Q&A for How to Write a Biography

Pick out points where the life was influential and explain why those are important. Then, sticking to the facts, emphasize the small conflicts and use a regular story flow to write the rest.

Ask your parents and other relatives for information on them (stories, pictures).

Research the person as much a you can by reading books and watching documentaries on YouTube or online. You can also use the Internet to find interviews with the person and other resources.

I would recommend trying to find an exciting hook that will interest your readers and encourage them to continue reading. Maybe try to find an exciting event in the person's life to describe. For example, if you were writing a biography about Barack Obama, you could start out with a description of the night he won the presidency for the first time.

You should check out wikiHow's article on self-publishing . It will give you more information on how to publish your own books.

No. You aren't inventing anything.

Write a fictional account using what you think you know, or what you find interesting. Change the name (you can make it similar) and make up a story about that fictional person. A private person already has their own story, and a public person is easy to research. You probably wouldn't want someone making stuff up about you, so a private person has a right to their privacy. Look at fanfiction to see what people are doing with famous people as characters.

Talk to a librarian for advice or use non-primary sources.

Usually, a biography doesn’t need specific text evidence.

An autobiography is just a biography you're writing about yourself. You can use the steps in this article, and just use first person pronouns (I, my, me, etc.) when writing. Try to focus on the most important events in your life, and tell your story in an engaging manner.

Yes, you can! If the character is not your invention, cite sources where you find information about the character. Follow the steps to writing a normal biography.

No. Many "unauthorized" biographies have been published. However, such authors do run the risk of incurring legal trouble (lawsuits) if they publish without written permission from the book's subject or his/her estate.

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Gather together the known information about the material you're citing. Look for the title, the publication date, the author, and the place of publication. If you are using an online source, write down the date that you accessed the page. Arrange the information in the style required by your citation method.

To write a biography about Alfred the Great, do research on Google, Wikipedia, in history books in the library and using historical information from articles, etc.

Biographies accomplish several purposes. They inform people about someone's life. They are a written record of a person's life that can be passed on for posterity. They can also be entertaining and can inspire those who read them.

A biography is a form of nonfiction, expository writing that focuses on the life of an individual person. They cover major events and details about a person's life.

A biography is a written account of a real person's life, including factual details, stories from other people, and anecdotes related to that person. Many biographies are written about famous politicians, athletes, actors, leaders, and other important people.

Write a personal statement to include in the introduction that describes who you are and why you're writing the biography. You can also list your background and education and talk about what the subject means to you.

Start by researching the subject you've chosen, write an outline to structure your biography, and then begin with an introduction of the subject.

A biography should include information from primary sources about the subject, such as books, letters, and interviews with the subject. It should also include information from secondary sources such as interviews with friends to help flesh out the subject.

Of course, you can because that person also may have a great story in his life that is unknown by others.

It greatly depends on what you are looking to get out of a biography. Things to think about include: How long do you want it? How detailed and sourced do you want the author to be? How qualified is your author to write this biography? All these factors and many more mean it could cost anywhere from $50 to several thousand.