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How To Write A Nonfiction Book: 21 Steps for Beginners

POSTED ON Oct 14, 2020

Written by Scott Allan

The steps on how to write a nonfiction book are easy to follow, but can be difficult to execute if you don't have a clear plan.

Many first time authors experience information overload when it comes to writing a nonfiction book. Where do I start? How do I build authority? What chapters do I need to include? Do I know enough about this topic?

If you're mind is racing with questions about how to get started with your book, then you’ve landed in the right place!

Writing a book can be a grueling, lengthy process. But with a strategic system in place, you could become a nonfiction book author within three to four months.

However, you need an extremely high level of motivation and dedication, as well as a clear, proven system to follow.

In this article, we’ll cover all there is to know about the nonfiction book writing process.

Need A Nonfiction Book Outline?

How to write a nonfiction book

Writing a nonfiction book is one of the most challenging paths you will ever take. But it can also be one of the most rewarding accomplishments of your life.

Before we get started with the steps to write a nonfiction book, let's review some foundational questions that many aspiring authors have.

What is a nonfiction book?

A nonfiction book is based on facts, such as real events, people, and places. It is a broad category, and includes topics such as biography, memoir, business, health, religion, self-help, science, cooking, and more.

A nonfiction book differs from a fiction book in the sense that it is real, not imaginary.

The purpose of nonfiction books is commonly to educate or inform the reader, whereas the purpose of fiction books is typically to entertain.

Perennial nonfiction books are titles such as How to Win Friends and Influence People from Dale Carnegie, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, and Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl .

What is the author’s purpose in a work of nonfiction?

In a nonfiction book, the author’s main purpose or reason for writing on the topic is to inform or educate readers about a certain topic.

While there are some nonfiction books that also entertain readers, the most common author's purpose in a work of nonfiction is to raise awareness about a certain topic, event, or concept.

How many words are in a nonfiction book?

Because nonfiction is such a broad category, it really depends on the type of nonfiction you are writing, but generally a nonfiction book should be about 40,000 words.

To determine how many words in a novel , narrow down your topic and do some research to see what the average word count is.

Use this Word & Page Count Calculator to calculate how many words you should aim for, based on your genre and audience.

How long does it take to write a nonfiction book?

It can take anywhere from three months to several years to write a nonfiction book, depending on the author's speed, research process, book length, and other variables.

On average, it can take a self-published author typically six months to one year to write their nonfiction book. However, that means the author is setting time aside daily to work on their book, staying focused, and motivated.

Other nonfiction authors, especially those with heavy research an in–depth analysis can take much longer. How long it takes to write a nonfiction book really just depends on several factors.

Benefits of writing a nonfiction book

Making a decision to write a book could change your life. Just think about all the ways you could leverage your expertise!

If you’re interested in how to write a book , it’s important to understand all the things writing the book can do for you, so that you can stay motivated throughout the process.

Some rewarding results that can come after you write a nonfiction book are:

Exponentially accelerate the growth of your business
Generate a stream of passive income for years to come
Build authority in your field of expertise
Increase exposure in the media
Become a motivational speaker
…and so much more (this is just the beginning)!

Imagine for a moment …walking into your local bookstore and seeing your book placed at the front of the store in the new releases section. Or browsing on Amazon KDP , the world’s largest online bookstore, and seeing your nonfiction book listed as a bestseller alongside well-known authors.

It can happen in as little as three months if you are fully committed and ready to start today.

How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 21 Steps

You're clear on the type of nonfiction book you want to write, and you're ready to get started.

Before you start writing, it's time to lay the groundwork and get clear on the entire process. This will help you manage your book writing expectations, and prepare for the nonfiction book writing journey that lies ahead.

With those foundational questions out of the way, let’s move on to 21-step checklist so you can start learning exactly how to write a nonfiction book.

#1— Develop the mindset to learn how to write a nonfiction book

The first step in how to become an author is to develop a rock solid author mindset. Without a writer’s mindset, you are going to struggle to get anywhere with your book. Writing has more to do with your attitude towards the craft than the skill required to get you there.

If writing words down and tying sentences together to craft a story is the skill, your mindset is the foundation that keeps this motivation moving forward.

Identifying yourself as a writer from the start (even if you haven't published yet) will form the mindset needed to continue working on your book .

To succeed, you must toughen up so that nothing gets in your way of writing.

This is also known as imposter syndrome : A psychological pattern where a person doubts their accomplishments and has an ongoing internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.

Here’s how to prevent imposter syndrome as an aspiring author:

Define what it means to be an author or writer. Is this someone who wakes up at 5am and writes 1000 words a day?
Tell yourself you’re a writer. Just do it. It feels strange at first but you will begin to believe your own self-talk.
Talk about your book idea . That’s right – start telling people you are writing a book. Many writers working on a book will keep it a secret until published. Even then, they might not about it.
Take action to build author confidence. Imposter syndrome paralyzes you. Focus on increasing your author confidence and getting rid of doubt. This can be done by committing to writing every day. Just 500 words is enough. Build that writing habits early and you’ll be walking and talking like a true author.

#2 – Create a Book Writing Plan

Excuses will kill your chances of becoming a published author. There are no good reasons for not writing a book, only good excuses you convince yourself are real.

You are trying to protect yourself from embarrassment, only to create a new kind of shame: the shame of not finishing the book you have been talking about for years.

Some of the most common excuses that hold writers back are: There is no time to write in my life right now. I can't get past my distractions. I can never be as good as my favorite famous author. My book has to perfect.

Excuses are easy to dish out. But identifying them for what they are (excuses), is the first step towards taking action and changing your limiting mindset.

Excuses, while they may seem valid, are walls of fear. Banish your excuses right now and commit to writing your book.

Here's how to overcome the excuses that prevent you from writing:

Make the time to write. Set up a thirty-minute time block every day. Commit to writing during this time.
Turn off your distractions. Get rid of the WiFi for an hour. Close the door. It is just you and the story.
Be aware of comparisons to other writers. They worked hard to get where they are, and you will get there, too.
Give yourself permission to write badly. It won’t be perfect, but a book that is half-finished can’t be published.

#3 – Identify your WHY

Start with this question: “Why am I doing this?”

Know your why . This is critical to moving ahead with your book idea. We usually have an intrinsic and extrinsic reason for wanting to learn how to write a nonfiction book.

Intrinsic Why: What is your #1 reason for wanting to write this book? Is it a bucket list goal you must achieve? Is it to help people overcome a root issue in their lives? Do you want to create a movement and generate social impact?

Extrinsic Why: Do you want to create a business from your book? Have passive income coming in for many years later? Become a full-time author and work from home? Grow your network? Build an online presence?

Getting super clear on why you want to write a bestselling book is the momentum to propel you forward and deliver your story. Enlisting the help of a book writing coach (like we offer here at SelfPublishing!) can also help you stay close to your why. This person will be your sounding board, motivation, and voice of reason during the writing process – providing much-needed support from someone who's published multiple books before.

#4 – Research nonfiction book topics

Whether you have a clear idea of what you want to write about or if you are still exploring possible topic ideas, it's important to do a bit of market research.

Researching the current news and case studies related to your potential topic are powerful ways to add credibility to your nonfiction book, and will help you develop your own ideas.

This adds greater depth to your nonfiction book, builds better trust with readers, and delivers content that exceeds customer expectations.

If you need help narrowing down your book idea, try experimenting with some writing prompts based on the genre you're interested in!

Here's how to write a nonfiction book that's well-researched:

Use case studies. Pull case studies and make reference to the research. If there are not any case studies related to your topic, explore the idea of creating your own case study.
Read books related to your topic. Mention good books or articles to support your material.
Research facts from reliable sources. Post proven facts and figures from reliable sources such as scholarly journals, academic papers, white papers, newspapers, and more.

#5 – Select a nonfiction book topic

What are you writing about? It starts with having a deep interest and passion for the area you are focused on.

Common topics to write a nonfiction book on are:

Business and Money
Health, dieting and exercise
Religion and Spirituality
Home repair
Innovation and entrepreneurship

You probably already know this so it should be easy. Make a note of the area you are writing your book on. And then…

#6 — Drill down into your book idea

Everyone starts at the same place. It begins with an idea for the book.

What is the core idea for your book? If your nonfiction book topic is on health and dieting, your idea might be a book on “How to lose 7 pounds in your first month.”

Your book is going to be centered around this core idea.

You could have several ideas for the overall book but, to avoid writing a large, general book that nobody will read, make it more specific.

#7 — Schedule writing time

What gets scheduled, gets done. That’s right, you should schedule in your writing time just like any other appointment on your calendar.

Your writing routine will have a large role to play when it comes to writing and finishing your book.

Scheduling time for writing, and sticking to it, will help you knock out your writing goals with ease.

Stephen King sits down to write every morning from eight-thirty. It was his way of programming his brain to get ready for the day’s work. He writes an average of ten pages a day.

W.H. Auden would rise at six a.m. and would work hard from seven to eleven-thirty, when his mind was sharpest.

When do you feel the most productive? If you can, make time for writing at the same time every day to set the tone for your writing productivity.

Commit to a time of day and a length of time during which to write. Set a goal for yourself and try to hit the target every day by sticking with your routine.

#8 — Establish a writing space

You need a place to write, and you must establish that space where you can write everyday, distraction-free for several hours a day.

Your writing environment plays a critical role in your life as an author. If you write in a place that’s full of noise, uncomfortable to be in, or affects your emotional state to the point you don’t want to do anything, you might consider your environment needs some work.

Here is how to create a writing space that inspires you to write:

Display your favorite author photos

Find at least twenty photos of authors you want to emulate. Print these out if you can and place them around your room. An alternative idea is to use the photos as screensavers or a desktop screen. You can change the photo every day if you like. There is nothing like writing and having your favorite author looking back at you as if to say, “Come on, you’ve got this!”

Hang up a yearly calendar

Your nonfiction book will get written faster if you have goals for each day and week. The best way to manage this is by scheduling your time on a calendar. Schedule every hour that you commit to your author business.

As Bob Goff said, “The battle for happiness begins on the pages of our calendars.”

Buy a big wall calendar. Have enough space on each day that you can write down your goals for that day. When you have a goal for that day or week, write it down or use a sticky note.

Create a clutter-free environment

If there is any one factor that will slow you down or kill your motivation, it is a room full of clutter.

If your room looks like a tornado swept through, it can have a serious impact on your emotional state. What you see around you also occupies space in your mind. Unfinished business is unconsciously recorded in your mind and this leads to clutter (both physical and mental).

Although you can’t always be in complete control of your physical space, you can get rid of any clutter you have control over. Go for a simple workplace that makes you feel relaxed.

Choose a writing surface and chair

Consider a standing desk, which is becoming popular for many reasons. Sitting down for long periods of time becomes uncomfortable and unhealthy. You can balance your online time between sitting and standing.

For sitting, you want a chair that is comfortable, but not too comfortable. Invest in a chair that requires you to sit up straight. If there is a comfortable back attached, as with most chairs, you have a tendency to get sleepy. This can trigger other habits as well, such as craving television.

Seek out the place where you can be at your most productive and feel confident and comfortable.

#9 — Choose a nonfiction book writing software

This is one of the most important writing tools you will choose. Your writing software needs to be efficient, easy to use and stress-free. Anything that requires a lot of formatting or a steep learning curve could end up costing you time and patience.

There are literally dozens of choices for book writing software , so it's really just a matter of finding what works best for you.

Here are 3 writing software for new authors to consider:

Microsoft Word. Before any other writing tools came along, Microsoft Word was the only option available. Today, even though there are many other word processors out there, millions of people continue to use it for their writing needs. And it’s easy to see why. It’s trusted, reliable, and gets the job done well .
Google Docs . It's a stripped-down version of Word that you can only use online. Some perks are that it comes with the built-in ability to share content, files, and documents with your team. You can easily communicate via comments for collaboration. If you write your book in Google Docs, you can share the link with anyone and they can edit , or make any changes right in the document itself. And all changes are trackable!
Scrivener . A lot of writers absolutely love this program, with its advanced features and distraction-free writing experience. Scrivener was designed for writers; it’s super easy to lay out scenes, move content around, and outline your story, article, or manuscript. If you’re serious about learning how to write a nonfiction book, then putting in the time to learn this writing tool will definitely be worth it.

There are many forms of writing software that all have advantages to using them, but once you find what works for you, stick with it.

#10 — Create your mind map

A mind map is a brain dump of all your ideas. Using your theme and core idea as a basic starting point, your mind map will help you to visually organize everything into a structure for the book.

I highly recommend using pen and paper for this. You will enjoy the creative flow of this process with a physical version of the map rather than mind mapping software. But, if you prefer using an app to create your mindmap , you can try MindMeister .

