How to Write a Biography in a Professional Way

A biography is a life trying to fit into a book. It usually starts with the author describing a person’s life events from childhood to the present. It might seem simple at first, but writing it into an interesting memoir for the reader is challenging. This might be especially true given you want to know how to write a biography for the first time.

A biography needs to be informative and intriguing to read. It is about finding the perfect balance between facts and a descriptive story-telling style. While many writers find this balance challenging, writing a compelling biography can surely be learned.

Let’s begin by understanding the structure of a biography, followed by tips on writing one in this blog. You will also learn some do’s and don’ts when it comes to writing a biography.

How to Write a Biography— Structure

The usual structure of biography follows a chronological order, unless you are trying to push boundaries and follow another order, which is challenging. It’s important to understand the nuance of the person’s life events, their personality, and other descriptions associated with them before starting with the order. It ensures that the writer has set a good pace from the beginning throughout the end.

Here is a general framework for a biography following a chronological order.

1.      Introduction

A conventional biography begins with the earliest events of a person’s life. So, it’s important to have enough information about their childhood. This section is allowing the reader to navigate through the aspects of the person’s look at life – how their upbringing shaped them into a person to what they become; their personality; their environment and all influences; and their relationship with the key purposes or events they are associated with. So, the introduction section needs to enact these points to engage the reader.

2.      Education and Influences

The next step in how to write a biography is to shed light on the important milestones that helped shape the personality of the individual. These include education and environmental influences such as the area they grew up in, their family and friends, their coworkers, and the people they interacted with.

All of these factors would be a significant addition to the overall biography of the individual. However, care must be taken to ensure that these various factors are reported in an objective yet a well-described manner. It needs to grow interest in the reader and help them take through the entire process as if they are witnessing the person grow into a person they became at the end. 

How to Grab Attention in Biography?

If you want to know how to write a biography, you need to have good practice in creative writing. They must be able to highlight details in a picturesque, almost novel-like manner. The more descriptive the details are, the easier it becomes for the reader to retain interest throughout their reading.

Also, it is sometimes encouraged to add bits of humor without demeaning the person and the purpose. Any hint of wittiness keeps the spark alive – but avoid overdoing it just for the sake of it. If you are looking for a tool that helps you improve your flow of writing, you should check out Arvin Chat!

1.      Relationships

Besides education and influences in a person’s life, relationships are among the primary drivers of a person’s life. In this section, the author can highlight the emotional aspects of the person. This is the part where the readers are able to connect with the most. So, if it follows good enough detail and relevance, it can significantly improve the impression of the biography. However, this is the same element that requires critical evaluation of the author’s own perception of the person’s experience. So, it is crucial for the author to stay as objective as possible to keep the writing close to the real-life events and experiences of the person.

2.      Achievements

The climax of any biography is the achievements or takeaways of the person’s life. It is undoubtedly the most important element of a biography, so it requires attention from the author the most. Some readers also admit to skimming through the entire biography and signaling all their attention to this section – and that is understandable because even in libraries, people tend to spend time reading the achievements section in biographies the most.

It is, however, crucial that the author spends their time researching on the achievements that are not adamant in general. It might connect with personal struggles and challenges they overcame. On the other side, it could also be an achievement they might not have been able to share enough. It might be because they don’t share enough relevance with their main personality or impression. By adding such achievements in the section, the biography brings something novel for the readers. It also enhances the overall credibility of the author.

3.      Setbacks or Interesting Experiences

People relate well to the challenges and struggles on a deeper level than any other aspect of a person’s life. It is where the readers are the most vested emotionally. That is why this section requires strong attention from the author. The author should maintain a positive and encouraging tone. It is especially important at the end to encourage a positive response in the reader. This is an important element if you want to know how to write a biography.

Tips for Writing a Good Biography

Following the basic structure of a chronologically ordered biography is the basis for a decent biography. However, there are some tips and tricks following which an author is better able to convey their message to the readers.

Let’s see some writing and tone-related tips that can help authors, especially first-time biography authors, if they want to know how to write a biography.

1.      Use the Right Language

One of the ways to write an intriguing biography is to focus on the language the author is using. Language sets the tone of the entire biography. So, choose a language that is figurative and helps with the creative aspects of the writing. It will help the readers to engage well with the story that goes along with the person. Classes in creative writing can help the author to improve their skills in this department a lot. Alternatively, journaling about daily routines may also improve the overall process of descriptive writing.

2.      Sprinkle in Some Details

It is crucial for any biography to have the right amount of detail in order to become a success. Each event described about the person’s life should have enough depth to help the reader understand the whole scene. Also, it should match the theme followed throughout the biography. So, focus on adding details in a manner that helps improve the understanding of the reader about the person’s life described in the biography.

