How to Write a Presidential Biography

Presidents are among the most revered people in America and there are biographies written on all of them. Presidential biographies require an extreme amount of research that can often be difficult if you are writing about a past president from a different era. Use these steps to learn more about biographies and how to write a presidential biography.

Instructions

1. Pick a president. Whether you are choosing randomly or have a favorite president you want to know more about, the process will be similar, but before you even begin you need to have a president in mind you want to write a biography on.

2. Research. Research is the key to any written piece of material and is especially important to biographies. Depending on the era of the president, you will have different mediums in which to research. This should include newspapers, television, other videos, press releases, information available from the White House and government, interviews with friends and family and lots of pictures.

3. Find an angle. Even though a biography is about an individual and what they have been through or accomplished in their life time, there still needs to be focus to the biography. Show their reign as president, tough childhood or after-office career and pick all the nuggets out of your research to support this angle.

4. Make them human. The average person can have a hard time relating to someone of such stature as a president. Include elements of their lives that make them more human and easier to relate to. Talk about incidents from their childhood or about a young romance and a broken heart, things that everyone can relate to.

5. Keep it real. Biographies by definition are true stories. Keep the information factual, but written in the form of fiction so it is easier to read. If you are unsure about some facts, re-check them or find someone who can validate them for you before including them in the biography.