Here is how to create your mind map:

Start with your central idea. Write this idea in the center of the map.
Add branches connecting key ideas that flow out from the core idea.
Add keywords that tie these key ideas together.
Using color coded markers or sticky notes, and identify the chapters within your mindmap.
Take your chapter headings and…

#11 — How to write a nonfiction book outline

Now that your book topic is decided on, and you have mind mapped your ideas, it’s time to start determining how to outline a nonfiction book.

There are several ways to create a book outline , and it really boils down to author preference and style.

Here's how to write a nonfiction book outline:

Use this Book Outline Generator for a helpful template to follow for your own outline.
Map out your book's topics with a mindmap or bubble map, then organize similar concepts together into chapters.
Answer the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, Why.
Use book writing software outline tools, like Scrivener's corkboard method.

What is a nonfiction book outline?

A book outline is a roadmap or blueprint for your story. It tells you where you need to go and when in chronological order.

Take the common themes of your chapters and, if applicable, divide your chapters into sections. This is your smooth transition from tangled mind map to organized outline.

Note that not every book needs sections; you might have chapters only. But if your chapters can be grouped into 3-6 different themes within the book, create a section for those common-themed chapters and group them together into a section.

The outline needs to be easy to follow and generally no more than a couple pages long.

The goal here is to take your mind map and consolidate your ideas into a structure that makes logical sense . This will be an incredible roadmap to follow when you are writing the book.

No outline = writing chaos.

There are two types of book outlines I will introduce here:

Option 1: Simple Nonfiction Book Outline

A simple book outline is just like it sounds; keep it basic and brief. Start with the title, then add in your major sections in the order that makes sense for your topic.

Don’t get too hung up on the perfect title at this stage of the process ; you just want to come up with a good-for-now placeholder.

Use our Nonfiction Book Title Generator for ideas.

Option 2: Chapter-by-Chapter Nonfiction Book Outline

Your chapter-by-chapter book outline is a pumped-up version of the simple book outline.

To get started, first create a complete chapter list. With each chapter listed as a heading, you’ll later add material or move chapters around as the draft takes shape.

Create a working title for each chapter. List them in a logical order. After that, you’ll fill in the key points of each chapter.

Create a mind map for each chapter to outline a nonfiction book

Now that you have a list of your chapters, take each one and, similar to what you did with your main mind map for the book, apply this same technique to each chapter.

You want to mind map 3-7 ideas to cover in each chapter. These points will become the subtopics of each chapter that functions to make up chapter structure in your nonfiction book.

It is important to not get hung up on the small details of the chapter content at this stage. Simply make a list of your potential chapters. The outline will most likely change as you write the book. You can tweak the details as you go.

#12 — Determine your point of view

The language can be less formal if you are learning how to write a self-help book or another similar nonfiction book. This is because you are teaching a topic based on your own perspective and not necessarily on something based in scientific research.

Discovering your voice and writing style is as easy as being yourself, but it’s also a tough challenge.

Books that have a more conversational tone to them are just as credible as books with more profound language. You just have to keep your intended audience in mind when deciding what kind of tone you want to have in your book.

The easiest way to do this is to simply write as you would talk, as if you were explaining your topic to someone in front of you – maybe a friend.

Your reader will love this because it will feel like you are sitting with them, having a cup of coffee, hanging out and chatting about your favorite topic.

How To Write A Nonfiction Book Infograph

#13 — Write your first chapter

As soon as you have your nonfiction book outline ready, you want to build momentum right away. The best way to start this is to dive right into your first chapter.

You can start anywhere you like. You don’t have to start writing your nonfiction book in chronological order.

Take a chapter and, if you haven’t yet done so, spend a few minutes to brainstorm the main speaking points. These points are to be your chapter subheadings.

You already have the best software for writing, you’re all set in your writing environment, now you can start writing.

But wait…feeling stuck already?

That’s okay. You might want to start off with some free flow writing. Take a blank page and just start writing down your thoughts. Don’t think about what you are writing or if it makes any sense. This technique is designed to open up your mind to the flow of writing, or stream of consciousness

Write for 10-15 minutes until you are warmed up.

Next, dive into your chapter content.

#14 — Write a nonfiction book first draft

The major step in how to write a nonfiction book is – well, to actually write the first draft!

In this step, you are going to write the first draft of your book. All of it. Notice we did not say you were going to write and edit . No, you are only writing.

Do not edit while you write, and if you can fight temptation, do not read what you’ve written until the first draft is complete.

This seems like a long stretch, to write a 30-40,000-word book without reading it over, but…it’s important to tap into your creative mind and stay there during the writing phase.

It is difficult to access both your writing brain and editing brain at the same time. By sticking with the process of “write first, edit later,” you will finish your first draft faster and feel confident moving into the self-editing phase.

To learn how to write a nonfiction book, use this format:

Mind map your chapter —10 minutes
Outline/chapter subheadings—10 minutes
Research [keep it light]—20 Minutes
Write content—90 minutes

After you're done with your rough draft (first draft) you'll move on to the second draft/rewrite of your book when you will improve the organization, add more details, and create a polished draft before sending the manuscript to the editor.

#15 — Destroy writer’s block

At some point along the writer’s journey, you are going to get stuck. It is inevitable.

It is what we call the “messy middle” and, regardless you are writing fiction or nonfiction, it happens to everyone. You were feeling super-pumped to get this book written but halfway through, it begins to feel like an insurmountable mountain that you’ll never conquer.

Writer’s block is what happens when you hit a wall and struggle to move forward.

Here is what you can do when you find yourself being pulled down that dark hole.

Talk back to the voices trying to overpower your mind. Your internal critic is empowered when you believe what you are listening to is true.

Bring in the writer who has brought you this far – the one who took the initiative to learn how to write a nonfiction book. Be the writer that embraces fear and laughs at perfectionistic tendencies. Be that person that writes something even if it doesn’t sound good. Let yourself make mistakes and give yourself permission to fail.

Use positive affirmations are therapy for removing internal criticism.

Defeat the self-doubt by not owning it. Your fears exist in your mind. The book you are writing is great, and it will be finished.

Now, go finish it…

#16 — Reach out to nonfiction book editors

Before you start your second rewrite, consider reaching out to an editor and lining someone up to professionally edit your book. Then, when you have completed your self-editing process, you can send your book to the editor as quickly as possible.

Just as producing a manuscript involves a varied skill set—writing, formatting, cover design, etc.— so does editing it.

Do not skimp on quality when it come to editing – set aside money in your budget when determining the costs to publish your book .

Getting a quality edit should be the #1 expenditure for your book. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re a fantastic writer—we all make small mistakes that are difficult to catch, even after reading through the book several times.

You can find good editors on sites such as Upwork or through recommendations from other authors.

#17— Self-edit your first draft

You completed the major step in how to write a nonfiction book: Your rough draft is finished . Now it is time to go through your content page per page, line per line, and clean it up.

This is where is gets messy. This is the self-editing stage and is the most critical part of the book writing process.

You can print out the entire manuscript and read through it in a weekend. Arm yourself with a red pen and several highlighters. You’ll be marking up sentences and writing on the page.

Start with a verbal read through.

Yes, actually read your draft out loud to yourself; you'll be surprised how reading it verbally allows you to spot certain mistakes or areas for improvement.

A verbal read through will show you:

Any awkward phrasing you’ve used
What doesn’t make sense
Typos (the more mistakes you find, the less an editor will accidentally overlook)

Questions to ask as you self-edit your nonfiction book:

What part of the book is unclear or vague?
Can the “outsider” understand the point to this section without being told?
Is my language clear and concrete?
Can I add more detail or take detail out?
Can the reader feel my passion for writing and for the topic I am exploring?
What is the best part of this section and how can I make the other parts as good as the best section?
Do I have good transitions between chapters?

For printed out material take lots of notes and correct each page as you go. Or break it down by paragraphs and make sure the content flows and transitions well.

Take 2-3 weeks for the self editing stage. The goal isn’t to make it perfect, but to have a presentable manuscript for the editor.

If you let perfection slip in, you could be self-editing and rewriting six months from now. You want to get your best book published, but not have it take three years to get there.

And, when the self edit is finished…

#18 — Create a nonfiction title

The title and subtitle is critical to getting noticed in any physical or online bookstore, such as Amazon.

Related: Nonfiction Book Title Generator

Set aside a few hours to work on crafting your perfect title and subtitle. Keep in mind that needs to engage your potential readers to buy the book.

The title is by far one of the critical elements of the books’ success .

Here are the main points to consider when creating a nonfiction book title:

Habit Stacking
Example#1: Break the Cycle of Self-Defeat, Destroy Negative Emotions and Reclaim Your Personal Power
Example#2: How to Save More Money, Slash Your Spending, and Master Your Spending

Write down as many title ideas as you can. Then, mix and match, moving keywords around until you come up with a title that “sticks.”

Next, test your title by reaching out for feedback – this can be from anyone in your author network. Don’t have an author community to reach out to?

Consider attending some of the best writers conferences to start networking with other writers and authors!

You can also test your title on sites like PickFu .

#19 — Send your nonfiction book to the editor

In a previous step, you hired your editor. Now you are going to send your book to the editor. This process should take about 2-3 weeks. Most editors will do two revisions.

When you receive your first revision, take a few days to go through the edits with track changes turned on. Carefully consider the suggestions your editor is making.

If you don’t agree with some of the suggested edits, delete them! Your editors don’t know your nonfiction book as well as you do.

So, while expert feedback is essential to creating a polished, professional-quality book, have some faith in yourself and your writing.

Now that the editing is done, you are preparing for the final stage…

#20 — Hire a proofreader

Even with the best of editors, there are often minor errors—typos, punctuation—that get missed. This is why you should consider hiring a proofreader—not your editor—to read through the book and catch any last errors.

You don’t want these mistakes to be picked up by readers and then posted as negative reviews.

You can find proofreaders to hire in your local area, or online, such as Scribendi Proofreaders or ProofreadingServices.com.

Some great proofreading apps to use are Grammarly and Hemingway Editor App .

When you are satisfied that the book is 100% error free and stands up to the best standard of quality, it is time to…

#21 — Hire a formatter

Congratulations…you’re almost there! Hiring your book formatter is one of the final stages before publishing.

Nothing can ruin a good book like bad formatting. A well-formatted book enhances your reader's experience and keeps those pages being turned.

Be sure that you have clear chapter headings and that, wherever possible, the chapter is broken up into subheadings.

You can hire good formatters at places like Archangelink , Ebook Launch , and Formatted Books .

Here are the key pages to include in your nonfiction book:

Front Matter Content

Copyright page
Free gift page with a link to the opt-in page (optional)
Table of contents
Foreword (optional)

Back Matter Content

Lead magnet [reminder]
Work with me (optional)
Acknowledgements (optional)
Upcoming books [optional]

Now, work together with your formatter and communicate clearly the vision for your book. Be certain your formatter has clear instructions and be closely involved in this process until it is finished.

You know how to write a nonfiction book!

Now that you know the entire process to write your book, it's time to move on to the next phase: publishing and launching your book!

For publishing, you have two options: traditional publishing and self publishing. If you’re completely new to the book writing scene, you may want to check out this article which goes over self publishing .

If you’re deciding between self publishing vs traditional publishing , do some research to choose the right option for you.

Once you get to the marketing phase, be sure to use the Book Profit Calculator to set realistic goals and get your book into the hands of as many readers as possible!

Take some time to celebrate your accomplishing of learning how to write a nonfiction book, then get to work on publishing and launching that book.

Non-Fiction

Elite Author Lisa Bray Reawakens the American Dream in Her Debut Business Book

Elite author, david libby asks the hard questions in his new book, elite author, kyle collins shares principles to help you get unstuck in his first book.

What is creative nonfiction? Despite its slightly enigmatic name, no literary genre has grown quite as quickly as creative nonfiction in recent decades. Literary nonfiction is now well-established as a powerful means of storytelling, and bookstores now reserve large amounts of space for nonfiction, when it often used to occupy a single bookshelf.

Like any literary genre, creative nonfiction has a long history; also like other genres, defining contemporary CNF for the modern writer can be nuanced. If you’re interested in writing true-to-life stories but you’re not sure where to begin, let’s start by dissecting the creative nonfiction genre and what it means to write a modern literary essay.

What Creative Nonfiction Is

Creative nonfiction employs the creative writing techniques of literature, such as poetry and fiction, to retell a true story.

How do we define creative nonfiction? What makes it “creative,” as opposed to just “factual writing”? These are great questions to ask when entering the genre, and they require answers which could become literary essays themselves.

In short, creative nonfiction (CNF) is a form of storytelling that employs the creative writing techniques of literature, such as poetry and fiction, to retell a true story. Creative nonfiction writers don’t just share pithy anecdotes, they use craft and technique to situate the reader into their own personal lives. Fictional elements, such as character development and narrative arcs, are employed to create a cohesive story, but so are poetic elements like conceit and juxtaposition.

