Memoir Vs. Biography: Know the Key Differences Between Both

memoir vs. biography know the key differences between both

Before we dive right into the debate of memoir vs. biography, it is imperative to understand what each type of content writing means. While they both fall under nonfictional storytelling, some key differentiators exist between memoir and biography. In this article, we will unravel how each type of these writing has unique qualities. It will be beneficial for you to have a clear idea of memoir vs. biography to ensure your writing is appropriate for each type.

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Memoir Vs. Biography

What is a Memoir?

Instead of just giving the facts about their life, a memoir focuses on reflection and creating an emotional connection. In order to tell a personal and dynamic story about the intimate or public events in their lives, the author draws on their own experience. The subject is deliberately narrowed down, and the author’s biography and life timeline are not included unless they are significant and helpful to the plot. Most memoirs are written in the first-person perspective.

What is Biography?

what is biography

A biography is simply an account of the life of an actual person. It may concern someone who is currently alive, someone who lived centuries ago, who is well-known throughout the world, an unsung hero lost to history, or even a special group of people. Life-changing events frequently take center stage as the author recounts the details of such lives. To paint a complete picture of the subject, the author frequently discusses the subject’s upbringing, relationships, failures, and successes.

Benefits: Memoir Vs. Biography

Memoirs:

  • It leaves behind a meaningful legacy for generations to feel connected to.
  • Since the early 60s, psychologists have been studying the advantages of recalling life with severely depressed patients, rape victims, and traumatized soldiers, with encouraging results.
  • Adds meaning to life.
  • You can learn about cultures, traditions, and sentiments towards certain subjects.

Biography:

  • Reading about a successful or remarkable person’s true story can inspire, influence, or give encouragement.
  • Reading about a successful person’s life can impart valuable life lessons.
  • Helps you gain a deeper comprehension of a historical era. Investigates a historical figure’s accomplishments and describe their significance to the past and impact on future events.

Difference Between Memoir and Biography

difference between memoir and biography

MemoirBiography
FocusParticular experienceLifespan
PerceptionA specific perception or point of view of an individual.Does not consist of a particular perception.
EmotionEmphasis on individual emotionsBased on Facts
WriterIndividual themselvesA third person

While biographies Revolve Around the Author’s Entire Life, Memoirs Only Cover A Part of The Author’s Life

When comparing memoir vs. biography, other than some exceptional cases, a biography generally aims to be comprehensive, whereas a memoir does not. While some aspects of the biography will receive more attention than others, most of life is typically covered. Memoirists frequently ignore or only briefly summarize the rest of their life while focusing on a particularly significant or fascinating period. Sometimes they will pick a theme or subject and share anecdotes from various aspects of their lives to illustrate its significance to them.

Biographies Are Focused on Famous Individuals, While Memoirs Are Focused on The Subject or Theme

It’s important to understand the psyche behind memoir vs. biography. People who want to learn more about a significant historical figure may read their biography. The desire to learn about a person who influenced American history is probably the main driver, though they may also have heard it’s exceptionally interesting and well-written.

On the other hand, readers who want to read about food, weight, and body image might choose Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body. They might also be drawn to Gay’s online essays and want to read more of her writing. The motivation, in this case, is less about the individual as a historical or cultural figure and more about the subject and style.

Biographies Only Include influential figures who had an impact; However, This Is Not the Case in Memoirs

Nelson Mandela’s biography, Long Walk to Freedom, is an excellent example of a significant individual whose personal account of his life matters due to who he was and everything he accomplished. The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr is a memoir, but it’s not about a famous person; it’s about a regular person’s childhood. Although she had a particularly eventful childhood, it doesn’t stand out because of her fame. Memoirists do occasionally become famous, but typically it’s because they write memoirs.

As A Rule, Biographies Are Written in The Past Tense, Whereas Memoirs Frequently Jump Around in Time

Readers anticipate a biography to start with the author’s childhood or perhaps even the author’s parents’ lives, move through their adolescence and middle age, and end when the book was written. Nonetheless, a memoir vs. biography often treats time much more leniently. For example, Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries has a structure that is more concerned with theme than chronology and jumps around in time. The book ends with a sense of the significant occasions in Mailhot’s life, though not necessarily in that order.

Memoir Focuses More on The Author’s Interiority and Personal Experience, but Biography Places A Greater Emphasis on Facts and How the Writer Fits in History

Biographies are sometimes regarded as a type of history, and historians use them as primary sources for their research. While both memoir vs. biography have the potential to contain factual errors, the risks are greater for the biographer making notes from history unless they were present at the crucial moments in history. Personalities in biography vs. memoir have historical importance, increasing the book’s importance.

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Autobiography and Biography: Differences and Similarities

Autobiography and Biography Differences, Similarities and Definition

Biographies and autobiographies are two classic styles of writing that showcase a person’s character description and life experience. Biography is an individual’s life history recorded by one or two different authors, whereas an autobiography is an expression of a person’s life written by themselves.

These two forms of literature offer a glimpse into someone’s life by giving the readers a perspective of the author’s life at home, in school, or in general, thus, becoming a collection of their past and life experiences. These are usually non-fiction anecdotes, usually written in chronological order, narrating the story of a person who has gained significance during their life or career; e.g. a famous actor or philanthropist.

Many consider both writing styles as interchangeable, however, there are stark differences between an autobiography and a biography, which are discussed in this article, so read on and find out for yourself.

