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Learning patterns/Doing more, with templates: A tutorial for Wikimedia project creators

What problem does this solve? [ edit ]

Templates are a very powerful feature of the MediaWiki software used for Wikipedia. [1] We can use templates to create reusable and customizable content, to save time, and to standardize formatting. With templates, we can change a navigation menu appearing across many pages by editing a single file. We can even use templates to perform calculations or to categorize pages automatically.

Anyone can make custom templates that serve their own purposes, using only a few basic ideas. However, learning these ideas is harder than it needs to be, since help pages tend to be encyclopedic rather than pedagogical.

What is the solution? [ edit ]

The solution is to provide a self-contained tutorial that gets the beginner quickly up to speed, by focusing on fundamentals. This tutorial is also designed to be actively worked through. It proceeds from using templates to creating them, and it develops the key concepts with step-by-step examples and exercises. Guidance that may be skimmed is placed into separate "Tips" sections. In case the fundamentals are not enough to solve a specific problem, this tutorial also provides guidance on how to learn more.

Things to consider [ edit ]

Let’s start with some terminology that will help us understand the scope of this tutorial.

Terminology

While Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia and its sister projects are our focus, this tutorial generally applies to any wiki running on MediaWiki software. For example, there is a video embedded in this tutorial that talks specifically about Wikipedia, but it applies to other wikis as well.

When to use [ edit ]

This tutorial originated as a set of internal notes to assist with the creation of templates for Eventmath , a Wikiversity learning project. [5] If you want to use or create MediaWiki templates for your own project, then this tutorial is for you!

In order to work through this tutorial, it will help if you have an account. If you have a Wikipedia account, for example, then that will allow you to work on the other Wikimedia projects, as well. [6]

Since templates use the same markup language as regular pages, the skills assumed in this tutorial are covered in the basic introduction to editing with wiki markup . You only need to know how to find the “Edit source” tab on a MediaWiki page, change some text, and publish your changes. The help menu inside the source editor contains a list of the markup rules you need.

The markup language used to create MediaWiki pages and templates is called wikitext . (It’s also known as wiki markup or wikicode .) [7] [8]

Template examples [ edit ]

Okay, let’s begin! We’ll start by glancing through some examples. Each of these is created with a template.

A support message [ edit ]

A keyboard combination [ edit ].

⇧ Shift + \

A message box [ edit ]

A scoring rubric [ edit ], an infobox [ edit ], a navigation box [ edit ], a tabbed interface [ edit ], a user badge [ edit ], a customizable image [ edit ], a reply [ edit ].

@ Example : Message to user... ~~~~

This Reply to template triggers a notification to the user being replied to.

A citation [ edit ]

"Eventmath: An Open-access, Community-built Repository Pairing Current Events and Math Lessons" . Twitter . 2021-07-28.  

A user bio [ edit ]

This template is designed to be loaded into the source editor so that it can be filled in by the user.

Learning by doing [ edit ]

Wouldn’t it be great if you could practice as you read this tutorial? You can! You just need a blank page where you can play around. The user sandbox is one such page.

Our first sandbox [ edit ]

Let’s take a few seconds to set up our first sandbox.

• Look for your username in the top right of the page, and click that to reach your user page.
• Click the “Edit source” tab, and create a link to a subpage called “sandbox” by typing [[/sandbox]] . Note that we’ve chosen to use lowercase letters in the name sandbox . Although it’s not necessary in every context, using consistent casing in code prevents errors.
• Publish your changes.
• Click the link to the sandbox (either the one you found, or the one you made).
• Add anything to the page (e.g. “My sandbox”).

If these instructions are unclear, you can check out the two-minute video walkthrough below. (This video is from the days when manual creation was the only option.)

Our second sandbox

Now let’s set up a second sandbox, which we’ll use for testing. You can do this by following steps 2 and 3 above, but this time add [[/sandbox2]] anywhere on your user page.

If you ever need additional sandboxes, you can create more by adding [[/sandbox3]] , [[/sandbox4]] , etc. (Although sandbox3, sandbox4, etc. work fine as page names, you can choose any names you like. [9] ) Each sandbox can be a place to try out different kinds of edits, to test templates, or to keep notes or drafts.

Using templates [ edit ]

Now that our user sandboxes are set up, let’s create a simple thank-you template that produces the following text:

Thank you so much! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future!

To do this, follow the steps below:

• Delete any text currently in the main sandbox.
• Type Thank you so much! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future! .
• Publish these changes.

We’ll see how to use this template in the next section.