The CNF genre is wildly experimental, and contemporary nonfiction writers are pushing the bounds of literature by finding new ways to tell their stories. While a CNF writer might retell a personal narrative, they might also focus their gaze on history, politics, or they might use creative writing elements to write an expository essay. There are very few limits to what creative nonfiction can be, which is what makes defining the genre so difficult—but writing it so exciting.

Different Forms of Creative Nonfiction

From the autobiographies of Mark Twain and Benvenuto Cellini, to the more experimental styles of modern writers like Karl Ove Knausgård, creative nonfiction has a long history and takes a wide variety of forms. Common iterations of the creative nonfiction genre include the following:

Also known as biography or autobiography, the memoir form is probably the most recognizable form of creative nonfiction. Memoirs are collections of memories, either surrounding a single narrative thread or multiple interrelated ideas. The memoir is usually published as a book or extended piece of fiction, and many memoirs take years to write and perfect. Memoirs often take on a similar writing style as the personal essay does, though it must be personable and interesting enough to encourage the reader through the entire book.

Personal Essay

Personal essays are stories about personal experiences told using literary techniques.

When someone hears the word “essay,” they instinctively think about those five paragraph book essays everyone wrote in high school. In creative nonfiction, the personal essay is much more vibrant and dynamic. Personal essays are stories about personal experiences, and while some personal essays can be standalone stories about a single event, many essays braid true stories with extended metaphors and other narratives.

Personal essays are often intimate, emotionally charged spaces. Consider the opening two paragraphs from Beth Ann Fennelly’s personal essay “ I Survived the Blizzard of ’79. ”

We didn’t question. Or complain. It wouldn’t have occurred to us, and it wouldn’t have helped. I was eight. Julie was ten.

We didn’t know yet that this blizzard would earn itself a moniker that would be silk-screened on T-shirts. We would own such a shirt, which extended its tenure in our house as a rag for polishing silver.

The word “essay” comes from the French “essayer,” which means “to try” or “attempt.” The personal essay is more than just an autobiographical narrative—it’s an attempt to tell your own history with literary techniques.

Lyric Essay

The lyric essay contains similar subject matter as the personal essay, but is much more experimental in form.

The lyric essay contains similar subject matter as the personal essay, with one key distinction: lyric essays are much more experimental in form. Poetry and creative nonfiction merge in the lyric essay, challenging the conventional prose format of paragraphs and linear sentences.

The lyric essay stands out for its unique writing style and sentence structure. Consider these lines from “ Life Code ” by J. A. Knight:

The dream goes like this: blue room of water. God light from above. Child’s fist, foot, curve, face, the arc of an eye, the symmetry of circles… and then an opening of this body—which surprised her—a movement so clean and assured and then the push towards the light like a frog or a fish.

What we get is language driven by emotion, choosing an internal logic rather than a universally accepted one.

Lyric essays are amazing spaces to break barriers in language. For example, the lyricist might write a few paragraphs about their story, then examine a key emotion in the form of a villanelle or a ghazal . They might decide to write their entire essay in a string of couplets or a series of sonnets, then interrupt those stanzas with moments of insight or analysis. In the lyric essay, language dictates form. The successful lyricist lets the words arrange themselves in whatever format best tells the story, allowing for experimental new forms of storytelling.

Literary Journalism

Much more ambiguously defined is the idea of literary journalism. The idea is simple: report on real life events using literary conventions and styles. But how do you do this effectively, in a way that the audience pays attention and takes the story seriously?

You can best find examples of literary journalism in more “prestigious” news journals, such as The New Yorker , The Atlantic , Salon , and occasionally The New York Times . Think pieces about real world events, as well as expository journalism, might use braiding and extended metaphors to make readers feel more connected to the story. Other forms of nonfiction, such as the academic essay or more technical writing, might also fall under literary journalism, provided those pieces still use the elements of creative nonfiction.

Consider this recently published article from The Atlantic : The Uncanny Tale of Shimmel Zohar by Lawrence Weschler. It employs a style that’s breezy yet personable—including its opening line.

So I first heard about Shimmel Zohar from Gravity Goldberg—yeah, I know, but she insists it’s her real name (explaining that her father was a physicist)—who is the director of public programs and visitor experience at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, in San Francisco.

How to Write Creative Nonfiction: Common Elements and Techniques

What separates a general news update from a well-written piece of literary journalism? What’s the difference between essay writing in high school and the personal essay? When nonfiction writers put out creative work, they are most successful when they utilize the following elements.

Just like fiction, nonfiction relies on effective narration. Telling the story with an effective plot, writing from a certain point of view, and using the narrative to flesh out the story’s big idea are all key craft elements. How you structure your story can have a huge impact on how the reader perceives the work, as well as the insights you draw from the story itself.

Consider the first lines of the story “ To the Miami University Payroll Lady ” by Frenci Nguyen:

You might not remember me, but I’m the dark-haired, Texas-born, Asian-American graduate student who visited the Payroll Office the other day to complete direct deposit and tax forms.

Because the story is written in second person, with the reader experiencing the story as the payroll lady, the story’s narration feels much more personal and important, forcing the reader to evaluate their own personal biases and beliefs.

Observation

Telling the story involves more than just simple plot elements, it also involves situating the reader in the key details. Setting the scene requires attention to all five senses, and interpersonal dialogue is much more effective when the narrator observes changes in vocal pitch, certain facial expressions, and movements in body language. Essentially, let the reader experience the tiny details – we access each other best through minutiae.

The story “ In Transit ” by Erica Plouffe Lazure is a perfect example of storytelling through observation. Every detail of this flash piece is carefully noted to tell a story without direct action, using observations about group behavior to find hope in a crisis. We get observation when the narrator notes the following:

Here at the St. Thomas airport in mid-March, we feel the urgency of the transition, the awareness of how we position our bodies, where we place our luggage, how we consider for the first time the numbers of people whose belongings are placed on the same steel table, the same conveyor belt, the same glowing radioactive scan, whose IDs are touched by the same gloved hand[.]

What’s especially powerful about this story is that it is written in a single sentence, allowing the reader to be just as overwhelmed by observation and context as the narrator is.

We’ve used this word a lot, but what is braiding? Braiding is a technique most often used in creative nonfiction where the writer intertwines multiple narratives, or “threads.” Not all essays use braiding, but the longer a story is, the more it benefits the writer to intertwine their story with an extended metaphor or another idea to draw insight from.

“ The Crush ” by Zsofia McMullin demonstrates braiding wonderfully. Some paragraphs are written in first person, while others are written in second person.

The following example from “The Crush” demonstrates braiding:

Your hair is still wet when you slip into the booth across from me and throw your wallet and glasses and phone on the table, and I marvel at how everything about you is streamlined, compact, organized. I am always overflowing — flesh and wants and a purse stuffed with snacks and toy soldiers and tissues.

The author threads these narratives together by having both people interact in a diner, yet the reader still perceives a distance between the two threads because of the separation of “I” and “you” pronouns. When these threads meet, briefly, we know they will never meet again.

Speaking of insight, creative nonfiction writers must draw novel conclusions from the stories they write. When the narrator pauses in the story to delve into their emotions, explain complex ideas, or draw strength and meaning from tough situations, they’re finding insight in the essay.

Often, creative writers experience insight as they write it, drawing conclusions they hadn’t yet considered as they tell their story, which makes creative nonfiction much more genuine and raw.

The story “ Me Llamo Theresa ” by Theresa Okokun does a fantastic job of finding insight. The story is about the history of our own names and the generations that stand before them, and as the writer explores her disconnect with her own name, she recognizes a similar disconnect in her mother, as well as the need to connect with her name because of her father.

The narrator offers insight when she remarks:

I began to experience a particular type of identity crisis that so many immigrants and children of immigrants go through — where we are called one name at school or at work, but another name at home, and in our hearts.

How to Write Creative Nonfiction: the 5 R’s

CNF pioneer Lee Gutkind developed a very system called the “5 R’s” of creative nonfiction writing. Together, the 5 R’s form a general framework for any creative writing project. They are:

Write about r eal life: Creative nonfiction tackles real people, events, and places—things that actually happened or are happening.
Conduct extensive r esearch: Learn as much as you can about your subject matter, to deepen and enrich your ability to relay the subject matter. (Are you writing about your tenth birthday? What were the newspaper headlines that day?)
(W) r ite a narrative: Use storytelling elements originally from fiction, such as Freytag’s Pyramid , to structure your CNF piece’s narrative as a story with literary impact rather than just a recounting.
Include personal r eflection: Share your unique voice and perspective on the narrative you are retelling.
Learn by r eading: The best way to learn to write creative nonfiction well is to read it being written well. Read as much CNF as you can, and observe closely how the author’s choices impact you as a reader.

You can read more about the 5 R’s in this helpful summary article .

How to Write Creative Nonfiction: Give it a Try!

Whatever form you choose, whatever story you tell, and whatever techniques you write with, the more important aspect of creative nonfiction is this: be honest. That may seem redundant, but often, writers mistakenly create narratives that aren’t true, or they use details and symbols that didn’t exist in the story. Trust us – real life is best read when it’s honest, and readers can tell when details in the story feel fabricated or inflated. Write with honesty, and the right words will follow!

Ready to start writing your creative nonfiction piece? If you need extra guidance or want to write alongside our community, take a look at the upcoming nonfiction classes at Writers.com. Now, go and write the next bestselling memoir!

Sean Glatch

Thank you so much for including these samples from Hippocampus Magazine essays/contributors; it was so wonderful to see these pieces reflected on from the craft perspective! – Donna from Hippocampus

Absolutely, Donna! I’m a longtime fan of Hippocampus and am always astounded by the writing you publish. We’re always happy to showcase stunning work 🙂

[…] Source: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/a-complete-guide-to-writing-creative-nonfiction#5-creative-nonfiction-writing-promptshttps://writers.com/what-is-creative-nonfiction […]

So impressive

Thank you. I’ve been researching a number of figures from the 1800’s and have come across a large number of ‘biographies’ of figures. These include quoted conversations which I knew to be figments of the author and yet some works are lauded as ‘histories’.

excellent guidelines inspiring me to write CNF thank you

21 Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts to Inspire True Stories

by Sue Weems | 0 comments

If you've ever wanted to tell a true story using more literary techniques, then the genre you're exploring is creative nonfiction. Let's define creative nonfiction and then try some creative nonfiction writing prompts today.

Title "21 Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts" with photo of a stack of old letters

What is creative nonfiction?

Creative nonfiction is a literary genre of writing that uses fiction techniques and stylistic choices to express real-life experiences. It depends on story elements especially, so everything you've learned about structure will serve you well in creative nonfiction.

It often includes personal essays, memoirs, biographies, and other related genres such as travel writing or food writing. Creative nonfiction writers strive to make their pieces engaging to readers with narrative techniques typically found in fiction, such as vivid descriptions and dialogue, but in addition to that, they approach their subject matter with a thoughtfulness about the larger meaning of experiences.

It's an extremely flexible form. You can begin by writing out a personal experience and then layering it with narrative or thematic elements. You can infuse your writing with poetic elements to make the writing more lyrical. The possibilities for your writing practice are endless.

Because of that, it's the perfect form for practicing new techniques and experimenting with your storytelling. You could use any nonfiction prompt, but let me give you a few to try today. Remember the one thing you want to do is tell a true story (or as true as you can tell it!).

And if you've always dreamed of writing a memoir, check out our full guide to writing a memoir here .

21 Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts

1. Tell a personal story about a time you lost something that changed your life.

2. Relate a childhood experience where you felt locked out literally or figuratively.

3. Think about a road trip—maybe not the epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip, but a smaller one that surprised you with something on the way. Write about the vivid details and what defied your expectations.

4. Write about finding unexpected love or friendship.

5. Tell a story about the last time you felt at home.

6. Relate a time when you had to leave something important or precious behind.

7. Tell about a time you had to dig.

8. Write about the first time of drove or traveled alone and it changed you.

9. Tell about a painful or poignant goodbye.

10. Relate a favorite memory about a significant figure in your life.

11. Write the story of the most difficult decision you made in each decade of your life.

12. Tell the story of a birth: of a person, an idea, a business, a relationship.

13. Relate the most life-changing conversation you've had using only dialogue. (or stream-of-consciousness or alternating point of view)

14. Recreate the earliest significant experience you had with school or learning.

15. Write about a tiny object that changed your life.

16. Tell the story of an argument that ended in a surprising or unexpected way.

17. Recreate a scene where you had to defend yourself or someone else.

18. Share a story about trying something new (whether you failed or met success).

19. Write about the moment you knew you had to keep a secret.

20. Tell about a time you interacted, viewed, or read a piece of art and it changed you.

21. Share about a letter, email, or text that disrupted your life and caused you to change course.

Put your writing skills to the test

Now it's your turn. Dig into those childhood memories or visceral experiences that have made you who you are. Tell the story and then look for ways to explore literary technique as you revise.

