Writing Creative Nonfiction:

The Profile/Biography Sketch

Friday, August-02-13
Dave Hood
A profile is not a biography or autobiography. The profile is a biography sketch, providing details of
the person’s character, an overview of the person’s life story, and highlights of the person’s
achievements and accomplishments. When the writer crafts a profile, the writer makes “some
person” the focus of the story. The writer can profile a stranger or someone he/she knows well. The
writer can also profile someone ordinary, such as a teacher, or priest, or police officer, or someone
extraordinary, like Margaret Atwood, David Hockney, or Steve Jobs. For instance, in the November
11, 2011 edition of The New Yorker magazine, writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote a profile on Steve
Jobs called “The Tweaker: the real genius of Steve Jobs.”
Before writing a profile, the writer must answer the question “Who is this person?” If the writer knows
the person, the writer will rely on memory and observation and personal experience to write the
profile. For instance, Charles Simic wrote a profile about his uncle called “Dinner at Uncle Boris,”
which is based on a dinner at his uncle’s home. If the writer doesn’t know the person, the writer will
conduct research, interviewing the person, visiting various places where the person works, lives,
socializes, observing the person in their daily life, reading books, articles, and other material on the
person.
A good profile includes telling details, dialogue, and storytelling. The writer will also use scene,
summary, and personal reflection. A good profile is also interesting, profiles someone new,
encourages the reader to think more about the person. A good profile informs, educates, and
entertains readers. Some profiles have a serious tone, and other have a humorous tone.
In this article, I’ll discuss how to write a profile or biography sketch. The following will be covered:

 Definition of a profile
 Types of profiles
 Gathering material to write the profile
 Writing the profile
 Additional resources to learn more about writing a profile

Definition of a Profile
A profile is not a book-length biography, which is an in-depth description of the life and times of
another person. Nor is the profile a book-length autobiography, which involves writing about one’s
own life. The profile is usually only a few pages and published in magazines or newspapers as an
essay. The writer can profile someone he/she knows or a stranger. As well, the writer can profile
someone ordinary or extraordinary. Sometimes the profile is about the good guy. The writer profiles
a person who wants to achieve or accomplish something worthy. Perhaps the amateur athlete
dreams about winning a gold medal at the Olympics, or the starving artist desires to achieve fame
and fortune, or the writer aspires to write the next bestseller.
Some profiles are about “the villain.” In the September 24th, 2012 edition of the New Yorker,
Malcolm Gladwell writes a profile about child molesters called “In Plain View: How Child Molesters
Get Away with It.”” In the essay, Gladwell narrates two stories about pedophiles, to illustrate how the
sexual predator uses “trust” to create the opportunity to abuse a child.
The writer will include details about the person’s private life, psyche, and public world. The inner
world deals with the person’s thoughts, feelings, opinions, views of other people. In writing about the
outer world, the writer identifies some of the important setbacks and obstacles, as well as the
significant accomplishments and achievements.
The writer can profile someone he/she knows or a stranger. If the person knows the person he/she
will profile, the writer can create the profile from memories, observations, and personal experience.
To write a profile about a stranger, the writer must have access to the person. Having access allows
the writer to interview and to observe the person at work and at play. The writer will also interview
family, friends, and work associates.
Sometimes a portrait isn’t based on an interview but a conversation. For instance, Charles Simic
wrote a profile called “Dinner at Uncle Boris,” which is based on a dinner and evening conversation
with his uncle. He includes humour, telling details, dialogue, scene and summary, and personal
reflection to construct the portrait of his uncle.
The good profile of a public person answer several questions, including:

 Why is the writer profiling the person?

 What is unique about the person?
 What is significant about the person?
 What are the person’s achievements or accomplishments?
 What obstacles or setbacks did the person have to overcome?
 Why is the person in the news or public consciousness?
 Does the writer likes the person? Dislike the person? Why?

