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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

Learn how to write a biography with our comprehensive guide.

Last updated on Dec 8th, 2023

When you click on affiliate links on QuillMuse.com and make a purchase, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission—this helps us keep up with publishing valuable content on QuillMuse.  Read More .

Table of Contents

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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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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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

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 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 1,876,704 times.

Writing a biography can be a fun challenge, where you are sharing the story of someone’s life with readers. You may need to write a biography for a class or decide to write one as a personal project. Once you have identified the subject of the biography, do your research so you know as much about them as possible. Then, dive into the writing of the biography and revising it until it is at its finest.

Researching Your Subject

• If the subject does not give you permission to write the biography, you may want to choose a different subject. If you decide to publish the biography without the subject’s permission, you may be susceptible to legal action by the subject.
• If the subject is no longer alive, you obviously do not need to ask permission to write about them.

• You may create research questions to help focus your research of the subject, such as, What do I find interesting about the subject? Why is this subject important to readers? What can I say that is new about the subject? What would I like to learn more about?

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

• You may also want to visit areas where the subject made a major decision or breakthrough in their life. Being physically in the area can give you a sense of how the subject might have felt and help you write their experiences more effectively.

• When researching the time period ask yourself: What were the social norms of that time? What was going on economically and politically? How did the social and political climate affect the subject?

• You may also include historical events or moments that affected the subject on the timeline. For example, maybe there was a conflict or civil war that happened during the person’s life that affected their life.

Writing the Biography

• You may end up focusing on particular areas of the person’s life. If you do this, work through a particular period in the person’s life chronologically.

• For example, you may have a thesis statement about focusing on how the person impacted the civil rights movement in America in the 1970s. You can then make sure all your content relates back to this thesis.

• Flashbacks should feel as detailed and real as present day scenes. Use your research notes and interviews with the subject to get a good sense of their past for the flashbacks.
• For example, you may jump from the person’s death in the present to a flashback to their favorite childhood memory.

• For example, you may focus on the person’s accomplishments in the civil rights movement. You may write a whole section about their contributions and participation in major civil rights marches in their hometown.

• For example, you may notice that the person’s life is patterned with moments of adversity, where the person worked hard and fought against larger forces. You can then use the theme of overcoming adversity in the biography.

• For example, you may note how you see parallels in the person’s life during the civil rights movement with your own interests in social justice. You may also commend the person for their hard work and positive impact on society.

Polishing the Biography

• Revise the biography based on feedback from others. Do not be afraid to cut or edit down the biography to suit the needs of your readers.

• Having a biography riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can turn off your readers and result in a poor grade if you are handing in the text for a class.

• If the biography is for a class, use MLA , APA , or Chicago Style citations based on the preferences of your instructor.

Biography Help

Community Q&A

• Be careful when publishing private or embarrassing information, especially if the person is not a celebrity. You may violate their "Right of Privacy" or equivalent. Thanks Helpful 31 Not Helpful 5
• Have the sources to back up your statements about the subject's life. Untruthful written statements can lead to litigation. If it is your opinion, be clear that it is such and not fact (although you can support your opinion with facts). Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 15

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
• ↑ https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-bio
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/3-tips-for-writing-successful-flashbacks
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-bio/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources

About This Article

Before you write a biography, gather as much information about the subject that you can from sources like newspaper articles, interviews, photos, existing biographies, and anything else you can find. Write the story of that person’s life, including as much supporting detail as you can, including information about the place and time where the person lived. Focus on major events and milestones in their life, including historical events, marriage, children, and events which would shape their path later in life. For tips from our reviewer on proofreading the biography and citing your sources, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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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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How to Write a Biography

How to write a biography to share someone's life story.

Thinking about how to write a biography means you’re interested in telling a detailed story about someone’s life. It includes more than just facts. It features intimate details of the person’s life and experiences.

What’s the Difference Between a Biography and an Autobiography?

