or, if the subject is deceased, their death.

The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.

Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality and experience of life.

Full Biographies

Teaching unit.

Teach your students everything they need to know about writing an AUTOBIOGRAPHY and a BIOGRAPHY.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( 26 reviews )

Features of a Biography

Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of a Biography. An excellent way to determine how well they understand these essential elements is to ask them to compile a checklist like the one-blow

Their checklists should contain the items below at a minimum. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.

The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Open your biography with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention

SEQUENCING: In most cases, biographies are written in chronological order unless you are a very competent writer consciously trying to break from this trend.

COVER: childhood, upbringing, education, influences, accomplishments, relationships, etc. – everything that helps the reader to understand the person.

CONCLUSION: Wrap your biography up with some details about what the subject is doing now if they are still alive. If they have passed away, make mention of what impact they have made and what their legacy is or will be.

BIOGRAPHY FEATURES

LANGUAGE Use descriptive and figurative language that will paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read. Use time connectives to link events.

PERSPECTIVE Biographies are written from the third person’s perspective.

DETAILS: Give specific details about people, places, events, times, dates, etc. Reflect on how events shaped the subject. You might want to include some relevant photographs with captions. A timeline may also be of use depending upon your subject and what you are trying to convey to your audience.

TENSE Written in the past tense (though ending may shift to the present/future tense)

THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY

Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.

Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.

Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other significant events or contributions. It serves as a map for the writing process, ensuring that all vital information is included.

Your biography should have an engaging introduction that captivates the reader’s attention and provides background information on the person you’re writing about. It should include a thesis statement summarising the biography’s main points.

Writing a biography in chronological order is crucial . You should begin with the person’s early life and move through their career and achievements. This approach clarifies how the person’s life unfolded and how they accomplished their goals.

A biography should be written in a narrative style , capturing the essence of the person’s life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes. Avoid dry, factual writing and focus on creating a compelling narrative that engages the reader.

Adding personal insights and opinions can enhance the biography’s overall impact, providing a unique perspective on the person’s achievements, legacy, and impact on society.

Editing and proofreading are vital elements of the writing process. Thoroughly reviewing your biography ensures that the writing is clear, concise, and error-free. You can even request feedback from someone else to ensure that it is engaging and well-written.

Finally, including a bibliography at the end of your biography is essential. It gives credit to the sources that were used during research, such as books, articles, interviews, and websites.

Tips for Writing a Brilliant Biography

Biography writing tip #1: choose your subject wisely.

There are several points for students to reflect on when deciding on a subject for their biography. Let’s take a look at the most essential points to consider when deciding on the subject for a biography:

Interest: To produce a biography will require sustained writing from the student. That’s why students must choose their subject well. After all, a biography is an account of someone’s entire life to date. Students must ensure they choose a subject that will sustain their interest throughout the research, writing, and editing processes.

Merit: Closely related to the previous point, students must consider whether the subject merits the reader’s interest. Aside from pure labors of love, writing should be undertaken with the reader in mind. While producing a biography demands sustained writing from the author, it also demands sustained reading from the reader.

Therefore, students should ask themselves if their chosen subject has had a life worthy of the reader’s interest and the time they’d need to invest in reading their biography.

Information: Is there enough information available on the subject to fuel the writing of an entire biography? While it might be a tempting idea to write about a great-great-grandfather’s experience in the war. There would be enough interest there to sustain the author’s and the reader’s interest, but do you have enough access to information about their early childhood to do the subject justice in the form of a biography?

Biography Writing Tip #2: R esearch ! Research! Research!

While the chances are good that the student already knows quite a bit about the subject they’ve chosen. Chances are 100% that they’ll still need to undertake considerable research to write their biography.

As with many types of writing , research is an essential part of the planning process that shouldn’t be overlooked. If students wish to give as complete an account of their subject’s life as possible, they’ll need to put in the time at the research stage.

An effective way to approach the research process is to:

1. Compile a chronological timeline of the central facts, dates, and events of the subject’s life

2. Compile detailed descriptions of the following personal traits:

•      Physical looks
•      Character traits
•      Values and beliefs

3. Compile some research questions based on different topics to provide a focus for the research:

• Childhood : Where and when were they born? Who were their parents? Who were the other family members? What education did they receive?
• Obstacles: What challenges did they have to overcome? How did these challenges shape them as individuals?
• Legacy: What impact did this person have on the world and/or the people around them?
• Dialogue & Quotes: Dialogue and quotations by and about the subject are a great way to bring color and life to a biography. Students should keep an eagle eye out for the gems that hide amid their sources.

As the student gets deeper into their research, new questions will arise that can further fuel the research process and help to shape the direction the biography will ultimately go in.

Likewise, during the research, themes will often begin to suggest themselves. Exploring these themes is essential to bring depth to biography, but we’ll discuss this later in this article.

Research Skills:

Researching for biography writing is an excellent way for students to hone their research skills in general. Developing good research skills is essential for future academic success. Students will have opportunities to learn how to:

• Gather relevant information
• Evaluate different information sources
• Select suitable information
• Organize information into a text.

Students will have access to print and online information sources, and, in some cases, they may also have access to people who knew or know the subject (e.g. biography of a family member).

These days, much of the research will likely take place online. It’s crucial, therefore, to provide your students with guidance on how to use the internet safely and evaluate online sources for reliability. This is the era of ‘ fake news ’ and misinformation after all!

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip #3: Find Your Themes In Biography Writing

Though predominantly a nonfiction genre, the story still plays a significant role in good biography writing. The skills of characterization and plot structuring are transferable here. And, just like in fiction, exploring themes in a biographical work helps connect the personal to the universal. Of course, these shouldn’t be forced; this will make the work seem contrived, and the reader may lose faith in the truthfulness of the account. A biographer needs to gain and maintain the trust of the reader.

Fortunately, themes shouldn’t need to be forced. A life well-lived is full of meaning, and the themes the student writer is looking for will emerge effortlessly from the actions and events of the subject’s life. It’s just a case of learning how to spot them.

One way to identify the themes in a life is to look for recurring events or situations in a person’s life. These should be apparent from the research completed previously. The students should seek to identify these patterns that emerge in the subject’s life. For example, perhaps they’ve had to overcome various obstacles throughout different periods of their life. In that case, the theme of overcoming adversity is present and has been identified.

Usually, a biography has several themes running throughout, so be sure your students work to identify more than one theme in their subject’s life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip: #4 Put Something of Yourself into the Writing

While the defining feature of a biography is that it gives an account of a person’s life, students must understand that this is not all a biography does. Relating the facts and details of a subject’s life is not enough. The student biographer should not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings with the reader throughout their account of their subject’s life.

The student can weave some of their personality into the fabric of the text by providing commentary and opinion as they relate the events of the person’s life and the wider social context at the time. Unlike the detached and objective approach we’d expect to find in a history textbook, in a biography, student-writers should communicate their enthusiasm for their subject in their writing.

This makes for a more intimate experience for the reader, as they get a sense of getting to know the author and the subject they are writing about.

Biography Examples For Students

• Year 5 Example
• Year 7 Example
• Year 9 Example

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll King: Elvis Presley”

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8, 1935, was an amazing singer and actor known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years, I can’t help but be fascinated by his incredible life!

Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny house with his parents and twin brother. His family didn’t have much money, but they shared a love for music. Little did they know Elvis would become a music legend!

When he was only 11 years old, Elvis got his first guitar. He taught himself to play and loved singing gospel songs. As he got older, he started combining different music styles like country, blues, and gospel to create a whole new sound – that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!

In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s All Right.” People couldn’t believe how unique and exciting his music was. His famous hip-swinging dance moves also made him a sensation!

Elvis didn’t just rock the music scene; he also starred in movies like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.” But fame came with challenges. Despite facing ups and downs, Elvis kept spreading happiness through his music.

Tragically, Elvis passed away in 1977, but his music and charisma live on. Even today, people worldwide still enjoy his songs like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley’s legacy as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will live forever.

Long Live the King: I wish I’d seen him.

Elvis Presley, the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend born on January 8, 1935, is a captivating figure that even a modern-day teen like me can’t help but admire. As I delve into his life, I wish I could have experienced the magic of his live performances.

Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis faced challenges but found solace in music. At 11, he got his first guitar, a symbol of his journey into the world of sound. His fusion of gospel, country, and blues into Rock ‘n’ Roll became a cultural phenomenon.

The thought of being in the audience during his early performances, especially when he recorded “That’s All Right” at 19, sends shivers down my spine. Imagining the crowd’s uproar and feeling the revolutionary energy of that moment is a dream I wish I could have lived.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical prodigy; he was a dynamic performer. His dance moves, the embodiment of rebellion, and his roles in films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock” made him a true icon.

After watching him on YouTube, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I’ll never witness the King’s live performances. The idea of swaying to “Hound Dog” or being enchanted by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in person is a missed opportunity. Elvis may have left us in 1977, but he was the king of rock n’ roll. Long live the King!

Elvis Presley: A Teen’s Take on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon”

Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, was a revolutionary force in the music world, earning his title as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Exploring his life, even as a 16-year-old today, I’m captivated by the impact he made.

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew up in humble beginnings, surrounded by the love of his parents and twin brother. It’s inspiring to think that, despite financial challenges, this young man would redefine the music scene.

At 11, Elvis got his first guitar, sparking a self-taught journey into music. His early gospel influences evolved into a unique fusion of country, blues, and gospel, creating the electrifying genre of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In 1954, at only 19, he recorded “That’s All Right,” marking the birth of a musical legend.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical innovator; he was a cultural phenomenon. His rebellious dance moves and magnetic stage presence challenged the norms. He transitioned seamlessly into acting, starring in iconic films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

However, fame came at a cost, and Elvis faced personal struggles. Despite the challenges, his music continued to resonate. Even now, classics like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” transcend generations.

Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is undeniable. He was known for his unique voice, charismatic persona, and electrifying performances. He sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis’s influence can still be seen in today’s music. Many contemporary artists, such as Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake, have cited Elvis as an inspiration. His music continues to be featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Elvis left us in 1977, but his legacy lives on. I appreciate his breaking barriers and fearlessly embracing his artistic vision. Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is timeless, a testament to the enduring power of his artistry. His music has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING TEACHING IDEAS AND LESSONS

We have compiled a sequence of biography-related lessons or teaching ideas that you can follow as you please. They are straightforward enough for most students to follow without further instruction.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 1:

This session aims to give students a broader understanding of what makes a good biography.

Once your students have compiled a comprehensive checklist of the main features of a biography, allow them to use it to assess some biographies from your school library or on the internet using the feature checklist.