Concepts [ edit ]

Calling templates [ edit ].

Let’s use our thank-you template in the second sandbox:

• In the source editor for the second sandbox, type {{User:username/sandbox}} , but replace “username” with your own username.

You should now see the thank-you message appear on your second sandbox.

Congratulations! You’ve created and used your first template. (If you can’t get this test to work as expected, try posting on the Discussion tab of this tutorial for help.) Now, if you were to use this template on a lot of pages, you could change them all at once by changing the original thank-you message. Neat!

Terminology: Calling a template

Whenever we type a template name inside of double braces, like {{User:username/sandbox}} , we say that we are calling the template.

If you’ve done any computer programming, this may remind you of calling a function. Calling a template works in the same way: it refers to code that’s already been written, and in this case, it returns that code as output.

Syntax: Calling a template

We call a template by typing {{My template}} , where My template is the name of the template. Note that this is the same way we link to a wiki page, except that we use double braces {{}} instead of double brackets [[]] .

Note: Instead of My template , the full name of our thank-you template is User:username/sandbox. [10] Later, we’ll see that a simple name like My template is perfectly valid, but {{My template}} refers to a template that’s saved in a different place.

Now let’s adapt our thank-you template so that it can address a specific person:

• Edit the template source so that it reads exactly as follows (yes, those are triple braces!): Thank you so much, {{{friend}}}! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future!
• Publish the changes.

We can test the adapted template by using it to thank someone named Kind Person:

• In the “Edit source” tab for your second sandbox, delete what you had previously.
• Type {{User:username/sandbox|friend=Kind Person}} . The vertical bar between sandbox and Kind Person is often called the pipe character, which can be produced by typing ⇧ Shift + \ . Also, remember to replace “username” with your own username, since you saved the template as a subpage of your own user page.

You should now see the following thank you message:

Thank you so much, Kind Person! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future!

Hooray! You’ve created and used your first template parameter . Specifically, you used a parameter called friend in order to allow the template caller to customize the thank-you message with the name of the person to be thanked.

Terminology: Template parameter

A template parameter is a placeholder inside a template that gets filled with a custom value that's supplied by the user when calling the template.

If you’ve done any computer programming, this may remind you of a parameter in a function, procedure, or routine. A template parameter serves the same purpose: it’s a variable within a template that’s replaced with an input value when the template is called.

Syntax: Creating a named template parameter

To create a parameter called my parameter within the source of a template, type {{{my parameter}}} . (Note the use of triple braces, instead of the double braces that we use to call a whole template.) You can type {{{my parameter}}} in multiple places throughout the template; in each place, it will be replaced with the value that the user supplies when calling the template.

Syntax: Calling a template with named parameter values

We can supply parameter values when calling a template by typing {{My template|my parameter=my value|my other parameter=my other value|...}} . Be sure to use the pipe character | as a separator.

To make this more readable, we can produce the same result by typing this on separate lines and adding spaces to align the equals signs (we can also add spaces before the parameter names, if we wish):

Note that the parameters we’ve used are called named parameters . Since we’re specifying them by name, we don’t need to remember a particular order. In other words, we could swap the following lines:

Named parameters are the only kind we need, but sometimes unnamed parameters are convenient. To see how these work, let’s tell the template not only who is being thanked, but also who is doing the thanking.

• Edit the template source so that it includes a signature after two dashes, which is customary, and so that it uses the numbers 1 and 2 in place of parameter names: Thank you so much, {{{1}}}! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future! – {{{2}}}

As before, let’s use the template to thank someone named Kind Person , but this time we’ll sign it as Thankful Person .

• Type {{User:username/sandbox|Kind Person|Thankful Person}} . Remember to replace “username” with your own username.

Thank you so much, Kind Person! You’ve been a huge help. I’m looking forward to collaborating more in the future! – Thankful Person.

Cool! Notice how we did not need to provide name = value information to the template. We only needed to type the values. That’s because the first value Kind Person and the second value Thankful Person automatically replace {{{1}}} and {{{2}}} , respectively. Actually, since unnamed parameter values are distinguished by their position in the template call, we sometimes refer to unnamed parameters as positional parameters .

Syntax: Creating an unnamed (positional) template parameter

Everything about creating named parameters applies here, except that numbers are used in place of a parameter name like my parameter . So, to create a parameter that will be replaced with the first value supplied in a template call, type {{{1}}} in the source of the template; to create a parameter that will be replaced by the second value, type {{{2}}} ; etc.

