Writing A Biography
Get Inspired and Focused When Documenting Someone Else's Life
A biography is the story of someone else's life. Although the person may have exciting times and events in their life they will also have had less exciting times.
There will be times when a writer has researched and rewritten the same events a hundred times and the excitement that even the story of a torrid affair inspires has just waned. So how can the momentum be kept up without neglecting the essential facts?
How to Get Excited About Boring Life Events
If the stories of glory and battle in Napoleon's life are easy to write but the dull facts of his childhood years leave the writer cold then here are some suggestions:
- Remember that the less than exciting time when the protagonist came first in a debating contest at age 9 might have bee the start of their personal development into an oratory genius inspiring courage in others or easing their climb to CEO of a multi million dollar corporation. Everything which happened in that person's life shaped them into becoming the person that it is now worth writing a biography about.
- Draw parallels. Does the story of Winston Churchill age 6 parallel with the story of Adolf Hitler age 6? Did the starlet addicted to prescription drugs have a mother addicted to alcohol? Did the little boy whose pony was put down grow up to invent My Little Pony?
- Start with the dull facts first. Write all of the dull basics and only when finished write the interesting parts in. That way there isn't the risk of rushing through them as a last minute add on and there is the treat waiting at the end of being able to write the fun stuff.
- Picture the story as a journey from one side of the country to the other. Do a long stretch of boring facts to get to that long awaited gas station for a toilet break and coffee then another long stretch of boring facts before reaching the next satisfying detour for a picnic break. By picturing a starting point, exciting stories joined by necessary less exciting parts and an eventual end point the boring points seem less boring and more important as they link the whole story together.
How to Take a New Look at an Old Tale
If after the third, or twenty third re-write a story, or section of it, has lost it's pizazz then try one of these tricks:
- Try rewriting the story from another person's point of view. If it is a love story re-write it as the other lover's story. If it is a childhood tale tell it from the mother's point of view. This approach can help to later weave in other perspectives when you return to trying to write the story from the protagonist's view point.
- Investigate how the story was documented or reported in another country or culture. Especially useful if the other country or culture is in juxtaposition to or conflict with the one from which the protagonist comes from.
- Write it as a fairy tale. Once upon a time to 'The End' with each person being a character usually found in a fairy tale such as a prince, a witch or a giant. This can be a good method when the writing seems to have become lack lustre and inspiration is needed to make the story more interesting.
- Write the story as a mystery or whodunnit. Start from the end and work backwards to the beginning
Last note: Don't forget to go back to the real version of the story at the end. The difference will be that it is no longer a boring story but instead filled with a new world of possibilities and colourful words and phrases.