A biography is a story of someone’s life, but it is written by another person. An  autobiography is a story of a person’s life, written by that same person. An easy way to distinguish the two is the use of the first-person point of view. First-person is a key element of an autobiography. A biography uses third-person point of view.

Another way to distinguish the two is whether they are subjective or objective. An  autobiography is subjective because it’s written from a personal perspective and is formed from a person’s own thoughts on events in their life. A biography is objective, or unbiased, because it is not based on someone’s personal viewpoints. A biography just deals with the facts, not feelings.

One of the biggest things to consider about how to write a biography is who you want to tell the story. Do you think you can write your own story, or would you rather have a family member, friend or professional take on the task for you?

A Brief History of the Biography

If you look back in time, biographies focused on important historical figures and basically gave the facts of their lives and why they were important. It was more history writing than anything else. More distinct biographies did not appear until the 18th century.

The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell is considered to be the first modern biography. It was published in 1791 and covered the entire life of Samuel Johnson, who was a famous English writer. This biography was unique because Boswell used research, interviews, and eye-witness accounts to tell the story.

What is the Purpose of a Biography?

The major purpose of writing a biography is to share the life of another person with your audience. Most authors choose to write about a person who has interesting stories to tell. The stories could help inspire and encourage others by detailing how the subject overcame adversity. Authors also might choose to write a biography about someone who isn’t as well known to many people.

The Key Elements Included When Learning

When you think about good biographies, they all have some key elements. If you’re thinking about how to write a biography, here are some things to consider.

• The details of your subject’s birth and death
• Where they are currently living, or where they grew up
• Their educational background
• Their professional background
• Areas of expertise
• Major achievements
• Major challenges

You can use all of these elements when considering how to structure and write a biography. It’s not always in chronological order, but it can be. It’s up to you to figure out how to best tell their life story.

Tips on How to Write a Biography

A good biography should include more than just the facts. You really need to dive deep to find out all the interesting moments, achievements, and turning points that have shaped a person’s life. You want your biography to draw your reader in, keep them engaged, and give them a full picture of what your subject’s life was like.

Here are some steps to take to get started on writing a biography:

• Get permission - Once you decide who to write about, try to get their permission to write about them. While it isn’t necessary, it can make it much easier to get in-depth details about the person and make your biography more complete and compelling.
• Do your research - It’s important to gather all the facts you can. You want to tell a thorough story, and you can’t do that without a little research. Look for emails, interviews, memoirs, etc. about your subject. You can also look at their social media, website, and professional information. Maybe there were magazine articles, videos, or other publications your subject was featured in.

Interview others - Talk to anyone who might have relevant stories to share about your subject. It’s important to gather information from people close to them to offer another point of view.

• Write your thesis - What is the main reason you are writing about this person? You need to tell your reader what the point of your biography is, right from the beginning.
• Develop a timeline - Most biographies tell the story in chronological order. If you have everything in its place when you start to write, it can save you time instead of organizing it later.
• Use flashbacks - A biography can be pretty cut and dry if you just stick to telling the story straight through. When you can, add in interesting facts from the past that might be relevant to who your subject is today.
• Share your thoughts - If you chose to write a biography about someone, you believe they have a story worth telling. Don’t be afraid to include your opinions and feelings about important things your subject did. Your thoughts will help show your reader why your subject is significant.

Steps to Take When You’re Ready to Write a Biography

Now that you’ve gathered all of your information and done your research, it’s time to start writing. 

Follow these steps to write a good biography:

• Outline it - Figure out how you want to organize how you tell the story. Decide it if you want to go with a chronological method, which tells the story as it happened throughout the person’s life. Or, you could choose to focus on specific time periods or themes during their life. The My LifeJars app can easily help you do this. The Memory Jars allow a person to document all the phases of their life, so you can pull the information from there when structuring how to tell their story.
• Write a first draft - Don’t worry too much about errors at this point. Focus on telling the person’s life story in a compelling manner. You want to make sure you hook your reader.
• Take a break, then proofread and fact check - Step away from the project for a few days. Then, come back to it and fix any typos. Plus, make sure it flows nicely and all your paragraphs are in the right places.
• Ask someone else to read it - It’s always helpful to get another opinion on something you’re so close to. Ask a trusted friend or colleague to read your biography and offer suggestions.
• Send a copy to your subject - It’s a good idea to make sure you have all your facts correct. If you can, ask your subject to review your biography about them. 