When students have assessed a selection of biographies, take some time as a class to discuss them. You can base the discussion around the following prompts:

• Which biographies covered all the criteria from their checklist?
• Which biographies didn’t?
• Which biography was the most readable in terms of structure?
• Which biography do you think was the least well-structured? How would you improve this?

Looking at how other writers have interpreted the form will help students internalize the necessary criteria before attempting to produce a biography. Once students have a clear understanding of the main features of the biography, they’re ready to begin work on writing a biography.

When the time does come to put pen to paper, be sure they’re armed with the following top tips to help ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 2:

This session aims to guide students through the process of selecting the perfect biography subject.

Instruct students to draw up a shortlist of three potential subjects for the biography they’ll write.

Using the three criteria mentioned in the writing guide (Interest, Merit, and Information), students award each potential subject a mark out of 5 for each of the criteria. In this manner, students can select the most suitable subject for their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 3:

This session aims to get students into the researching phase, then prioritise and organise events chronologically.

Students begin by making a timeline of their subject’s life, starting with their birth and ending with their death or the present day. If the student has yet to make a final decision on the subject of their biography, a family member will often serve well for this exercise as a practice exercise.

Students should research and gather the key events of the person’s life, covering each period of their life from when they were a baby, through childhood and adolescence, right up to adulthood and old age. They should then organize these onto a timeline. Students can include photographs with captions if they have them.

They can present these to the class when they have finished their timelines.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 4:

Instruct students to look over their timeline, notes, and other research. Challenge them to identify three patterns that repeat throughout the subject’s life and sort all the related events and incidents into specific categories.

Students should then label each category with a single word. This is the thematic concept or the broad general underlying idea. After that, students should write a sentence or two expressing what the subject’s life ‘says’ about that concept.

This is known as the thematic statement . With the thematic concepts and thematic statements identified, the student now has some substantial ideas to explore that will help bring more profound meaning and wider resonance to their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 5:

Instruct students to write a short objective account of an event in their own life. They can write about anyone from their past. It needn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs, but the writing should be strictly factual, focusing only on the objective details of what happened.

Once they have completed this, it’s time to rewrite the paragraph, but they should include some opinion and personal commentary this time.

The student here aims to inject some color and personality into their writing, to transform a detached, factual account into a warm, engaging story.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES

Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .

• Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
• Explore the language and perspective of both.
• Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
• Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
• Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
• A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

FREE Biography Writing Graphic Organizer

Use this valuable tool in the research and writing phases to keep your students on track and engaged.

WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (92 Reviews)

To Conclude

By this stage, your students should have an excellent technical overview of a biography’s essential elements.

They should be able to choose their subject in light of how interesting and worthy they are, as well as give consideration to the availability of information out there. They should be able to research effectively and identify emerging themes in their research notes. And finally, they should be able to bring some of their personality and uniqueness into their retelling of the life of another.

Remember that writing a biography is not only a great way to develop a student’s writing skills; it can be used in almost all curriculum areas. For example, to find out more about a historical figure in History, to investigate scientific contributions to Science, or to celebrate a hero from everyday life.

Biography is an excellent genre for students to develop their writing skills and to find inspiration in the lives of others in the world around them.

HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL VIDEO

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO BIOGRAPHY WRITING

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Personal Narrative Writing Guide

8 Steps to Writing a Great Biography

Home » Blog » 8 Steps to Writing a Great Biography

8 STEPS TO WRITING A GREAT BIOGRAPHY

People are naturally curious beings. And they love to read about the lives of others, and what makes them tick. It is for that very reason that biographies remain a very popular genre of nonfiction.

But what is it that makes the difference between a mediocre biography and a truly good one?

What is a biography?

Before we dive too far into what makes a good biography, let’s first take a look at exactly what a biography is.

By definition, a biography is simply an account of someone’s life, written by someone else. Pretty easy, right?

Not so fast. Anyone can write a story about someone else’s life. But not just anyone can make it a story worth reading.

To start with the basics, any good biography should contain the following key elements:

• A third-person account of the person’s life
• Descriptions of the person’s life or significant events in their life
• Factual (and not fabricated) information
• Inclusion of historical information about the time period
• Personal information that describes who the person is at the core, and why they are who they are

How to write a good biography

Now that we’ve established what a biography is, let’s discuss the eight steps to writing a great biography.

Step 1: Ask permission.

While it is technically true that anyone can write a biography about anyone else, if the subject is still living, it is always best to seek permission.

For starters, unless your information comes entirely from factual sources in the public domain, such as newspaper articles or other reputable books, you could face defamation and privacy lawsuits if the subject of the book feels that their privacy has been violated.

Even without the threat of lawsuits, though, it always helps to have input from the book’s subject. After all, they are the best experts on themselves!

In the case of subjects who are deceased, you do not have to seek permission, as the right to sue for defamation or invasion of privacy stops at the grave.

Be conscientious about what you write, though, as some states extend the right of privacy to family members of the deceased.

Besides, just as it’s helpful to get input from the subject themself, it can also be helpful to ask family for their support and input.

Regardless of who you are writing the biography about, be sure to research the laws in your state and, when in doubt, consult a lawyer.

Step 2: Collect the basic facts.

Before you can get started with writing your biography, you must first collect basic information about your subject. This should include things such as:

• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Names of parents
• Names of siblings
• Cultural background
• Organizational or political involvement

Once you have all of the relevant basic information about your subject, you will know what areas you need to research further.

Step 3: Do research.

One of the most important steps to writing a good biography is to conduct quality research.

If possible, if the subject is still living, take the time to thoroughly interview your subject . Ask them questions about their childhood, significant events in their life, their career, and what they most value in life.

Once you have gotten a good feel for who your subject is and what makes them tick, solicit interviews from their relatives and friends.

While the first-person account is incredibly important, it’s also valuable to hear from people who know the subject and can speak about how the subject has influenced their lives.

Another great way to find information on your subject is to look into primary sources such as emails or letters they wrote, diary entries, and even social media accounts.

And if you’ve exhausted all of your primary sources, looking into secondary sources, such as newspaper articles written about them, can prove to be very helpful as well.

Step 4: Nail down your theme.

You’ve conducted your research and gathered all of the important information about your subject. The next big step is to nail down a theme for your biography.

The theme is the reoccurring idea or message that you want to get across to your readers.

For a biography, this could be anything from the important lessons that your subject learned throughout their time as the CEO of a company, or their transformation from rags to riches.

Nailing down the theme you wish to convey with your biography is a must, as it helps provide direction and a goal for your writing.

Step 5: Identify what makes the subject special or unique.

Everybody has something that makes them special and unique. And if you are going to the trouble to write a biography about a person, this is probably especially true.

What kind of impact did they have on the lives of others? What kind of impact did they have on their community?

Don’t be afraid to include your own personal thoughts about what made your subject noteworthy. After all, biographies are not meant to be just a list of facts.

Step 6: Identify major “chapters” of the subject’s life.

Now that you have established what makes your subject special or unique, it’s time to figure out the contributing circumstances that helped shape who they are.

Did they lose a parent at an early age? Did they fight in a major war?

It’s no secret that who we are is a direct result of what we have lived through. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so eloquently put it, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

So, find out where your subject’s strength came from. Research both personal events in their life and world events they lived though, and see how they were affected by those experiences.

Step 7: Make a chronological outline or timeline of the subject’s life.

Once you have determined exactly what you want to write about, it’s time to pinpoint what the true storylines for your biography are.

All of the facts about a person are part of their story. But not all facts are worth diving into and telling in depth.

Think about what kinds of things your readers will want to know.

What were the high points in your subject’s life? What were the low points?

What were the situations that presented a challenge that had to be overcome?

Keep in mind that even when the book you are writing is factual, your audience is still going to expect to be entertained. So, find those major moments that shaped your subject’s life, and then use them to form an outline for your biography.

Once you have done that, the outline can be used as the map that guides your writing.

Step 8: Start writing.

Now comes the fun part!

Actually, when it comes to biographies, the whole process can be a lot of fun. But putting all of your research and interviews together to write the story is especially rewarding.

As you start writing, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Keep your audience engaged. Paint a picture of who this person is (or was) and what makes them tick.
• Try to include the “why” as much as possible. Facts are good, but facts can be boring. People want to know what motivated someone’s actions.
• Provide background context. If the person you are writing about grew up in East Berlin during the Cold War, explain the political (and geographical) ramifications of that.
• Be selective with what you include. Chances are, you have enough material to write several books about this person. But there is such a thing as too much. Think about the information you are including, and whether or not the reader will really find value in it. While it’s definitely impressive if you know what your subject had for breakfast on their 14 th birthday, unless it’s a critical part of the storyline, that’s probably best left on the cutting block.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you get to the point where the writing feels like too much to handle on your own, consider hiring a ghostwriter . A professional ghostwriter can help you get past those hurdles and take your biography to the finish line.

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How to Outline a Biography

Last Updated: July 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 53,900 times.

Writing a biography can seem daunting, as you are trying to explore the entirety of someone's life on the page. The key to writing a good biography is outlining it before you dive in. A strong, detailed outline will work through key events chronologically. To outline a biography, start by discussing early life and childhood. Then, go into adulthood and current life, or later life and death if the person is no longer alive.

Discussing Early Life and Childhood

• For example, you may write, “RuPaul Andre Charles, born November 17, 1960 in San Diego, California.”

• For example, you may write, “RuPaul's mother, Ernestine Charles, was from Louisiana. RuPaul's father was Irving Charles. They divorced in 1967.”

• For example, you may write, “RuPaul grew up in San Diego, California and moved to Atlanta, Georgia with his sister when he was 15.”

• For example, you may write, “At 15 years old, RuPaul attended a performing arts school in Atlanta. After he graduated, he focused on his budding stage career, opting not to attend college.”

• For example, you may write about the person's experience with abuse at the hands of a parent. Or you may mention that the person struggled with a learning disability in middle school that would go undiagnosed until later in their life.

Outlining Adulthood

• For example, you may write, “Martha Graham went to Brown University from 1967-1981, majoring in dance. She worked under famous dancers and choreographers in the performance industry at Brown. She graduated with honors.”

• For example, you may write, “Martha Graham met choreographer Dash Nam in a dance class at Brown. They became romantic and professional partners, collaborating on a number of early performances. Nam would later play a major role in Graham's performing company in New York City.”

• For example, you may write, “Martha Graham worked as a bartender while at Brown to support herself. She then created performances for a small stipend until she was able to open her own performing company in 1987 with the help of Dash Nam.”

