How To Write Non-Fiction

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Ideas arrive from living life, an
echo in your mind from something
you heard, a funny remark by one
co-worker, or a dream. Did
you pass a group of kids, and a
diamond ring was mentioned? At
the mall, you saw the face of
someone on a "Wanted" poster.
What will you do?

There are no shortage of ideas to
slice non-fiction from.

Settle on a topic.

"I'm not sure which idea to pick
for my non-fiction project." You
stared at your journal of ideas.

It can benefit you, in the long
run, to keep ideas, thoughts, in
a journal or file.

Pick an idea that excites you.
It should be of interest to others.

"How will I know if other people
will like the idea?" You asked.

There isn't a one-hundred percent,
sure, way of knowing.

You can research the non-fiction
idea. A second way, to get a feel
of how well it will be received, is
to ask friends, family. Take note
of their reactions.

The next step is to decide on what
your non-fiction article, book, will
say.

Write down each point you want to
include. Develop, write, a
particular thought. Under the
thought, expand on it.

Your article will start off with a
general discussion. It could tell
a story, ask questions, or shock
the reader. The aim is to engage
his/her attention to the end.

With a book length work, more
information is included.

Your presentation gets more
involved, detailed, as the
middle is written.

As the non-fiction idea moves
along, anticipate questions
about it. Supply answers.

Make sure to cover the areas
you promised, mentioned, in the
beginning.

Pick a title, if you haven't
already. It should state the
benefit(s) a reader will get.

Titles are three to five words
long. Squeeze into the title
everything the article is about.
If three to five words fail to
capture the meaning of your work,
make it longer. Ultimately, the
title is what works best with your
non-fiction project.

Non-fiction starts off with one of
the, many, ideas in, around, us.
Research a non-fiction idea that
wants to be told, exposed, when in
doubt about it. The idea must
excite your imagination. There
must be passion for it.

As with anything else, the more
you write non-fiction, the better
you'll become at it.