Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Author Bio Mad Libs


At some point, whether you're writing short stories or novels, you're going to be asked for an author bio -- that quick little blurb that gives readers a glimpse into who you are. Since joining the wonderful folks at Operation Awesome, I've been reading and researching author bios in order to put together a little something to tell OA readers a little something about myself. 

After discovering that many author bios follow a similar format, I took that format at turned it into an "Author Bio Mad Libs" for your amusement -- and who knows, maybe it can help you write your own author bio as well.

Before you read mine, try it out for yourself!

AUTHOR BIO MAD LIBS


Step 1: Jot down a word or phrase for each of the descriptions below

  1. Full name:
  2. Genre:
  3. Noun:
  4. Adjective:
  5. Plural noun:
  6. Award:
  7. Occupation:
  8. Gerund (non-finite action verb, usually ending in -ing):
  9. State:
  10. Number:
  11. Adjective:
  12. Animal:
  13. College major:
  14. 2-3 random letters:
  15. Gerund:
  16. Place:
  17. Gerund:
  18. Beverage:
  19. Sport:
  20. Famous author:
  21. Verb:



Step 2: Scroll down and fill in your answers in the author bio below!

(your name) is a (genre) author who has written about everything from (noun) to (adjective) (plural noun) and has won a (award) for his/her nonfiction book, "The (occupation)'s Guide to (gerund)." S/He lives in (state) with his/her family and (number) (adjective) (animal)s. S/He is a (college major) graduate of (2-3 random letters) and has enjoyed (gerund) in (place), (gerund) (beverage), and playing (sport) with his/her close friend and mentor, (famous author). S/He aspires to someday be the first full-time author to (verb) on the moon.


In case you were wondering, here's mine (with some tweaks for accuracy):

Wendy Nikel is a speculative fiction author who has written about everything from time travel to magical islands. She lives in Utah with her family and four imaginary puppies. She is an elementary ed graduate and enjoys taking photographs, drinking chai tea, and playing board games.

Post your Mad Libs Author Bio in the comments! How accurate is it?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Diane McIntire Rose is a mythic fantasy author who has written everything from Kraken to Sexy Gods and has won a Nobel Prize for her nonfiction book, "The Attorney's Guide to Eating." She lives in Maryland with her family and 42 stupid hellhounds. She is a political science graduate of WTF and has enjoyed drinking in bed, vacationing (with) Scotch, and playing baseball with her close friend and mentor, Wendy Nikel. She aspires to some day be the first full-time author to sleep on the moon.

This bio is fairly believable except for the part with Wendy playing baseball. I will have to get started on that NF book.

Unknown said...

Me? Playing baseball? HA! That is rather unbelievable.

Karen McCoy said...

This was so much fun! Here's mine (a bit true, but mostly fiction). I also shared this on my blog as well.

Karen McCoy is a YA speculative fiction author who has written about everything from shoes to exciting eyes and has won a Darwin Award for her nonfiction book, "The Librarian's Guide to Playing." She lives in California with her family and five beastly goats. She is a Creative Writing graduate of WER and has enjoyed moving in bookstores, jogging lemonade, and playing golf with her close friend and mentor, Douglas Adams. She aspires to someday be the first full-time author to fly on the moon.

J Lenni Dorner said...

J Lenni Dorner is a fantasty author who has written about everything from glottis to pliable menus and has won a Oscar for his/her nonfiction book, "The Woodworker's Guide to Wrapping." S/He lives in Maine with his/her family and 237 brittle lions. S/He is a psychology graduate of AFX and has enjoyed laughing in Egypt, giving water, and playing tennis with his/her close friend and mentor, JK Rowling. S/He aspires to someday be the first full-time author to surf on the moon.


For the record, I did not look at the fill in paragraph before selecting words. That's some good times right there! I miss doing MadLibs.

Unknown said...

Glad you enjoyed it! I love that you've written about "exciting eyes"!

Unknown said...

Ha! I really enjoy doing MadLibs as well. Gotta love those brittle lions :)

Anonymous said...

Dawn Allen is a thriller author who has written about everything from bioengineering to kidnapped children and has won several contests with her short fiction. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, a puppy, and too many horses to count. She is an MFA graduate who enjoys football, drinking chai tea lattes, and shooting hoops with her close friend and mentor, Mark Twain. She aspires to someday be the first full-time author to hold a reading on the moon.

Unknown said...

Great bio, Dawn! I'll bet a reading on the moon would draw quite the crowd :)

Sharda Hinkel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kelly Lingerfilt said...

There are various items and the terms being used here that could be easily understand by most of the users and writers who used to think about writing a biography. writing a short biography