Choose one of the prompts above and set your timer for fifteen minutes . Write the experience as vividly and direct as you can. Often, the magic of creative nonfiction comes in revision, so don't worry about focusing on too many stylistic choices at first.

When finished, share your creative nonfiction piece in the Pro Practice Workshop here , and encourage a few other writers while you're there.

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

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How to Write a Nonfiction Book (8 Key Stages)

This article explores how to write a nonfiction book, a genre encompassing various subjects from history and biography to self-help and science.

Nonfiction writing, distinct from its fictional counterpart, demands a rigorous approach to factual accuracy, comprehensive research, and clarity in presentation. We aim to provide a pragmatic guide for aspiring authors, delineating the steps involved in a nonfiction work’s conceptualization, research, writing, editing, and publishing.

This guide serves both novice and experienced writers, offering insights into each phase of the book-writing process. By adhering to a methodical approach, writers can transform their knowledge and ideas into compelling, well-structured nonfiction books.

How to Write a Nonfiction Book

Here are the main 8 stages of writing a nonfiction book. Let’s start.

Choosing a Topic

Selecting the right topic is the cornerstone of writing a successful nonfiction book. This step is crucial because it influences your writing journey and impacts the appeal to your target audience.

Whether you are writing a nonfiction book for the first time or the tenth time, it never hurts to use a good template. Squibler provides writing-ready templates, including for nonfiction topics.

Identifying Your Passion

Begin by introspecting about subjects you are interested in or even a personal story that you have. The ideal topic should intrigue you and sustain your interest over the long process of writing a book. It could be a field you have expertise in, a hobby you are passionate about, or a subject you have always wanted to explore in depth.

Use Portent’s Content Idea Generator to generate ideas based on any subject you have in mind.

Assessing Market Demand

Once you have a list of potential topics, the next step is to analyze the market demand. This involves researching current trends, finding a popular nonfiction book title in your chosen genre, and identifying gaps in the available literature. Tools like Google Trends and Amazon’s Best Sellers lists can provide insights into what readers are currently interested in.

Conducting Initial Research

Before finalizing your topic, conduct preliminary research to ensure there’s enough information available to cover your subject comprehensively. This research will also help you understand the different perspectives and debates surrounding your topic. It’s important to ensure that the topic is not too broad, making it difficult to cover thoroughly or too narrow, limiting the book’s appeal to a wider audience.

Finalizing Your Topic

After considering your passion, market demand, and the availability of research material, narrow down your choices to one topic. This topic should be interesting and marketable and offer a unique angle or perspective that distinguishes your book from existing works in the field.

Use the Hedgehog Concept to find a great topic for your nonfiction book. Read all about this concept here .

In summary, choosing a topic for your nonfiction book requires balancing personal interest, market viability, and availability of sufficient content. This careful consideration will set the foundation for a compelling and successful nonfiction book.

Research and Gathering Information

Conducting research is a fundamental aspect of writing nonfiction. It involves gathering, organizing, and verifying information to ensure reliability.

Detailed Methods for Conducting Effective Research

Here are helpful methods for conducting research:

Identify Reliable Sources: Identify authoritative sources such as academic journals, books by respected authors, government publications, and reputable news organizations. Online databases and libraries can be invaluable for this.
Diverse Research Techniques: Use primary sources (like interviews, surveys, and firsthand observations) and secondary sources (such as books, articles, and documentaries). This mix provides depth and perspective to your research.
Note-Taking and Documentation: As you gather information, take detailed notes. Record bibliographic information (author, title, publication date, etc.) for each source to make referencing easier later. Tools like Zotero or EndNote can help manage citations.

Tips for Organizing and Compiling Research Materials

Here are some further tips for organizing your nonfiction book writing process.

Categorize Information: Organize your research into categories related to different aspects of your topic. This will make it easier to find information when you start writing.
Use Digital Tools: Utilize digital tools such as spreadsheets, document folders, or specialized research software to keep your information organized.
Maintain a Research Log: Keep a log of your research activities, including where you found information and keywords or topics searched. This log will be invaluable if you need to revisit a source.

By using Squibler for your writing, you can use many tools to organize your writing to stick to a steady schedule.

Ethical Considerations and Fact-Checking in Nonfiction Writing

Here are ethical considerations to be aware of when learning how to write a nonfiction book:

Fact-Checking: Rigorously check the facts you plan to include in your book. Verify dates, names, quotes, and statistics from multiple sources.
Avoid Plagiarism: Always give proper credit to the sources of your information. Paraphrase where necessary and use quotations for direct citations.
Ethical Reporting: Be aware of the ethical implications of your writing, especially when dealing with sensitive topics. Strive for fairness and accuracy in your representation of different viewpoints.

Effective research for a nonfiction book requires a systematic and ethical approach to gathering, organizing, and verifying information. You can ensure that your nonfiction work is credible and compelling by using various research methods, maintaining organized notes, and adhering to ethical standards.

Planning and Outlining the Book

Planning and outlining are critical steps in writing a nonfiction book. This phase involves structuring your ideas and research findings into a coherent and logical framework to guide your writing process.

Importance of Creating a Detailed Outline

Read about the importance of having a detailed outline.

Blueprint for Your Book: An outline serves as a roadmap for your book, helping you organize your thoughts and research systematically. It ensures that your narrative flows and that you cover all key points.
Efficiency and Focus: A well-structured outline helps you write. It keeps you focused on your main points and prevents you from veering off-topic.
Identifying Gaps: During the outlining process, you may identify areas where further research or elaboration is needed, allowing you to address these gaps before you begin writing.

Here is an example of how to outline your book based on the structure:

Methods for Outlining Nonfiction Books

Here, you’ll learn about key methods for creating an outline:

Chronological Structure: A chronological approach might be most effective for topics that unfold over time, such as historical events or biographies.
Thematic Structure: If your book covers different aspects of a topic, organizing your outline by themes or subjects can help present information in a more integrated way.
Problem-Solution Framework: For topics like business or self-help, structuring your outline to present problems and their solutions can engage readers.

Tips for Structuring Your Book

Read some further tips for creating a book structure:

Start with a Broad Overview: Begin your outline with a broad overview of your topic, then break it into more specific chapters or sections.
Balance Your Chapters: Try to balance the length and depth of each chapter to keep readers engaged and ensure a smooth flow.
Include Introduction and Conclusion: Plan for an introductory section to set the context of your book and a conclusion to wrap up and reinforce your key messages.
Consider Readers’ Needs: Keep your intended audience in mind while outlining. Structure your content to address the readers’ interests, background knowledge, and expectations.

Writing the First Draft

Writing the first draft of a nonfiction book is where you transform your research and outline into a manuscript. This stage is about getting your ideas down on paper and shaping the raw material of your research into a readable and engaging narrative.

Starting the Writing Process

Here, you will read the main steps in writing nonfiction and healthy writing habits for creative nonfiction.

Overcoming the Blank Page: The first step is to overcome the intimidation of the blank page. Begin by writing about the parts you are most comfortable with or most excited about. This builds momentum.
Refer to Your Outline: Consult your outline to stay on track. However, be flexible enough to deviate if a section needs more elaboration or a different direction.
Set Realistic Goals: Establish daily or weekly word count goals. Consistency is key to making steady progress.
Write Consistent Conversations: A nonfiction writer creates a conversation with their readers. Create a consistent information flow by using one of the four types.

Here are four types of conversations that will give you an idea of what will work best for your audience.

Maintaining a Consistent Writing Routine

Learn how to maintain a writing routine in each writing phase:

Create a Writing Schedule: Set aside dedicated time for writing each day or week. Consistency is crucial, whether an hour every morning or a full day over the weekend.
Create a Writing Environment: Find or create a space where you can write without distractions. The right environment can significantly boost your productivity and focus.

Dealing with Writer’s Block

Read about the basics of overcoming writer’s block.

Take Breaks: Step away from your work if you hit a block. Sometimes, taking a short walk or engaging in a different activity can refresh your mind.
Write Freely: Don’t be too concerned with perfection in the first draft. Allow yourself to write freely without worrying too much about grammar or style at this stage.
Talk It Out: Discussing your ideas with someone can provide new perspectives and help overcome blocks.

Staying Motivated

Learn how to stay motivated:

Track Your Progress: Tracking your progress can be a great motivational tool. Seeing how far you’ve come can encourage you to keep going.
Seek Feedback: Sharing sections of your draft with trusted friends or other nonfiction authors provides encouragement and constructive feedback.
Remember Your Purpose: Remind yourself why you started this project. Revisiting your initial inspiration can reignite your enthusiasm.

Writing the first draft of your nonfiction book involves starting with confidence, maintaining a disciplined routine, tackling challenges like writer’s block, and staying motivated throughout the process. This stage is less about perfection and more about bringing your ideas to life in a coherent structure. Remember, the first draft is just the beginning, and refinement comes later in the editing stages.

Editing and Revising

Editing and revising are about refining your first draft and enhancing its clarity, coherence, and overall quality. It involves scrutinizing and improving your manuscript at different levels, from overall structure to individual sentences.

The Importance of a Self-Editing Process

Read about self-editing.

First Layer of Refinement: Self-editing is your first opportunity to review and improve your work. This process includes reorganizing sections, ensuring each chapter flows logically into the next, and checking for consistency in tone and style.
Focus on Clarity and Conciseness: Look for areas where arguments can be made clearer, descriptions more vivid, and redundancies eliminated. It’s crucial to be concise and to the point in nonfiction writing.

Seeking Feedback

Here, you will read about basic tips for seeking feedback.

Beta Readers and Writing Groups: Share your manuscript with trusted individuals representing your target audience. Beta readers or members of writing groups can provide invaluable feedback from a reader’s perspective.
Constructive Criticism: Be open to constructive criticism. It can provide insights into areas you might have overlooked or not considered fully.

Hiring a Professional Editor

Here’s what to consider if you think you need a professional editor.

When and Why It’s Necessary: A professional editor can bring a level of polish and expertise that’s hard to achieve on your own. They can help with structural issues, language clarity, and fact-checking. Consider hiring an editor, especially if you plan to self-publish.
Types of Editing Services: Understand the different editing services available, including developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Each serves a different purpose and is relevant at different stages of the revision process.

Revising Your Manuscript

Here, you’ll read about revising the manuscript.

Iterative Process: Revision is an iterative process. It may require several rounds to get your manuscript to the desired quality.
Attention to Detail: Check grammar, punctuation, and factual accuracy. Nonfiction books, in particular, need to be factually correct and well-cited.
Incorporating Feedback: Integrate the feedback from your beta readers and editor judiciously. Balance maintaining your voice and message with addressing valid concerns and suggestions.

Editing and revising are where your manuscript transforms into its final form. This stage requires patience, attention to detail, and, often, external input. By embracing the editing and revising process, you can significantly enhance the quality of your nonfiction book, making it more engaging, credible, and polished.

Publishing Options

After writing, editing, and revising your nonfiction book, the next critical step in the how-to-write-a-nonfiction-book process is to decide how to publish it. Today, a nonfiction author has various options, each with its own set of advantages and challenges. Understanding these can help you choose the best path for your nonfiction book.

Traditional Publishing

Here, you can read about traditional publishing routes.

Working with Literary Agents: Traditional publishing typically involves securing a literary agent to represent your book to publishers. An agent’s knowledge of the market and industry contacts can be invaluable.
The Submission Process: This involves preparing a proposal and sample chapters to send to publishers, often through your agent. The process can be lengthy and competitive.
Advantages: Traditional publishers offer editorial, design, and marketing support. They can also provide broader distribution channels.
Considerations: It can be challenging to get accepted by a traditional publisher. They usually control the final product and a significant share of the profits.

Self-Publishing

Here, you can read about the possibility of self-published books.

Complete Creative Control: Self-publishing gives you total control over every aspect of your book, from the content to the cover design and pricing.
The Self-Publishing Process: This includes tasks like formatting the book, obtaining an ISBN, and choosing distribution channels (e.g., Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing).
Marketing and Promotion: Self-publishing means you are responsible for marketing and promoting your book. This can be a significant task but also offers the opportunity for higher royalties per book sold.
Accessibility: Platforms like Amazon, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital have made self-publishing more accessible, offering tools and services to assist authors.

Hybrid Publishing

The third option is hybrid publishing. Read more about it:

Combination of Traditional and Self-Publishing: Hybrid publishing models combine elements of both traditional and self-publishing, offering more support than self-publishing alone but with more flexibility and control for the author.
Costs and Services: These publishers often charge for their services, but they also offer professional editing, design, and marketing services.

Choosing the Right Option

Finally, here are tips for deciding exactly what the route to take:

Consider Your Goals: Consider what you want to achieve with your book. Are you looking to reach a wide audience, maintain creative control, or see your book in bookstores?
Understand Your Audience: Knowing where your target audience buys books can guide your choice. Some genres do exceptionally well in self-publishing, while others fare better with traditional publishers.
Assess Your Resources: Consider your budget, available time for marketing, and your comfort level with the various aspects of the publishing process.

