Every life is unique and interesting in its own way. Biographers’ job is to show readers why the life they describe is worth their interest. Regardless of your motives, writing a biography can be a life-changing experience.
You may think how an account of a third person’s birth, life, education, and interests inspire a reader to make a purchase or recommend it to another reader. It is often forgotten that a biography is more than facts and figures.
Here are some of the best tips that can help you write a masterpiece biography.
1. Start with Research
A biography may not be all about the facts and figures related to someone’s life, but that does not undermine the importance of this aspect. Any biographer who cannot be relied on for research cannot be considered reliable at all.
Therefore, every biographer should start their journey by conducting in-depth research about the subject. Take your time to gather accurate and reliable information on the person you are writing a biography about.
Do not use a single resource to write a biography. Instead, validate your facts and figures through multiple resources to feel confident while writing and later publishing your biography for the world to read.
2. Create an Outline
Gathering facts and figures can take up most of the time for any biographer. Once you have gathered all the material for your biography and validated it, you may have a strong urge to write right away, but creating an outline first can be a better approach.
Every author thinks that they have all the necessary information sorted in their mind, but things can be scattered when they are directly transferred to the page. A detailed outline can truly help in writing a brilliant biography.
An outline can not only help you stay organized while writing your biography but also maintain the chronology of the events of your subject’s life.
3.Hire a Helping Hand
There is no shame or fear in admitting that writing a biography can take a toll on anyone. Research, validation of data, and ensuring the chronology of things are just a few of the things that can exhaust a person. To make it easier for yourself, you should never shy away from asking for help.
You can even hire a biography writer to help you bring your vision to reality. These professionals can make the experience much more fun while ensuring that your biography turns out exactly how you imagined it to be.
In addition, you can also hire help from historians and experts who can help you gather and validate facts to ensure that you are on the right path and correct any mistakes before it is too late.
4. Focus on the Introduction
A captivating introduction plays an important role in determining whether your biography will appeal to readers. Every biographer must focus on writing a strong introduction and using it as a hook to lure the reader in to read for more.
The introduction may be the most time-consuming part of your biography. Ensuring the best version can also become overwhelming at some point, but the success of your biography can make all the effort spent on multiple drafts worth it.
The introduction of your biography can set the tone for the readers and give them a hint as to whether the biography is worth their time and energy. You can also ask your biography editor to help you improve your introduction to ensure that the readers have a great time from the beginning to the very end of your biography.
6.Ensure Chronological Order
Chronological order is a distinguishing quality of biographies. This order provides the readers with a clear and logical narrative flow to avoid confusion and stay on track. It can be very confusing to read a biography without a chronological order.
That is why biographers emphasize so much on setting the basis of chronological order in the outline. Following the chronology of life is not aimed only to facilitate the readers. It can also help the writers keep track of what they have covered and what they might have missed.
7.Use Descriptive Language
There is no exaggeration in saying that biographies can be a bit dry to read. No matter how heroic someone’s life has been, there are some phases in a biography that can be hard for readers to keep up with. As an author, you hold the power to ensure that the reader is always engaged.
While you may think that a lot may not be in your hands to keep a reader engaged, one of the best things you can do is to use descriptive language and vivid storytelling techniques to tell the story of your subject to the readers.
The use of descriptive language, as compared to just stating bland facts and figures, can achieve great results, especially when it comes to engaging your readers. It can make the biography seem more consistent and engaging.
8.Include Personal Insights
Biographies are written from the third-person point of view of a subject’s life, but that does not mean readers cannot feel a connection with the subject. There are many ways to tell the reader about the subject of your biography besides just narrating what happened in their life.
You can include their personal anecdotes, quotes, and insights to reveal the subject’s character, thoughts, and emotions. This way, the reader can form a deeper and more empathetic connection with the subject of your biography.
However, make sure that you are mindful of the inclusion of too many details in this section. It is best to use details selectively and focus on the most significant events, such as their turning points and achievements in the subject’s life.
Remember that being thorough and honest while writing a biography does not necessarily mean that you have to include every detail in the biography. Instead, you must be focused on forming the subject’s life for a reader in the most engaging possible way.