Syntax: Calling a template with unnamed parameter values

When a template uses unnamed parameters, we pass in parameter values value1 , value2 , … by typing {{My template|value1|value2|...}} . As with named parameters, we may also specify the values on separate lines, which is useful if the values are long:

Exercise: A thank-you template with a list parameter

• Create a thank-you template with parameters for the person being thanked, the reasons for saying thank you, and the person doing the thanking.
• Call the template with a list of reasons for saying thank you.

Hint: You can create bullet points with asterisks, and you can supply an entire bulleted list as the value of a single parameter. We haven’t done an example like this, so you may need to guess a reasonable way to type this. Trying out features is what the sandbox is for!

One way to solve this is to type the following into the source editor of your main sandbox:

To call the template, type something like the following into the source editor of your second sandbox, remembering to replace username with your own username:

Including templates [ edit ]

There are two main ways to include a template in another page. Until now, we’ve only used one of them.

Concept: Transclusion (syntax, result, uses)

This is the method we’ve been using, as it’s the most common. [11]

• Syntax: {{My template}}
• Result: When you save the page, the contents of the template appear in place of {{My template}} on the rendered page (the "Read" tab), but not in the source. [12] The source will still contain only the wikitext {{My template}} , rather than the template contents.
• Uses: Suppose we reuse a template on many pages and decide later that it needs to appear differently on all those pages. With transclusion, we only need to change the template page, since the other pages will all pull their content from there.

Concept: Substitution (syntax, result, uses)

This method has a different effect, which can be useful in certain situations.

• Syntax: {{subst:My template}}
• Result: When you save the page, the contents of the template appear in place of {{subst:My template}} in both the rendered page and the source.
• If we substitute a template into a page, then we can directly edit the source of the template from within that page. For example, the user bio template is designed to be substituted, since substituting the template enables editors to fill in the outline that it provides.
• If we substitute a template into a page, then its contents and appearance will stay the same when the original template is changed. This is to be expected, since the reference {{subst:My template}} to the original template is eliminated upon saving. This is also helpful in the case of the user bio (a user will fill in the bio based on the current headings, not future headings).
• Additional uses can be found on the Wikipedia help page on substitution , but we won’t have a need for those uses.

In case you find yourself reading other help articles, you may encounter a term that is frequently used in this context.

Terminology: Template expansion

When a template call like {{My template}} or {{subst:My template}} is replaced with the contents of the template (either in the rendered page or the source), we say that the template has been expanded . This is appropriate, since the small amount of code in the template call gets replaced with a larger amount of code.

Preloading templates [ edit ]

We’ve been assuming that you are doing all the editing yourself. If you’re developing a project that other editors will contribute to, you may want to make editing easier for them by providing pages that are partially filled in.

Concept: Preloading

It’s possible to ensure that when a user creates a new page for your project, the source editor will be filled with wikitext that you provide in advance (for example, this may include an outline that the editor will fill in). We say that such wikitext is preloaded into the editor.

We’ll learn a simple way to preload text later in this tutorial, during our discussion of extensions .

Tips [ edit ]

Syntax highlighting [ edit ].

Typing template names [ edit ]

With passwords, if you accidentally use a lowercase letter in place of an uppercase letter, you typically won’t be able to log in. In other words, passwords are case sensitive . This is usually the case (pun intended) with code as well, so your safest bet is to match the casing of template names.

However, the first letter of template names is case insensitive, so if you see code like {{my template}} and also {{My template}} , rest assured these are calls to the same template.

There is a method to this madness! Wikilinks (a link from one wiki page to another) behave the same way: [[my link]] and [[My link]] point to the same page. Both template calls and wikilinks refer to a page by its title (a template name is nothing but the title of the page where the template is located). In general, page titles are case sensitive except for the first letter, according to the default configuration of MediaWiki software. [13] [14]

Typing parameter names and values [ edit ]

With parameters, it’s helpful to be aware of casing and spacing:

• Parameter names are fully case-sensitive (including the first letter). In addition to using lowercase and uppercase letters, you can include spaces, hyphens, and numbers: my parameter my-parameter , and my parameter-2 are all valid parameter names. You may also use camel case if you prefer, as in myParameter .

In this case, space at the beginning and ends of parameter names and values, including space that separates parameters onto different lines, is stripped away before the page is rendered.