The Importance of Biographies

When you think about it, so much of what we know is learned by reading. Stories give us an opportunity to expand our knowledge and shape how we see the world. The same is true for biographies. If someone chooses to write a biography of someone, it gives us a more in-depth look at that person’s life and experiences.

Important things you can learn from reading biographies include:

• Life lessons - It’s always easier to relate to someone, if you’ve gone through similar experiences. Your challenges might not be exactly the same, but you can use your own experiences to empathize with the subject of a biography. You can learn from that person and how they handled the challenges in their life.
• How to overcome situations - Let’s say the subject of the biography you are reading has gone through numerous challenges, but always finds a way to end up on top. As you learn this person’s strategies, you can see the ways you can adapt if you’re ever faced with the same struggles.
• Motivation - Depending on our own experiences, we all relate to things differently. Biographies include a number of defining moments throughout a person’s life. There will be certain events each of us identify with and use to motivate us in our own lives.

If you choose to have someone write your own life story, you know how important it is to preserve your legacy and create a permanent record future generations can read. You will want to make sure you store your biography in a place that’s easily accessible when you’re gone. 

How Does My LifeJars Make Writing a Biography Easier?

My LifeJars has an easy to use template and prompts that creates an outline to write a person’s life story.

A family member or friend can write your life story for you, you can write it jointly, or do it by yourself very easily by setting sharing permissions in My LifeJars.

With My LifeJars, you can embellish a life story with images, voice recordings, and video snippets. You can even record yourself reading every memory so your story becomes an audio book, spoken in your voice.

Storing Your Important Documents in One Place

As much as we don’t like to think about dying, it’s important to make sure everything is in order for the family we leave behind. That’s where we step in to help. My LifeJars offers you a safe and secure online place to store everything your family needs when you’re no longer with them. It’s the safest place to keep a digital copy of your biography and autobiography, so your story is protected and accessible to your loved ones. 

Our app is the perfect place to organize and share all of your important documents, like your last will and testament, your advance care directive, your health care proxy, your enduring power of attorney, and your enduring guardian. We make it simple for you to give access to all the people who will need this information in the future.

What Are the Benefits of My LifeJars?

My LifeJars offers a basic account that is free forever and never expires, as long as you are active and assign a My LifeJars Guardian.

With this basic account store 24 memories, 24 things, 16 passwords upload file sizes up to 10MB and access 2GB of data storage. Create a life profile for yourself as well as for 4 other family members or friends and 4 legacies.

Only switch to a Gold paid account if you want to add unlimited memories, things & passwords, unlimited life profiles & legacies, upload file sizes up to 500MB including videos and store 200GB of data across all the profiles and legacies you create.

The My LifeJars app offers the following benefits:

• Encrypted data - very advanced and multiple layered cryptographic protection.
• Safety and security - access and review your information anywhere in the world with secure authentication.
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• Supports giving - My LifeJars donates 10% of annual subscriptions to our Partners, which you select to support.

Create Your Forever FREE My LifeJars Account Now. It’s easy to do, offers you peace of mind and control of WHO can access your memories, vital documents, important information and passwords - and WHEN they can access them, NOW or in the FUTURE.

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47 Biography Templates & Examples (Personal, Professional)

A biography is simply an account of someone’s life written by another person. A biography can be short in the case of few sentences biography, and it can also be long enough to fill an entire book. The short biographies explain a person’s basic life facts and their importance, but the long biographies would go an extra mile and include more details to make an interesting read. You may find yourself in a situation which requires you to write a biography of a famous person, a close friend or a relative. For this reason, it pays to know how to come up with a biography and the important details that you should include in it. The lives of many people have interesting bits of information, but you ought to know what to capture in the biography and what to leave out.

Table of Contents

• 1 Biography Examples
• 2 What to include in a biography
• 3 How to write a good Biography
• 4 Steps in writing a biography;
• 5 Biography templates
• 6 A professional Biography Template
• 7 Personal Biography Template

Biography Examples

What to include in a biography

The length of a biography depends on the type of information that should be included. The length will determine the nature of information and how extensively it will explain the life of a person. For instance, if you are to write a short paragraph about a person it will mostly capture the important details that identify the person compared to a pages-long biography that may even include the person’s childhood experiences and achievements shaping their life.

For a short biography, maybe a paragraph or two long, the following details should be captured:

• A person’s date and place of birth, at times with the date and place of death as may be applicable
• The person’s major achievements in life
• Their educational background and notable awards
• Work facts of a person and their contribution to that field if any
• A brief account of the significance of an individual in the community

A lengthy biography will bring out more details of a person’s life making it a bit more complex. His/her history will be brought out more clearly especially the details that shaped them to be the persons they turned out to be.

The target audience will also dictate the nature of the information that is to be included. The relation of the audience to an individual will have an impact on how the information is presented and the important details that they could be interested in. In a case where the audience is unknown, more details will have to be included. This mostly happens in the case of a several paged biography. You will have to scrutinize the person in a more detailed way and establish more people relating to the person. Focusing on the uniqueness of an individual can do wonders in this case and this might turn out to be inspirational to many people. The field that the person has majored in or had majored in ought to influence the direction that the biography will take as this will help to bring out the contribution of the individual to their field of study.

How to write a good Biography

A biography is meant to analyze a person’s life and interpret it as well. A good biographer will try to join the dots and explain certain actions and events that a certain figure was involved in. This will help in clearly bringing out the significance of a person’s life through their accomplishments or remarkable deeds.

Biographies are usually written in a chronological order. Some biographers could also draft them in a themed order that is early life, educational background, a person’s achievements or accomplishments. But some especially the short ones will focus on one area in a person’s life.

There are several sources of information that could aid one in writing an astounding biography. These sources of information can be grouped into either primary sources or secondary sources. The primary sources of information include materials like letters, newspaper accounts or diaries. A biographer can also make an arrangement to interview an individual they want to write about. This is also considered as a primary source of information. The secondary sources are reference books, other biographies or historical records that are related to the subject being written about.

Steps in writing a biography;

• Select the individual you want to write about
• Search for the basic facts that relate to a person’s life. The encyclopedia or almanac could be handy at this.
• What’s the most interesting bit about the person?
• What is the significance of the individual to the society and the world in general?
• What qualities or adjectives will be best suited for the description of the individual?
• What actions or life events bring out the qualities or adjectives chosen above?
• What life events or world events shaped the individual or brought out the best in them?
• Did they face obstacles or take some risks in life? How did they handle the obstacles and did they happen to be lucky?
• What impact did they have in the world? Did they add value to the way people view certain aspects of life? Did they come up with a thing, idea or way of action that transformed the way things are handled or rather done in their societies or world in general?
• Carry out some additional research on the internet to answer some of the questions mentioned above. Ensure that you find information that will help you tell a story that many will love.
• After getting everything in order, you can proceed to write the biography. We have provided sample biographies in this site that you could check out in order to get the drift.

Biography templates

A biography template is meant to specifically aid a writer come up with an excellent biography. For this purpose to be achieved the writer needs to get his/her hands on a high-quality biography template, just like the ones provided on this site.

The best biography templates should provide clear instructions, and this should be in great detail to avoid the risk of the writer missing out some important facts. The templates available on this site will help you capture all of the details.

The biography templates should also be precise and avoid beating around the bush. Going round one idea or item will make the biography boring to read and it is prudent for the writer to be straight to the point. By doing this it will be easier for the readers to skim through and find the details they might be interested in with lots of easy. The writer will also save his/her time and concentrate on writing other things.