• For example, you may write, “Martha Graham was rejected from several major dance companies and was unemployed for several years. In frustration, Graham decided to open her own dance company and studio, using funds from friends and colleagues. It later became the premier dance company in America.”

Detailing Current Life and Impact

• For example, you may write, “RuPaul currently resides on a ranch in Wyoming with his partner of twenty years, Australian painter George LeBar. He continues to produce several successful television shows and is a continued advocate for the LGBTQ community.”

• For example, you may write, “In her later life, Graham fell into a depression and battled alcohol addiction. She died in 1991 at the age of 96 from pneumonia. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico.”

• You can also include your own opinions about the person's overall life. You may include a short section on the impact the person had, or continues to have, on you.
• For example, you may write about how the person influenced a generation of artists or how the person impacted the way we view technology in the 21st century.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
• ↑ https://www.apsu.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/Biography-Outline.pdf
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-bio/

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How to Write a Biography in 8 Easy Steps

by Bennett R. Coles

This article will provide you with the basic building blocks required to write a biography starting from a blank page. Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let’s define what a biography is:

A biography is the full account of another person’s life (unlike an autobiography, which is the account of the author’s own life). For a biography to work, it must tell the story of an extraordinary or otherwise captivating life.

For this reason, most popular biographies center around famous people, be they politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, or other well-known individuals. But this isn’t a must. Many biographies are also written about ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives outside the public spotlight.

Now, there are two main categories of biographies: authorized and unauthorized.

Authorized biographies are written with the explicit permission of the subject of the biography. The main advantage of authorized biographies is that they provide easy access to family members, friends and acquaintances — and even the subject themselves — during the very important research phase.

Unauthorized biographies, on the other hand, are written without the permission of the subject and therefore the authors usually have no access to their inner circle. As a result, authors must draw all of their information from sources that are at arms-length of the subject and therefore may be less reliable or truthful.

Let’s now begin to outline the process for creating a biography from the ground up.

Step 1: Choose the Biography’s Subject

The first thing you need to do is to choose the subject of your biography. In most cases this will be an obvious choice – that is, you’ll select someone you’ve been following and have admired for a long time.

You’ll already know their life story and will therefore know the aspects of their life that will be inspiring and compelling to your readers. In essence, you’ll be writing your biography for an audience of like-minded people who admire your subject as much as you do and who already have a deep thirst for any information about them.

Your subject might be a public figure, a politician, a business person, a scientist, an academic, or as stated in the introduction, an ordinary person who’s lived an extraordinary life. In every case, I advise that you seek their permission to write and publish the biography.

If granted, you’ll be able to gain immediate access to the subject and also family members and friends, who in many cases will provide you with exclusive details not published anywhere else.

Now, if you do get your subject’s permission, it’ll likely come accompanied with a first right of refusal for any information that they deem is not accurate as written and you’ll have to allow for the possibility of people changing their minds about certain aspects of your work as you go on.

You’ll just have to be flexible and accommodating, and sometimes this will be frustrating. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s a small price to pay for almost unlimited access to credible and in many cases unpublished information.

If you’re unsuccessful in obtaining your subject’s permission, you can still write an unauthorized biography, but there are some caveats you should be aware of:

• Stay away from writing unauthorized biographies about private persons (no matter how extraordinary their lives may be) because you’ll risk breaching privacy laws with serious legal consequences — in other words, those people may wish to remain private and will certainly not appreciate someone writing an unauthorized biography of their private lives.
• If you write about public figures, make sure you stick to publicly available information and that you don’t publish any private, sensitive or otherwise embarrassing information that is not in the public domain or that was illicitly obtained (e.g. through hacked or stolen information)
• If you choose to write a biography about some well-known figure in the public domain who you despise and you want to expose their “bad” side to the world, I advise that you consult with an attorney before you proceed, since you’ll be embarking on a journey potentially fraught with expensive litigation

Step 2: Study Popular Biographies

Before you proceed to the writing stage, you’ll be well-served to learn valuable lessons from those who’ve walked this path this before you, especially those who’ve found success in the marketplace.

Find 2-3 biographies about similar subjects to yours that have made it to the bestseller lists. For example, if you’ll be writing about a tech CEO, then find bestselling biographies of two or three other tech CEOs. Also, ensure that those biographies are of the same type as yours (i.e. authorized or unauthorized).

If cost is an object, get those books from the library but, if you can, purchase them instead so that you can make notations and underline text right on the page.

Next, read them twice cover-to-cover — first as a reader and then as a writer.

In your first reading pass, put on your audience hat and enjoy the read. Don’t pause to make notes yet so as not to disrupt the experience. In your second pass, however, make frequent stops to take notes about how the author uses literary devices, such as storytelling, hooks, descriptive techniques, and so on to drive their narrative.

If you read a story or passage that you deeply connect with, analyze it and try to figure out what it is about it that makes it work so effectively. Make note of the author’s literary choices, their use of language, the flow of the story, etc.

When you’re done with this initial genre research, you’ll be ready to start working on your biography!

Step 3: Choose Your Central Theme

Biographies are not unlike any other nonfiction book: you need to know who the target audience is before you write them (in this case it’ll be you and people like you). But just as importantly, you need to have a central theme that permeates the book.

In most cases, the central theme of your biography will be the aspect that has personally attracted you to your subject, such as:

• Their sense of urgency in enacting change in their personal lives and around them, which your readers will find inspiring
• Their wisdom and brilliance in their specific approach to life, business, etc., which will inform your readers about proven strategies that they’ll be able to use themselves
• Their prophetic power about certain world events, which could help readers make better choices about their investments, their choice of careers, etc.
• Or just their raw courage in the face of extreme adversity, a quality many people strive to achieve in their own lives

You always need to have a clear central theme your biography, an essence that goes beyond a strictly chronological account of someone life (which doesn’t make for a particularly engaging read).

Step 4: Research Your Subject

Now it’s time to begin your research about your subject and their lives.

There are two types of sources of information that you’ll need to rely on for your biography:

1) Primary sources, which originate from your subject and their close circle, and 2) Secondary sources, which originate from people at arm’s length to your subject. Here are some examples:

Primary sources:

• Anything publicly written or recorded by the subject
• Anything privately written or recorded by the subject (you’ll need their written consent to publish this information)
• Anything publicly written or recorded by direct witnesses to events that involved the subject
• Anything privately written or recorded by direct witnesses to events that involved the subject (again, you’ll need their permission to publish this information)

A Note on Privacy:

Whenever you publish information about a subject that’s not already in the public domain, particularly if the subject is not a public figure, you must ensure that you have their written permission to do so.

If you don’t and choose to publish anyway, you’re opening yourself to expensive litigation. People are entitled to their privacy and if you reveal unauthorized information that they deem to be embarrassing or injurious to their reputation in any way, expect them to seek financial damages through libel litigation and other legal remedies.

Secondary sources:

Writings or recordings by people who don’t know the subject personally and who haven’t directly witnessed events involving the subject. Examples are:

• Documentaries
• Magazine articles
• Online articles or recordings

A Note on Secondary Sources:

Before you use these sources, you’ll need to establish their credibility and the veracity of their accounts. Whenever you do refer to secondary sources in your biography, make sure to include the proper citations so that your readers can access the original information if they desire.

Also, make sure that you don’t infringe the copyright of your secondary sources by reproducing entire passages from their works, unless you obtain their written permission first (which usually carries a financial cost).

Step 5: Organize the Information

Once you’ve collected all the relevant information for your project, it’s time to put it into perspective by first creating a timeline for your subject’s life. You want to be able to see where it all fits chronologically so that you can begin to draw a through-line in relation to your biography’s central theme.

Your timeline will allow you to see the sequence of events that formed the character, ability or special circumstances that led your subject to live an extraordinary life. Also, this through-line will allow you to draw inspiration to choose specific time periods and past events should you wish to use flashbacks as a device in your narrative.

Once you’ve defined the proper chronology of events in your subject’s life, you can begin to draft a general outline for your biography, driven by your central theme. Begin by choosing the main milestones on your subject’s journey. These are the building blocks of your central theme. Then, break them down further into as many layers as necessary.

Finally, label your outline entries and, looking at your timeline, allocate your research materials throughout the outline by assigning them to the relevant label.

Step 6: Write Your Manuscript

You now have a fleshed-out timeline, an outline that aligns with your central theme, and lots of well-researched notes. In other words, you’re ready to begin the writing process ! But first, you’ll need to develop a clear writing routine.

When it comes to book writing , there’s no substitute for rubber to the road and this means that you’ll need to get into the habit of writing for a set amount of time every day. Like professional authors do, you’ll need to budget this time religiously and have clear boundaries.

Consistency is key, especially if you’ve never done a project like this before. What you don’t want to do is to write for 4-5 hours straight one day and then take a break for the next day or two.

How long should you write each day? I recommend between 2 and 3 hours but no longer than that — you don’t want to end up creatively spent by the end of a writing session.

Now, it’s critically important during this time that you have no disruptions such as phone calls, notifications from electronic devices, people walking in and asking you for help, etc.

So, enlist the help of those around you to keep you undisturbed, turn your smartphone and tablet to airplane mode, and mute the sound of your laptop.

Step 7: Hire a Professional Editor

When you complete the first draft of your manuscript, take a break to re-calibrate before you begin the re-writing process. Then revisit your manuscript from top to bottom as many times as necessary. This should take you a few weeks.

Keep in mind that the revision process is as creative as your original writing process but in a different way. While your initial writing is more like a stream of consciousness, the revision process is much more clinical and measured. What you’re looking for here is attention to detail, not the broad strokes.

But at some point, you’ll begin to experience diminishing returns for your efforts and here’s when you’ll need to hire the services of a professional editor. In fact, professional editors are paramount to the success of all authors, not just first-time authors but also those with long and illustrious careers.

No author worth their salt would dare publish an unedited book and neither should you. Your biography will be your calling card as an author and you never want to present a less than professional image. So, make sure you budget for a professional editor to take your diamond in the rough and make it shine!

Step 8: Hire a Professional Book and Cover Designer

Now that you have a fully edited manuscript, it’s time to focus on book design. Biographies need to not only be well-edited, but also to be well-produced. That means, they need to have a professional cover design that reflects your central theme, and a book interior as well-designed as your traditionally published competitors.

Don’t fall for the temptation to use free layout templates and book cover maker apps. As sharp as they may look on the surface, they’ll appear amateurish in comparison to what a professional can do and you don’t want to be judged by decision makers and gatekeepers on your path in a less-than-ideal light.

