Questions to Get Started

Describe your subject-

·       What does he or she do in life?

·       Say a little bit about key topics such as family, work, charity, hobbies and any other things that distinguish people.

·       If you were to start the biography with a story about your subject, one that would help the reader understand his or her character and direction in life, what would that be?

o   An example would be a key decision point such as beginning a business, leaving one job for another, moving to another city, choosing a career—you get the idea.

Why do you want to do a biography of him/her? Or of yourself?

·       If the work is to be a biography, tell us what motivates you to want to do it.  If you’re planning an autobiography, see the next section for some context.

A special note on autobiography-

·       If your project is to be an autobiography, take some time to reflect on your goals. Autobiography can serve in a number of important ways. For example, someone in mid-career might use autobiography as a tool to help decide where to go next. An older person might want to write something that hands down life’s lessons to the younger generations. Also see the section “More Thoughts on Autobiography.”

What resources do you have available for this project?

·       Interviews will probably be your best resource. Reflect on who’s available and whether you think the needed people will cooperate.

·       Think first about obvious things like letters and diaries but remember that the existence of these things doesn’t guarantee access; you’ll probably need the permission of someone.

·       Genealogy can be very helpful. Local history can also be valuable:  for example if your subject started a business some decades ago, you could get context on the economic environment at the time from local history, including newspaper archives. Doing this kind of research is much easier than it sounds.

Comment on your commitment and skills-

·       Things to consider:

o   You don’t have to be a great writer to do a biography, you just have to know how to express yourself. If you can do that orally, you can do it in writing. Practice, not natural talent, is the key here. Most great writers improved their skills over time, and just about all had editors who had a key role in shaping the final product. In any case, your short-term goal isn’t famous prose, it’s engaging the reader in a well-told story.

o   Good writing isn’t about the things you dreaded in school:  grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Those elements are mostly important to the extent that they promote clarity. Beyond that, they also matter because people have a tendency to look down on others who have poor “writing mechanics” (as the professionals call them). So, we’ll fix the errors. But don’t get confused:  the key is to have good clear sentences and paragraphs that are thoughtfully embedded in a well-organized story.

More Thoughts on Autobiography

 For the Older Person

The more we live the more we learn, and most of us want to pass on the knowledge we’ve gained. That can be especially true if we’ve gained experience the hard way.

But some vehicles for passing insight across generations are more effective than others. For example, offering regular advice to your children on how to rear your grandchildren is generally thought not to be a positive idea. 

On the other hand, when you write out your advice, perhaps in the form of one or more interesting stories, it’s possible to communicate in a less threatening manner. Your children might not read the text right away, or not all the way through, but if it’s done in an interesting and compelling fashion, the odds are overwhelming they will read and reflect before long.

For the Mid-Career Person

Have you ever noticed that, when you have to explain a complicated issue to someone else, you find that you understand it better yourself? That’s what you’ll be doing with an autobiography. In describing your life to others, you’ll also be explaining it to yourself. This will give you insights and understanding that are hard to get any other way.

The knowledge you gain in thinking about your life can be helpful in many dimensions. If you’re thinking of changing career, reflecting on where you’ve been can be invaluable. You can do that verbally or in your mind, but for many people having to write thoughts out forces a more careful organization and deeper analysis.

In addition, in doing your autobiography you’ll be sharpening your ability to explain things clearly in writing; that’s a skill that is increasingly valuable in today’s workforce.

Finally, remember that if you do an autobiography at age 45 it doesn’t mean your life is over. Ten years later you might want to do another iteration from a different perspective. Why not, if you enjoy the work and find it valuable?

More Information

·       Perspectives on Biography

·       How Much Will it Actually Cost?

·       The Stages of a Biography

·       FAQ

·       Questions to Get Started

·       More Thoughts on Autobiography

·       Writing References for Garrison Walters

Getting Started

Send an e-mail to gwalters@outlook.com