The general sections of any biography as outlined by our sample biographies will have;

• The name of the person
• A picture of the person
• An account of their early life
• The person’s family life
• The major achievements of the person
• The three main interesting qualities or facts about the individual

A professional Biography Template

A professional biography is a statement that could either be short or long that is written about a person, business or company. It should be engaging, informative and interesting for the readers to identify with the person or business entity being talked about. It has a sales pitch that is a little bit different. A professional biography template is meant to ease the process of generating printed professional biographies especially for an individual who wants to reach a lot of people or institutions.

Elements that should be captured in a professional biography are:

• A summary of one’s early life in a sentence or two, make it interesting
• Then information touching on your education, mention any academic awards or the clubs and societies that you were part of. Any work experience while in school.
• Talk about how creative and innovative you are with coming with solutions to the problems that you have faced as an individual, mention any situation that you were self-reliant in coming up with solutions
• Mention qualities that make you stand out for instance, being independent, principled or discerning to increase your trustworthiness.

The following tips will enable you to come up with the best professional biography;

• Be brief and precise to the point. This is to enable the reader to easily and quickly get to know about you.
• Be spontaneous in your writing
• Be as expressive as possible and avoid too much of self-editing while drafting the professional biography in the initial stages to capture as much information as possible
• Be friendly but not too informal
• Be as interesting as you could in order to get the attention of many people out there
• Write it in third person. Talk about your life as if someone else were describing it.

This site offers you a professional biography template that could aid in making the generation of professional biographies an easy and less time consuming task. You can also check out sample bios to figure out how to go about the whole process of coming up with a professional biography.

Personal Biography Template

A personal biography is a short account of who you are, your credentials and your notable accomplishments in life. Personal bios ought to be short, precise and relevant to your target audience. The use of personal statistics such as hobbies or family should be avoided. A personal biography template will help one to easily and conveniently come up with personal bios.

The key elements in a personal biography are;

• Give an introduction of yourself. Remember to write it in third person and include the year that your professional career started to be relevant. You could give a list of any relevant specializations in your field.
• State your educational facts and credentials. Mention the degrees that you have pursued and the respective institutions. Add any relevant experiences you have that are required for your career and mention the name of the society that you are legally a member of.
• Proceed to outline any notable achievements or awards you have earned in your practice. Remember that the information ought to be relevant to the audience being addressed. If you happen to be an author you could mention the magazines or any publishing house that has recognized your works.
• Your conclusion should mention any upcoming projects or works in progress that people should lookout for in the near future. Don’t forget to mention your current place of residence .

As you age, it is good to keep on updating your biography to reflect who you are at present time. You can make use of the personal biography template offered by this site to easily and in a more convenient way generate your own biography without missing out on the important details.

We also provide sample biographies to give you a feel of what your end draft should look like. If you have kids and you want to let them in on famous historical figures, this site offers biographies for kids. These will help them know the notable people who help shape the world to what it has become to be.

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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 Write a Biography with LivingWriter

Each and every person has a story to tell, but there will always be some who have lived lives worth to be heard by a greater audience. That is why biographies exist: to tell the stories of these exceptional people, that we may learn something out of it.

As a writer, it might pique your interest to write a biography about someone that might have been influential to you or may have had an impact on something you hold dearly. Whatever your reasons for wanting to write a biography will be, the tips and tricks you’ll need to finish writing one will be all the same.

What, Exactly, is a Biography?

A biography is a nonfiction piece of literature which details the life of a person written by someone else. This differs from an autobiography, which is the recollection of a person’s life by that person themselves. An important detail of biography is that it tells the story of a real-life human; the entire manuscript, although more than an encyclopedic collection of facts about a person, should be based on verified sources and historical facts. 

Write About Who?

The very first question you’ll ask yourself before writing a biography is who you will write about. You can write about virtually anyone, but without careful thought, your biography will not garner enough interest to be read by a lot of people.

It is important that your biography is interesting, both for you and the reader. Often enough you would want to write about someone who has achieved extraordinary feats. Influential people and notable personalities, alive or otherwise, are the most common subjects for a biography. 