• In the case of unnamed parameters, space is preserved, so if you see an extra space somewhere in your output, that may be why. [15]

Finding templates [ edit ]

There are a variety of ways to find templates to use, or to adapt based on your needs. Let’s make sure you’re aware of some of them; if you bookmark this page, you can come back to it in case you forget anything. With each of these approaches, start by focusing on the wiki you’re working on, like Wikipedia or Wikiversity. If you don’t find anything, consider other wikis. MediaWiki templates can be copied between wikis, although as we’ll discuss, this may require extra work.

Note: Some of the approaches below refer to the advanced search interface . You can reach this interface by performing an empty wiki search: find the wiki search box at the top of any page and click the search button without entering any text.

• Option 1: Search for “category: templates” from the advanced search interface.
• Option 2: Look for a template index on your wiki, such as the Wikipedia template index or this list of Wikipedia template examples .
• Option 1: Scroll down and click “Templates used on this page,” below the editor.
• Option 2: Find the template call in the source; if it's {{My template}} , do a wiki search for Template:My template .
• Option 1: Search for template: box , template: message box , etc. from the advanced search interface.
• Option 2: Search for “Wikipedia box template,” “Wikipedia message box template,” etc. using a general web search provider.
• Option 1: Search for hastemplate: "My template" , from the search box on any wiki page, to see a list of pages that include the template. [16]
• Option 2: Click "What links here" in the wiki sidebar (under "Tools") while you're on the template page, to see a list of pages into which the template is transcluded. [17]

Creating templates [ edit ]

Publishing templates [ edit ].

Previously, we created a thank-you template in the so-called “User” namespace. [18] Consequently, we had to type out the sandbox’s full page name, including the User: prefix, when calling the template.

However, most templates are created in the “Template” namespace. This is done by creating a page with a name like “Template:My template.” We could call this template with the markup {{My template}} , since the Template: prefix is implied if none is specified.

Concept: Publishing a template

We can create templates like any other page:

Create the page " Template:My template " on this wiki!

• Click the red link to create the page. You can try this now. (Don’t worry. You’ll be taken to a page editor, and the page won’t actually be created until you click “Publish” at the bottom of the editor.)

Note: There are other ways to create pages. [20] One that is often recommended is to create a link to the page before it exists. That link will be red by default. Then you can proceed as above. This has the advantage of ensuring that the page you create will start out with at least one other page linking to it, providing context for the page and helping others to find it. However, templates are usually referenced with template calls in double braces {{}} , rather than wikilinks in double brackets [[]] . So, later in this tutorial, we’ll see how to create links to our templates by categorizing them, instead of manually linking to them.

Controlling inclusion [ edit ]

Documenting templates [ edit ], adapting templates [ edit ], naming templates [ edit ], categorizing templates [ edit ], adding features [ edit ], parameters [ edit ], magic words [ edit ], extensions [ edit ], adding design elements [ edit ], html [ edit ], css [ edit ], fixing mistakes [ edit ], testing templates in general [ edit ], testing new templates [ edit ], testing existing templates [ edit ], documenting tests [ edit ], moving templates [ edit ], resolving common issues [ edit ], purging [ edit ], readability [ edit ], empty vs. undefined [ edit ], section headings [ edit ], urls as parameter values [ edit ], modules, gadgets, and widgets, oh my [ edit ], is that all [ edit ], glossary [ edit ], endorsements [ edit ], see also [ edit ], related patterns [ edit ], external links [ edit ], references [ edit ].

• ↑ "Wikipedia:Template_sandbox_and_test_cases" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .  
• ↑ a b "Differences_between Wikipedia, Wikimedia, MediaWiki, and wiki" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .  
• ↑ "MediaWiki" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .  
• ↑ "We keep the servers going … and much more" . Wikimedia Foundation . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .  
• ↑ This learning pattern was created as part of the Eventmath midpoint report .
• ↑ "Help:Unified_login" . Wikimedia Meta-Wiki . Retrieved March 18, 2022 . User accounts are now global by default...  
• ↑ "Help:Wikitext" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:A_quick_guide_to_templates" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 18, 2022 . The language inside templates is the same language as regular wiki markup...  
• ↑ "Wikipedia:About the sandbox" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 18, 2022 . Call it anything, such as sandbox2 .  
• ↑ "Help:Template" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 20, 2022 . The prefix Template: before the template name is the default one and need not be included. However, for templates stored in other namespaces, the prefix, such as User: , must be specified. To transclude a page in mainspace , precede its title with a colon, as {{:Page name}} .  
• ↑ "Help:Substitution" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 21, 2022 . Generally speaking, templates are transcluded rather than substituted, although there are some that are specifically designed to be substituted.  
• ↑ "Help:Transclusion" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 21, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Manual:Page title" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 21, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Naming conventions (technical restrictions)" . Wikipedia: . Retrieved March 21, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:Template" . Wikipedia . Retrieved March 21, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:CirrusSearch" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 22, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:What links here" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 22, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:Namespaces" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 23, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:Links" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 23, 2022 .  
• ↑ "Help:Starting_a_new_page" . MediaWiki . Retrieved March 23, 2022 .  