For example, some colors and visual patterns on your book cover may look great to you but won’t work in the market . The same goes for font styles, font sizes and font treatments. Leave this important work to the pros and you’ll never regret your decision.

Best of luck on the journey to your first biography!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free  nonfiction success guide , drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians.  Simply click here to get instant access .

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an  author services firm  that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to write a compelling book in 12 steps: a must-read guide for nonfiction authors, what to look for in a top book self-publishing company, the 7 most effective book promotion ideas for nonfiction authors.

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How to write a biography: 7 life-writing ideas

Biography – literally ‘life writing’ – poses a variety of challenges. Balancing historical narration and day-to-day incident, for example. Or choosing what to include and what to leave out. Read 7 ideas on how to write a biography, with examples from biographical writing:

• Post author By Jordan
• 4 Comments on How to write a biography: 7 life-writing ideas

7 life-writing ideas:

• Create compelling voice
• Think about representation
• Decide on narrative style
• Use illustrative anecdotes
• Find interest in the mundane
• Avoid hagiography
• Fictionalize where necessary

First: What type of biography do you want to write?

There are many different types of biography, both in fiction and non-fiction.

Popular types of biographical books

If you want to write non-fiction, you may be working on either an autobiography (a book about your life) or memoir , or a biography of a public figure.

Biographies can straddle both fiction and non-fiction, too. Many authors have written semi-fictionalized biographical stories (such as Now Novel writing coach Hedi Lampert’s novel , The Trouble with My Aunt ) with the author themselves as a main or supporting character.

For example, in Ivan Vladislavic’s Portrait with Keys , the author invents a brother. This fictional addition allows for lively debates between him and this imaginary relative about urban spaces and race politics in the city of Johannesburg.

Novelized biographies (such as Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield or Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre ) often follow a central character’s life arc in a linear way , from early life to later years or even death.

Other types of fictional biography include fictional letters and diaries. These allow you to play with other modes of representation.

For example, Sue Townsend’s popular Adrian Mole series (the first book being The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ ), presented as a British teenage boy’s diary.

Let’s examine 7 ideas about how to write a biography:

1. Create compelling voice

You could say that voice is a crucial ingredient of any story , especially in first person (where the narrator is the character).

In autobiography, in particular, you want your reader to form a clear sense of who is telling the story. Are they funny? Serious? Angry? Inventive? Philosophical? Just a little bit insane?

Consider the comical, self-aware voice that comes through from page 1 of Townsend’s novel. The first chapter, under the heading ‘THURSDAY JANUARY 1ST’, begins:

These are my New Year’s resolutions: 1. I will help the blind across the road. 2. I will hang my trousers up. 3. I will put the sleeves back on my records. 4. I will not start smoking. 5. I will stop squeezing my spots. 6. I will be kind to the dog. 7. I will help the poor and ignorant. 8. After hearing the disgusting noises from downstairs last night, I have also vowed never to drink alcohol. Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982), p. 5.

Adrian Mole’s resolutions range from the virtuous to the droll (e.g. helping the ‘poor and ignorant’; scathing remarks on his parents’ drunken ‘disgusting noises’).

From the opening page there’s a clear sense of the voice of the subject of this diary-format biography. We form a sense of Mole’s desires, faults, attitudes and beliefs straight away.

2. Think about representation

Whether you’re writing fictional or non-fictional biography, how you represent events or tell the story is a creative decision.

Besides curating content (choosing what formative experiences, dramatic incidents, background details you include), there are different ways to approach representation , the way you tell the story.

As respected literary biographer Hermione Lee says, in an interview with James Rivington , there’s a difference between ‘autopsy’ and ‘portraiture’:

Autopsy, yes. There is a kind of biographical process that is, necessarily, cutting into the dead corpse, however ghoulish that can seem. You are as ruthlessly as possible trying to dissect and analyse the nature of the life. The other approach is more akin to portraiture: to see how the person looked from the outside, how they affected and influenced people, what their friendships were like, how they were one thing to one person and another thing to another person. I think you have get at both inside and outside if you can. Hermione Lee, interviewed by James Rivington for The British Academy

What Lee touches on is the issue of representation .

How will you mix biographical and historical facts (e.g. born here, raised there, had this key experience) with more painterly ways of revealing character ?

3. Decide on narrative style

Deciding how to write a biography means choosing between many available narrative modes or styles.

Will your story run from A to B to C, documenting each decade in a person’s life? Or will it be a crisscross portrait cutting back and forth in time?

A fragmentary style of narration may suit certain subjects and contexts better than a linear story. Says Lee:

I think that biography has to be watchful of making life seem too predictable, or determinist, or shaped, or ordered. Biographies go through fashions. There used to be a fashion for making the study run smoothly and look definitive – ‘this leads to this leads to this.’ I think life-stories are more bitty and piecemeal. Hermione Lee, interview for The British Academy

Example of inventive narrative style: Roland Barthes

As an example, Roland Barthes, a pioneer in semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their interpretation), famously wrote an autobiography in fragments called Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes .

In this book, Barthes includes the preface ‘it must all be considered as if spoken by a character in a novel’.

What follows are captioned images from Barthes’ life, and then titled fragments where Barthes reflects on incidents, places, experiences and the development of his body of work.

For example, in a short section about the discomfort of writing called ‘Truth and Assertion’, Barthes refers to himself in third person , expressing discomfort in how words committed to paper express more than our original aims:

His (sometimes acute) discomfort—mounting some evenings, after writing the whole day, to a kind of fear—was generated by his sense of producing a double discourse, whose mode overreached its aim, somehow: for the aim of his discourse is not truth, and yet this discourse is assertive. (This kind of embarrassment started, for him, very early; he strives to master it — for otherwise he would have to stop writing — by reminding himself that it is language which is assertive, not he). Roland Barthes, Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes , p. 48, available here.

Fragments provide a fitting choice of narrative style for an unconventional autobiography that is as much a self-portrait of Barthes as a questioner of seemingly self-evident truths, as it is the representation of his life.

Barthes’ use of third-person and questioning reflections on the act of writing creates the ‘looking from the outside’ effect Hermione Lee describes as ‘portraiture’ in biography. Even as Barthes creates a self-portrait, he resists the idea of the ‘assertive’ author, the ‘completeness’ of the ‘final report’.

4. Use illustrative anecdotes

An English professor once asked his third year class ‘What is an anecdote?’

A girl put up her hand and answered, ‘It’s what you give someone when they’ve been bitten by a snake’, to which he replied ‘Please don’t ask someone for an anecdote if you’re ever bitten by a snake, for they will talk and talk and you will die.’

This is an anecdote. These usually short, often humorous stories about events involving a particular person are great fodder for biographies. They may illustrate a person’s quick wit or surly, non-communicative demeanor .

In biography, a brief anecdote may be all the reader needs to develop a sense of a key figure – a parent, friend, lover, rival or other.

Example of illustrative anecdotes: Dorothy Parker

The writer, poet and satirist Dorothy Parker is known for her witty comebacks and phrases.

One anecdote illustrating this character gives an alleged exchange between Parker and a snooty woman at an event, where both were trying to enter through a door at the same time:

It is recorded that Mrs. Parker and a snooty debutante were both going in to supper at a party: the debutante made elaborate way, saying sweetly “Age before beauty, Mrs. Parker.” “And pearls before swine,” said Mrs. Parker, sweeping in. Dorothy Parker, attributed. More on this anecdote at Quote Investigator.

Parker’s clever comeback to the woman’s quip about her being the older (and the implication she is less beautiful) evokes Jesus’s sermon on the Mount in which he said ‘Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine…’

The anecdote is a brilliant illustration of Parker as a quick-witted person with a sharp tongue and an ear for comedy. An anecdotal exchange here conveys a good sense of personality.

5. Find interest in the mundane

When we think about how a biography is written, we might think in terms of grand, important or scandalous events. Yet a biography is not a gossip column.

Lee makes this important point in her interview, regarding Virginia Woolf’s eventual suicide.

In writing the author’s biography, Lee describes the pitfalls of writing it as though Woolf was thinking about suicide every day.

It would possibly be sensationalizing (rather than allowing multiple ‘Woolfs’ to come through) to assume this linearity:

When, as in the case of Virginia Woolf, you have a very important, much-read woman writer who kills herself, there is a powerful desire to make the story move towards that point. You see that also in the life of Sylvia Plath – perhaps even more, because she was so much younger. It becomes all about the suicide. […] So one of my motives in writing about Virginia Woolf was to get away from the determinist sense of a story that had to end that way. Lee, interview for The British Academy

How do we make the repetitive, ‘boring’ parts of life interesting in life-writing?

• Skip over them (e.g. ‘For the next 5 years she was busy establishing the Hogarth Press. Then…’)
• Show their interesting place within a wider arc (e.g. ‘With every manuscript the Press put out, she gained a keener understanding of X that would lead to …’)

6. Avoid hagiography

Hagiography, the term for the writing of the lives of saints, also means ‘to display a subject undue reverence’ in writing.

The British statesman Arhtur Balfour is alleged to have said ‘Biography should be written by an acute enemy.’

There’s truth in this, since an enemy would dissect their rival’s life without mercy. Perform a thorough autopsy, and paint a colourful (even if unflattering) portrait.

In deciding how to write a biography, make sure you choose incidents that reflect multiple dimensions of the subject’s life. Their glorious and inglorious moments.

For example, to write the story of a now-revered author as the story of success after success may ring false for readers who know about the 12 rejections their first manuscript received.

Plan the scenes and incidents of a biography the way you would build a character profile. Ask, ‘What are the subject’s…’

• Impressive moments?
• Cringe moments?

7. Fictionalize where necessary

Author and essayist Geoff Dyer has written books in many forms, from travelogues blending fiction and non-fiction to books about writing biography ( Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with DH Lawrence ).

Dyer’s book But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz is an example of his genre-defying approach.

Part biography of renowned jazz musicians (including Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk), part homage to the improvisational and playful language of jazz, it combines historical details, photography and discussion of music. Rather than tell a linear story of each musician’s life, Dyer captures fleeting moments and experiences in a manner evocative of jazz music’s ephemeral nature.

This approach naturally involves plenty of fictionalizing, filling in and describing unknown details.

For example, here Dyer imagines a road trip where Duke Ellington’s driver muses on their road-tripping and the impossibility of recording every detail:

He’d bought the car in ’49, intending just to hop around New York, but soon he was driving Duke all over the country. Several times he’d had an impulse to keep a notebook record of how far they’d traveled but always he came to thinking how he wished he’d done it right from the start and so, each time he thought of it, he gave up the idea and fell to calculating vaguely cumulative distances, remembering the countries and towns they had passed through. Geoff Dyer, But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz (1991), p. 4.

