Do you have an investigative mind? Is sussing out the “true story” something that intrigues you? Does researching a topic or an issue give you a thrill? How many times has someone said, “You should write about that!” If you have, ever, dashed off a letter to the editor, why did you stop there?
Why not put all that good thinking on a page or screen? Send it out into the world and see what happens.Writing a strong nonfiction piece that informs, educates and provides an insightful perspective on a topic contributes to the greater good of society and is rewarding, in its own right.
Maybe you will, eventually, get paid for all of your hard work. Before that can happen, however, you need to get busy. This is a perfect time to get busy!
What you will certainly get, if you stay focused, is a body of work that garners an audience of readers who pay attention to your ideas and opinions and that can be leverage for a book deal. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
The content of the writing we read on a daily basis, from print to online text, in newspapers, magazines, brochures and the like, strives to clearly describe or chronicle an event, topic or product so that the reader is, sufficiently, informed about the matter at hand to make a decision about its veracity.
Nonfiction writing covers a large territory of expression. One can go from Telling True Stories to Broadcast News Writing, Reporting and Producing. In fact, there are two worlds, the nonfiction world of reportage, opinion pieces, essays and such, and the creative nonfiction world of works that employ Storycraft and, thus, by Ensouling Language, straddle the borders of a fictive world.
Writing Creative Nonfiction puts a literary spin on the piece, makes use of a literary sensibility whereas nonfiction sticks to the point, the writer documents and utilizes investigative techniques. Either way the writer must develop the necessary skill of producing Good Prose by applying heavy amounts of Devotion and time.
Whichever form of nonfiction you gravitate towards, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, it has to be the real deal.
So, perhaps, you’re on the way to beginning your first draft. Before you do so, check out the resource list. Write On!: Nonfiction Writing Informs the World and investigate the list of ebooks, articles and videos. You’re sure to find something that will help you develop that necessary muscle every writer needs to begin, to begin again, to continue on and to see the work through. There’s a term for that it’s, sometimes, called Fearless Writing or, you might say fear less the writing, fear not writing, at all.
This is part of a multi-part series. Catch up with other posts: Write on!: The Very Personal Journey of Keeping a Journal; Write On! Nonfiction Writing Informs the World; Write On! A Story Only You Can Tell, Writing a Memoir; Write On! Crafting the Novel, Creating Imaginary Lives; and The Last Note Begins with See Sharp: On Transforming Your Thoughts Into Poetry.
~ posted by Chris
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