The best profiles answer the question ” Who is this person? Unfortunately, people perform many
roles, such as husband, breadwinner, parent, and so the writer will not be able to write a complete
profile. No matter how much research the writer completes, the writer will never know the person
completely, because people have darks sides they don’t share and personalities traits that aren’t
always revealed.

Types of Profiles
In “Telling True Stories,” writer Jacqui Banaszynski, in his essay “Profile,” identifies three types of
profiles:

 Cradle-to-Current Profile. It is a profile about the person’s entire life, up to the present. The
writer invests a great deal of time in researching, writing, and fact checking.

 Niche Profile. It is a profile that is 1,000 words or less, and can be written in a short period of
time. The writer composes a profile about someone in the news. This type of profile includes
relevant background information. For instance, if the writer is crafting a profile about a person
who won a Pulitzer for Literature, the writer would include education and previously published
works. But biography details about place of birth and early education would not be relevant.
Instead the writer focuses on “telling details.”
  Paragraph Profile. This type of profile is brief, providing essential details about
accomplishments or achievements, and the person’s significance to the story. It is a paragraph
or two, and part of a larger story.

Gathering Material for the Profile

Before writing the profile, you must gather material about the person. Your goal is to answer the
question “Who is this person?” Here are a few ways to answer the question:
Begin by searching the Internet to find out what else has been written about the person. Start by
completing a Google search. By reading what other writers have written, you can obtain a general
sense of the person, such as their level of education, work accomplishments, interests, tastes,
reason for being in the news.
Interview the person you are profiling and other people who know the person, such as friends
and family. As well, interview subject matter experts. For instance, to get related information about
being a stunt pilot, writer Annie Dillard collected quotes from a pilot who as a crop duster
In the interview, what sorts of questions should you ask? Here are a few suggestions:

1. What are the events or moments that shaped your life?

2. What are your biggest accomplishments and achievements?
3. What are you afraid of?
4. What is your biggest regret?
5. What setbacks or obstacles have you faced?
6. What motivates you?
7. What are your fears and worries?
8. What do you value?

In addition, you should try to observe the person at work or in their natural habitat. For
instance, before Anne Dillard wrote, “Stunt Pilot,” a profile about a stunt pilot. She watched the, Dave
Rahm, the pilot fly his plane. She writes:”Rahm did everything his plane could do: tailspins, four-
point rolls, flat spins, figure eights, snap rolls, and hammerheads.” (You can read this profile in
Creative Nonfiction: A Guide to Form, Content, and Style with Readings by Eileen Pollack)
If the person is deceased, you can sometimes uncover their inner world of the person by reading
their diaries, journals, letters, Facebook profiles and other social media.
Immerse yourself in the experience. Before writing the sketch about Dave Rahm, the stunt pilot,
Dillard immersed herself in the experience of flying by taking a seat in the plane and flying as
Rahm’s passenger. She writes: “Later I flew with Dave Rahm; he took me up…We flew from a
bumpy grass airstrip near the house…We were over the clouds at five hundred feet and inside them
too…”
If the person is a well-known public figure, you can read a biography about the person. If the
person has written their own autobiography, make sure you read it.
How do you know when to stop researching? You must continue to research until you have
sufficient “telling details” to write a profile that’s compelling. Your goal is to create a revealing,
interesting, and entertaining profile.

Writing the Profile

Many of the best profiles are written as narratives. The writer crafts true story involving a central
character. For instance, Charles Simic, In “Dinner at Uncle Boris,” profiles his uncle, writing a story
about a dinner conversation. Annie Dillard, in “The Stunt Pilot,” profiles a pilot flying a stunt plane.
To write a profile, follow these suggestions:
Structure
Structure the profile using the narrative arc. It includes:

 Inciting incident
 Conflict, such as setbacks or obstacles
 Turning point and climax
 Resolution or end of the story

Developing Character
To reveal character, use the fictional methods of characterization. These include:

 Dialogue. Use interviews or immersion to capture interesting quotes of the person you are
profiling. Use these quotes in your profile.
 Description of Appearance. Observe the person you are writing about. Make note of their
physical appearance, including hair style, clothing, gestures, hygiene, and so forth. Use
concrete, particular, significant details to describe the person.
 Dramatic action. Show what the person does, their actions and reactions, in the narrative.

