Learning The Art Of Biography Writing: Lessons From The Best

The Art Of Biography Writing is a special panel where we spoke with two acclaimed authors, Bachi Karkaria and Sonu Bhasin. They gave us insights into the effort that goes into writing a biography and what kind of biographies they like to read as readers.

A biography is the life of a person seen from a third person's perspective that gives a new dimension to the story. Writing a biography is an art. The two stalwarts talk about their recent books and the process of writing.

The Art Of Writing Biography With Bachi Karkaria and Sonu Bhasin

Changes In Biography Writing Over Years

While talking about the changes that biography writing has witnessed over years, Bachi Karkaria says that it is not the art that has changed but the types of biographies written have changed. She says that the ultimate goal of a writer is to bring life to the character and that there is a pattern that leads to it. She agrees that commissioned biographies have changed over time and have become more like stories.

Karkaria says that the ultimate goal of fiction and non-fiction is to tell the story and that is what is important. Karkaria’s recently published Capture The Dream: The Many Lives of Captain CP Krishnan Nair.

What Readers Look For In A Biography?

Sonu Bhasin says that when she is picking a biography to read, she looks for a story. She looks for a story and some masala, generally found in foreign biographies rather than Indian. It should be engaging, there should be a good human story without anything like lessons or teachings. Masala, she clarifies is the incidents and anecdotes that give insight into personal lives and a different side of the person. Bhasin is a family business historian who recently published the book titled Gujarmal Modi: The Resolute Industrialist.

The Missing Masala In Indian Biographies

Karkaria says that she had introduced some masala in the form of sexual escapades and business in both her biographies, Dare To Dream and Capture A Dream. She says that Indian biographies miss the masala, which is often present in foreign ones, probably in a bid to protect the image or respect the authority of the person being talked.

Sonu Bhasin's latest book is the first part of her book series, Entrepreneurs Who Built India. This is the biography of the founder of Modi Nagar, Rai Bahadur Gujar Mal Modi.

Maintaining The Neutrality Of Biographies

Bhasin believes that a biography should be free of the author's personal biases as then it becomes a viewpoint and not a story. However, she puts her point of view strongly in the introduction of the book and not in the story where she acts just like a narrator.

The Correct Portrayal Of Person In a Biography 

Talking from a reader's point of view, Karkaria says that while reading a book, she depends entirely on the biographer and his research. Whether reading about known or unknown personalities, she does not want to read things that she already knows about the person, she looks for unknown facts and incidents. She says that it is very important for the writer to put in his thorough research in the story. "Whether it is a biography or whether it is another piece of non-fiction, it becomes into a work that stands by itself and I think as a reader, that's what I want to know," she says.

Role Of Gender In The Art Of Biography Writing

For Bhasin, the gender of the author has nothing to do with the gender of the subject of the book. It does not matter if a woman is writing about the life of a man. What matters according to her is the chemistry between the subject and the author. She said that if she does not like the person in their first meeting, there is no way she can write a whole book about him and hence, it is important to have some chemistry and understanding.

Mentioning Non-Public Facts About The Person

Bhasin says that she is a storyteller and she is expected to provide a balanced view to the audience that has positive and negative aspects equally.

Karkaria and Bhasin both agree on the fact that it is not pleasing to read biographies that portray the person as a saint-like figure who has done only good things in life. They want to read about real people and not whitewashed facts.

Biographies About Women

As a writer of business biographies, Bhasin says that there are very less women-led businesses or successful businesswomen and hence, there are hardly any biographies on them. The lack of matriarchs in the business world leads to fewer women being the subject of a biography. Karkaria, however, believes that there are a lot of inspiring women whose histories are yet to be explored. And one thing is for sure, that if a man's reputation has to be maintained while writing a biography, a women's one would have to be protected more to avoid writing anything that might come as inappropriate to her family and near ones.

You can watch the discussion ">here.

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