Understand the differences between a biography and a fictitious story. A biography is generally written in the form of nonfiction, literature that is based on real events. Fiction, on the other hand, is not a retelling of real events.
Consult with the person whose life the biography is meant to portray if possible. Find the key points of the biography. Try to write out major life events and personal revelations in the form of a time line.
Change the details of the story, but allow the overall point of the story to remain. For instance, the biography subject may have realized an incredibly important aspect of his personality in an embarrassing way. The details can be changed without necessarily containing factually inaccurate information.
Use disclaimers. Some people connected with the biography's main subject might not want their real names used in the publication. A disclaimer can be placed at the beginning of the biography stating that names of people and places and the details of some events have been changed, but the subject has not been misrepresented.
Consult with the publisher, if applicable. Some changes may be needed for legal reasons. Information that is legally protected under attorney-client or doctor-client privilege, for instance, will need to be modified. Publishers will have their own rules on where to draw the line between nonfiction biography and fiction.
Consider fictionalized biography, which is based in facts, but may use fictitious elements to fill in unknown gaps in the story of a person's life. The writer might know that a person had a conversation with another individual, for instance, but has to make up the dialogue. According to the Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology at Southern Connecticut State University, fictionalized biography should be as accurate as possible. Fictitious elements should not falsely depict a person's life, nor should important information be left out of the story.
Distinguish between fictionalized biography and biographical fiction. According to "Some of My Best Friends Are Books," biographical fiction is really just fiction, but using a famous historical character's name, such as Johnny Appleseed.
This might be a good idea if the biography subject has hired a writer for the purpose of portraying a moral or life lesson, for instance. Biographical fiction provides more room to experiment with plot, imagery and the more creative aspects of the story.