Adding fictionalized events, such as particular exchanges between Duke Ellington and a driver that may not have happened ‘exactly that way’, is a useful part of biography. Like the driver’s thought process, there are ‘vaguely cumulative distances’ you, the biographer, must calculate and recreate for your reader.

Writing a fiction or non-fiction (or semi-fictional) biographical novel? Get constructive, considere d feedback from a writing coach.

Related Posts:

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• How to write dystopian fiction: 9 core ideas
• Tags biography , life-writing , memoir

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

4 replies on “How to write a biography: 7 life-writing ideas”

This article is brilliant, useful and educational which I admired the most and I can’t wait to read more. Thanks for the topic you’ve shared!

Thank you, Rosella. Thanks for reading our blog and sharing your feedback.

I would like to write a biography of someone who is a brother to me. Inorder to be remembered forever.

That sounds wonderful. Have you started writing or planning it?

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• Writing Workshop

Writing a biography - 5 tips for a life story

• At 11 May 2021

What is important in a biography?

The cover is a central element of your book and tells the reader a lot about the content. Therefore, it is also a design feature for a biography, with which you can attract readers to your story. When researching your biography, you should also be very thorough and look for sources that could be exciting for your story.

Beyond design and content, you should definitely consider some legal aspects, which we have compiled here. In the foreground is the protection of the personal rights of third parties. You will also learn whether you can publish a biography in a Publishing house or self-publishing should publish. Let me say right up front: There is no one "right" way. Your choice depends on your needs and goals.

What is a biography?

In general language use, biography and autobiography are often used synonymously. But in fact they are similar but not identical genres. In a biography the author writes about the life of another person. This person can be (world) famous or come from the private environment of the author.

The protagonist of an autobiography, on the other hand, is the author himself, because he writes about his own life. Many (more or less) well-known personalities have already written an autobiography. A current example is the biography of Michelle Obama. Some of these personalities have an (exciting) story to tell, but they lack the talent to write. Here help Ghostwriter or co-authors.

There is a growing number of less or not at all prominent people who write their life stories. The intention here is less the attention of a broad mass. Some autobiographers want to process events from the past by writing their book. Others try to encourage a certain target group to set an example or simply write down their personal life story for future generations.

Besides the basic distinction between biography and autobiography, the genre can be divided into four categories:

• (Auto)biography: The chronological account of events in the life of a person. The time span reaches from birth to the time of the book. In a biography, the person concerned is often no longer alive. The focus of the work is on personal development.
• (Auto)biographical novel: It contains the same elements as (auto)biography, but mixes real events with fictional ones. This serves to develop a tension that makes the life story particularly worth reading. Within the book the reader can hardly distinguish fiction and reality. However, it is important to point out in the preface that not all elements of the story are real.
• Life memories: These can also be written about the author himself or another person. However, not the whole life is dealt with, but only important stages of life.
• Memoirs: In this form of (auto)biography, the person is put back somewhat and placed in a social, political or historical context. In the memoirs of a politician, for example, personal life tends to take a back seat. The focus is on the political career.

How do I write a biography?

These four steps are important for a biography:

• Think about who should read your biography
• Work out a good structure for these readers
• Define the appropriate writing style: factual or narrative
• Identify the extraordinary moments of the biographed person

Whether you're writing about your own life or someone else's, the first thing you should do is create a structure and think about what is most important for the book. Particularly for an autobiography, this consideration includes who the target audience of the work should be. Do you want to record your life or certain events from it for friends, family and future generations? In this case, your focus of interest is probably not on the sales success of the autobiography. 

Nevertheless, a certain Arc of suspense When you publish a book, you are automatically competing with many other book titles. Always make sure that there is a common thread running through the story. Because no matter whether your private environment reads your book or a reader unknown to you: The claim should be that your book presents the respective topic and the portrayed person in an interesting and vivid way.

If your goal is to become a successful author, your book should cover the interest of a wide audience. So ask yourself what from your life is interesting and extraordinary for your readers. Maybe a special love story? A rare career path? A stroke of fate? An illness overcome? Remember to highlight the thematic aspects that make your life story stand out wherever the reader is drawn to your book: In the Subtitle of the book, in the short description, in the Blurb etc.

How is a biography structured?

First you need a rough structure for your narrative. A very simple timeline on which you record important life events can help here. You can also print this later in the book for better orientation for the reader. You can also use the timeline to plan time jumps and flashbacks without the book losing its logical context. This overview also helps you to filter out key stages of your life. Because you should not include too many events, both you as author and the reader will lose the overview. For this reason, you should also determine from the beginning how much and, in relation to individual topic blocks, how detailed you write.

What makes an exciting biography?

Every author knows Writer's Block . In the case of a narrative about one's own life, there is the additional complication that one often wonders whether certain events are actually interesting for a (broad) audience. In the introduction we have already put forward the thesis that there are extraordinary aspects in every life, you just have to find them and process them in an interesting way.

In order to help you find your way through this process, we have put together some questions that will help you keep the thread running and filter out exciting events. What belongs in a biography? With the answers to these questions, you will work out what makes a biography exciting:

• What makes the person?
• Who or what shapes her life and work?
• Which events from childhood are important for later development?
• Who are/were the most important companions? (relationships, friendships, colleagues, family, role models)?
• What crises and successes has the person experienced?
• What were the turning points in life?
• What influence do political or social events have (religion or culture can also play a role here)?

Thorough research is important

In order to answer these questions, you will have to do extensive research, although this is limited in the case of an autobiography. However, if you want to link your own history with that of your family, then it is worth going to the registry office or city archives. In addition, every life is connected to historical events, so check these again carefully in any case.

Otherwise, research for an autobiography is limited to your home or that of your family. Look through photo albums, old letters, diaries or other records. This helps to refresh memories and gives you clues for the narrative. In addition, photos or other illustrations will liven up your finished book and give the characters a face for readers.

arouse emotions

The research for a biography is much more complex. Be sure to contact the person you are biographing. In the best case, you should have one or more personal conversations. Prepare yourself well for these and draw up a list of questions. During the interview, take notes or, if the person allows it, record the interview. Be an active listener and also let emotions such as enthusiasm, sadness or passion flow into the book. If a biography results from a direct conversation, the book will always have a very personal and lively touch and will make the person tangible.

However, if your main person is no longer alive or a conversation is not possible for other reasons, then contact descendants, friends or companions. Additionally, use all sources you can find. These include personal records, photo albums, diaries, videos, films, books, newspaper articles or documents from archives. Also view existing biographies. There is nothing wrong with getting inspiration. However, if you have a famous person about whom a lot has been written, you should look for a niche. In other words, an aspect of life about which not much is known yet.

If the person has a certain level of familiarity, the Internet also offers various databases. For example the Estate and Autograph Collection of the Hamburg State Library .

Set great store by accuracy and thoroughness in the research. However, you should not get too lost in details. The more information you find, the more difficult it can be to filter out exciting aspects for your book.

Use an appealing writing style

In a mystery novel, it's much easier to build up an arc of suspense. But (fortunately) murder and manslaughter do not occur in every life. Nevertheless, a biography must not be boring. It must have the suspense of a novel and the informational value of a Nonfiction show. To achieve this goal, you should develop a unique writing style. This can be humorous and cheerful or factual and informative. While you should stay true to your style, you should adapt it to the person and the events at hand. A consistent approach to perspective and tense is also recommended. In most cases, you will probably choose a first-person narrator and past tense for an autobiography.

entrée medias res

Furthermore, although you can orientate yourself on the chronological sequence of events, you do not have to start with the earliest time. Start your biography with an unusual and concise detail or period of your life. In this way, you will captivate your readers and build up a tension. Also, you should not string year after year and label the chapters with numbers only. This looks very dry and probably reminds your readers more of history lessons. Other elements to bring the person to life are photos, a timeline, important documents, a chronology of events, a family tree or a glossary. A preface and dedication will give your book a personal touch.

What legal aspects must be taken into account in a biography?

Detailed information on this can be found in the Federal Agency for Civic Education . By the way, the personal rights in Switzerland and Austria differ slightly from the German ones. For this reason, we recommend obtaining a declaration of consent from all persons present. This should not only be done for named persons. Especially with very famous people, it is often easy to guess the name from a description, which is equivalent to being mentioned by name. The same applies, by the way, to the publication of photos, pictures or other documents. Accuracy is the top priority here, because in the past there have been numerous disputes in this context, which often ended up in court. It is therefore essential to contact relatives if a person is no longer alive, because in this case the personal rights are transferred to third parties.

An autobiography is not the right medium to use for a personal act of revenge or as a reckoning with a particular person. This is not only extremely questionable from a human and legal point of view, but also contradicts the work of a professional author.

The requirements of a biography for layout and book cover

When you're writing a book, it's not just the actual content that matters. Every genre has different requirements for Layout and book covers. And these, in turn, have a very significant effect on the sales of your book. Why is that?

In terms of content, your book focuses on the biographed person, whereby different aspects can be highlighted. These can be, for example, personal development or the importance of the person in a historical context. The reader should recognize this directly on the cover of the book. This way, he or she already has a rough idea of what to expect when first looking at the book. His interest is aroused and he risks a second look at the book.

On the biographical novel "Henry VIII" by author Margaret George, for example, the monarch is depicted in the royal robe that was customary at the time. Otherwise, the cover is kept dark. So the reader expects a historical story from the Middle Ages and this is what he gets.

The following applies to the blurb: Do not string events together in excerpts, but summarize what the person is about. You can also briefly outline why you decided to write this (auto)biography. Please do not get lost in details, but write short and precise sentences.

Publish a biography in self-publishing or publishing house?

You've already received an answer to the question, "How do I write a biography?" Now the question remains: Where and how can you publish your biography. You can't think about that too early. Self-publishing or classic publishing house? Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of a Publisher lies in the fact that the design and marketing of your book is done there. However, experience shows that only the works of well-known authors are promoted to any significant degree, so you have to do it yourself. Also, at major publishing houses, only a fraction of the submitted Manuscripts read at all. And even if you are accepted into a publisher's program, it can take up to a year or more for your book to be published.

If a renowned publishing brand is important to you, you should definitely make sure that the publishing house of your choice also fits the topic and profile of your (autobiography). You can read in detail at tredition what you need to bear in mind when submitting a manuscript.

A real alternative is therefore the Self-Publishing dar. Here you don't have to apply, but can publish your book immediately. Of course, depending on the service provider, you will receive less support in terms of layout, typesetting, illustration and marketing than in a traditional publishing house.

