Writing a professional biography is something that takes skill in storytelling. A biography that is a collection of facts isn’t going to interest anyone. And neither is an autobiography that just recites the events of your life.
What captures readers is a powerful story. A biography or autobiography that fails to tell a compelling story won’t meet the standards of professional writing. You have to tap into the raw emotions that are hidden underneath the events. You must share the feelings that drive the lead character and the supporting cast.
The question for most writers is “Where do I start?” The following tips will help you to write a professional biography.
1) Make sure you are interested in the person’s story.
It will be impossible for you to interest others in a story you aren’t passionate about yourself. Choose someone whose life interests you.
If you are a ghost writer, don’t take on a project you can’t connect with. It’s better to turn a job down, than to turn out an autobiography that doesn’t reflect your best work because you just didn’t connect with your client on an emotional level.
2) Ask yourself if others will be interested in the story?
Being passionate about a story is great, but before you invest a lot of time into a biography, make sure you have a clear picture as to what about this story is going to interest others. Creating a compelling biography doesn’t depend on someone being famous (though that helps). It depends on something about that person being special or fascinating.
A well-written story can create interest in an otherwise obscure person, but that won’t happen unless you choose an angle from which to approach the story that generates interest in others.
3) Determine what the overarching theme of the story is going to be.
Your ads will be inserted here by
Please go to the plugin admin page to paste your ad code.
Every story needs a purpose. What is the message you want to get across? When you start studying a person’s life, what consistently comes through? Did he/she hit rock bottom and come back? Or has this person been at the top and is now on skid row? The theme you choose for the story is going to determine how you handle the next step.
4) Start asking questions.
If you aren’t sure what the theme should be, start digging for answers. What in this person’s past has molded them into who they are today? Has this person made a difference in the world (for good or bad)”? What made or makes this person tick? How would you describe this person?
You’ll ask questions constantly throughout the writing process. Your goal at this stage is to identify the thread that needs to run through the biography to tie it all together.
5) Look for important events in a person’s life.
Events are pivotal in driving a storyline. Jill Kinmont’s life changed in a moment when she lost control in a ski run. Her story is told in The Other Side of the Mountain. The events leading up to her accident, the challenges she faced after her accident, all drive the story along because there’s an emotional thread running through the telling. Every event that is included is there for a reason. It shows an indomitable spirit that can’t be kept down.
This is the stage where you do your intense research if you are writing a biography. If you are ghost writing an autobiography, you may have to filter through a lot of unimportant information initially. It takes time to become familiar with a client’s story. As the interview process moves forward, you will begin to see the storyline shape up.
Your goal is to select events that connect the story from its beginning to its end along the overarching theme you or your client has chosen. Everything needs to be there for a reason. You don’t want readers going, “Why is that in here?”
6) Make the opening interesting and never let up.
You’ve reached the point where you are ready to start writing. Ultimately, you are going to want the opening of your biography or autobiography to hook the reader, grab him/her right and hold interest until the end of the book.
This isn’t necessarily something you will be able to pull off at the start. Don’t worry about that. Start writing the story. It’s amazing how many ideas form after you get into the writing process. I have reorganized entire books halfway through because I suddenly realized that there was a more powerful way to present the story.
If you apply these six tips, you will be well on your way to writing professional quality biographies. Just remember that a professional biography is going to tell the story beneath the surface. You’ll have to be a psychological sleuth. Male or female, human emotions do drive everything we do to some extent or another. Even the lack of emotional connection drives behavior. If you want your biography to be compelling, you must make your characters real. Make sure you are telling a story.