The choice between traditional, self-publishing, and hybrid options depends on your goals, resources, and the level of control and support you desire. Each path has its unique set of benefits and challenges, and understanding these can help you make an informed decision about the best way to bring your nonfiction book to your readers.

Marketing and Promotion

The success of a nonfiction book depends on effective marketing and promotion strategies. Here are tactics that you can use:

Building an Author Platform: A strong author platform is essential for success in marketing. This involves establishing your online and offline presence, which can be achieved through a professional website, active social media profiles, blogging, and networking in relevant communities. An effective platform helps in building credibility and a loyal reader base.
Effective Marketing Strategies: Developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan is key. This could include arranging book launch events, participating in speaking engagements, creating promotional content, and engaging in online marketing efforts. Tailoring these strategies to your target audience and leveraging the right channels are critical for maximum impact.
Utilizing Social Media: Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your book. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer direct engagement with your audience. Regular posts, interactive content, and targeted ads on these platforms increase your book’s visibility and attract potential readers.
Book Tours and Speaking Engagements: Conducting book tours and speaking at relevant events can enhance your book’s exposure. These engagements provide opportunities for personal interaction with your audience through physical events or virtual webinars and talks. They are effective in generating interest and boosting sales.
Engaging with Media and PR: Media engagement is another vital aspect of book promotion. Reaching out to newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV programs related to your book’s topic can help gain wider exposure. Press releases, interviews, and book reviews are traditional yet effective ways to attract media attention.
Email Marketing: Email marketing involves contacting your audience directly through newsletters and email campaigns. It’s an effective way to keep your readers informed about your book, upcoming events, and any new content you produce.
Collaborations and Partnerships: Partnering with other authors, bloggers, and organizations can amplify your marketing efforts. These collaborations can include joint promotional events, guest blogging, or featuring on podcasts. Such partnerships can help you reach a broader audience and gain credibility in your field.

Here are the most frequently asked questions about how to write a nonfiction book.

1. How do I choose the right topic for my nonfiction book?

Choosing the right topic involves balancing your interests, expertise, and what readers are interested in. Consider topics you are passionate about and know well, then research the market to see if there’s a demand for information on these subjects. It’s also important to ensure there’s enough material available to write a comprehensive book on the topic.

2. How much research should I do for my nonfiction book?

The amount of research needed varies depending on the subject. However, gathering comprehensive and accurate information is vital to establish credibility and trust with your readers. Use a mix of primary and secondary sources and verify facts from multiple sources. Remember, in nonfiction, the quality and reliability of your information are as important as how you present it.

3. Should I write an outline before starting my nonfiction book?

Yes, creating an outline is highly recommended. An outline is a roadmap for your whole book idea, whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. It ensures you cover all necessary points and maintain a logical flow throughout the book. Outlines can be modified as you write, but having a basic structure in place can significantly ease the writing process.

4. What are the key steps in editing and revising my nonfiction book?

Editing and revising involves several steps: First, conduct a self-edit to improve structure, clarity, and coherence. Next, get feedback from beta readers or a writing group. Finally, consider hiring a professional editor for developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Pay attention to factual accuracy and consistency, and eliminate redundancies or unclear sections. Remember, editing and revising are crucial for enhancing the quality and readability of your book.

How to Write a Book (10 Mistakes to Avoid)

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Last updated on Feb 20, 2023

Creative Nonfiction: How to Spin Facts into Narrative Gold

Creative nonfiction is a genre of creative writing that approaches factual information in a literary way. This type of writing applies techniques drawn from literary fiction and poetry to material that might be at home in a magazine or textbook, combining the craftsmanship of a novel with the rigor of journalism.

Here are some popular examples of creative nonfiction:

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang
Intimations by Zadie Smith
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino

Creative nonfiction is not limited to novel-length writing, of course. Popular radio shows and podcasts like WBEZ’s This American Life or Sarah Koenig’s Serial also explore audio essays and documentary with a narrative approach, while personal essays like Nora Ephron’s A Few Words About Breasts and Mariama Lockington’s What A Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew also present fact with fiction-esque flair.

Writing short personal essays can be a great entry point to writing creative nonfiction. Think about a topic you would like to explore, perhaps borrowing from your own life, or a universal experience. Journal freely for five to ten minutes about the subject, and see what direction your creativity takes you in. These kinds of exercises will help you begin to approach reality in a more free flowing, literary way — a muscle you can use to build up to longer pieces of creative nonfiction.

If you think you’d like to bring your writerly prowess to nonfiction, here are our top tips for creating compelling creative nonfiction that’s as readable as a novel, but as illuminating as a scholarly article.

Write a memoir focused on a singular experience

Humans love reading about other people’s lives — like first-person memoirs, which allow you to get inside another person’s mind and learn from their wisdom. Unlike autobiographies, memoirs can focus on a single experience or theme instead of chronicling the writers’ life from birth onward.

For that reason, memoirs tend to focus on one core theme and—at least the best ones—present a clear narrative arc, like you would expect from a novel. This can be achieved by selecting a singular story from your life; a formative experience, or period of time, which is self-contained and can be marked by a beginning, a middle, and an end.

When writing a memoir, you may also choose to share your experience in parallel with further research on this theme. By performing secondary research, you’re able to bring added weight to your anecdotal evidence, and demonstrate the ways your own experience is reflective (or perhaps unique from) the wider whole.

Example: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Creative Nonfiction example: Cover of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking , for example, interweaves the author’s experience of widowhood with sociological research on grief. Chronicling the year after her husband’s unexpected death, and the simultaneous health struggles of their daughter, The Year of Magical Thinking is a poignant personal story, layered with universal insight into what it means to lose someone you love. The result is the definitive exploration of bereavement — and a stellar example of creative nonfiction done well.

📚 Looking for more reading recommendations? Check out our list of the best memoirs of the last century .

Tip: What you cut out is just as important as what you keep

When writing a memoir that is focused around a singular theme, it’s important to be selective in what to include, and what to leave out. While broader details of your life may be helpful to provide context, remember to resist the impulse to include too much non-pertinent backstory. By only including what is most relevant, you are able to provide a more focused reader experience, and won’t leave readers guessing what the significance of certain non-essential anecdotes will be.

💡 For more memoir-planning tips, head over to our post on outlining memoirs .

Of course, writing a memoir isn’t the only form of creative nonfiction that lets you tap into your personal life — especially if there’s something more explicit you want to say about the world at large… which brings us onto our next section.

Pen a personal essay that has something bigger to say

Personal essays condense the first-person focus and intimacy of a memoir into a tighter package — tunneling down into a specific aspect of a theme or narrative strand within the author’s personal experience.

Often involving some element of journalistic research, personal essays can provide examples or relevant information that comes from outside the writer’s own experience. This can take the form of other people’s voices quoted in the essay, or facts and stats. By combining lived experiences with external material, personal essay writers can reach toward a bigger message, telling readers something about human behavior or society instead of just letting them know the writer better.

Example: The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison

Creative nonfiction example: Cover of Leslie Jamison's The Empathy Exams

Leslie Jamison's widely acclaimed collection The Empathy Exams tackles big questions (Why is pain so often performed? Can empathy be “bad”?) by grounding them in the personal. While Jamison draws from her own experiences, both as a medical actor who was paid to imitate pain, and as a sufferer of her own ailments, she also reaches broader points about the world we live in within each of her essays.

Whether she’s talking about the justice system or reality TV, Jamison writes with both vulnerability and poise, using her lived experience as a jumping-off point for exploring the nature of empathy itself.

Tip: Try to show change in how you feel about something

Including external perspectives, as we’ve just discussed above, will help shape your essay, making it meaningful to other people and giving your narrative an arc.

Ultimately, you may be writing about yourself, but readers can read what they want into it. In a personal narrative, they’re looking for interesting insights or realizations they can apply to their own understanding of their lives or the world — so don’t lose sight of that. As the subject of the essay, you are not so much the topic as the vehicle for furthering a conversation.

Often, there are three clear stages in an essay:

Initial state
Encounter with something external
New, changed state, and conclusions

By bringing readers through this journey with you, you can guide them to new outlooks and demonstrate how your story is still relevant to them.

Had enough of writing about your own life? Let’s look at a form of creative nonfiction that allows you to get outside of yourself.

Tell a factual story as though it were a novel

The form of creative nonfiction that is perhaps closest to conventional nonfiction is literary journalism. Here, the stories are all fact, but they are presented with a creative flourish. While the stories being told might comfortably inhabit a newspaper or history book, they are presented with a sense of literary significance, and writers can make use of literary techniques and character-driven storytelling.

Unlike news reporters, literary journalists can make room for their own perspectives: immersing themselves in the very action they recount. Think of them as both characters and narrators — but every word they write is true.

If you think literary journalism is up your street, think about the kinds of stories that capture your imagination the most, and what those stories have in common. Are they, at their core, character studies? Parables? An invitation to a new subculture you have never before experienced? Whatever piques your interest, immerse yourself.

Example: The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

Creative nonfiction example: Cover of Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire

If you’re looking for an example of literary journalism that tells a great story, look no further than Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World , which sits at the intersection of food writing and popular science. Though it purports to offer a “plant’s-eye view of the world,” it’s as much about human desires as it is about the natural world.

Through the history of four different plants and human’s efforts to cultivate them, Pollan uses first-hand research as well as archival facts to explore how we attempt to domesticate nature for our own pleasure, and how these efforts can even have devastating consequences. Pollan is himself a character in the story, and makes what could be a remarkably dry topic accessible and engaging in the process.

Tip: Don’t pretend that you’re perfectly objective

You may have more room for your own perspective within literary journalism, but with this power comes great responsibility. Your responsibilities toward the reader remain the same as that of a journalist: you must, whenever possible, acknowledge your own biases or conflicts of interest, as well as any limitations on your research.

Thankfully, the fact that literary journalism often involves a certain amount of immersion in the narrative — that is, the writer acknowledges their involvement in the process — you can touch on any potential biases explicitly, and make it clear that the story you’re telling, while true to what you experienced, is grounded in your own personal perspective.

Approach a famous name with a unique approach

Biographies are the chronicle of a human life, from birth to the present or, sometimes, their demise. Often, fact is stranger than fiction, and there is no shortage of fascinating figures from history to discover. As such, a biographical approach to creative nonfiction will leave you spoilt for choice in terms of subject matter.

Because they’re not written by the subjects themselves (as memoirs are), biographical nonfiction requires careful research. If you plan to write one, do everything in your power to verify historical facts, and interview the subject’s family, friends, and acquaintances when possible. Despite the necessity for candor, you’re still welcome to approach biography in a literary way — a great creative biography is both truthful and beautifully written.

Example: American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Creative nonfiction example: Cover of American Prometheus

Alongside the need for you to present the truth is a duty to interpret that evidence with imagination, and present it in the form of a story. Demonstrating a novelist’s skill for plot and characterization, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s American Prometheus is a great example of creative nonfiction that develops a character right in front of the readers’ eyes.

American Prometheus follows J. Robert Oppenheimer from his bashful childhood to his role as the father of the atomic bomb, all the way to his later attempts to reckon with his violent legacy.

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The biography tells a story that would fit comfortably in the pages of a tragic novel, but is grounded in historical research. Clocking in at a hefty 721 pages, American Prometheus distills an enormous volume of archival material, including letters, FBI files, and interviews into a remarkably readable volume.

📚 For more examples of world-widening, eye-opening biographies, check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time .

Tip: The good stuff lies in the mundane details

Biographers are expected to undertake academic-grade research before they put pen to paper. You will, of course, read any existing biographies on the person you’re writing about, and visit any archives containing relevant material. If you’re lucky, there’ll be people you can interview who knew your subject personally — but even if there aren’t, what’s going to make your biography stand out is paying attention to details, even if they seem mundane at first.

Of course, no one cares which brand of slippers a former US President wore — gossip is not what we’re talking about. But if you discover that they took a long, silent walk every single morning, that’s a granular detail you could include to give your readers a sense of the weight they carried every day. These smaller details add up to a realistic portrait of a living, breathing human being.

But creative nonfiction isn’t just writing about yourself or other people. Writing about art is also an art, as we’ll see below.

Put your favorite writers through the wringer with literary criticism

Literary criticism is often associated with dull, jargon-laden college dissertations — but it can be a wonderfully rewarding form that blurs the lines between academia and literature itself. When tackled by a deft writer, a literary critique can be just as engrossing as the books it analyzes.

Many of the sharpest literary critics are also poets, poetry editors , novelists, or short story writers, with first-hand awareness of literary techniques and the ability to express their insights with elegance and flair. Though literary criticism sounds highly theoretical, it can be profoundly intimate: you’re invited to share in someone’s experience as a reader or writer — just about the most private experience there is.

