Non-Fiction Writing Pittsburgh PA

Writing non-fiction isn’t easy, is it? When you must for some reason write non-fiction, like it or not, it pays to do it right. These steps have helped me; maybe they will help you.

1. Choose the subject. If the choice is yours, pick one that you know well, or can get to know well. You can’t fake it; you must either be an expert or become one. The scope of the subject should fit the length of the piece, and vice-versa. Write a thousand-word description of Jones Beach, perhaps, but at least a volume for New York City.
2. Gather the material. Go after all the facts, many more than you will need. Don’t miss anything, you can prune later. It is better to go too deep than too far afield. If you find more material than you can cover in depth, cut down the scope of the subject. When you have all the facts, get to know them. Take your cards or pieces of paper and bury yourself in them, study them, play with them, arrange and rearrange them. Eliminate duplications, resolve inconsistencies, and set aside the impertinent for another time. Soak it all up. Add any comments that come to mind as you go through them. Make note of whatever seems to be missing, and go find it.
3. Put it away. Take the material and put it out of sight for a time, maybe a long time. Go on to something else. Even when you are not consciously thinking of it, the data will be there in your head, percolating. You will know when the time has come to start writing. What you are waiting for is the "shape," the framework on which you will hang everything, to come to you. Perhaps it will be a typical item of a series, or a composite of a series. Maybe it will be a focus of the main theme, or a point about which all else will turn. If there appears to be more than one framework, consider dividing the work into separate pieces....

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Author: Marvin French