One of the hardest things to do is to look at a blank page. It must be why artists rarely have a sufficient biography—if they have one at all. How do you overcome the blank-page roadblock? Follow these steps:

STEP ONE: Create an Artist Inventory

This is a list of everything important. During this stage, don’t worry about grammar or punctuation. Just brain-dump all the things you should mention. Examples include: 

  • Hometown:
  • City you’re living and active in: (If different from above)
  • Instruments: 
  • Genre(s):
  • Record Label: 
  • Awards:
  • Achievements: (Not everyone has had a charting song yet, so think of tangible things that a regular person would understand, such as how many shows you perform a year, and in front of how many people)
  • Influences:
  • Notable Affiliations: (Who have you opened for, played with, produced for, wrote for?)
  • How the group was formed: (if applicable)

Doing this helps to focus on the important parts of who you are without getting caught up in the labor of writing. You are just laying out all the puzzle pieces so you can see them more clearly. When it comes time to write, you will simply connect the dots between the most important things listed.

STEP TWO: Prioritize Artist Inventory

When brain-dumping, you’ll likely list things you won’t need. Review your list. Rank the items from most to least important. If you’re not sure, dump all of those into their own category.

STEP THREE: Build the Puzzle

From the prioritized list, you will build both a short-form and long-form bio. A short-form bio is a 4-5 sentence paragraph meant to present the quick facts about you. These should include your top priority items in the artist inventory.

A long-form bio is meant to present a much more detailed picture. Tell your origin story. Bring your background to life. Using the most important items in your artist inventory, start to piece together your story into a minimum of 3-4 paragraphs.

Using this method allows you to power through the writer’s block that can occur whenever starting from scratch. Below are examples of short-form and long-form biographies.