However, some service providers offer services to help you with this and not leave you on your own. We have written a detailed overview about this: "The best self-publishing platform: what to look for when comparing self-publishing providers" . If you want to self-publish, you can also take a look at tredition's tools. For example, our Cover Designer for the layout and the typesetting you create quickly and easily with the automatic book setting .

A biography is a special discipline within book writing. The art is to present the life of a person in an experienceable, exciting and authentic way. Nevertheless, you have to do justice to the person with your book. In order to master this challenge, you should put special emphasis on research and give the biography a suitable structure. In this way you write a book worth reading about an extraordinary person. But please never forget to pay attention to the personal rights of the people in the book.

If you've got the taste and would like to start writing and publishing your biography right away, get started with tredition: it's 100% free of charge!

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How to Write a Short Bio: 5 Examples and Templates

By Status.net Editorial Team on June 16, 2023 — 12 minutes to read

• How to Write a Short Bio Part 1
• What to Include in a Short Professional Bio Part 2
• Example of a Formal Short Bio Part 3
• Example of a Casual Short Bio Part 4
• Examples of Well-Written Short Bios Part 5
• Short Bio: Best Templates Part 6
• Tips for Writing a Short Bio Part 7
• Optimizing Your Bio for Different Platforms Part 8

A short bio is a concise and informative summary of your professional background, accomplishments, and personal interests. It’s an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to others, whether it’s for networking, job applications, or social media profiles. By writing a short bio, you allow others to quickly understand your expertise, strengths, and personality.

As you write your short bio, consider your audience and tailor the content accordingly. You might want to have different versions of your bio for varying contexts, such as a professional conference, a job application, or a social media platform. Regardless of the situation, strive to be authentic and maintain a tone that reflects your personality while also adhering to professional standards.

Part 1 How to Write a Short Bio

When writing a short bio, first focus on being concise and relevant. A short bio should be approximately 4-6 sentences or about 150 words. Be sure to highlight your achievements, experience, and expertise with confidence and clarity.

To start, introduce yourself briefly, including your name, title, and current role or profession. Next, mention your most significant accomplishments in your field thus far. This can include awards, certifications, publications, or any other relevant milestones. Discuss your current work and projects, providing the reader with a snapshot of your professional life. Make sure to emphasize your unique strengths and specialties. Then, touch upon your education or any other credentials that showcase your expertise.

“Jeremiah Smith, an award-winning graphic designer, specializes in creating visually stunning websites and marketing materials for a diverse clientele. With over 10 years of experience, Jeremiah has led branding projects for major corporations and small businesses alike, receiving accolades for his innovative design solutions. Currently, he serves as the Creative Director at X Design Studio, where he is dedicated to helping clients grow their digital presence. Jeremiah holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago.”

For a stronger impact, customize your short bio by tailoring it to the specific platform, audience, or purpose. By prioritizing information and emphasizing the most relevant points, you can create a brief, engaging bio that showcases your unique skills and accomplishments.

Part 2 What to Include in a Short Professional Bio

• Your job title and current role : Start by mentioning your current role and the industry you’re working in. This helps to establish your expertise and gives readers an immediate understanding of your professional focus.
• Career accomplishments and milestones : Highlight a few significant achievements in your career thus far. These can be successful projects, promotions, or awards you’ve received. Be specific about what you’ve accomplished and how it demonstrates your expertise.
• Skills and qualifications : Briefly mention the key skills and qualifications you possess that make you an expert in your field. This can include technical abilities, soft skills, certifications, or degrees.
• Interests and personal touch : Add a few personal details that showcase your interests and passions outside of work. This can humanize your professional persona and help you connect with readers on a more personal level. However, be careful not to share too much personal information.
• LinkedIn and networking opportunities : Include a link to your LinkedIn profile or other professional social media accounts. This provides readers with an opportunity to connect with you and discover more about your background.

To present this information effectively, write your short professional bio in the third person and maintain a confident, knowledgeable, and clear tone of voice. Keep the content concise and easy to understand by breaking it into paragraphs and using formatting elements such as bullet points and bold text when necessary.

Here is one more example of a well-crafted short professional bio:

“John Smith is a seasoned marketing manager with over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He currently leads product marketing efforts at X Company, where he has successfully launched new products and significantly increased market share.

John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is certified in digital marketing. His expertise includes strategic planning, content creation, and driving brand awareness through innovative campaigns.

In his free time, John enjoys hiking, photography, and volunteering at the local animal shelter. Connect with him on LinkedIn to learn more about his professional experience and accomplishments.”

Taking Into Account Personal and Professional Aspects

Try to strike a balance between your personal and professional aspects:

• Make sure to mention any relevant professional accomplishments and skills that showcase your expertise in your field. If you are a student or a working professional, add details about your university, current position, or professional experiences that give readers an insight into your capabilities.
• Don’t forget to add a touch of personality to your bio. Including personal details, interests, and hobbies will make you more relatable and create a connection with your audience. However, try to keep these personal elements brief and relevant to your overall bio. For example, if you are writing a bio for a personal website or Twitter, you could mention that you are an avid painter or a dedicated volunteer at a local animal shelter.

When writing in the second person, use short paragraphs to make your bio easy to read and understand. For instance:

• Full name: Briefly mention your full name at the beginning of your bio.
• Professional skills: List your core skills and accomplishments in bullet points or a table format.
• Personal interests: Share some hobbies or interests related to your profession or that showcase your values.
• Personal goals or mission statement: Include a sentence or two about your professional philosophy and core values to give readers a sense of your personal brand.

Related: How to Write a Personal Mission Statement (20 Examples)

Be cautious with the contact information you provide, especially if your bio will be accessible to the public on your personal website or social media profiles. Make sure only the necessary details are included to avoid any privacy concerns.

In summary, your short bio should be a reflection of both your personal and professional self. Showcase your skills and accomplishments while adding personal touches to make it engaging and relatable. Keep the text concise, use appropriate formatting, and remember to maintain a confident, knowledgeable, neutral, and clear tone throughout your bio.

Related: What Are Your Values? How to Discover Your Values

Selecting the Tone for Your Short Bio

Selecting the right tone for your short bio is crucial to portraying yourself in the way you want to be perceived. Consider the context in which the bio will be read and choose a tone accordingly. There are two main tones you can adopt: formal and casual.

Part 3 Example of a Formal Short Bio

Formal Tone : If you’re writing a bio for a professional context, such as a job, conference, or publication, opt for a formal tone. This means using more sophisticated language, avoiding slang, and maintaining a professional vibe throughout the bio. To achieve this, write in complete sentences, utilize proper grammar and punctuation, and highlight your achievements and expertise. Be sure to remain confident and clear in your writing. Example: “Dr. Jane Doe is a renowned expert in the field of molecular biology, with over 15 years of research experience to her credit. As the recipient of several prestigious awards, Dr. Doe’s groundbreaking work has had a significant impact on the scientific community.”

Part 4 Example of a Casual Short Bio

Casual Tone : A casual tone works well for less formal situations, such as bios on personal websites, blogs, or social media profiles. Here, you can use more relaxed language and showcase your personality. However, it’s still important to sound knowledgeable and approachable. Feel free to use contractions, incorporate humor, and speak directly to your audience to create an engaging tone.

“Hey there! I’m John, a travel enthusiast who loves exploring new cultures and tasting exotic dishes. When I’m not backpacking across the globe, you can find me geeking out about the latest tech gadgets or sipping on a well-crafted cocktail.”

In both cases, whether formal or casual, always ensure that your voice is confident, neutral, and clear. Remember to keep it concise, avoid exaggeration or false claims, and maintain a second-person point of view.

Part 5 Examples of Well-Written Short Bios

Short bio example 1.

Jane Smith is a marketing expert with over 10 years of experience in helping brands elevate their online presence. With a passion for storytelling, Jane excels in creating content that engages and inspires. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, and exploring her city’s local coffee shops. Connect with Jane on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter @JaneSmith.

Short Bio Example 2

John Doe is an experienced software engineer with a knack for developing cutting-edge applications. Specializing in full-stack web development, John’s expertise lies in JavaScript, Python, and Node.js. When he’s not coding, John can be found playing the guitar, tutoring local students in programming, or cheering on his favorite esports team.

Part 6 Short Bio: Best Templates

Short bio template 1.

[Your Name] is a [industry or profession] expert with [number of years] of experience in [specific skills or areas of expertise]. [He/She/They] specializes in [technical skills or industry knowledge] and has a passion for [relevant interests]. In [his/her/their] free time, [your name] enjoys [hobbies or activities]. Connect with [your name] on [social media platforms] or through [his/her/their] website.

Short Bio Template 2

As a [occupation or field], [Your Name] incorporates [unique qualities or skills] to produce [specific type of work]. With a background in [relevant experience], [He/She/They] has been able to [achievement or accomplishment] through [personal path or passion]. When not [working or creating], [Your Name] spends [his/her/their] time [hobbies or activities], always seeking new inspiration.

[Your name] is a [profession or role] with a background in [relevant expertise or industry]. [He/She/They] earned a [degree] in [field] from [institution]. [Your name] has [number of years] experience in [profession/industry], providing [valuable service or skill]. Outside of work, [your name] enjoys [hobbies or personal interests]. Connect with [your name] on [social media platform] or visit [your website or portfolio].

Customize these examples and templates to fit your own unique skills, experiences, and personality. Using a second person point of view, focus on the key aspects you want your audience to know about. Be confident and transparent about your achievements and interests, and let your short bio speak for itself. Happy writing!

Part 7 Tips for Writing a Short Bio

• Know your target audience : Consider the people who will be reading your bio and focus on the information that will be most relevant to them. Tailor your bio to best serve their needs and expectations.
• Highlight your accomplishments : Share information on your achievements, awards, and notable experiences. This will give your audience an understanding of your expertise and success in your field.
• Include your goals and mission statement : Tell your audience what drives you and what you hope to achieve. This can help create a connection with the reader and showcase your dedication to your work.
• Maintain a professional tone : Write in a clear and concise manner, avoiding casual language and slang. A confident and knowledgeable tone will convey your competence in your field.
• Keep personal information to a minimum : While you may choose to mention some personal tidbits, be mindful of what you share. Focus on information that enhances your professional image, rather than oversharing personal details.
• Promote your brand and company : If you represent a business or have a personal brand, mention your company name and mission statement. This can help reinforce your brand identity and make a stronger impression on your audience.
• Prioritize transparency and authenticity : Be honest about your experience and qualifications. Avoid exaggerating or making false claims in order to maintain trust with your audience.
• Limit self-promotion : While it’s important to show off your accomplishments, be sure to keep the focus on meaningful information rather than excessive self-promotion. This will help engage readers and build credibility.
• Use formatting to enhance readability : Break up your bio into paragraphs, use bullet points for lists, and bold text for important details. This will make it easier for your audience to read and understand your bio.
• Include contact information : Provide a way for your audience to get in touch with you, whether it’s an email address, phone number, or a link to your website.

