A comprehensive resource for writing dramatic narratives about real people.
O’Neill explores the ins and outs of writing biographical drama in this writing manual.
Biopics and their theatrical equivalent, biodramas, have always been a popular art form. Audiences love movies and stage shows that portray the lives of famous athletes, politicians, musicians, and others who’ve experienced remarkable events in their lives. Writing these plays and screenplays can be a bit more complex than creating purely fictional fare, however, as the biodramatist walks a fine line between fidelity to the facts and a commitment to telling a compelling, narratively satisfying story. As O’Neill explains in her introduction, the biodramatist must “transform the facts into dramatic visual scenes for the audience and reader to experience.” This book, which is aimed at novice and seasoned writers alike, is intended to provide a map for those embarking on a biographical project. It covers everything from essential writing and researching tips to strategies for selecting a fruitful subject to the ethics and legalities of portraying real people. The author offers a list of questions every would-be biodramatist should ask themselves, such as how timely a person’s story is and what new perspective a writer might bring to it. O’Neill also discusses biodrama as a genre—she uses the term to refer to both film and theatrical productions—examining its enduring popularity and examining some prominent examples, such as the award-winning films Amadeusand Bohemian Rhapsody. In addition, O’Neill includes a number of writing exercises in order to get her readers into the biodramatic mindset.
Over the course of this guide, O’Neill’s prose is straightforward and workmanlike. She’s often quite frank with her advice, as when she explains what sort of person is a suitable subject for a biodrama, and details why an unnamedfriend of hers simply doesn’t fit the bill: “No addictions, no steamy affairs with famous stars, no nasty divorces, no criminal activity, no theft of his great ideas, no exciting obstacles to overcome. He had a stable social life, which fed his success.” She uses her own play Barassi, about the celebrated Australian rules football player Ron Barassi, as a model for the adaptation process, which is useful in how it shows how a biodramatist may negotiate specific problems. She also helpfully includes advice gleaned from other successful practitioners of the art form, including José Rivera (who adapted the life story of Che Guevara for the screen as The Motorcycle Diaries), Kenneth Lin (who worked on a staged story about Russian billionaire Mikhail Khordokovsky), Robert Reid (who wrote a play about comedian Bill Hicks), and Polly Teale (who wrote a play about the Brontë sisters). Perhaps the most valuable information that O’Neill offers, however, is her thoughts on research—some of which aren’t always obvious, such as the value of learning more about the lives of your subject’s contemporaries. Much of her advice will be relevant for would-be novelists, as well, as she outlines considerations that are important for all writers to consider.
A comprehensive resource for writing dramatic narratives about real people.Pub Date: July 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0648890607
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Endeavor Literary Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.
A coffee-table book celebrates Michelle Obama’s sense of fashion.
Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, Obama’s chatty latest book begins with some school portraits from the author’s childhood in Chicago and fond memories of back-to-school shopping at Sears, then jumps into the intricacies of clothing oneself as the spouse of a presidential candidate and as the first lady. “People looked forward to the outfits, and once I got their attention, they listened to what I had to say. This is the soft power of fashion,” she says. Obama is grateful and frank about all the help she got along the way, and the volume includes a long section written by her primary wardrobe stylist, Koop—28 years old when she first took the job—and shorter sections by makeup artists and several hair stylists, who worked with wigs and hair extensions as Obama transitioned back to her natural hair, and grew out her bangs, at the end of her husband’s second term. Many of the designers of the author’s gowns, notably Jason Wu, who designed several of her more striking outfits, also contribute appreciative memories. Besides candid and more formal photographs, the volume features many sketches of her gowns by their designers, closeups on details of those gowns, and magazine covers from Better Homes & Gardens to Vogue. The author writes that as a Black woman, “I was under a particularly white-hot glare, constantly appraised for whether my outfits were ‘acceptable’ and ‘appropriate,’ the color of my skin somehow inviting even more judgment than the color of my dresses.” Overall, though, this is generally a canny, upbeat volume, with little in the way of surprising revelations.
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593800706
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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