The internet is full of fiction prompts and writing tips, giving ideas on plot and character development. However, nonfiction writers require a different set of writing tips, particularly if they're writing a book.
Nonfiction needs to grab the audience's attention, as well as inform and educate them, and maybe have a little inspiration thrown in there too. There are plenty of things you can do to make your nonfiction writing more appealing.
1. Create an Objective for Your Book
Half the battle of writing a book is knowing what you're going to be writing about, and even then you need to know you have something that will keep your readers riveted. You need to know the objective of your book, and what it will offer the audience.
Is there a special reason why you're writing this book? Most people have some kind of personal reason, and that's a good place to start.
Once you've found your objective you need to build the narrative. Each chapter will gradually build-up a picture of what you want your readers to know.
People will always buy books that interest them, and everyone is different. By creating a purpose for your book, you ensure an audience will follow.
2. What Area Do You Specialise In?
Once you've discovered the objective of your book, you now need to figure out which area you're going to specialise in. This is where you start looking at books in the same genre, and what makes them so special. Amazon is a great place to start, and there are plenty of other online libraries and bookstores that will point you in the right direction.
Your aim is to be different, and offer a new perspective on your genre. You may have a unique way of writing and formatting information which can lay out the information which can shed new light on your subject matter.
3. Adapt Your Writing to Suit Your Audience
When you've figured out who your audience is you can start writing for them.
Here are some quick tips to get you started:
- Don't write like you're writing for a first grader.
- Choose your vocabulary wisely.
- Workout your audience's level of education.
- Find the right tone.
4. Infuse Real Stories Into Your Book
Not all nonfiction books need to read like a textbook, try incorporating a human element with a story or two. It will make your writing more relatable, and your text more interesting when you add in something personal.
Nonfiction books that employ stories to their structure, such as, memoirs, biographies or true crime, these books work better when they're written in a more traditional story structure.
6. Blend Dialogue Into Your Text
Dialogue can be a handy tool for nonfiction writers. Spoken words create a picture in the mind of the reader, which helps bring a new viewpoint to your book.
7. Create Your Own Writing Style
Nonfiction can often come across as quite bland and uninteresting, but the truth is nonfiction is real-life. That leaves a huge range for incorporating interesting styles and structures into the text.
There are no rules.
Just because one writer likes to write in a particular way, doesn't mean you have to use the same layout for your text. By using smaller chapters, lists, dialogue, all of these devices can be used anyway the writer chooses it.
Thinking outside the box will make your work stand-out, especially if you're using a particular style and format for laying out information, giving you the edge.
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Making Improvements to a Sentence at Word Level (Part 2)
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