There are many reasons why people would want to write an account of their lives or the lives of others who have been important or influential to them in some way. These long winter evenings are a good time to reminisce about life, family, friends, challenges and adventures, loves and losses. We have just passed Remembrance Day on November 11th, and as the years pass descendants of the men and women who served in both World Wars may want to find ways to preserve their legacy. Perhaps there is an unsung hero in someone's life now or the recent past who they would love to acknowledge. On the other hand having lived a challenging or adventurous life and sharing that account can be a great way of passing on insight or inspiring others.
There are some important differences between biography, autobiography and memoir. There is also a genre called life-writing which shares aspects of these but the purpose and approach in life-writing can be quite different.
A biography is a detailed description of a person's life and requires accurate research of records, interviews with the subject, their family and friends, work colleagues, and media articles. Writing a biography is more than a compilation of the facts gathered from research - it also tells a story. A biographical treatment of a person will highlight various aspects of the subjects life, including details that have not been widely known and an insight into their personality, achievements and motivations. To get feel for biography check out some great titles here.
An autobiography (from the Greek, αὐτός-autos self + βίος-bios life + γράφειν-graphein to write) simply put is a self-written account of the life of oneself. Where autobiography is based on research, autobiography can be based entirely on the writer's own memory and interpretation of their life. However to keep the readers interest, like biography, autobiography requires attention to the story-it should strive to have some motive and purpose. Autobiographies can be serious, comic, sad or educational and inspirational, and often some element of all of these make for the best reads. Here's a list of some of the most influential biographies and if you want to have a go at writing your autobiography check out these tips for getting started.
Life-Writing and memoir includes aspects of both biography and autobiography but is somewhat broader. Life-writing is a personal exploration of the self. Life-writing and memoir are more fluid than biography and autobiography and tend to focus on a particular aspect of the writers life and their thoughts about it. Life-writing can often represent the writers attempts to understand their life and times and are often mapped in the from of journals and diaries. The Oxford Centre of Life-Writing gives a good explanation of the methods and breadth of uses of life writing. Visit the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing here.
There are some important differences between biography, autobiography and memoir. There is also a genre called life-writing which shares aspects of these but the purpose and approach in life-writing can be quite different.
A biography is a detailed description of a person's life and requires accurate research of records, interviews with the subject, their family and friends, work colleagues, and media articles. Writing a biography is more than a compilation of the facts gathered from research - it also tells a story. A biographical treatment of a person will highlight various aspects of the subjects life, including details that have not been widely known and an insight into their personality, achievements and motivations. To get feel for biography check out some great titles here.
An autobiography (from the Greek, αὐτός-autos self + βίος-bios life + γράφειν-graphein to write) simply put is a self-written account of the life of oneself. Where autobiography is based on research, autobiography can be based entirely on the writer's own memory and interpretation of their life. However to keep the readers interest, like biography, autobiography requires attention to the story-it should strive to have some motive and purpose. Autobiographies can be serious, comic, sad or educational and inspirational, and often some element of all of these make for the best reads. Here's a list of some of the most influential biographies and if you want to have a go at writing your autobiography check out these tips for getting started.
Life-Writing and memoir includes aspects of both biography and autobiography but is somewhat broader. Life-writing is a personal exploration of the self. Life-writing and memoir are more fluid than biography and autobiography and tend to focus on a particular aspect of the writers life and their thoughts about it. Life-writing can often represent the writers attempts to understand their life and times and are often mapped in the from of journals and diaries. The Oxford Centre of Life-Writing gives a good explanation of the methods and breadth of uses of life writing. Visit the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing here.
