Living in someone's life to tell their story
The Art of biographies
Sometimes it take a little explanation for a Biography
A biography is an account of someone's life written by someone else. It’s a strange concept, writing someone else’s story, but it can produce some incredibly interesting results. Because biographies involve more than just the mere facts of a person’s life, they require extensive research to really get into the mind of the subject - like a portrait painter would do to capture their muse. Biographies often include analysis of the subject’s experience too, so aren’t always simply recounting details, but providing social commentary on them - this is what makes them so interesting! Major childhood events often form the basis of the plot, highlighting how these have affected the subject’s upbringing. Biographies come to life by unearthing great life stories and telling them in an engaging way from beginning to end.
The variety of biographies:
- Authorised Biographies - where the author has permission to recount their subject’s tale
- Autobiography - where the subject writes their own story (sometimes with the help of a ghost-writer or collaborator)
- Memoir - an autobiography or biography that details a specific portion of the subject’s life or a specific event that occurred
- Historical Biography - an in depth account of a historical figure’s life, including the writer’s interpretation of it
- Literary Biography - an exploration of the lives of writers or artists (how wonderfully meta?!)
- Fictional Biography - an account of a person's life where that person is actually a fictional character
- Biographical Short Story - this is a particularly interesting genre since it has been relatively untouched… more on this below...
Is it possible to make a Biographical short story?
A biographical short story has the same characteristics as a biography, and can have subgenres of its own, it is simply much shorter and therefore revolves around only a few key events in the subject’s life. As we mentioned, it is a relatively untouched genre - and therein lies its potential! Writing a short story about a famous figure, a person close to you or even a fictional character can create an extremely interesting read, and here’s why:
Writing a biography in short story format forces you to cut to the chase quicker; it encourages you to narrow down the parts of their life that are relevant to your thesis., making for a much more concise and coherent life story.
It is unique! Not many people write stories like this, therefore yours will inevitably stand out.
It reduces your ability to waffle - meaning that when you are analysing an event in your subject’s life, it ends up being much stronger and more influential.
Pro tip: Consider writing in first person as a secondary character relaying a story that centers around the protagonist (or subject) - an innocent bystander if you will. This would make for an even more interesting and unique read!
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Sometimes structuring a story can be a tricky thing to get right. We have been working on a supportive guide, to help new writers structure a short story into a highly readable work….
The magazine includes exclusive articles on character development, plot planning and where to find inspiration, as well as words of encouragement from authors who have been there and got the t-shirt!
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Have a Biography That You Want to Get Published?
CALLING ALL UK NEW WRITERS!!!
It’s your chance to get your story published
...in a glossy hardback book
We’re offering 20 lucky winners the chance to see their work published in a beautifully illustrated book and have a professional podcast made of their work. They will also receive extensive coverage across our social media channels.
Sound good - especially when there’s more time on our hands?
To find out more, simply check out this web link below and it will show you how to enter the competition:
Hi2020.co.uk
This is your chance to showcase your skills. The story must be original and between 1000 and 1500 words, written in English from among the following given topics：
Adventure/travel
Thriller/Dark
Romance
Science/Fantasy
Thriller/Dark
Romance
Science/Fantasy
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Three County Challenge (Bucks, Herts & London)
UK Challenge (British Isles and Northern Ireland)
11yrs - 18 yrs Challenge (UK- British isles and Northern Ireland)
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* HURRY! Entries due by 20th July *
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Why write a Biography?
Some authors choose to write a biography due to a lack of information in the public domain about an interesting subject, or to update readers with facts that an existing biography may have missed. Biographical stories can also be written for the purpose of inspiring readers; highlighting the achievements of a subject, for example, and pointing out ways they have overcome hardship. Biographies can also serve as excellent cautionary tales, warning readers how not to act and who not to become.
How to write a Biography
1. Get permission
Firstly, it is very important to seek permission from your chosen subject if they are still living. Would you like to be written about behind your back? I don’t think so! The only exception to this rule is if they are a major public figure, where there is a lot of information about them already in the public domain. Once you’ve obtained permission, the research portion of your project becomes a heck of a lot easier! If the subject is willing to be biographied, they may provide significant details about their own story up front that will help make your writing about them more compelling.
2. Research is key
I know we’ve said it before for other genres and we’ll say it again: research is the backbone of all writing - be that fiction or nonfiction. Regardless of how much you think you know about your chosen subject - it takes extensive research to really paint a vivid picture of a person’s life with words. If you skip this step your work can end up feeling a little thin and lacking in emotional depth. Try to get your hands on primary sources (first-hand accounts) - these can be deeply revealing and are often reliable. This can include journal entries, emails, interviews, or even personal memoirs. Secondary sources, like magazines or documentaries, should then be used to back up your primary research and prove its accuracy.
3. Lay out your thesis
Your first paragraph or chapter should let the reader know what they will learn about this person from your biography. You need to, therefore, decide what you have concluded from your research and lay it out clearly at the beginning, almost as you would in a critical essay. You don’t have to give away all the juicy bits, just let the reader know the general direction your analysis is heading. Remember don't be afraid to share your feelings on your subject; a biography isn’t just a transaction of facts!
4. Make a physical timeline
It’s important to map out a subject’s life from start to finish in chronological order to understand the sequence of events that transpired. Understanding the correct order of events in the beginning will save you a lot of time reorganising your story later! Try mapping out the events on a physical timeline that you can reference as you go along.
5. Try using flashbacks
Flashbacks can be a great literary tool to use to fill in information about your subject’s past without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. Try picking out the most significant moments of their adult life and then jumping back to a relevant point in their history that lead to that moment - filing in the blanks for the reader.
Check out these top biographers for inspiration:
Sir Martin John Gilbert: a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history including the Holocaust. He was a member of the Chilcot Inquiry into the UK's role in the Iraq War. His most famous biography was an in-depth account of Winston Churchill’s life, called Churchill: A Life.
Norman Mailer: an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor, and liberal political activist. His novel The Naked and the Dead was published in 1948 and brought him early and wide renown. His most famous biography is about the life and times of Marilyn Monroe, called Marilyn: A Biography.
Elizabeth Gaskall: was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many members of Victorian society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Her most famous biography is of Charlotte Bronte, called The Life of Charlotte Bronte.
* Find more fiction inspiration in our podcasts*
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