A biography is an account of someone’s life, the lessons from the world around them, and how their life has changed over time. One of the best steps you can take to tell the world about someone’s life is to consider writing a biography.
If you are considering writing a biography, you may be excited and overwhelmed at the same time. While it can certainly be a challenge, following the right approaches and embracing vulnerability can be a great start.
If you are considering writing a biography, here are a few tips to consider.
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Conduct Your Research
A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else. While selecting the subject for your biography, you may think that you already know a lot about them. However, digging further can make you realise that there is a lot more to learn.
Instead of relying on your personal accounts, books, and articles alone, you must also consider as many resources as possible to prepare for writing a biography. A variety of resources may include multimedia materials such as audio recordings, videos, interviews, and much more.
Once you have gathered the necessary information to write your biography, make sure that you verify your facts using multiple resources to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the facts. You can only incorporate information in your biography once you are completely sure about it.
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Know What to Signify
A biography is not a simple narration of someone’s life. Only stating facts using the same pacing can fail to engage the audience. You must know what to signify in your biography to tell a brilliant story to your readers.
Start by identifying recurring themes and motifs in the life story of your subject. Whether their resilience makes them an ideal subject for your biography or their struggle for social justice inspires you, identifying the patterns and transformative moments can help you bring your biography to life.
Transformative moments of your subject’s life often reveal their true essence and help you drive the narrative forward. Connect their personal experiences to universal themes to resonate with the readers on a deeper level.
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Capture the Essence
As a biography author, one of the most important ways to connect with the readers is to show emotional depth. It is not a matter for you to shy away from. From joys to fears, aspirations, and sorrow, empathy and compassion are key to sharing their emotional journey.
One of the best ways to engage your readers is to use sensory details in your biography. You can use vivid descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, and textures to let your readers live in the world of biography as they read it.
Using empathy and compassion can not only help you delve into your subject’s experiences but also help your readers relive these experiences. In addition, you can also use visual elements such as photographs, artwork, and more to bring your subject’s story to life in new ways.
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Consider Hiring a Ghostwriter
There is no exaggeration in saying that writing a biography can be very challenging. Not everyone has the time, energy, or writing skills to write a biography by themselves. However, that does not mean that you cannot achieve your dream of publishing a biography.
Several biography writers for hire have hands-on experience and skills to help aspiring biographers achieve their goals. A ghostwriter can work closely with their clients to conduct research, outline narratives, and write a brilliant biography without undermining their voice.
While several ghostwriters offer their services to write biographies, make sure that the professional you choose has hands-on experience in biographical writing and a collaborative mindset to ensure a successful partnership.
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Remain Objective
One of the most important qualities that distinguishes you as a brilliant biographer is your objectivity. Every subject’s life is complex in its own way. You do not have to try to simplify their life based on stereotypes.
When making claims about your subject’s life, it is important to back them up with specific evidence and provide context to help readers understand the factors influencing the behaviour and decisions of your subject. If you do not have sufficient evidence, it is best to avoid making any claims.
Another great way of ensuring objectivity in your work is to consider multiple perspectives. It is best to consider different interpretations of your subject’s life without overlooking conflicting viewpoints and contested narratives.
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Tell a Story
Being a brilliant biographer means that you tell a story to your readers instead of narrating their life story to them. Simply stating their journey from birth to death cannot do the trick of engaging the readers. In order to be a brilliant biographer, you must also be a brilliant storyteller.
Put efforts toward ensuring that you create vivid scenes to bring your subject’s story to life and immerse the readers. Using storytelling techniques to structure your narrative like a story can keep readers engaged from cover to cover.
Make sure to structure your narrative like a compelling story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. You can also ask an editor or beta readers for help to improve your manuscript and make your biography stand out among the tough competition.
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Edit Ruthlessly
Every biography writer spends a lot of time writing and revising their biography manuscript to ensure that it is engaging and flawless. Your efforts improve the clarity and cohesion of your work to bring out the best in it.
After you have completed writing your manuscript, take a break, gain some perspective on your work, and revisit it with fresh eyes. This approach can help you identify areas for improvement in your manuscript more effectively.
While self-editing your work is a great way to improve it, you must also consider hiring the services of beta readers, critique partners, and professional editors who can help your work become more improved. Their expert feedback can help open-minded authors streamline their narrative and make their work stand out in the competitive market.