3.      Use the Art of Storytelling

A skilled author knows the art of storytelling well. Although it is more relevant to the fiction department, the biography should not be devoid of this element as well. The difference here is that the facts are presented objectively. However, these follow a story-like sequence and detail. It almost feels like a wistfully written story. It implies that the author has a skill developed enough to allow them to portray reality in a classic story-like manner. However, it should flow naturally, as any forcefulness in this account may jeopardize the credibility of the author. It is one of the key ingredients you need to consider if you want to know how to write a biography. You can use different free AI content generator tools to create content for your biography.

4.      Follow Themes and Patterns

Although an individual’s life is full of twists and turns, and each story brings a different perspective to the table, there are some themes and patterns that emerge dominantly. These themes and patterns are more often the reflection of the person’s personality and their character, coupled with the struggles and environment they are in.

Identifying those predominant themes and patterns are one of the most critical points an author needs to keep in mind throughout while writing the biographies. For some interest, it is recommended to have a little twist in between the patterns, but it has to be in the right amount for maintaining the curiosity of the reader instead of confusing them about the theme. Also, the patterns should not be redundant as it can lose the zeal of reading.

5.      Use Grammar Tools

Just like fiction and non-fiction books, biographies need to have perfect grammar as they are aimed at a wide range of audiences. You can use AI Grammar Check by Arvin, which will allow you to check for grammar errors and improve your writing. It will save you plenty of time so that while you focus on the creativity and theme of the biography, Arvin can do its job for you regarding grammar. That way, you can focus on things you need to know, such as how to write a biography, while the tool does its job. Apart from that, you can also use the best writing apps to make your work better.

6.      Formulate A Scheme

You can set the schematics of your writing by adding some pointers to an AI chat. It should be able to help you with the flow of your biography. You can use Arvin AI chat to improve the flow of your writing and improve your writing that way. You can make use of prompts, including “Create a schematic diagram/flowchart of the following bullet points for a biography,” for example. Such prompts will help you overcome the organizing process of writing a biography. That way, you can focus on the more important aspects of the writing, including the information, creative style, and storytelling.

Tips from Famous Biographies

Here are some tips we extracted from some classic and famous biographies.

Roald Dahl’s autobiographies “Boy” and “Going Solo” are wonderfully light to read and descriptive of his life, and both are excellent examples of how biography can be written in the first person, blending personal experience with storytelling. He writes as if he is narrating a story and recalls events in a humorous way. He has also divided the narrative into two parts in a natural way, and one can see why he named the books “Boy” and “Going Solo.” The latter grips the reader, and one can feel how he grew and changed through vast experiences.

Such style of writing enables the reader to see the events through the author’s eyes. Writing in the first person enhances the authenticity and the reader can resonate emotionally with the author.

Another way can be to write through the lens of the character. An example would be the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It is considered a semi-autobiography because even though it’s fiction it does depict similar events that the characters Esther and Sylvia went through. This can be argued that Sylvia disassociated from herself and wrote upon herself using a character to make sense of events that befell her. 

Nonetheless, her style albeit haunting is one way to address readers in a gripping way. This method may be recommended for authors who like to encrypt their personal story or blend it with fiction, even to the extent of magical realism. A great example is “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He portrays effects of colonialism and power by building characters that blended his childhood figures with fictional characters. Autobiographies written this way also let the reader know what the author believed in or stood for.

Use AI to Help Writing A Biography

The most important tool you will ever use if you want to know how to write a biography is the tool of confidence! Once you are familiar with creative writing and storytelling, have powerful utilities such as Arvin AI Grammar Checker and AI Chat, and have done your research about the life of the person you are writing about, you are good to go! The only next thing you should do is fill yourself up with enough confidence to help you stay motivated. Since it is a long journey from there, you need to have enough confidence to keep you steering in the right direction.

FAQs

Is biography writing a skill different from novel writing?

Both yes and no. While biography is different from novel writing due to its nature revolving around facts and realities, it is a lot similar to novel writing as like a novel, it also follows an order, has a storytelling aspect to it, and has an engaging set of patterns and themes.

How to write a biography that engages readers?

Use the power of creative writing. Also, you need to add enough details with the use of figurative language that keeps the readers hooked to the building plot. Follow a main theme so the readers don’t find themselves lost. Finally, make use of available grammar tools like Arvin Writing Improver to improve your writing.

What is the general order of a biography?

A biography usually follows the chronological order of events. That is generally including childhood, early and higher education, relationships, and other milestone events in one’s life. These are followed by achievements, setbacks, and challenges. The ending is about the present of the person or about their legacy if they have died.