All About the Structure and Sample of A Biography And How To Write It

A biography is a non-fiction work about a specific person’s life. Usually written in the third person point of view, all examples of biography you will find are meant to give you an objective understanding and an authentic characterization. It is written following a person’s narration of it, their friends or family members’ accounts, or researching materials like recordings, journals, diaries, old interviews, experts, and the likes. It is not uncommon to find a sample of a biography of a deceased person. All kinds of biography samples can be found online or in your local library about both the heroes of old and modern heroes of today.

Most biography samples that you would find are about famous people. It’s not surprising that people would write and read about politicians, historical figures, artists, authors, inventors, all kinds of leaders, and even notorious people and criminal masterminds. It’s always interesting how an author of a biography example plots their narrative. Look for different examples of biography. You can note how the writers of it help you imagine what it was like to be there, at the exact moment that someone famous or good is doing something that is only known to us through history books. However, as you write your own, remember that, unlike fiction writing or other kinds, it is very rare to find a sample of a biography that would tell you how the subject is or was feeling. All biography samples that you would read would tell you the subject’s each step on their whole life journey but not how they were feeling during those times or not necessarily or accurately.

There are many biography samples that you can find and read about. But in recent years, some biographies have been turned into another form of art, like a movie or a play. Some examples of biography that has been turned into a movie that you might recognize include:

The Theory of Everything (Stephen Hawking)
Wolf of Wall Street (Jordan Belfort)
Ford vs Ferrari (Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles)
Schindler’s List (Oskar Schindler)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock band Queen)
Molly’s Game (Molly Bloom)
Godfellas (Henry Hill)
Braveheart (William Wallace)
Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow)
On the Basis of Sex (Ruth Bader Ginsberg)

Interesting enough, some biographies are even used as the basis for some musical plays. For example, the 2004 biography written by Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, is a good sample of an amazingly transformed biography into a musical play (and even a movie) by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Tips And Tricks on How To Write A Biography

1. A Biography is Not a Resume

Going into the task of writing a biography is serious business. This is why before even starting to write a biography, you should already have it stuck in your head that you are not writing a resume. This is a tendency for most writers because examples of biography typically include the same information as your resume. Only a sample of a biography would have to be more detailed. Nevertheless, do not make the mistake of writing a biography as if you were writing a detailed resume because it’s not. The whole idea of a biography is to narrate the life story of a person. This goes even further than their accomplishments and their educational background.

2. You Are Writing About a Real Person

Another thing to keep in mind is that a biography is about a real person. This narrative is not something that is made up or imagined. Any sample of a biography that you would find tells the story of a person that lived on the same earth you are now. Be careful not to alienate the person you are writing about. That is, do not be afraid to portray their human side and have them be relatable. As far as examples of biography go, the more readers find themselves relating to the person in the narrative, the better their chances of reading. You have to remember that your goal as a biography writer is to present the truth and authenticity of your subject. In all its bits and pieces, do not be afraid to put in the details about the birth, the childhood, the teenage years, all the way to adulthood, and maybe, even the death of your subject.

3. Find Your Era or Not

Examples of Biography that you would find typically start at the subject’s birth and end either at their death or the peak of their careers. And this is something that you can do. You can start on the day they were born and narrate how they spent their time when they were children, their experiences and experiments as teenagers and young adults, and their careers as adults. This is a sample of a biography that can go long enough to be a novel or a series of books. However, there is no harm in entertaining the idea of focusing and writing about only a specific period of a person’s life. You can find examples of biography that skip the childhood and teenage part of the person’s life and goes straight to their career as an adult. Some do the opposite and focus on the person’s early years to establish what honed their subject to the person they are known to be. Other examples of biography just focus on the few recent years of a person’s life and career, while certain writers tend to focus on the peak of the life and career of their subject. Regardless of what you decide to do, just be mindful not to lose sight of the reason and purpose of why you’re writing.

4. Research, Interview, Research

It might be a tad easier to write a biography about yourself or someone you know. This would save you a lot of time and trouble finding out details to include in your biography. However, most examples of biography are those of famous personalities’ lives and careers. So unless you are close friends with the celebrity or prominent figure you want to write about, you have to go through a lot of research. More or less, any sample of a biography that you would find and read contains the tiniest and most specific details about their subject. This was produced from the sweat and tears of hours, and even days, worth going through books, journals, newspapers, and any other records that the writer can find. Don’t be afraid to go above and beyond what you can find online or in your local libraries. Think creatively, try to find sources that are hidden in the cracks of the field of knowledge. Formulate a questionnaire and try to interview your subject, if possible, or find people connected to them that you can interview. Try to dive into public records, old school records, and any other reference material you can find. We’re telling you now that writing a biography can prove to be extremely tiresome and time-consuming. But we can also assure you that it is incredibly satisfying once you finish it.

5. Write, Edit, Write

You might be one of those writers who prefer to write as they gather information or maybe the ones that collect all the information they can find first and write after. Regardless of your methods, one thing is constant - your writing journey will not be a short one, especially if you are writing a whole life story. It is important to remember that you have to be accurate in your accounts and that authenticity plays a vital role in writing a biography. Your narrative has to be as detailed as you get it to be. It is also helpful to know early on that there is a point in the writing process of any sample of a biography you have read that you have to edit your writing. You have to rephrase, rewrite or completely revise the pieces that you have already written. It can be a good idea to outline how you want your narrative to go but don’t be afraid to explore the idea of reshaping or maybe even overhauling the biography you are writing about if you suddenly think of a better idea in the middle of your writing journey.

Share Your Written Biography Online

It might not be a bad idea to write a biography about a specific person in today’s modern world and post it online. You can help put out valuable and relevant information to your readers and maybe even make a name for yourself as a writer. Strikingly is a website builder that can help you create a home for your sample of a biography. You have two options:

• Showcase Your Biography Using A Simple Blog

You can use the Simple Blog feature of Strikingly to post chapters or parts of the biography you are writing. Posting chapters or parts of the biography adds uniqueness to entice your readers as not many people post examples of biography through blogspot websites. Here’s how you can use Simple Blog for your sample of a biography: