Biography is known as the life story of an individual. This expression comes from a composition of two Greek words: bios (life) and grap hein (to write). This term can be used in a symbolic sense. For example: "the biography of Benito Juárez, he was president of Mexico, he expressed that he had never been in a similar situation." In this case, the notion of the word refers to the history of life in general, without material support. The biography is composed of various elements such as: introduction, development, conclusion, annexes, historical data, type of narrative, among others.
What is a Biography
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The biography is a class or a literary-historical subgenre located in the “ memorialitic ” genres, which in turn is assumed in the essay genres.
The biography tries to preserve the entire life of the biographer in general aspects, recounting their failures and achievements, highlighting the most outstanding and significant things about that person, telling anecdotes, experiences and memories. It begins from the birth of the individual in question, until his death. If the protagonist of the story is still alive at the time the story is to be written, the character may need to authorize its publication.
As a literary category, the stories are expository and narrative. Its writing appears in the third person, except for the autobiographies (it is when the protagonist narrates the events himself). Since it can include the subjective interpretations of the author, and information about the environment in which the story of the protagonist takes place, the foundation of the story is precise and exact information, such as dates, places and names.
On the other hand, to understand that it is a biography, it must be taken into account that it is a way of establishing a bridge between generations, for those who live today can know the life of an ancestor, involving a feeling of pride and belonging.
For example, the biography of Aristotle, which is a complete biography where they review everything about his life: from birth, who his children were, his studies, his achievements, among other things that stood out in his work.
Elements of a Biography
There are several types of fundamental elements for the construction of a person's life story.
Among the elements that exist within the structure of a story are the following:
The introduction
It is where the chosen character is defined, who has been or is, and the reason for his choice. In addition, in the introductions, the main obstacles, which have occurred at the time of obtaining the necessary information, the risks and difficulties that the author has gone through, are disclosed many times.
The development
It is the fundamental body of the book and is where all the most interesting and important events (failures, achievements, congratulations, accidents, sadness) of the protagonist are specified. This is the longest fragment of the entire story, certain texts at this stage tell all the information through images, or photos that allow the reader to relate much more to the reality that the person lived.
The conclusion
In this phase the author writes what has been the legacy that this character has left in history through his actions and what he really personally rescues from what he has experienced. In addition to this, you can also carry out a self-criticism explaining the things that in your opinion, you would like to achieve and that you have not achieved
The Annexes
The annexes are not always included in all the stories, but generally the interviews carried out are included, or any other element that contributes to refining the information provided.
Historical Data
It is the information of the role that the character played in the story. It is necessary in every semblance and must be shown in a coherent and well-written way so that it can capture the attention of readers.
This data is necessary to make a short review of the individual, however, you can go deeper into the life of the character in case you want to write a longer review.
Narrative Type
It is the kind of narrator that is handled in literary genres such as a diary or autobiography. The types are:
The narrator
This can be external to the fact, if it relates the events in the third person without being a participant in it, or internal, when it narrates the events in the first person as a witness or protagonist of the events. Usually the external narrator is omniscient who knows and knows everything about the characters that are part of the text, including their privacy and thoughts.
Characters
They are all those that unfold the different events that are narrated in the text. Characteristics are issued through actions, descriptions, and dialogs. In the play, the protagonist always stands out, since he is the character that carries the most load in the action and the antagonist, who is opposed to him. Also, depending on the book, you can see a few minor characters.
The Narrative Plot or Action
It is a conglomeration of events that unfold in the narrative. These events are established in time and space, and are organized according to a simple structure as in stories or stories, or in the more complex ones, such as the structure of a novel.
Comments
These must encompass different elements. Comments that do not meet the suggested requirements cannot be taken into account. Certain general foundations are: references, extensions, opinions, languages, among others.
It is also important to mention that there is another group of elements that are also important when writing a literary work, where the fundamental information of the person is described, it is the one that has the most important data of his life. The following elements are mainly included here:
- Date and place of birth: specify where and when the main character was born.
- Family information: indicates who were the members of your family, if you had children, partner or any other relative worth mentioning.
- Personal achievements: refers to any type of achievement or goal accomplished that is important in your life so it is important to mention.
- Main life events: anecdotes that they have lived during the passage of their life (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age).
- Impact or effect on society: refers to any event that has occurred and that has been reflected in your social environment.
- Historical significance: information about the role that the character played in the story.
How to make a Bio
To correctly write a story, it is important to keep in mind the ten recommendations mentioned below:
- Identify the purpose of the work and the reading public. Before starting, you should know who you want to write to. A story is the first exposure for readers.
- Observe the examples Oriented to the reading public. One of the best ways to understand what readers want to achieve in the work is to read the stories that other writers in the same field have written.
- It collects all the information possible, from the date and place of birth, to more important events taken from letters, magazines, newspapers, photos, but above all, the information provided by friends and family.
- Caution should not be exercised when measuring information; even the most interesting anecdotes may be inappropriate.
- You should organize your thoughts before starting to write and analyze, what part of the character's life you are most interested in highlighting. Some questions that can help are: what ?, who ?, when ?, how ?, why?
- Write in the third person. Writing in the third person will make the story seem more objective, as if it had been written by someone else, which can be useful in a formal case (for a job, for example). Experts advise writing professional works always in the third person.
- When writing in the third person, their appearance, their physiognomy, their passions, their habits and their language should be described.
- It should start with the character's name. At the beginning it should be assumed that the readers do not know anything about the character. Write the preferred name, to avoid nicknames. If the real name is not remembered, it can be replaced by: my boss, my friend or my partner, etc.
- The most important merits should be mentioned, if they are of interest. The achievements, awards or merits are really significant, they must be included. However, doing so can be misleading and not be accepted in all contexts.
- Finally, the work must be edited, reading it aloud in order to determine the rhythm and sounds, also preventing repeating information.
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Examples of Biography
There are many biographies that we can give as examples since they will give us a reference that it is a biography and an autobiography, among the most outstanding literary works in history are: biography of miguel hidalgo, biography of Porfirio Díaz, biography of Frida kahlo, Biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, biography of Michelangelo, among many others.