Example: The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar

Creative nonfiction example: Cover of The Madwoman in the Attic

Take The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, a seminal work approaching Victorian literature from a feminist perspective. Written as a conversation between two friends and academics, this brilliant book reads like an intellectual brainstorming session in a casual dining venue. Highly original, accessible, and not suffering from the morose gravitas academia is often associated with, this text is a fantastic example of creative nonfiction.

Tip: Remember to make your critiques creative

Literary criticism may be a serious undertaking, but unless you’re trying to pitch an academic journal, you’ll need to be mindful of academic jargon and convoluted sentence structure. Don’t forget that the point of popular literary criticism is to make ideas accessible to readers who aren’t necessarily academics, introducing them to new ways of looking at anything they read.

If you’re not feeling confident, a professional nonfiction editor could help you confirm you’ve hit the right stylistic balance.

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Is creative nonfiction looking a little bit clearer now? You can try your hand at the genre , or head to the next post in this guide and discover online classes where you can hone your skills at creative writing.

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How to Finally Write Your Nonfiction Book

No, it will not be easy. Yes, it will be rewarding. (Eventually.)

By Kristin Wong

“I’d like to write a book someday.”

Like many writers, I said this for years before finally deciding to commit to the long and grueling process of publishing my first book , which is about personal finance.

Most authors would probably agree that writing a book is one of the most difficult challenges of their careers. You spend your summer inside writing while your friends post photos of their beach vacations on Instagram. Once your book is published, the work is far from over: You must now sell it like your career depends on it, because it kind of does. Failure is a constant fear, and impostor syndrome can feel overwhelming. But more often than not, it’s also completely worth it.

Consider your ‘platform’

Before you write your first word, ask yourself: Do I have an audience? And, most important: Does my idea actually appeal to readers?

“My most common recommendation for people who want to write a book is, ‘Don’t — not yet,’” said Ramit Sethi, the author of “ I Will Teach You to Be Rich .” “Build a large audience first.” Mr. Sethi, whose nonfiction personal finance book started as a blog with the same title, was able to amass hundreds of thousands of readers before he landed a book deal.

Building an audience isn’t a prerequisite, of course, and it’s certainly not easy, but publishers like authors who come with a built-in market.

Don’t write your book — yet

Many aspiring authors assume that getting started means cranking out tens of thousands of words before you approach an agent or publisher, but it might depend on the book. If you have an idea for a nonfiction book, it’s better to write a couple of chapters and then pitch a book proposal. That way, you can see if there’s any interest before you churn out 80,000 words on a given topic.

Even though you might not need to write the entire book before pitching it, it’s likely that if an agent or potential publisher likes the idea, they’ll still want to see at least two sample chapters. In any case, you’re going to want to fully flesh out your idea and write up those sample chapters before reaching out to agents, or, if you’re still building an audience, a few blog posts on your topic. Doing so will give you a deeper sense of what your book is about and what the rest of the writing process will be like — and this will also help you firm up your ideas of what the rest of the book will be like.

Decide how to publish

With traditional publishing, you’ll put together a book proposal, find an agent and then your agent will send your proposal to publishers. If those publishers like your idea, they could make you an offer. If multiple publishers like your idea your book might even go to auction, which could help you secure a more lucrative deal.

If a publisher buys your book, your advance from the publisher will likely be paid out in installments (typically two or three). How those payments are broken up varies widely, but one possible combination is a third paid on contract signing, another third on manuscript delivery, and the final third upon publication. (Though sometimes the advance is paid out in two sums, and, in some instances, four or more .) You won’t earn royalties from your book until you sell enough copies to outearn your advance.

Self-publishing means publishing your book on your own, or with the help of a self-publishing platform like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or CreateSpace , which is also owned by Amazon. Barnes & Noble also has a self-publishing platform .

“As a self-published author, you have more control of your work because you have more control of your deadlines and budget,” said Nailah Harvey, author of “ Look Better in Writing .” “Some people do not work well with the pressure of third-party deadlines, so self-publishing may be a better fit for their personality.” You also have full creative control over your work, Ms. Harvey said, whereas with a publisher, you may have to bend to their ideas for your book title, cover and content.

Mr. Sethi, both a traditionally published and se lf-published author , said your choice will partly depend on what’s more important to you: profit or credibility. Traditional publishing lends you the latter, while self-publishing can be more profitable because you won’t have to give a percentage of sales to an agent and publisher. On the other hand, an agent and publisher might be able to help increase your reach to make those sales.

Self-publishing also means your book will be available on only the platform you publish with, and it likely will never get on shelves in physical bookstores or libraries.

If you opt to self-publish, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing , an online publishing platform for digital books and paperbacks, is an ideal place to start. The site includes manuscript templates you can download and follow. You’ll write, edit, proofread and format the book before uploading it for approval.

Self-publishing means you have to do all of the work, like designing a cover and proofreading, yourself (or hire people to help).

Write your book proposal

While an agent will likely want to see the completed manuscript of a novel, a nonfiction book typically requires a proposal, which is a detailed outline of what your book is and why it matters. Rather than thinking of your proposal as an introduction to the book, think of it as a business case for why it’s worth a publisher’s time and investment.

You’ll make the case for your book’s marketability in this proposal, so you’ll want to include sections on your target audience, competitive titles, a table of contents and an outline. You can find downloadable book proposal templates online. For example, the publishing platform Reedsy includes detailed explanations of what’s included in a book proposal on their blog , along with a template you can download. The literary agent Ted Weinstein shares a simple nonfiction template on his website. And Jane Friedman, a Publisher’s Weekly columnist, includes a brief outline and introduction to writing a book proposal on her website .

“If it’s a big New York publishing house, they’re probably looking for an idea with relevancy or currency in the market, combined with an author who has a platform — visibility to the intended readership,” Ms. Friedman said.

Publishers also like to see numbers. Try to quantify your platform using metrics like your combined social media followers, newsletter subscribers or monthly page views on your blog.

Find an agent

“An agent is a near-requirement if you want to be published by one of the major New York publishing houses,” Ms. Friedman said. While you can approach smaller publishing houses and university presses directly, you’ll still need someone to look over your contract. If not an agent, you’ll need to hire a literary or intellectual property lawyer once you get to that step, she added.

Start your search for an agent using databases like AgentQuery and P & W’s Agents Database . You can also search Publishers Marketplace for their deals section (subscription required) and the Association of Authors’ Representatives . A lower-tech option: Look in the back of similar books to see who the author thanks in the acknowledgments.

You may have to query multiple agents about your idea. Ideally, one of them will bite and want to represent you. Then, you’ll have a helping hand through the rest of the process. The agent will pitch your book proposal or manuscript to publishers, which can lead to getting-to-know-you meetings with publishers and editors, or both. If a publisher loves your idea, your agent will then negotiate the contract and terms with input from you as needed. It sounds simple, but this can take much more time than many writers expect.

Now it’s time to write

Start by establishing your writing habit. Don’t look at your book as a monster, 80,000-word project; view it as a collection of tiny goals and achievements you can knock off one at a time. (One way to structure this type of working: make micro-progress, or the smallest units of progress .)

“Since money can equal time in some ways, I used my steady paycheck to buy myself time to write,” said Paulette Perhach, author of “ Welcome to the Writer’s Life .” “For instance, I outsourced the cleaning of my place once a month while I went and wrote for three hours in a coffee shop.”

Ms. Perhach said she gave herself a small goal to write for one hour per day, then shared that goal with loved ones. She also joined writing groups, which can be a helpful step for many writers who may find it hard to turn in work without a real deadline. A 2014 Stanford study found that working on a team makes you feel motivated, even if you’re really working alone. If you have friends who like to write, you could organize a writer accountability group with weekly or monthly deadlines.

There are also existing groups and organizations you can join. In November, NaNoWriMo (which stands for National Novel Writing Month) encourages writers from all over the world to sign up on its website and begin working on a goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by the end of the month. Many libraries and writing centers host regular writing groups as well.

Think about schedules instead of deadlines

You’ll want to organize your writing workflow so you’re encouraged to keep up with the habit every day.

First figure out how much time you have to write each week, then schedule that writing time into your day. Some writers like to get their words out at night, after everyone has gone to bed. Others prefer to write as their first task of the day. Experiment with different times to find what works for you.

Once your writing schedule is in place, you’ll have to decide what you want to write. Books are big — where do you dig in first? In a lecture at Columbia University that was later published in “ Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays ,” the novelist Zadie Smith said there are “macro planners” and “micro managers.”

“You will recognize a macro planner from his Post-Its, from those Moleskines he insists on buying. A macro planner makes notes, organizes material, configures a plot and creates a structure — all before he writes the title page. This structural security gives him a great deal of freedom of movement,” Ms. Smith said in her lecture. Micro managers, on the other hand, have no master plan for their writing and simply figure out the ending when they get there.

Again, a little trial and error works well. You can try to just start writing your first draft, and if you find yourself stuck, start again with the outline and work from there. Or you might just try to start writing about something that excites you.

If your writing system feels chaotic, there are tools that can help you corral the mess. Scrivener is a popular writing program designed to help authors organize and research their books. When writing my book, I used a simple Excel spreadsheet that included my table of contents, along with the tasks that went with it. Each chapter also had its own separate Excel sheet that included more detail about what I wanted to include in that chapter, like interviews, references and research.

Dig in for the long haul

The most common question aspiring authors asked when I finished my book: How long did it take? It’s hard to quantify how long it took, but writing a book is an exercise in patience.

When I started to get serious about my idea, I bought “ How to Write a Book Proposal .” From there, it was two and a half years until I convinced an agent to represent my idea, and another year and a half before my book was on a shelf.

“I think you should plan for at least one year to write the first draft of a book, and a second year to rewrite it,” Ms. Perhach said. Of course, it can take much longer than this, but most writers can expect at least a couple of years to pen a book.

“Writing is like putting together Ikea furniture,” she added. “There’s a right way to do it, but nobody knows what it is.”

A Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction

by Melissa Donovan | Mar 4, 2021 | Creative Writing | 12 comments

Try your hand at writing creative nonfiction.

Here at Writing Forward, we’re primarily interested in three types of creative writing: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

With poetry and fiction, there are techniques and best practices that we can use to inform and shape our writing, but there aren’t many rules beyond the standards of style, grammar, and good writing . We can let our imaginations run wild; everything from nonsense to outrageous fantasy is fair game for bringing our ideas to life when we’re writing fiction and poetry.

However, when writing creative nonfiction, there are some guidelines that we need to follow. These guidelines aren’t set in stone; however, if you violate them, you might find yourself in trouble with your readers as well as the critics.

What is Creative Nonfiction?

Telling True Stories (aff link).

What sets creative nonfiction apart from fiction or poetry?

For starters, creative nonfiction is factual. A memoir is not just any story; it’s a true story. A biography is the real account of someone’s life. There is no room in creative nonfiction for fabrication or manipulation of the facts.

So what makes creative nonfiction writing different from something like textbook writing or technical writing? What makes it creative?

Nonfiction writing that isn’t considered creative usually has business or academic applications. Such writing isn’t designed for entertainment or enjoyment. Its sole purpose is to convey information, usually in a dry, straightforward manner.

Creative nonfiction, on the other hand, pays credence to the craft of writing, often through literary devices and storytelling techniques, which make the prose aesthetically pleasing and bring layers of meaning to the context. It’s pleasurable to read.

According to Wikipedia:

Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing truth which uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft.

Like other forms of nonfiction, creative nonfiction relies on research, facts, and credibility. While opinions may be interjected, and often the work depends on the author’s own memories (as is the case with memoirs and autobiographies), the material must be verifiable and accurately reported.

Creative Nonfiction Genres and Forms

There are many forms and genres within creative nonfiction:

Autobiography and biography
Personal essays
Literary journalism
Any topical material, such as food or travel writing, self-development, art, or history, can be creatively written with a literary angle

Let’s look more closely at a few of these nonfiction forms and genres:

Memoirs: A memoir is a long-form (book-length) written work. It is a firsthand, personal account that focuses on a specific experience or situation. One might write a memoir about serving in the military or struggling with loss. Memoirs are not life stories, but they do examine life through a particular lens. For example, a memoir about being a writer might begin in childhood, when the author first learned to write. However, the focus of the book would be on writing, so other aspects of the author’s life would be left out, for the most part.

Biographies and autobiographies: A biography is the true story of someone’s life. If an author composes their own biography, then it’s called an autobiography. These works tend to cover the entirety of a person’s life, albeit selectively.

Literary journalism: Journalism sticks with the facts while exploring the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a particular person, topic, or event. Biographies, for example, are a genre of literary journalism, which is a form of nonfiction writing. Traditional journalism is a method of information collection and organization. Literary journalism also conveys facts and information, but it honors the craft of writing by incorporating storytelling techniques and literary devices. Opinions are supposed to be absent in traditional journalism, but they are often found in literary journalism, which can be written in long or short formats.

