Writing Biography

I want to write biographies. Not the cradle to the grave texts I’ve written (see my MLK book) or the scholarly ones I’ve done (see Embracing Literacy and Poetic Prose). I want to do this new (at least it’s new to me) stuff I’ve noticed in first adult biography and recently in young adult biography. It’s Malcolm Gladwell meets James Haskins. You have to have an angle.

Maybe an example will explain. I’m listening to Charles and Emma. The author could have written all about Charles Darwin and his important contributions to science and travel writing.

Well, guess what? She does, but she doesn’t take the traditional route.

Instead, she tells the story of Charles’ inchoate love for Emma, their subsequent marriage, and their strong bond until what I am guessing is death (I’m not quite done with the book.). This approach reels someone like me in. I’m a sucker for a good love story, so if you use relationships as your bait to teach me about science, I just might learn something! More importantly, I’m learning about technique.

I am nothing if I’m not a student, and if I have any gift at all, it is the gift of imitation.  Cynthia describes what I mean by this in her excellent post.

How does Deborah Heiligman do it? What if I reread the novel looking for disciplinary literacy? I’d look at the structure, her inclusion of letters, her description of Charles’ pro and con list about whether to get married, and, of course, voice. Books like this hold clues to help me see 1) what made the book grab my attention and 2) how I can compose an interesting biography of my own. Taking another look at Kim Nielsen’s piece might prove helpful too.

I have a subject I’d like to explore. I guess I’d better get back to the project I’m working on, so I can begin the new one sparked by Charles and Emma.