Non-Fiction is hard
So, in my spare time (amongst all the other projects and whatnot that I’ve got going), I’m scribbling down notes for a self-help book based on different coping strategies I’ve developed for coping with the stresses and strains of being creative while holding down a dayjob. And what I have discovered is this:
Non-Fiction is FRIGGIN hard! It’s nothing like writing fiction, where anything can happen and you can adjust anything you want to have things become more interesting or make more sense. Even though I’m writing advice that I would give to other people, I’m finding it quite tricky to do so in such a manner that I don’t come across as being dull, preachy, or some combination of the two (pull? dreachy?).
I think the key to writing convincing non-fiction is to really plan out the nitty-gritty of what you want to say, so that you can pace the information correctly and avoid rambling. Certainly, I’ve scrapped one chapter a couple of times, but each time I rewrite it I feel a little happier about how I’ve executed it.
It’s an interesting challenge, even if it’s not something I’m working on particularly seriously. I strongly believe that trying out many different kinds of writing is the key to becoming a better, more well-rounded creator!
Except poetry. I’m terrible at poetry.
Cheerio!
M.
It’s funny, I’d tend to say the opposite–writing good fiction is harder than writing good nonfiction–but I think it has to do more with what you have experience with. I’ve written hundreds of movie reviews and a few tech manuals (doesn’t get less fictional than that), but getting purely creative and doing a good job of it takes considerably more work for me.
The planning and not rambling thing, though, that’s important–plenty of people trying to write nonfiction just don’t seem to get that. While being succinct in fiction is often good, in nonfiction–particularly nonfiction where you’re trying to explain something to someone or guide them–the more extraneous information you can prune out, the better it gets.
A tip that helped me considerably, as someone prone to rambling: When you finish a section, set an arbitrary goal (say, 5% of wordcount) to prune out. Then go in and see if you can cut that much without actually harming the clarity of your idea.
More often than not, I find that the more I trim, the clearer what I’m trying to say gets. Setting wordcount goals is one way of forcing yourself to try and get to the point efficiently.
My own technical reports and whatnot tend to be criticised for being more wordy than they really have to be. Kind of a problem when you’re a developer 😛
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with the difficulty of the writing task being relative to how much you actually write fiction or non-fiction. For most of my life, the majority of the writing I’ve done has been of a creative nature, and I’ve only rarely had the opportunity to be exposed to factual writing. This results in my non-fiction writing to vary wildly in quality, as I struggle to find the voice and style required for the article.
I like your tip about the 5% pruning; It’s not just about making your writing more succinct, it really forces you to evaluate each word carefully and consider the actual value of the writing in question. Sure, it’s nice to have complicated words and flowery language (to an extent), but if it doesn’t add anything to the value of what’s being said, what’s the point in having it in other than to show off your vocabulary?
Good advice, thanks!
Somehow I think humanity is going to be on the losing end when this story ends. Anyway may I ask what this Non-Fiction story you been writing is about?
Ah, it’s just a collection of anecdotes and whatnot to help other people in my situation survive the stresses of working a full-time job while working full-time hours in their spare time on creative stuff. I think I maybe need to make more of the anecdotes and turn them into little stories to better use my skillset, and communicate the message better!
I like nonfiction of a specific type, history, biography’s, etc. Manuals and instructional books tend to be boring, so I stick with writing things that can be both educational and somewhat entertaining. Of course, all of that writing was either for the military or school work, so none of it was for myself, which is completely different, and stressful in a different way.
I imagine writing for the military is even duller and more restrictive than writing for a megacorp 😛 Having said that, one of our clients’ own specifications are almost as strict as MILSPEC. In fact, I believe it’s stricter in some areas. Fortunately, I’ve not yet had to deal with them myself, so I’ve not been exposed to that sort of writing, yet, really.