Personal essays are a short form of creative nonfiction that can cover a wide range of styles, from writing about one’s experiences to expressing one’s personal opinions. They can address any topic imaginable. Personal essays can be found in many places, from magazines and literary journals to blogs and newspapers. They are often a short form of memoir writing.

Speeches can cover a range of genres, from political to motivational to educational. A tributary speech honors someone whereas a roast ridicules them (in good humor). Unlike most other forms of writing, speeches are written to be performed rather than read.

Journaling: A common, accessible, and often personal form of creative nonfiction writing is journaling. A journal can also contain fiction and poetry, but most journals would be considered nonfiction. Some common types of written journals are diaries, gratitude journals, and career journals (or logs), but this is just a small sampling of journaling options.

Writing Creative Nonfiction (aff link).

Any topic or subject matter is fair game in the realm of creative nonfiction. Some nonfiction genres and topics that offer opportunities for creative nonfiction writing include food and travel writing, self-development, art and history, and health and fitness. It’s not so much the topic or subject matter that renders a written work as creative; it’s how it’s written — with due diligence to the craft of writing through application of language and literary devices.

Guidelines for Writing Creative Nonfiction

Here are six simple guidelines to follow when writing creative nonfiction:

Get your facts straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing your own story or someone else’s. If readers, publishers, and the media find out you’ve taken liberties with the truth of what happened, you and your work will be scrutinized. Negative publicity might boost sales, but it will tarnish your reputation; you’ll lose credibility. If you can’t refrain from fabrication, then think about writing fiction instead of creative nonfiction.
Issue a disclaimer. A lot of nonfiction is written from memory, and we all know that human memory is deeply flawed. It’s almost impossible to recall a conversation word for word. You might forget minor details, like the color of a dress or the make and model of a car. If you aren’t sure about the details but are determined to include them, be upfront and include a disclaimer that clarifies the creative liberties you’ve taken.
Consider the repercussions. If you’re writing about other people (even if they are secondary figures), you might want to check with them before you publish your nonfiction. Some people are extremely private and don’t want any details of their lives published. Others might request that you leave certain things out, which they want to keep private. Otherwise, make sure you’ve weighed the repercussions of revealing other people’s lives to the world. Relationships have been both strengthened and destroyed as a result of authors publishing the details of other people’s lives.
Be objective. You don’t need to be overly objective if you’re telling your own, personal story. However, nobody wants to read a highly biased biography. Book reviews for biographies are packed with harsh criticism for authors who didn’t fact-check or provide references and for those who leave out important information or pick and choose which details to include to make the subject look good or bad.
Pay attention to language. You’re not writing a textbook, so make full use of language, literary devices, and storytelling techniques.
Know your audience. Creative nonfiction sells, but you must have an interested audience. A memoir about an ordinary person’s first year of college isn’t especially interesting. Who’s going to read it? However, a memoir about someone with a learning disability navigating the first year of college is quite compelling, and there’s an identifiable audience for it. When writing creative nonfiction, a clearly defined audience is essential.

Are you looking for inspiration? Check out these creative nonfiction writing ideas.

Ten creative nonfiction writing prompts and projects.

The prompts below are excerpted from my book, 1200 Creative Writing Prompts , which contains fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction writing prompts. Use these prompts to spark a creative nonfiction writing session.

1200 Creative Writing Prompts (aff link).

What is your favorite season? What do you like about it? Write a descriptive essay about it.
What do you think the world of technology will look like in ten years? Twenty? What kind of computers, phones, and other devices will we use? Will technology improve travel? Health care? What do you expect will happen and what would you like to happen?
Have you ever fixed something that was broken? Ever solved a computer problem on your own? Write an article about how to fix something or solve some problem.
Have you ever had a run-in with the police? What happened?
Have you ever traveled alone? Tell your story. Where did you go? Why? What happened?
Let’s say you write a weekly advice column. Choose the topic you’d offer advice on, and then write one week’s column.
Think of a major worldwide problem: for example, hunger, climate change, or political corruption. Write an article outlining a solution (or steps toward a solution).
Choose a cause that you feel is worthy and write an article persuading others to join that cause.
Someone you barely know asks you to recommend a book. What do you recommend and why?
Hard skills are abilities you have acquired, such as using software, analyzing numbers, and cooking. Choose a hard skill you’ve mastered and write an article about how this skill is beneficial using your own life experiences as examples.

Do You Write Creative Nonfiction?

Have you ever written creative nonfiction? How often do you read it? Can you think of any nonfiction forms and genres that aren’t included here? Do you have any guidelines to add to this list? Are there any situations in which it would be acceptable to ignore these guidelines? Got any tips to add? Do you feel that nonfiction should focus on content and not on craft? Leave a comment to share your thoughts, and keep writing.

Ready Set Write a Guide to Creative Writing

12 Comments

Shouldn’t ALL non-fiction be creative to some extent? I am a former business journalist, and won awards for the imaginative approach I took to writing about even the driest of business topics: pensions, venture capital, tax, employment law and other potentially dusty subjects. The drier and more complicated the topic, the more creative the approach must be, otherwise no-one with anything else to do will bother to wade through it. [to be honest, taking the fictional approach to these ghastly tortuous topics was the only way I could face writing about them.] I used all the techniques that fiction writers have to play with, and used some poetic techniques, too, to make the prose more readable. What won the first award was a little serial about two businesses run and owned by a large family at war with itself. Every episode centred on one or two common and crucial business issues, wrapped up in a comedy-drama, and it won a lot of fans (happily for me) because it was so much easier to read and understand than the dry technical writing they were used to. Life’s too short for dusty writing!

I believe most journalism is creative and would therefore fall under creative nonfiction. However, there is a lot of legal, technical, medical, science, and textbook writing in which there is no room for creativity (or creativity has not made its way into these genres yet). With some forms, it makes sense. I don’t think it would be appropriate for legal briefings to use story or literary devices just to add a little flair. On the other hand, it would be a good thing if textbooks were a little more readable.

I think Abbs is right – even in academic papers, an example or story helps the reader visualize the problem or explanation more easily. I scan business books to see if there are stories or examples, if not, then I don’t pick up the book. That’s where the creativity comes in – how to create examples, what to conflate, what to emphasis as we create our fictional people to illustrate important, real points.

Thanks for the post. Very helpful. I’d never thought about writing creative nonfiction before.

You’re welcome 🙂

Hi Melissa!

Love your website. You always give a fun and frank assessment of all things pertaining to writing. It is a pleasure to read. I have even bought several of the reference and writing books you recommended. Keep up the great work.

Top 10 Reasons Why Creative Nonfiction Is A Questionable Category

10. When you look up “Creative Nonfiction” in the dictionary it reads: See Fiction

9. The first creative nonfiction example was a Schwinn Bicycle Assembly Guide that had printed in its instructions: Can easily be assembled by one person with a Phillips head screw driver, Allen keys, adjustable wrench and cable cutters in less than an hour.

8. Creative Nonfiction; Based on actual events; Suggested by a true event; Based on a true story. It’s a slippery slope.

7. The Creative Nonfiction Quarterly is only read by eleven people. Five have the same last name.

6. Creative Nonfiction settings may only include: hospitals, concentration camps, prisons and cemeteries. Exceptions may be made for asylums, rehab centers and Capitol Hill.

5. The writers who create Sterile Nonfiction or Unimaginative Nonfiction now want their category recognized.

4. Creative; Poetic License; Embellishment; Puffery. See where this is leading?

3. Creative Nonfiction is to Nonfiction as Reality TV is to Documentaries.

2. My attorney has advised that I exercise my 5th Amendment Rights or that I be allowed to give written testimony in a creative nonfiction way.

1. People believe it is a film with Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson and Queen Latifa.

Hi Steve. I’m not sure if your comment is meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but I found it humorous.

My publisher is releasing my Creative Nonfiction book based on my grandmother’s life this May 2019 in Waikiki. I’ll give you an update soon about sales. I was fortunate enough to get some of the original and current Hawaii 5-0 members to show up for the book signing.

Hi, when writing creative nonfiction- is it appropriate to write from someone else’s point of view when you don’t know them? I was thinking of writing about Greta Thungbrurg for creative nonfiction competition – but I can directly ask her questions so I’m unsure as to whether it’s accurate enough to be classified as creative non-fiction. Thank you!

Hi Madeleine. I’m not aware of creative nonfiction being written in first person from someone else’s point of view. The fact of the matter is that it wouldn’t be creative nonfiction because a person cannot truly show events from another person’s perspective. So I wouldn’t consider something like that nonfiction. It would usually be a biography written in third person, and that is common. You can certainly use quotes and other indicators to represent someone else’s views and experiences. I could probably be more specific if I knew what kind of work it is (memoir, biography, self-development, etc.).

Dear Melissa: I am trying to market a book in the metaphysical genre about an experience I had, receiving the voice of a Civil War spirit who tells his story (not channeling). Part is my reaction and discussion with a close friend so it is not just memoir. I referred to it as ‘literary non-fiction’ but an agent put this down by saying it is NOT literary non-fiction. Looking at your post, could I say that my book is ‘creative non-fiction’? (agents can sometimes be so nit-picky)

Hi Liz. You opened your comment by classifying the book as metaphysical but later referred to it as literary nonfiction. The premise definitely sounds like a better fit in the metaphysical category. Creative nonfiction is not a genre; it’s a broader category or description. Basically, all literature is either fiction or nonfiction (poetry would be separate from these). Describing nonfiction as creative only indicates that it’s not something like a user guide. I think you were heading in the right direction with the metaphysical classification.

The goal of marketing and labeling books with genres is to find a readership that will be interested in the work. This is an agent’s area of expertise, so assuming you’re speaking with a competent agent, I’d suggest taking their advice in this matter. It indicates that the audience perusing the literary nonfiction aisles is simply not a match for this book.

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#Craft of Writing
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7 Essential Tips on How to Write Creative Nonfiction (A Step-by-Step Guide!)

“The essay becomes an exercise in the meaning and value of watching a writer conquer their own sense of threat to deliver themself of their wisdom.” ― Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative

We offer a lot of classes that will help you write Creative Nonfiction . But what makes creative nonfiction different from other types of essays? In creative nonfiction, personal details and anecdotes are used to make the story more relatable and interesting for the reader. Creators often use this style to share their personal thoughts, experiences, or beliefs in a way that can’t be achieved through fiction alone. With a little practice and the right tools, virtually anyone can write creative nonfiction. These tips will help you get started!

Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction is a detailed, thoughtful style of writing that allows the author to share their experiences with the reader. It’s similar to a memoir, but it doesn’t have to be a literal account of events. In creative nonfiction, personal details and anecdotes are used to make the story more relatable and interesting for the reader. There are many ways to break down the different types of nonfiction, but broadly speaking, all nonfiction uses the truth, either remembered or researched, to braid together a compelling narrative.

Excellent examples of Creative Nonfiction Include:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Dust Tracks on a Road: an autobiography by Nora Zeale Hurston

Select a Topic That You’re Passionate About

Most importantly, choose a topic that you’re passionate about. The topic doesn’t even have to be something that interests you “professionally”—it just has to be something you’re interested in. Begin your research by asking yourself what you’re curious about and what you’ve always wanted to know more about. This can be about yourself, someone else, or the wider world. It could be a current event happening in the world, an everyday activity that many overlook, or a piece of history that has always fascinated you. If you’re struggling to come up with a topic, consider what’s important to you. Your passions, beliefs, and interests can all be great topics to explore in creative nonfiction.

Come Up With Several Ideas for Your Piece

Once you’ve settled on a topic, put together a list of ideas for your creative nonfiction piece. If you’re writing about a current event, you’ll want to make sure that it’s relevant and timely. This way, your readers will be able to connect with your work. You may want to focus on a specific part of the event that interests you. Try to come at your topic from a different angle, or with a new perspective.

Research Your Subject Thoroughly

Once you’ve decided on your topic and idea, it’s time to start researching. In addition to personal experience and anecdote, researching is one of the fundamental parts of writing nonfiction, even if you're writing creatively. If you want to make your research more interesting and engaging for the reader, include anecdotes and personal details.

Now that you’ve put together an outline and researched your topic, it’s time to start writing! It might seem simple, but the hardest part of writing is just getting started. Once you’ve got your thoughts down on paper, the rest is smooth sailing.

Try writing a messy first draft in first person as if you’re speaking directly to your reader. To tap into your voice, don't shy away from using slang, jargon, or other kinds of expression that might be only be understood by a niche audience; you can always layer in more context in a subsequent draft. But whatever you do, don't edit out your style from the beginning. Be you on the page first and polish later.

It is okay to be messy in this draft. Write as naturally as possible so that you aren't sanding away the kind of observations and perspective that amplify your voice and lived experience.

