While much of content writing focuses on marketing and information, there’s a deeply human and often overlooked segment: personal texts. These include biographies, memoirs, personal letters, eulogies, dedications, and even heartfelt speeches. Unlike corporate content, personal texts aim to capture emotion, preserve memories, or convey a deeply individual message. Mastering this form requires empathy, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to find the authentic voice of the subject or writer.
1. Understanding the Purpose and Audience
Before you write, clarify why this text is being created and for whom. This dictates your tone, style, and the details you include.
- Biographies/Memoirs: The purpose is to tell a life story or a significant period of a life.
- Audience: Can be broad (for publication) or narrow (for family legacy).
- Goal: To inform, inspire, entertain, or preserve history.
- Personal Letters: To communicate directly with one or a few individuals.
- Audience: Specific recipient(s).
- Goal: To express gratitude, love, sympathy, congratulations, or to share news.
- Eulogies/Speeches: To honor someone or convey a personal message to a group.
- Audience: A specific gathering (e.g., funeral attendees, wedding guests).
- Goal: To memorialize, celebrate, persuade, or entertain.
Understanding these distinctions helps you tailor the message and ensures it resonates appropriately with its intended readers or listeners.
2. The Art of Gathering Information: Research and Interviewing
Personal texts are built on facts, memories, and emotions. Effective information gathering is paramount.
- For Biographies/Memoirs:
- Interviews: Conduct in-depth interviews with the subject and those close to them (family, friends, colleagues). Ask open-ended questions about pivotal moments, challenges, triumphs, lessons learned, and defining characteristics. Record these sessions (with permission) for accuracy.
- Archival Research: Delve into old letters, journals, photographs, news clippings, family documents, school records, and any other historical artifacts. These provide concrete details and context.
- Contextual Research: Research the historical, social, and cultural backdrop of the subject’s life. What major events happened during their lifetime? How did they influence the subject?
- For Letters/Speeches:
- Direct Input: If writing for someone else, gather specific anecdotes, feelings, and key messages they want to convey. Understand their relationship with the recipient or audience.
- Memory Mining: For personal letters or eulogies, reflect on shared experiences, unique quirks, significant contributions, and core values of the person or relationship. What details will truly resonate?
Key Principle: Focus on showing, not just telling. Instead of saying “he was kind,” tell a story about a specific act of kindness.
3. Finding and Maintaining the Authentic Voice
The soul of any personal text lies in its voice. Whether it’s the subject’s voice in a biography or the sender’s voice in a letter, authenticity is non-negotiable.
- For Ghostwritten Biographies/Memoirs:
- Listen Intently: Pay close attention to the subject’s unique way of speaking during interviews. Note their vocabulary, sentence structure, common phrases, and humor.
- Analyze Existing Materials: Read any existing writings (emails, old letters, previous articles) by the subject to get a feel for their natural prose.
- Embody the Persona: Practice writing in their voice. It’s an acting exercise – imagine being them as you write. The goal is for the final text to sound genuinely like the credited author.
- For Letters/Speeches (when writing for yourself or another):
- Authentic Emotion: Allow genuine emotion to guide your words, but then refine them for clarity and impact.
- Relationship-Specific Tone: A letter to a best friend will differ wildly from a formal letter of recommendation, even if both are personal. Adjust your formality, humor, and intimacy.
4. Structuring Personal Narratives
Even personal texts benefit from a clear structure to ensure coherence and impact.
- Biographies/Memoirs:
- Chronological: The most common structure, following a timeline from birth to present.
- Thematic: Organize by key themes or chapters of life (e.g., “The Entrepreneur,” “The Family Man”).
- Non-Linear: Start with a dramatic event or a significant turning point, then weave in flashbacks to provide context. This grabs attention but requires skillful execution.
- Key Elements: Introduction (hook), body paragraphs (chronological events, thematic discussions, anecdotes), and conclusion (legacy, future outlook, summary of life’s impact).
- Letters:
- Standard Format: Date, salutation, body paragraphs (opening, main message, closing), closing, signature.
- Clarity: Get to the point politely and clearly.
- Personal Touch: Include specific details or inside jokes relevant to the recipient.
- Eulogies/Speeches:
- Opening Hook: Start with a relatable anecdote or a powerful statement that captures attention and introduces the subject.
- Body (Themes/Anecdotes): Weave together stories, qualities, and contributions. Focus on 2-3 key themes or characteristics.
- Call to Action/Reflection: Encourage remembrance, offer comfort, or inspire action.
- Closing: A heartfelt farewell or summary statement.
Tip: For biographies, start with an outline. For letters and speeches, jot down bullet points of what you want to say before crafting sentences.
5. Crafting Compelling Language and Detail
The magic of personal texts lies in the details and the beauty of the language.
- Sensory Details: Engage the reader’s senses. What did it look, sound, smell, taste, or feel like? Instead of “she cooked,” say “the aroma of her slow-cooked stew filled the tiny kitchen.”
- Show, Don’t Tell: Instead of telling readers a person was “brave,” describe a moment where they demonstrated courage.
- Specific Anecdotes: Personal texts thrive on stories. Short, vivid anecdotes illustrate personality, relationships, and life lessons far better than abstract statements.
- Figurative Language (Use Sparingly): Metaphors, similes, and imagery can add depth and beauty, but don’t overdo it. The language should serve the story, not distract from it.
- Emotional Resonance: Don’t shy away from emotion, but handle it with care. Allow the reader to feel the emotion through your descriptions, rather than explicitly stating “I was sad.”
- Conciseness: Every word should earn its place. Edit ruthlessly to remove unnecessary words or phrases that dilute the message.
6. The Editing and Revision Process
Personal texts often require a more sensitive and thorough editing process.
- Multiple Drafts: Don’t expect perfection in the first draft. Focus on getting the story down, then refine.
- Read Aloud: This helps catch awkward phrasing, repetitive sentences, and ensures the text flows naturally, especially for speeches.
- Check for Accuracy: For biographies, verify all facts, dates, and names. Inaccuracies can undermine credibility.
- Seek Trusted Feedback: Ask a trusted friend, family member, or editor to review the text. They can offer an objective perspective on clarity, tone, and emotional impact.
- Ensure Tone Consistency: Does the voice remain authentic throughout? Are there any jarring shifts in tone?
- Respect Boundaries (Especially for Ghostwriting): Understand that clients might have sensitivities or changes related to personal details. Be prepared to revise based on their feedback.
Writing biographies, letters, and other personal texts is a privileged role that allows you to connect with the human experience on a profound level. It demands not just writing skill, but also deep empathy, keen observation, and the ability to articulate the intangible essence of a life, a relationship, or a moment. By dedicating yourself to authentic voice, precise detail, and thoughtful structure, you can craft truly memorable and impactful personal narratives that resonate long after they are read or heard.