Mine for a Gem of a Bio: Part One

You’re writing your (author, speaker, business) bio but can’t seem to get past the required basics—name, credentials, and so on—without sounding like your nothing but a flat-lined résumé. For example: “(Author's name) is a (name of occupation), a (name of hobby), and (parental and/or marital status), who, according to this bio, is beige, tepid, and annoyingly modest.” What can you do about this? Go mining for new words that add color, heat, and a pinch of pride to your bio.

My writer’s group of eight women set out to mine “bio” words for our anthology A Room Of Her Own. None of us felt comfortable describing/praising ourselves, so we decided we’d do that for each other. We made a list of questions that everyone answered for all eight writers (including ourselves):

• If someone wrote a biography about her, what would its title be?
• What is her writing style?
• What color describes her or her writing?
• What dance style best describes her?

We then used our lists to write our own bios. A few results: “Debra tangos between the vermilion of raw living and the chantilly of old-fashioned nostalgia.” “Sherri is a waltz of ever-changing autumn hues, writing from the heart her caring for nature and for Earth as a whole.” “Jennifer’s poetry offers the surprise of the soft spoken, which can suddenly turn into a lively sprite-trip for the senses.” Colorful and fun!

You can come up with all sorts of questions to ask your miners (they don’t have to be writers, just people who know you), such as:

• What fabric describes her speaking voice?
• What's the first thing you think of when she enters a room?
• What fruits do her speeches bring to mind?
• What type of shoe is she?
• What make or model of car describes her writing?

You’ll find it’s great creative fun to go word mining; it’s even more fun when others describe your work as wonderful -- even if you won’t say so yourself.

Faye Quam Heimerl, © 2009

Faye Quam Heimerl of Quam Editorial will customize bio questions guaranteed help you mine the jewels of who you are to create a sparkling bio. Contact Faye at Faye@QuamEditorial.com or call 303.505.3530.