Part 8 Optimizing Your Bio for Different Platforms

On LinkedIn , focus on your professional achievements and skills. Use bullet points or a table to highlight your most significant accomplishments. Feel free to include any relevant certifications, courses, or awards. Remember that LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, so maintaining a professional tone is crucial.

For a resume , your bio should be concise and focus on summarizing your career history and specific expertise. Make it easy for potential employers to grasp your main strengths quickly. Use bold text to emphasize crucial information, such as your job title, years of experience, or industry-specific skills.

On a personal website , you have more freedom to express your personality and showcase unique aspects of your life. Consider adding anecdotes, hobbies, or personal achievements to give visitors a glimpse of who you are outside of your professional life. You can also touch on your professional capabilities but keep it concise.

For Twitter , keep in mind the character limit for bios and make every word count. Capture your profession or industry, and maybe add a touch of your personality or interests through emojis or hashtags. It’s common to see authors and celebrities mention their latest projects, books, or achievements here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the essential elements of a short bio.

A short bio should include:

• Your name and current role or profession.
• Brief background information including education and relevant work experience.
• Notable accomplishments or skills relevant to your profession.
• Personal interests or ambitions that showcase your personality.
• A call-to-action, such as directing readers to your portfolio or LinkedIn profile.

How can I create a compelling short professional bio?

To create a compelling short professional bio, follow these steps:

• Start strong with a clear and concise introduction.
• Focus on your most relevant qualifications and experience.
• Highlight key achievements and successes.
• Provide a personal touch that showcases your unique attributes.
• Keep it brief and easy to read, aiming for around 100-150 words.

What are some tips to make my short bio stand out?

• Use vivid language and strong, active verbs.
• Tailor your bio to your audience, emphasizing information that is most relevant to them.
• Share a unique or unexpected personal interest to pique interest.
• Edit and proofread your bio carefully, ensuring it is free of errors and reads smoothly.

How can I tailor my short bio to different contexts?

Adjust your short bio for different contexts by:

• Focusing on relevant skills, experience, or accomplishments for each specific audience.
• Adjusting the tone or language to suit the platform (e.g., more casual for a social media profile or more formal for a conference bio).
• Emphasizing specific personal interests or accomplishments that align with the context or audience.
• Updating your call-to-action as needed to direct readers to relevant content or profiles.

Related: 150+ Awesome Examples of Personal Values

• 20 Inspiring Examples: How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
• How to Live By Your Values

16 Inspiring Speaker Bio Examples to Help You Write Your Own

• Nathan Mixon
• August 20, 2024

Table of Contents

A well-crafted speaker bio is key to presenting and introducing yourself to the world. This is where you can give a glimpse into your story while also building your personal brand, attracting clients, and establishing your credibility as a professional speaker. It’s not just about your message but it tells why you and your story are so well-suited to provide the message. This article will guide you on how to write an effective speaker bio and will provide top-notch bios to inspire you in writing your own. Let’s get into it!

The Importance of a Speaker Bio: Why Your Speaker Bio Matters

• First Impressions : First impressions matter because they shape how others perceive you almost instantly – you only get one chance at a first impression. These first interactions are crucial for establishing trust, credibility, and professionalism as a professional speaker. A solid, welcoming first impression can open doors to opportunities and help build your strong personal brand. With a speaker bio, you don’t have to worry about body language and other physical cues – just use your words to impress. Since first impressions are hard to change, making a positive one sets the tone for all future interactions.
• Brand Representation : A speaker bio can be a great way to give a snapshot of your personal and professional identity as a speaker. It gives you an opportunity to communicate your values, expertise, and unique qualities as a professional. Let other people understand exactly what you stand for and what you offer
• Networking Tool : Using your speaker bio as an introduction will make you more memorable in networking situations. If your bio shows your expertise and value, it will likely attract like-minded pros and collaborators, including event-planners. This may open doors to more speaking engagements!

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Key Elements of a Great Speaker Bio

Name and industry.

I shouldn’t have to write this. Obviously, your bio should give your name, your industry, and any titles you have. This clearly states who you are, what you do, and what you’re all about. The reader needs and wants this context to understand who you really are. Having this at the outset of your bio creates that strong first impression we talked about earlier.

Current Role and Organization

Next, you’re going to want to clearly state your status as a speaker to establish your role and responsibilities. If you are part of an organization, give an overview of the organization, including its mission and core activities. Be clear on how your particular role contributes to the organization’s goals and objectives. If you are not part of an organization, state your professional role as a speaker and show how you can contribute to the goals and objectives of different events and speaking opportunities . Stating this clearly and early helps readers quickly grasp the scope of your work and its impact within your field – which leads to the next important element of a good speaker bio.

Expertise and Experience

The next element of a good speaker bio is a summary of your core areas of expertise that align with your speaking topics. Establishing expertise is an area that we, at The Speaker Lab, emphasize non-stop for speakers. Mention any certifications or qualifications that will enhance your personal credibility as a speaker and an influencer. This is the part of your bio that you also want to highlight your professional experiences that will support your authority and expertise in your subject matter. You want to set yourself apart in your field so readers, whether they be potential audience members or decision-makers (clients), see you as an expert with real value to offer that they can’t find elsewhere. This section should reinforce your suitability and appeal as a professional speaker for your intended audiences.

Career Highlights and Achievements

This element goes hand-in-hand with the one we just covered. Beyond touching on your life and professional experiences, make sure you talk about awards and recognitions you’ve received that establish your credibility as a speaker and thought leader. Mention any major achievements as this helps demonstrate your expertise and the impact of your work in your industry. This is probably the most important place to show your success (brag a little) and indicate the value that you bring to every audience you have. It’s all about showing your proven track record in the industry. This is why you are a sought-after speaker and thought leader in your field.

Personal Touch

Finally, add some personal details about yourself that make you more relatable and approachable to your audience. Humanize your bio to show that you are more than just your (very extensive and impressive) professional achievements. This helps create a connection with your readers and audience, making them more likely to engage with your message while also adding depth and personality to your bio, making it more memorable. This part is where you can show you have a well-rounded, full life just like every one of your readers, making you more relatable to diverse audiences.

Writing Tips for a Speaker Bio

Know your audience.

A good speaker bio is tailored to ensure it resonates with the specific audience you’re addressing and the decision makers you want to lure in. By tailoring your bio to a particular group, you can highlight your most relevant skills and experiences for them. It increases the impact of your bio by aligning it with event attendees’ or event organizers’ interests and expectations, while also demonstrating that you understand and value them and their needs.

Keep It Concise and Relevant

The length of your bio can vary. Sometimes speakers will have a short “About Me” section and then a longer, more thorough bio. If that’s the case, then two or three paragraphs is fine. If you only have one section, try to keep it to one or two paragraphs that delivers your information quickly and clearly. This will ensure that all the essential details are included without overwhelming your readers or losing the reader’s attention. Keep the focus on your most impactful points so as to make your bio memorable. Also, respect reader’s time, especially in settings where space is limited like event programs. On your website you have a bit more freedom to have a bit more content.

Use a Professional Tone

In your speaker bio, try to strike the right balance between expertise and relatability. Keep the bio engaging by establishing credibility while also helping the reader connect with you on a personal, human level. This will enhance your likability in the speaking industry. Don’t use overly formal language – just make sure your message is clear and inviting and reinforces your personal brand as both knowledgeable and personable.

Include a Call to Action

This element is not a must, but some speakers like to use it in order to foster continuing interaction and interest. A clear call to action, such as visiting another page on your site or following you on social media, fosters ongoing engagement and create opportunities to get deeper with clients and audience members. It can also be a way to strengthen your network by making it easier for readers to stay in touch or learn more about your continuing work.

Regular Updates

Another important thing to remember is that as you evolve and your career builds over time, you need to make sure your bio reflects that. Update your bio regularly to highlight recent achievements, career developments, high-profile gigs, etc. Keep the content relevant to your current focus and audience expectations, because those will also change over time. Outdated information will misrepresent your expertise or status in the speaking industry.

Examples of Great Speaker Bios

Now we’re going to show you a slew of other speakers and their bio examples that you can use as inspiration. Real-world examples give practical insight into what makes a bio effective, using the elements we’ve described. They come in different shapes and sizes but each pull different elements together to create a compelling narrative in short form. Hopefully, by looking through these excellent bios by established professional speakers, you can be inspired and have some guidance for your writing process for your own bio.

Lauren Sergy

What Makes Lauren Sergy’s Bio Effective

Lauren’s bio starts with a strong, clear statement about her expertise in speaking and communication for leaders and professionals, particularly in business, which sets the stage for what she offers. She emphasizes her extensive experience as a speaker, coach, and trainer with international audiences which helps to showcase her reach and credibility. She also highlights her academic background (which includes advanced degrees and certifications) to reinforce her professional authority and mentions previous teaching roles she has had at reputable universities, as well as appearances on TV and radio programs. Her status as an authoritative figure is not left out in any way. Her published works are included and she makes sure to highlight notable clients and organizations that she has worked with (including T-Mobile and the government of Alberta), showing her diverse and high-profile clientele and audiences. The whole bio uses an engaging and approachable tone which helps keep Lauren relatable and appealing to potential clients.

Erick Rheam

What Makes Erick Rheam’s Bio Effective

As you can see above, Erick chooses to go with a two-section format. He has a quick overview under his “About Me” section and then a more detailed account under the “Biography” section. The “About Me” section gets to the point right away and give a very brief summary of Erick’s background, current role, and mission. For readers who are interested in knowing more about Erick, there is a more comprehensive look into his diverse experience, from military service to professional speaking in the second section. He includes personal achievements and hobbies, like his running and coaching career, to keep it relatable and also highlights his published work, former roles, and particular successes in the industry to establish credibility.

Chris Failla

What Makes Chris Failla’s Bio Effective

Chris’s bio starts with a clear, personal intro that gets straight to the point and lists his unique attributes as a “listener” and “re-framer,” giving a sense of what his mission is. His bio then details his qualifications as a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, his educational background, and coaching experience. He makes sure to mention his specific expertise in CliftonStrengths and other leadership tools to showcase his particular, targeted approach to coaching and training. He also has a little list fun facts about his travels, hobbies, and language skills to humanize him and keep the reader’s attention. Chris also states his “Why,” something we stress at The Speaker Lab – a clear statement of his purpose and what drives him to do what he does and to share the message he has.