Definition of an Autobiography

Definition of an Autobiography

An autobiography is a biography written by a person about his or her own life. The term ‘auto’ comes from the Latin word for ‘self.’ As a result, an autobiography comprises all of the features of a biography but is written or narrated by the author, who may pen the manuscript alone or engage ghostwriters to do it for them.

An autobiography describes the narrator’s character, their birth, and upbringing, what they learned besides their education, what lessons their career taught them, and various life events, problems, and accomplishments. This might contain firsthand memories and anecdotes from the author’s infancy, adolescence, and adulthood, or to the point of writing.

One of the most important autobiographies in the world is Anne Frank’s Diary, which is still popular among readers today.

Definition of a Biography

Definition of a Biography

A biography, sometimes referred to as a “bio” in short, is a thorough account of a person’s life written or published by someone else. It can contain detailed material on the person’s birthplace, education, employment, relationships, and death. It examines the subject’s persona and gives intimate facts about their life, concentrating on their highs and lows.

A biography is often written down in the form of a book, but it may also take the shape of a musical composition, or a literary or cinema adaptation. It is the recreating of an individual’s life with the use of words written by someone else.

To engross the readers in the tale, the author collects every piece of information available on the subject and includes those facts that are significant and responsible for the fame that the individual attained during or after their lifetime.

Key Differences Between an Autobiography and Biography

Though admittedly, the subject matter is similar, there are many differences between autobiography and biography creation. These range from the creator to other important factors that contribute to making an impactful story to present to the audience.

This blog lists down and explains the difference between autobiography and biography, so you have a better idea of how you can differentiate the two.

1. Who Wrote it?

A biography is a thorough account of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject, whereas an autobiography is written by the subject. This is the main difference between autobiography and biography, and the rest are built upon it.

2. How are they Authorized and Authenticated?

Biographies can be written with the permission of the subject, and are often labeled as authorized, or without that permission and labeled as unauthorized. As a result, there is a potential for misinformation and the material may contain factual errors.

Autobiographies, on the other hand, are written by the subject, do not require permission, and do not have a possibility of mistakes or misinformation, which is an important distinction for the biography vs. autobiography arguments.

3. What are the Sources?

Biographies contain material that has been gathered over time from many sources, and as a result, presents a varied perspective for the readers.

Since autobiographies are written by the subject themselves, the writer provides comparatively better and more authentic facts. Their thoughts are also written in their own style and the information given is controlled. This results in a slightly restricted and biased viewpoint for the readers to enjoy.

4. How Impactful are the Narratives?

The author of an autobiography employs first-person narratives such as I, me, us, he, she, and so on. As a result, the author and reader form an intimate bond. Since the reader experiences the stories in the autobiography as if he or she were in that historical period, or sharing an important accomplishment with the author, this form of a biography can have a profound effect on the audience.

A biography, on the other hand, is written in the third person and is far less personal. It is similar to any other story, dictated through the eyes of another person, and when compared, a little less impactful, when it comes to the variance in the biography vs. autobiography debate.

5. Why are They Written?

When it comes to the purpose of why a biography and an autobiography are written, the intent is another major difference. A biography is written to introduce and enlighten readers about a person and their life, whereas an autobiography is meant to express the narrator’s life experiences and achievements.

6. How Does a Biography Stand out?

Another main difference is that a biography can be written and presented as a book, song, or movie after the subject has passed away. This also leaves biographies in the hands of the person who created them and gives them a bit of artistic liberty, which an autobiography does not lend to the author.

The differences between autobiography and biography all stem from who wrote it and how it is presented. An amalgamation of memories from birth to their current life written by the author is a way to communicate valuable life lessons and anecdotes that they, as influential people, wish to share with their audience.

Biographies are also considered an art form, something that has won multiple awards and nominations over the years but is created by someone other than who they are based on.

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Biography Vs. Autobiography: The Similarities

Both these forms of expression are similar, which means that even though they are separate genres, biographies and autobiographies share some characteristics.

In addition to being popular forms of literature and the arts, and the differences between autobiography and biography, here are similarities that sometimes add a bit of ambiguity about which is which.

1. What is their Primary Goal?

The primary goal of both forms of literature is to describe the stories and important events in a famous and influential person’s life.

As mentioned earlier, these can be written as books, songs, or even scripts for films, which have proven to be a popular genre among readers. Relaying the life of a person, whether through their own words or another author’s, is what makes these two writing forms similar at their core.

2. They are Both Nonfiction Works

Autobiographies and biographies are nonfiction publications that chronicle major events in a person’s life. That is, without a doubt, a type of factual narrative that prefers facts over fiction or long-drawn stories.

Everything communicated through an autobiography or a biography is either researched by an author or told from the point of view of the person, giving their audience a glimpse into their lives.

3. Who are they Written About?

Usually, both biographies and autobiographies are often written for famous and influential people. They highlight their extraordinary accomplishments which make them both famous and interesting to the public, and adds to their popularity as a medium of information.

4. Are Autobiographies and Memoirs the Same?

No, there is a difference between the two, just as there is a difference between an autobiography and a biography. An autobiography communicates the author’s whole life story, but a memoir focuses on a certain point. Though there are always expressions born out of artistic liberty, an autobiography is generally comprehensive, while memoirs are not.

Conclusion

As firsthand accounts of their lives, autobiographies have become popular with famous people. They already have a large fan following, who are eager to read their work and get a glimpse into their personal and professional lives.

Biographies have made it to the bestsellers list for years as they are personal stories of distinguished people. If you are interested in writing one and want to become a better writer, then with one just click, you can learn by accessing some of the best content creators and resources available on the internet. You can also hire our professional writers to help you write and publish your story!

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