Aside from interest, there should also be a compelling reason for you to write about them. This is one driver of interest: what did the person do or achieve that they are interesting to write and read about? This is important to know because you might want to shape your entire narrative to this peculiar detail, such as your themes.

Lastly, and definitely not the least, you will want to consider the amount of content that you can gather about your subject. This can be a lesser consideration, since with enough research you can talk about anything, but this goes back to interest. Is the subject interesting enough that you can write about them, and readers would read about them, and you are willing to put hours into indefatigable research, no matter how obscure information about them may be?

This would be a good segue into the painstaking part of writing a biography: research.

Research, Research, Research

Research is by far the most taxing part of writing a biography. Since biographies are nonfiction, most, if not all, facts delivered should be true and verified.

You might think that this is just a piece of cake: just Google Search their name and go through each hit you can find in the search engine. However, well-written biographies are based on more than just what Google can find for you.

This is a good time to brush up on your research skills: in researching for a biography, you will be inclined to find primary sources first. These sources are reference material that are derived directly from the subject. Letters, journals, emails, and anything the subject has produced themselves all fall into the primary sources category. These are your best bets on getting the best representation of your subject.

Secondary sources , on the other hand, are often far more plentiful in most cases. These are materials whose content were directly derived from primary sources, or secondhand recollections about the subject. Because they don’t come directly from the subject, you will need to verify whether the information provided by the secondary source is factual and not just a conjecture of the author. Articles and books talking about your subject, and even your very biography once finished, are all considered to be secondary sources.

Given the names, you will want to have as many primary sources as you can. Having many primary sources makes sure that you are accurately representing your subject, and you can also use these primary sources to verify your secondary sources. Although having secondary sources is not necessarily bad (and more often than not you will have more secondary sources than primary ones), solely relying on them will make your biography unreliable, which is the last thing you want.

With the amount of research you’ll have to do for your biography, you can easily get lost in the sea of notes and files you have piled up. However, fret not as LivingWriter’s Research Board can take all your notes in all forms. You can take an obnoxious number of photos and documents and LivingWriter can handle it all, no sweat.

LivingWriter’s Research Board is capable of storing images, document files, article links, and of course the good old notes, and you can even categorize them whether they’re a primary source, a secondary source, or a source yet to be verified. And we’re not even at the best part yet: you can have access to all of your research anywhere you are in the world.

Feel free to travel across cities and ruins and collect as much information as you can, then consolidate all your research at night inside the Research Board . You’ll then have all of your hard-earned notes right at LivingWriter when you sit down and start your manuscript.

Now, To Write a Biography…

After the pains of researching, you can finally proceed to writing the actual biography. Now, there will be considerations on how you can write a biography. The first thing you would want to think about is what you’ll focus on for your manuscript.

You cannot hope to write every minute detail of a person’s life, no matter how long you plan your biography to be. Not only is this tiresome, but this can easily get boring and will end up reading flat and uninteresting. 

Instead, choose your themes. Likely, you will have an idea of what you want to talk about the most while doing your research. An important thing to note is that you don’t have to force and shoehorn themes into your biography. A person’s life, if interesting enough to be written and read about, will have themes naturally emerge from them. It will be up to you, the writer, to pick up these themes and whip up a representation of the subject.

With the flow of your manuscript ready in your mind, you can now proceed to write a biography. The safest way to do this is to arrange events in a chronological order: rarely does this method fail, and it can also help in your narrative to follow the very steps the subject took. 

You can start with the hard facts like birth details and family descriptions, as well as the physical appearance and the values system of the subject. However, you should avoid being too encyclopedic and exhaustive; the art of writing a biography lies in telling a story, different from simply narrating a sequence of events.

Don’t bend facts to suit your own narrative, but rather progress the story highlighting important events that are critical to the development of your character and the themes that you want to show in your piece. At this point, writing a biography can be very much akin to writing like a gardener : instead of developing a story, you find it and tell the story that you end up finding.

