11
votes
In writing biographies how do you reference a change of last name?
In the absence of a clear and authoritative style guide you wish or need to follow, follow the clear guides below, which are derived from long experience in the Biography sections of libraries, where ...
9
votes
How to stop projecting yourself into your writing?
The self-insert doesn't have to be bad. It's just that most of the time when we see one, it's this perfect person with no flaws and perfect judgment. You of ten years ago might make the perfect choice ...
7
votes
Should I write 3 separate autobiographies?
If you want to describe one important event in one book, then that's not an autobiography; it's a memoir. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and you can certainly include information about ...
- 667
5
votes
My autobiography is exciting, but I'm an unknown. Should I make it a novel instead?
I have an additional possibility to consider: Get yourself better known.
Submit some of the episodes of your story to widely circulated magazines, especially magazines that serve the audience you ...
4
votes
What should I call a short book about my life?
It's called a memoir.
Memoir is a subset of autobiography, which is a subset of biography.
A biography is the story of someone's life. Autobiography is when you write your own biography.
Memoir is ...
- 32.4k
4
votes
Can I include a short biography of the person to whom my book is dedicated?
It sounds like you want to introduce your readers to one of your inspirations (since you said this person is connected to one of the characters in your book). This is sometimes done in a preface, as ...
- 21.4k
4
votes
Can I include a short biography of the person to whom my book is dedicated?
That is probably up to an editor or publisher. If by "short" you mean a few paragraphs that won't cost them printing any extra pages, it is possible they will not object. But they are profit driven ...
- 99.6k
4
votes
Accepted
How to stop projecting yourself into your writing?
Your problem appears to be twofold. By writing in this way you are projecting onto this character:
Your personality, and
Your background
Your character is limited by the decisions YOU would make in ...
- 1,944
4
votes
How to stop projecting yourself into your writing?
The simple answer is that it is impossible to avoid inserting aspects of your life into a story without having a lobotomy. And in the spirit of 'write what you know'. . . it's not like its a bad thing....
- 5,281
4
votes
My autobiography is exciting, but I'm an unknown. Should I make it a novel instead?
My personal opinion is to try sell it to an agent as an Autobiography first - but make the back cover matter interesting - so that someone who picks it up and reads the cover - even though they don't ...
- 264
4
votes
Bio on my father
I'm sorry about your father. I can tell that you're very devoted to him even now. He would probably be honored to know this.
I'm a student journalist; I interview a lot of people. I always walk in ...
- 493
3
votes
Show more not tell implementation in writing?
If the moments of that events are jumbled and chaotic, then write it down that way.
crashing sounds oh my god what just is that smoke? people running my heartrate starts to spike the ground is ...
3
votes
Show more not tell implementation in writing?
Use your imagination. I mean, your imagination should be informed by experiences you've actually had and remembered, but you expand and explore and combine these experiences using your imagination, ...
- 12.9k
3
votes
My autobiography is exciting, but I'm an unknown. Should I make it a novel instead?
You might benefit from clarifying the difference between an autobiography and a memoir. There are many articles on these topics on the Internet. They might help you find an answer. Autobiographies ...
- 31
3
votes
My autobiography is exciting, but I'm an unknown. Should I make it a novel instead?
Many famous authors have made their names on lightly fictionalized versions of their own lives. This is called autobiographical fiction, and it underlies books from To Kill a Mockingbird and David ...
- 56.5k
3
votes
In writing biographies how do you reference a change of last name?
The classic way to do this was, “Mary Smith (née Jones).” These days, most well-known women use one name throughout their careers. It’s also more acceptable than it used to be to refer to someone—...
- 1,586
2
votes
Should I write 3 separate autobiographies?
An autobiography will generally tell your whole life up till now, you wouldn't write a whole book for a single event.
Furthermore, you'll want to include more than just three events if you're going ...
- 3,537
2
votes
Bio on my father
It sounds like your father was a public person. In that case, you have to ask yourself what you're really prepared to find out about him. If all you want is to get boilerplate encomiums, then it doesn'...
- 3,267
2
votes
Can I write about an old and real person that is strongly related to a company?
Under the laws of the UK and countries whose legal system is derived from English Common Law, which includes the United States, the dead cannot be libelled. So in those countries using this man as a ...
- 2,941
2
votes
Accepted
Autobiography vs Perspective
You can claim it is anything you want; you are writing a fantasy about an inanimate object that can cogitate, observe its surroundings, etc.
I would consider it no different than a first-person tale ...
- 99.6k
2
votes
Is there a term that describes a written work that includes narrative in addition to scientific and historical information?
I'm writing this as an answer because I don't have enough reputation to comment.
What you're describing to me sounds like a blend of literary journalism (the research part) and memoir (personal story)...
- 121
2
votes
What should I call a short book about my life?
First of all, is this a short autobiography? Or a work of fiction with a protagonist based on yourself? In the first case, I would jsut call it a short autobiography.
If this is to be fiction, than ...
- 4,337
2
votes
Accepted
How do I go about writing a biographical account of my father?
It sounds like you want to write a memoir of your father.
The advantage of writing a memoir is that there is no expectation of academic research or factual accuracy; it is a compilation of personal ...
- 1,895
2
votes
What are the copyright laws on writing books about living artists?
A person does not have a copyright on his or her own life. Anyone may write a biography of a person, or a story about that person, whether aimed at an adult audience or at any other age group, and no ...
- 4,337
1
vote
I am an author that wrote a biography on a singer. Do I need to get permission to turn the book into a screenplay?
There are three possibilities:
Your contract addresses this issue. Follow it. If you're not sure, ask a lawyer.
Your contract does not address this issue. Go ask for permission.
You somehow wrote ...
- 32.4k
1
vote
I am an author that wrote a biography on a singer. Do I need to get permission to turn the book into a screenplay?
IANAL but you really need to check what your contract for the biography says: you might hold the license to make the biography, but you do not hold the copyright to the life of the singer. You might ...
- 1,048
1
vote
Writing an autobiographical science fiction
There are basically three approaches to this:
1) Present fiction as autobiography: In other words, write whatever you want, but in the first person, optionally as a character with your name.
2) ...
- 56.5k
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