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Posted on Jun 30, 2023

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

FREE RESOURCE

Biography Outline Template

Craft a satisfying story arc for your biography with our free template.

While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

Book Proposal Template

Craft a professional pitch for your nonfiction book with our handy template.

Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character arc to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

Which biography should you read next?

Discover the perfect biography for you. Takes 30 seconds!

When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

• Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
• Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
• Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

• Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
• Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
• Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
• Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in medias res , Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to self-publish your biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and self-edit your manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing software , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

Continue reading

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How to Write a Biography

Last Updated: April 13, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,861,004 times.

Writing a biography can be a fun challenge, where you are sharing the story of someone’s life with readers. You may need to write a biography for a class or decide to write one as a personal project. Once you have identified the subject of the biography, do your research so you know as much about them as possible. Then, dive into the writing of the biography and revising it until it is at its finest.

Researching Your Subject

• If the subject does not give you permission to write the biography, you may want to choose a different subject. If you decide to publish the biography without the subject’s permission, you may be susceptible to legal action by the subject.
• If the subject is no longer alive, you obviously do not need to ask permission to write about them.

• You may create research questions to help focus your research of the subject, such as, What do I find interesting about the subject? Why is this subject important to readers? What can I say that is new about the subject? What would I like to learn more about?

• For in person interviews, record them with a tape recorder or a voice recorder on your computer or phone.
• You may need to interview the subject and others several times to get the material you need.

• You may also want to visit areas where the subject made a major decision or breakthrough in their life. Being physically in the area can give you a sense of how the subject might have felt and help you write their experiences more effectively.

• When researching the time period ask yourself: What were the social norms of that time? What was going on economically and politically? How did the social and political climate affect the subject?

• You may also include historical events or moments that affected the subject on the timeline. For example, maybe there was a conflict or civil war that happened during the person’s life that affected their life.

Writing the Biography

• You may end up focusing on particular areas of the person’s life. If you do this, work through a particular period in the person’s life chronologically.

• For example, you may have a thesis statement about focusing on how the person impacted the civil rights movement in America in the 1970s. You can then make sure all your content relates back to this thesis.

• Flashbacks should feel as detailed and real as present day scenes. Use your research notes and interviews with the subject to get a good sense of their past for the flashbacks.
• For example, you may jump from the person’s death in the present to a flashback to their favorite childhood memory.

• For example, you may focus on the person’s accomplishments in the civil rights movement. You may write a whole section about their contributions and participation in major civil rights marches in their hometown.

• For example, you may notice that the person’s life is patterned with moments of adversity, where the person worked hard and fought against larger forces. You can then use the theme of overcoming adversity in the biography.

• For example, you may note how you see parallels in the person’s life during the civil rights movement with your own interests in social justice. You may also commend the person for their hard work and positive impact on society.

Polishing the Biography

• Revise the biography based on feedback from others. Do not be afraid to cut or edit down the biography to suit the needs of your readers.

• Having a biography riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can turn off your readers and result in a poor grade if you are handing in the text for a class.

• If the biography is for a class, use MLA , APA , or Chicago Style citations based on the preferences of your instructor.

Biography Help

Community Q&A

• Be careful when publishing private or embarrassing information, especially if the person is not a celebrity. You may violate their "Right of Privacy" or equivalent. Thanks Helpful 31 Not Helpful 5
• Have the sources to back up your statements about the subject's life. Untruthful written statements can lead to litigation. If it is your opinion, be clear that it is such and not fact (although you can support your opinion with facts). Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 15

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• ↑ http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
• ↑ https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-bio
• ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/3-tips-for-writing-successful-flashbacks
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-bio/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources

About This Article

Before you write a biography, gather as much information about the subject that you can from sources like newspaper articles, interviews, photos, existing biographies, and anything else you can find. Write the story of that person’s life, including as much supporting detail as you can, including information about the place and time where the person lived. Focus on major events and milestones in their life, including historical events, marriage, children, and events which would shape their path later in life. For tips from our reviewer on proofreading the biography and citing your sources, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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