Dr. Allen Lycka

What Makes Dr. Allen Lycka’s Bio Effective

Dr. Lycka has experience beyond comprehension and his bio reflects that. It highlights his status as a leading cosmetic dermatologist and his vast contributions to the field, helping to make clear his credibility. He also provides relatability by includes his compelling personal story of overcoming a sever misdiagnosis, adding depth to his profile. The bio mentions the book he co-authored and his role as an international keynote speaker , showing his focus on “turning points” and business growth. This gives readers a sense of what he can offer specifically as a speaker.

What Makes Hal Elrod’s Bio Effective

Hal Elrod has an incredible story of survival. His bio obviously mentions this to give a powerful, inspirational element. On the page where his bio (above) is found, you can actually read a much more comprehensive personal story of Hal’s life and his experiences of surviving a severe car accident and a rare cancer. His bio also mentions his own roles as a keynote speaker, podcast host, and bestselling author – roles that came as a result of his inspiring story. He mentions his successful book, The Miracle Morning , and notes its impressive sales and ratings to showcase his impact and expertise on a wider audience and then talks about his recent projects, including a movie based on that book! He finishes with a small personal touch, mentioning his family and life in Austin, Texas.

Nanette Hitchcock

What Makes Nanette Hitchcock’s Bio Effective

Nanette’s bio focuses on her 25-year career as an Executive Leadership Coach and Speaker, emphasizing her experience and credibility. She mentions her Leadership Mastermind series and other leadership programs she is involved with to show her impact in her field and then clearly lists her mission and values, adding a human touch and aligning her professional mission with her personal values.

Molly Fletcher

What Makes Molly Fletcher’s Bio Effective

Molly’s bio is heavy on her professional accomplishments – not surprising for someone who has earned the nickname, “the female Jerry Maguire.” She had a pioneering role as one of the first female sports agents and has high-profile clients which shows her expertise and credibility. Molly also mentions her status as one of the most booked female speakers and the popularity of her TED talk, which is a familiar platform for most people. Her bio details her successful books and upcoming releases and lists major media appearances and features, as well as her own podcast. This all demonstrates her broad visibility and credibility across various platforms.

Chip Eichelberger

What Makes Chip Eichelberger’s Bio Effective

What really stands out in Chip’s bio as a way of establishing his credibility in the industry is the endorsement from Tony Robbins, a giant in the speaking business. That testimonials really speaks to his credibility, touching on his communication skills, commitment to improvement and his ability to make a significant impact. Chip’s role as Robbins’ international point person also shows his experience across multiple countries and organizations. The bio emphasizes his interactive and customized approach, something that will resonate with event planners who want something tailored to their agenda. His bio page also includes a short “snackable content” video as a bonus to add some extra value and to provide extra engagement for his readers.

Daniel Pink

What Makes Daniel Pink’s Bio Effective

Daniel, like Erick Rheam, has two sections to his bio: a short bio and long bio. His short bio is concise, introducing him and naming his latest and most well-known publications, and where he lives. His longer bio actually lists and describes each of his books. It also provides a detailed account of his work and achievements, giving a full picture of his career, and also including the significant milestones such as bestseller statuses, notable awards, and media appearances. He has a variety of degrees, honors, and fellowships that highlight his expertise and then he wraps up his bio with some personal information about his family and current life to add a human element to his myriad professional accomplishments.

Ravi Rajani

What Makes Ravi Rajani’s Bio Effective

Ravi is a TSL alumnus and has taken a unique form for his website’s bio. He opens with a memorable personal anecdote about his early love for storytelling and performance before getting into his career journey. He shares a candid look at his academic challenges, career shifts, and the discovery of his true passion. His story highlights his role as a storytelling consultant and the impact of storytelling in sales. He weaves in details about his family and his personal interests, making him very relatable. And finally, he concludes with his mission: a commitment to helping others through the power of storytelling.

Alex Demczak

What Makes Alex Demczak’s Bio Effective

Alex’s bio is straightforward. He lists his academic career and his current role. He notes his experience as a keynote speaker, author, and entrepreneur specializing in leadership and impact, which shows his credibility and expertise. The bio mentions his best-selling books, The Sale and Thrive U , which both focus on integrity, success, and inspirational stories, a key part of his personal brand. Alex speaks about his Speaker School and his multiple podcasts, as well as collaborations with diverse organizations from the Cincinnati Reds to the Space Force to Allstate. And of course, he describes his mission to enhance leadership and performance across various industries.

Rick Clemons

What Makes Rick Clemons’s Bio Effective

Rick’s bio is compelling because it’s grounded in his personal journey. He openly shares past struggles and the transformative experiences that shaped his current work which helps build trust and give a sense of authenticity. It also clearly outlines Rick’s mission: to help men struggling with their sexuality to live authentically and unapologetically. This focused message ensures that readers understand his purpose and the value he offers. Rick’s narrative includes specific, vivid details about his past struggles and eventual breakthroughs. By sharing his personal evolution Rick demonstrates how his experiences uniquely qualify him to help others. His language is bold and unfiltered and shows Rick’s straightforward and honest approach, which can be appealing to those looking for genuine guidance. The bio ends with a strong, motivational call to action, inviting readers to join him in living their truth.

Matt Abrahams

What Makes Matt Abrahams’s Bio Effective

Matt’s mention of his role as a Lecturer at Stanford University and recipient of the Alumni Teaching Award establish him as a leading expert in communication and mentioning his work as a professor, author, podcast host, and consultant shows his broad expertise and impact. By highlighting his consulting for the UN and involvement with major events like TED and Nobel Prize presentations, Matt really underscores his credibility and extensive high-profile experience. The inclusion of his books and podcast in his bio illustrates the actionable advice he provides and noting the widespread reach of his podcast and the success of his books emphasizes the effectiveness and popularity of his communication strategies.

Dan Martell

What Makes Dan Martell’s Bio Effective

Dan Martell’s bio includes his personal story of struggles and eventual success and this immediately adds credibility and relatability, showing he’s overcome significant challenges. Highlighting his achievements with multiple successful companies and his role as a coach to over 1,000 business owners establishes his authority in the speaking industry. Dan takes the narrative form in his bio and his journey from failure to success emphasizes his growth and the lessons learned, making his advice valuable. He clearly articulates the problems he helps solve for other entrepreneurs. The invitation to connect directly makes his bio actionable, encouraging potential clients to reach out for personalized support.

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A well-crafted bio highlights your professional achievements and expertise and also tells a compelling personal story. Whether you’re presenting yourself on a personal website, a social media profile, or a company directory, incorporating authenticity, clarity, and relevance into your bio will significantly enhance your connection with readers. By balancing professional accomplishments with the essence of your unique journey and values, you create a memorable impression that can attract audiences and reel in speaking gigs.

• Last Updated: August 16, 2024

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Who is Kamala Harris' father? Economist Donald Harris absent from the DNC

Vice President Kamala Harris  spoke at length about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, during her speech on the final day of the  2024 Democratic National Convention  where she  formally accepted  the Democratic nomination for president.

She explained how  her mother , a “five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent” who came to the U.S. from India at age 19, taught her and her sister, Maya, to “do something” about injustice.

Harris also mentioned her father, Donald Harris,  in her speech , recalling pleasant early childhood memories.

“At the park, my mother would say, “Stay close.” But my father would say, as he smiled, “Run, Kamala, run. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let anything stop you.” From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless,” she said.

But when Harris was in elementary school, she said, her parents split up.

“It was mostly my mother who raised us,” she said.

According to  Harris’ 2019 memoir , Donald Harris continued to see his daughters during the weekend and summer.

Who is Donald Harris, Kamala Harris’ father?

Donald Harris is a post-keynesian economist  who has written on Marxist theory. He is a retired  Stanford University  professor who has served as an economic advisor to his home country of Jamaica. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In her speech, Harris described her father as a “student from Jamaica” when he and her mother met.

Born in Jamaica, Donald Harris immigrated to the US to complete a doctorate degree at the University of California, Berkeley. That’s where he met Shyamala, who was pursuing  a degree in biochemistry  there.

Was Kamala Harris’ father at the DNC?

Donald is Harris’ only living parent. Shyamala died of colon cancer in 2009.

But he was absent from the Democratic convention this week, as he has largely been from his daughter’s political life in general. He hasn’t weighed in on her political career since 2019, when he criticized a comment she made about whether she’s smoked marijuana before.

“Half my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?” Harris had said.

Donald Harris responded  in a statement to Jamaica Global Online, saying that his grandmothers and parents “must be turning in their grave right now” to see their Jamaican identity being connected to “the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker.”

Harris’ campaign did not issue a response at the time.

Doug Emhoff, Maya Harris; Kamala Harris' family at the DNC

While Donald Harris didn't appear at the Democratic convention, many other members of Harris' family were there.

They included her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff , her sister Maya Harris , her stepchildren Ella and Cole Emhoff , and nieces and nephews Meena Harris, Alexander Hudlin, Jasper Emhoff, and Arden Emhoff.

Maia Pandey of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

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2024 Election

Doug emhoff's ex-wife helped produce the video bio of him that played at the dnc.

Jaclyn Diaz

Kerstin Emhoff, Doug Emhoff's first wife, with the rest of the Second Gentleman's family watches his speech on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you  the latest on the Democratic National Convention .

Kerstin Emhoff, Doug Emhoff's first wife with whom he shares two children, is at the Democratic National Convention supporting her ex-husband and Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.

During the DNC's second night of festivities, Cole Emhoff introduced his father with a touching video about the second gentleman's life, family and relationship with Harris. Kerstin Emhoff shared on social media that she and her production company, Ventureland, helped produce the video.

This is my Dad, Doug. A film by Cole Emhoff, produced by me, and @Venture_land ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yo5HVEdso9 — Kerstin Emhoff (@keprettybird) August 21, 2024

She's been spotted each night of the DNC so far, standing alongside her kids and the Emhoff family cheering for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The two Emhoff children, Cole and Ella, are extremely close with Harris, whom they call "Momala."

Harris has previously written about their blended family and being close with Kerstin Emhoff. She wrote in Elle last month , "Kerstin and I hit it off ourselves and are dear friends. She and I became a duo of cheerleaders in the bleachers at Ella’s swim meets and basketball games, often to Ella’s embarrassment. We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional."

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