Point of View
Use both the first person POV(“I”) and third person (“he/she”). For instance, in the profile “The Stunt
Pilot,” Dillard uses third-person POV to write the narrative of the pilot flying in the sky, performing his
daredevil stunts, and to provide narrative summary. She begins: “Dave Rahm lived in Bellingham,
Washington, north of Seattle…Dave Rahm was a stunt pilot.” She shifts to first person POV (“I”) to
share personal reflections about the stunt pilot.

Scene, Summary, and Personal Reflection

Use a scene to recreate important events. A scene always includes setting details, dramatic action,
vivid description, dialogue, and POV. Use summary to “tell” or explain. Use personal reflection to
express your views about the person, sharing your own thoughts, feelings, opinion, emotional truth.
Vivid Descriptions
To reconstruct setting and events and people, use sensory details, writing descriptions of what you
see, hear, smell, taste, touch.
Don’t include every detail. Instead use “telling details.” These are concrete, significant, particular
details, which reveal deeper meaning than their descriptions.
Facts not Fiction
Don’t fabricate dialogue or events. This is writing fiction. As well, complete fact-checking.
Writing Style
Follow the advice in “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser and “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and
White. As well, read “The Writer’s Portable Mentor” by Pricilla Long.
Revision
The first draft is never your best work. Always revise the draft, completing a macro-edit (structure,
tone, elements of fiction, POV) and micro-edit (grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice,
sentence patterns).

A Few Tips for Writing a Profile

Here are a few tips for writing a profile or biography sketch:

1. Select a person to profile, and then begin with an interesting question you want to
answer. If you are going to profile someone you know, mine your memory, observe the person
in real life, and write about some significant event. (In Dillard’s profile, she answers “what it is
like to be a stunt pilot?”) If the person is unknown, collect your material by researching the
person.
2. Before interviewing, have a list of open-ended questions you want to ask. These require
the person being interviewed to respond with more than just “yes” or “no.”
3. After doing the research, decide on an approach. How are you going to begin? With a
scene? With a quotation? With a question? Before writing, outline your story. making a list of
all the important points you want to write about.
4. Always focus on what is significant or compelling. What is surprising? What is important?
Any secrets? Oddities? Peculiarities? Contributions to society? What is their legacy?
5. Show and tell your reader. You tell the reader by explaining and summarizing. You show the
reader by writing in scenes. For any significant event, write a scene.
6. Include dialogue. A good profile includes dialogue, revealing some personality trait.
7. Include telling details. A good profile includes vivid description, revealing some personality
trait.
8. Don’t create one-dimensional portraits or profiles. Every person has a dark side. Every
person has attributes you don’t admire. Share these telling details with the reader.
9. Your subject is living an epic. In other words, the profile fits into a larger story about life.
Consider the larger story as you write.
10. Every story has a theme, a universal truth, shared meaning. For instance, Steve Jobs was
one of the great inventors and innovators. He was a visionary who reshaped communication,
use of leisure time, and everyday life with digital technologies.

Additional Reading
For more information on writing a profile or biography sketch, read the following:

 Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction, (2nd Edition) by Brenda
Miller and Suzanne Paola
 Writing True by Sondra Perl and Mimi Schwartz
 Creative Nonfiction : A Guide to Form, Content, and Style with Readings by Eileen Pollack
 To Tell the Truth: Practise and Craft in Narrative Nonfiction by Connie D. Griffin
 You Can’t Make This Stuff: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative nonfiction from Memoir to
Literary Journalism and Everything In Between Up by Lee Gutkind
 Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writer’ Guide, edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call
 On Writing Well by William Zinsser
 The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
 The Writer’s Personal Mentor by Priscilla Long
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