Of course, a biography is not entirely retelling a person’s life. As the writer, you should inject pieces of yourself into your writing, such as your own observations and insights as you go through the story of your subject’s life. Although these parts should not be as rife, including them in your manuscript can help contextualize the significance of this person and show the readers why their story is worthy to be read.

The Intimate Experience of a Biography

Writing a biography can be a bit of an intimate experience; after all, you are telling the story of a real person, and sharing it to many people. Aside from the burden of remaining truthful and reliable, you also need to make sure that the message you are trying to deliver shines through the experiences of this person. Despite all that, the ride can be humbling to you and the reader.

If you are interested in writing a biography about someone, you might also want to check out LivingWriter and stay on top of all the research that you will have to do!

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How to Write a Biography of a Family Member

Picking a leaf off of your family tree and turning it into an all-out biography takes keen research skills, the ability to communicate and creativity. Unlike writing a stranger's biography, digging up secrets or baring information about someone who's close to you may cause friction within your family. Simply detailing your family member's life isn't enough to make a compelling read. Pick an angle that is sensitive, yet sensational enough that other people will find it compelling.

Explore this article

• Begin with Genealogy Research
• Grab the Reader's Attention
• Pick an Angle
• Conduct Interviews

1 Begin with Genealogy Research

Before you begin writing, don't assume that you know everything there is to know. Even if you're close to the family member, you still need to do genealogical research. Chances are that you already have some information on the subject of your biography. As a family member, it's likely that you know if he was in the military, where he lived and from where he came to the United States. If some of your information is sketchy, search census, military, immigration, naturalization and land records from the National Archives website. Search the archives' online catalog, the microfilm catalog, archival databases, Library Information Center or the guide to federal records. If the family member is still living, he may have records that you can browse through.

2 Grab the Reader's Attention

Your biography does not have to start at the beginning of your family member's life. Review your research and pick the most intriguing fact that you've uncovered. Starting at this point can grab the reader's attention, suggests certified genealogist Sharon DeBartolo. For example, if your great aunt was Miss Illinois, start with a story about her experience in the pageant. After you have the reader's attention, move back to the beginning of her story. Don't include each fact or try to answer to all of your family interview questions.

3 Pick an Angle

While a general biography often calls for a chronological focus, some stories require a more specific angle. Turn your research into a timeline that includes dates, ages, events, locations and supporting documents. The timeline will help you to put the subject's life into context. Look for interesting information, such as a person's interesting job or his involvement in historical events. Or, choose an angle that is meaningful to you. If you have fond memories of your father's bakery, focus on how he became a baker, how his business came to be and how that influenced the course of his life. Make yourself aware of sensitive angles to avoid. An affair or deeply hidden secret may seem juicy but can leave your family open to embarrassment.

4 Conduct Interviews

Who you interview depends on if the family member is still alive and what your angle is. For example, if you're writing a biography on your living grandfather's military life, you would want to speak with him, some of his old army buddies and your grandmother. If you're doing a general biography that covers the family member's lifespan, you may ask questions about early childhood, family background, the teen years and adulthood, according to the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research. Use the interviews to dig up little-known facts such as whether the family member was bullied as a child, favorite childhood toys, a first crush or an unmet life goal. You can also use your own memories or journal entries that you've written about the family member over the years.

• 1 National Archives: Start Your Genealogy Research
• 2 Genealogy.com: The Secret to Writing a Compelling Family History
• 3 Family Tree Magazine: Create a Personal Timeline

About the Author

Based in Pittsburgh, Erica Loop has been writing education, child development and parenting articles since 2009. Her articles have appeared in "Pittsburgh Parent Magazine" and the website PBS Parents. She has a Master of Science in applied developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education.

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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.

Phil Donahue, talk show host pioneer and husband of Marlo Thomas, dies at 88

Phil Donahue,  an innovative TV host who rose to fame in the late 1960s after he was the first person to interact with a studio audience on a talk show and brought new ideas into American living rooms, died Sunday , his family said.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. His family said he'd been suffering from a "long illness."

"Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie," his family said in a statement.

"Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness."

Thomas posted to Instagram on Monday to tell her followers she'd be stepping away from her page a while to take care of herself.

She wrote that she didn't want to leave without expressing gratitude for the support she has received and the "wonderful and generous way that you've let Phil and me share our life adventure with you over the years."

"As a man who spent his career loving his audiences, Phil got such a kick out of our cozy little community here, and I know he would be very touched by the heartwarming thoughts and memories you've been sharing," Thomas wrote.

The post was an image of her and Donahue on a motorized scooter, which she described as one of her favorite photos of them together from a vacation.

Thomas told her followers that she wished them well in her absence and hoped they held those they cherished close "as I was blessed to do with my beloved Phillip."

At his peak, his nationally syndicated "The Phil Donahue Show" — later renamed "Donahue" — was a ratings hit and a precursor to similar shows with hosts Montel Williams and Jerry Springer .

Oprah Winfrey described Donahue as a trailblazer who invented smart talk in the afternoon and brought startling new ideas into the living rooms and laundry rooms of American women.

“His show debuted nationally, and the whole country came to know his personal brand of issue-driven straight talk,” Winfrey said in 2002 .

“If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no 'Oprah Winfrey' show. He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes — that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”

But Donahue ushering in a new wave of television happened by accident.

He first tried the audience participation format while he was taping his show in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967. The audience arrived for a variety show, which, unbeknownst to them, had been canceled, according to The New York Times .

Donahue suggested letting them watch his interview with Madalyn Murray O’Hair, then a celebrity for being an atheist. Soon, he allowed members of the audience to ask questions. Decades later, his brand of television became an industry standard that continues today.

“Phil Donahue essentially started this company and began an entire industry in daytime syndication,” Bob Turner, then president of Multimedia Entertainment, said in a statement to the Times in 1996 when Donahue announced his retirement.

Donahue was a contributor to NBC's "TODAY" show from 1979 until 1988. He returned to television in 2002 as a prime-time host on MSNBC, but his show was canceled after less than a year. ( MSNBC and NBC News share the same parent company, NBCUniversal.)

Away from interviewing entertainers and touching on polarizing topics such as war and abortion, Donahue was a self-described feminist.

He became an advocate for women’s rights after he noticed how women decades ago were treated in the workplace.

“I was always proud of that,” Donahue said during a taping of NBC’s " Megyn Kelly Today " in 2017.

In the 1960s, “a boss could tell his secretary to walk around the room so he could look at her; poke her in the chest and get away with it. There was nothing she could do about it,” Donahue said during the episode.

He also noted how many women at the time didn’t host daytime talk shows, unlike now.

“It reminds me of how far we’ve come, how far women have come,” he said.

Donahue was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993 .

During that ceremony, Thomas recalled how her husband put the toughest issues faced by Americans in stark and understandable language.

"He forced us to take a hard look at the real and imagined goals of the Persian Gulf War, the pros and cons of condom distribution in schools and legalized drug abuse," she said.

"He laid out the savings and loan crisis in terms so plain that anybody who had ever taken freshman math could get a grip on the ripoff."

He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards, dominating the outstanding syndicated talk show host category from the mid-1970s to the mid-’80s.

President Joe Biden honored him this year with a Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation's highest civilian honor.

The White House called him a "television pioneer," whose daytime chat show became "one of the most influential" programs of its time.

In lieu of flowers, loved ones asked for donations to be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.

Donahue's wife and his father-in-law, Danny Thomas , have long been associated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Donahue married Thomas in 1980 , making them one of the most enduring couples in show business.

She's best known for her work on the groundbreaking sitcom " That Girl ," which ran for five seasons on ABC from 1966 to 1971.

It was one of the first network shows to focus on a single woman seeking a career. More shows with that nature would follow in the 1970s and ’80s, such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Kate and Allie."

Deon J. Hampton is a national reporter for NBC News.