How To Write An Obituary

So, you have been asked to write an obituary - the story of someone's life. That's quite a responsibility, and the first thing you must do is make sure that you understand the nature of the task. So, make absolutely sure that you know exactly what is expected of you.

How many words should you be writing and in what publication will this appear? Assemble all your material and your sources. You need to go right back to the beginning of somebody's life, and these are often the most interesting bits. Where did they come from? What did their parents do? And then, think about your other sources, like contemporaries.

There's nothing like having somebody, hearing from somebody directly, who knew that person. You need to ask yourself what this person's main claim to fame is. What is going to be the unifying theme of their life? Because that's one of your jobs as an obituarist, it's to make some kind of sense of the whole.

Now, we come to the body of your obituary, the chronology of the life. You have gone back to the beginning. You want to talk a bit about the youth.

It's always interesting to know what someone was like at school, if you can find that out, and then you discuss their career progressions and you choose and you select their professional highlights. You go chronologically through the highlights of somebody's career and you insert anecdote, observation and opinion, as appropriate. At this point, two tips: be generous but not indulgent.

You are writing an obituary, not a eulogy. But it's always a very fine balance you have to strike between producing a truthful portrait and one that is, perhaps, over-critical. So, be balanced.

Be careful. Make sure you are being as fair as you possibly can. And here's the second tip: if in doubt, let the facts speak for themselves.

And your job is to work from the facts that you have, and then, every now and then, you will have to make an assumption. So, just be honest with the reader and say that on the facts we know, it seems reasonable to assume that he or she must have done something or other. Just be as selective as possible and get it down on your edited version, if it is 800 words - if that's what you have been asked to do - make sure you write to length and your edited version will be far better even if it is not as full and detailed, it will be far better than your first draft.

Writing an obituary is an important responsibility. Telling the story of someone's life in 800 or so words is not easy. If you have been asked to write an obituary, this video will help you to clarify your ideas as it provides a few tips on how to provide a well-balanced and interesting obit.