I was thinking about updating my website, and thought it would be good to review a couple of sites that I admire.

I started noticing that folks had bios.  For example:
 

Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in English. She lives with her husband and three young sons in Phoenix, Arizona. After the publication of her first novel, Twilight, booksellers chose Stephenie Meyer as one of the “most promising new authors of 2005” (Publishers Weekly).

Ah, to be a best-selling author…  There’s also the biography of the lovely Joy Marchand:

Joy Marchand holds a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of the Pacific. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts, where she takes photos of odd signage, churchyards and the occasional roadside shrine. Joy’s poems and short stories have been featured in Bare Bone, Writers of the Future Volume XX, the Elastic Book of Numbers, Modern Magic, Time for Bedlam, Polyphony 5, Interfictions, Talebones, Apex Digest,Interzone, among others. Joy has also worked as an editor for Shimmer, a small magazine packed with quality short fiction and stunning artwork. She is currently at work on a road novel set on Route 66. 

If I convolve the two, mine would read:

Meg Stout holds a B.S. in Physics from George Mason University and a M.S. in Product Development from Naval Postgraduate School.  She lives with her husband and daughters in Annandale, Virginia.  She is currently at work on a novel about the Saint Margaret of Scotland.

 Alas, my job and formal training don’t *go* with writing fiction.  However, I know that the scientific method and cultural analysis I learned informs my writing method.  So perhaps a better bio would be:

Meg Stout graduated from George Mason University and the Naval Postgraduate School with scientific degrees.  As a novelist, she applies the scientific method to true stories, uncovering startling possibilities.  She is currently at work on a novel about the Saint Margaret of Scotland.

So do I mention the novel about Elvira Cowles, plural wife of Joseph Smith?  Hers is the story that compelled me to take up the craft of writing in my dotage, I mean maturity.  Do I mention my husband and daughters?  My home in Annandale, Virginia?  My job at the Washington Navy Yard?  The fact my parent’s marriage was “void and prohibited” at the time of my birth in the state where I was born?

Probably not, but time will tell.

Tags: Writing