Biographical Writing

This course covers the research skills needed for biographical writing, including finding and using evidence, conducting interviews and developing a clear theme. You will learn to plan both short and comprehensive biographies, and the final project has you research and draft a biographical piece of two to four thousand words. The course finishes with editing, self publishing and marketing your work. Suitable for anyone interested in writing about real people and real events, whether professionally or as a personal project.

Study Biographical Writing and learn about who and what to write about. Learn about developing ideas, planning, and researching for a biography. Learn about different types of research, where to start gathering information, and how to apply the art of fiction to the craft of a biography. Study the editing and marketing processes. In the final lesson, you will write a 2000 - 4000 word biography and receive individual feedback from our academic staff. Biographical writing can be large-scale, and cover a person's whole life, or it can be small scale, and cover only a short period, from a week to a few years. Sometimes the subject's life is the entire focus. Other times, it's his or her work, or their life in the context of a particular philosophy or achievement. A biography is neither a diary nor a journal. Although biographies are writing about life, it is more useful to think of them as a collection of writings about life events. What are the key events? How do these tie around a central theme or purpose? COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT Course Duration: 100 hours. Start Date: Start at any time - study at a pace that suits you, and with full tutor support for the duration of your studies. Lessons: The course comprises 8 lessons as detailed, below. 1. Scope and Nature of Biographical Writing The difference between a biography and autobiography. Unauthorised biographies. Using ghost writers in biographies. Choosing your subject. Biography vs. Memoir. Researching a Biography. 2. Researching a Biography Types of Evidence. Using Evidence. Fair Use. Where to find evidence. Conducting an Interview. How to deal with conflicting sources and information. Citations and Referencing. 3. Developing Context Determining Your Theme. Developing the theme. Themes and Structure. Using Context. 4. Short Biographies Principles of the Short Biography. Distilling Information. Preparing to write from life experience. 5. Comprehensive Biographies What makes a comprehensive biography comprehensive? Writing a Great Biography. Voice in Writing. 6. Planning a Biography The Short Outline. The Detail-Heavy Outline. Outlining the biography. Defining a theme, writing to a central theme. Word Budget. Organising Chapter Content. 7. Editing and Marketing a Biography Editing. Writing a Sales Package. The Publishing Process. Publishing Processes for Ebooks. Self-Publishing Your Work. Distributing and Selling your Work. Grants for Writing. 8. Project: Writing a Biography In this final lesson, you will bring together everything that you have been learning to undertake research and construct a first draft of a biographical piece of between 2,000 and 4,000 words. A the end of each lesson there is an assignment for students to complete and submit to the school. This will be marked by the school's tutors and returned to the student with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading. Biographies are hugely popular, whether you are a film star, have been resident in the White House, or are a war veteran, biographies provide a rich source of reading for many. They can provide information about eras, experiences, and about the world. Do you have an interest in people and in their experiences? Would you like to write about events and experiences that are an inspiration to others? Study Biographical Writing with ACS and learn about the processes of writing - from determining the initial concepts, through planning, and obtaining evidence, through to editing, publishing, and marketing a work. LEARN MORE. If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us - connect with our expert tutors, use our FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE. Stay in Touch. Follow us on: Twitter Facebook Google