Tips to Help You Write Creatively

Here are a few tips that can help you write creatively:

Read. This may seem obvious, but when you read, you're exposed to a wide range of styles and techniques that can help you understand and use different writing styles. If you're not reading, you're missing out on opportunities to learn from people who've done what you want to do, and that can be invaluable.

Experiment. Experimenting with different writing styles, topics, and approaches will help you to find your voice and discover the types of creative nonfiction that come most naturally to you.

Learn from your peers. Look to your peers and colleagues to learn from them—both their successes and their mistakes.

Find inspiration. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so make sure that you're open to observing new experiences, even in mundane day-to-day activities. Inspiration is everywhere if you're looking for it.

Don't be afraid to fail. This is most import! We learn from our mistakes and experiences, and that's true of writing, too.

Be yourself. The most authentic and interesting writing comes from the heart.

Have fun! Writing should be enjoyable, and trying to write creatively while feeling pressured and stressed out will only make it more difficult.

Discover a Creative Nonfiction Class that is just right for you!

Meet the Teaching Artist: The Secret Formula to Writing Nonfiction Stories that Sell with Jon Small

On Writing the New York Times Essay: an Interview with Sarah Herrington

Meet the Teaching Artist: Writing the Queer Body with McKenzie Schwark

Meet the Teaching Artist: Funny at 40 (or beyond) with Janine Annett

How to get published.

Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs

1. That Dreaded “C” Word

What does it mean to be creative? And what is so difficult or terrible about contemplating the term? Nonfiction writers aren’t boasting or bragging by utilizing the word in describing what we do— creative nonfiction—and it is not a term that we have coined randomly. Creative nonfiction means what it says: We are attempting, as writers, to show imagination, to demonstrate artistic and intellectual inventiveness and still remain true to the factual integrity of the piece we are writing.

I am not disputing the overabundance of “navel gazers”—inward and self-obsessed writers—or that there has been a craze for this personal (sometimes too-personal) writing as of late, or denying the existence of overly imaginative, undisciplined writers encouraged by a misguided interpretation of the word creative. But there is also an explosion of brilliant nonfiction prose being written today by people who can reveal their feelings, or the feelings of the people about whom they are writing, while communicating compelling information and striking some sort of universality that touches readers in unforgettable and life-changing ways.

Over the past 10 years, I have discussed the genre and the meaning of the term at colleges and universities and conferences in the United States, Europe and Australia. In the beginning, there were the inevitable questions and complaints surrounding the concept of creativity. But quite recently, I have been traveling the country on “The Godfather Tour,” reading from my new book, “Forever Fat: Essays by the Godfather,” and giving workshops and lectures about this exciting way of writing and interpreting nonfiction, and the tone of response has been decidedly different. Academics, writers of all genres and, most interestingly, new voices—those who have never seriously contemplated the act of writing until now—are appearing in ever-increasing numbers, some out of sheer curiosity, but most with a new appreciation of and belief that creative nonfiction offers a heretofore underutilized and unrecognized dimension to literature.

Creative nonfiction enhances a writer’s potential to connect with readers. This, after all, is why writers write: to inform, to impart wisdom, to make an impact, to influence attitudes, to change a life. That’s creative nonfiction at its best.

2. Journalism vs. Creative Nonfiction

While it makes sense that journalists and creative nonfiction writers are, on many levels, integrally connected (we both write true stories and include factual information), the genres are significantly different. Creative nonfiction borrows ideas and techniques from fiction and poetry, as well as journalism, but our standards and boundaries differ in a number of crucial ways. When explaining creative nonfiction, I often refer to the 5 Rs: reading other people’s work, ’riting on a regular schedule, reflection, research (information/reportage) and real life (experiencing what we are writing about, as do Tracy Kidder, Susan Orlean, Annie Dillard and Frank McCourt in their books and essays). Unlike journalists, creative nonfiction writers are encouraged to be subjective in the stories we write—we are not obliged to be balanced, to provide the “other side” of the story. Reflection is encouraged, while traditional quotation and interviewing is discouraged. This doesn’t mean that we don’t communicate with or relate to the people about whom we are writing, but we try not to anchor our stories in the information we gather in the traditional Q-and-A, tape-recorded interrogation, which is the foundation of the reporter’s experience. More often, we invest time (weeks, months, years) immersing ourselves in our subjects—the people and places about which we are writing—eliciting stories and capturing dialogue that communicates information and reflects character.

In creative nonfiction, the writer’s personal experience (as in memoir) may turn out to be paramount. However, many memoirists make the mistake of focusing too much on themselves, prompting journalists and pundits to hurl their “navel-gazing,” “self-obsessed” epithets.

But the most effective creative nonfiction writers are aware of what I like to call the “universal chord,” where writers capture the widest audience possible by extending the scope of the narrative far beyond their own experience. While Dillard’s work (and John Edgar Wideman’s, Cynthia Ozick’s, James Baldwins) is startlingly personal, it also introduces characters and ideas that burst forth and embrace a larger world. McCourt, for example, writes about poverty and the Great Depression in “Angela’s Ashes.” In “Notes of a Native Son,” Baldwin writes about race in America and the black man’s burden. In “Alfred Chester’s Wigs,” perhaps her most significant work, Cynthia Ozick writes about her own struggle for maturity, yet in the process we learn about education and literary life in post-World War II New York and Paris and the angst and self-destruction of one novelist’s desperation and failure. Universality begins with the basic, factual information provided by the journalist and adds context and meaning, both personal and all-encompassing. This is what the New Journalists, like Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe, called a “higher” or “larger” truth four decades ago.

Reflection is not the only unique element in creative nonfiction, but it is an important part of a three-dimensional package. The package is anchored in narrative, or story, without which creative nonfiction as a genre, as well as fiction and some poetry, cannot exist.

I advise writers to test the effectiveness of their creative nonfiction work through a process I call the Yellow Test. Just for a second, think about an essay—a block of text—as a building, say, 10 stories tall. Each story or level contains a scene—a mini-story—that is part of the narrative and helps move it forward. If you look at articles or essays from a structural point of view—the way an architect might look at a bridge or a building through blueprints—and take a yellow highlighting marker and color in the scenes, you will find that the best work, the most effective creative nonfiction, contains a lot of yellow. The scene is the thing. It’s another way to distinguish creative nonfiction from journalism.

Defining “scene” is integral to understanding how creative non-fiction is structured. Scenes contain description, characterization and detail—terms usually discussed in fiction-writing classes. But the overwhelming and most crucial way of distinguishing between something that is a real scene and something that is only descriptive or scenic is the element of action. Something has to happen; a change in the status quo must occur in order for it to be considered a real scene and work effectively in an essay. The action doesn’t have to be significant, like murder and rape, life and death, winning and losing. Touching and letting go, standing and sitting, looking and seeing can also work, if structured and timed with grace and fluidity.

Writing a story that is unique, using scenes and reflection—the style—is only half the battle. The other part of creative nonfiction is the substance—the nonfiction part. Baldwin, Ozick, Dillard, Wolfe and Talese anchor their narratives in research or reportage. Facts provide credibility and a springboard for reflection.

Some creative nonfiction writers believe that their own stories and thoughts (reflection) will anchor and extend the narrative. This is possible but more often an indication of a lack of work ethic. It takes effort and contemplation to make a universal connection. In Diane Ackerman’s “A Natural History of the Senses,” we learn about smell, taste, hearing. We learn it through Ackerman s perspective, but she is as deeply engrossed in the nonfiction part as she is in the narrative adventure of her own discoveries. She once told an audience that she reads approximately 250 books on her subject before she begins writing, taking voluminous notes in the margins and in the spaces between pages and chapters. She devotes months to bringing her research to life through personal experience. As creative nonfiction writers, we can be both reporters and subjects simultaneously, masters of both style and substance.

3. The Emergence of the “Godfather”

Over the past decade, creative nonfiction has been under sporadic attack, primarily by journalists and media critics who question the legitimacy of the genre or, more often, deny or avoid its very existence, even as they profit from the field or aspire to be part of it.

In his 1997 Vanity Fair article, James Wolcott set the tone of criticism and debate in a four-page roast of the genre, “Me, Myself, and I.” Wolcott boiled all creative nonfiction down to what he called “confessional writing” and took to task as “navel gazers” writers who had been the least bit self-revelatory in their work. (“Never have so many [writers] shared so much of so little,” he writes. “No personal detail is too mundane to share.”) His definition of creative nonfiction: “A sickly transfusion, whereby the weakling personal voice of sensitive fiction is inserted into the beery carcass of nonfiction… to form a big, earnest blob of me-first sensibility.”

Wolcott reserved an especially interesting title and role for me as “the godfather behind creative nonfiction.” He abhorred the fact that I traveled and talked about the genre all over the world (He called me a “human octopus”); wrote books about creative nonfiction; published a journal (Creative Nonfiction); directed a creative nonfiction writers’ conference; and taught creative nonfiction in a creative-writing program, which, he maintained, collectively ruined the audience for fiction. Because of the proliferation of these courses, he claimed, “the short story has become a minor arts-and-craftsy skill, like Indian pottery.” In a follow-up interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Wolcott revealed that he learned much about the craft of writing while working in the circulation department of the Village Voice.

It was unfortunate that Wolcott had so much to say in such a major publication concerning a subject about which he knew so little. (He had never been involved in a creative-writing program or taken a writing course). In truth, creative-writing programs have actually legitimized creative nonfiction—made it more important in the literary world by acknowledging the awesome challenge and intrinsic art of the genre—and indirectly affected, in a very positive way, Vanity Fair and Wolcott himself. Without the newfound appreciation for creative nonfiction as an art form as significant as fiction and poetry, Wolcott’s opinions would be less important, and magazines like Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper’s, Esquire and others might not wield the influence and attract the advertising that enhances profits and prominence.

When I started teaching in the English department at the University of Pittsburgh in the early 1970s, “artful” nonfiction was considered, to say the least, unlikely. My colleagues snickered when I proposed teaching a “creative” nonfiction course, while the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences proclaimed that all nonfiction was, at its best, merely a craft, not too different from plumbing. As the chairman of our department put it one day in a faculty meeting, “After all, gentlemen (the fact that many of his colleagues were women often slipped his mind), we’re interested in literature here—not writing.” That remark and the subsequent debate had been precipitated by a contingent of students from the school newspaper who marched on the chairman’s office and politely requested more nonfiction-writing courses “of the creative kind.”

One colleague, aghast at the prospect of this new thing, carried a dozen of his favorite books to the meeting—poetry, fiction and non-fiction—gave a belabored mini-review of each, and then, pointing a finger at the editor of the paper and pounding a fist, stated, “After you read all these books and understand what they mean, I will consider voting for a course called Creative Nonfiction. Otherwise, I don’t want to be bothered.” Luckily, most of my colleagues didn’t want to bother fighting the school newspaper, so the course was approved—and I became one of the first people, if not the first, to teach creative non-fiction at the university level on a full-time basis. This was 1973.

Since then, creative nonfiction courses in creative-writing programs have grown steadily. At my last count, mid-2003, 15 colleges and universities offered graduate degrees in creative nonfiction, and hundreds offered undergraduate courses. Being awarded tenure in the English department at the University of Pittsburgh in 1979 was another milestone for me—perhaps another first for creative nonfiction. Now there are many tenure-track professorial positions for writers whose specialty is nonfiction. This was no small feat. The practice in English departments and writing programs then was to appoint writers who were accomplished in fiction or poetry—recognized literary arts—but who could also stretch and teach nonfiction, an ancillary skill. As the job market tightened in the early 1980s and a few nonfiction positions were posted, an amazing transition occurred. Poets, short-story writers and Ph.D.s in literature and composition, many of whom had written articles for newspapers and semi-scholarly journals in their younger days and previously ignored their journalistic backgrounds, were suddenly reinventing themselves as creative nonfiction writers.

It was interesting to see how journalists also began exploring this new world of “academic” or “literary” nonfiction, primarily because they saw it as a lucrative escape from the stifling tedium of their profession. Advertising for new faculty in creative nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh brought forth dozens of applications from newspaper reporters burnt out on daily journalism, eager to join the academy and share their wisdom. But their clips—mostly stories without depth or narrative—revealed their weaknesses and lack of experience. I don’t mean that reporters and reportage shouldn’t be a part of creative non-fiction writing programs; that would be like saying biology, anatomy and physiology should be dropped from medical-school curricula. But creative nonfiction writers need to learn about writing from poets and fiction writers, too—and about thinking and idea development from philosophers and psychologists. In creative nonfiction, we open our minds to the full scope of the world and the investigation of that world through story and reflection.

4. In the Beginning

When I started the journal Creative Nonfiction in 1993, it was to provide a forum for journalists who aspired to reach higher and achieve more as writers than everyday journalism allowed. Newspapers and magazines stifled creativity, reporters and feature writers complained. Reporters were forced to dumb down stories and, except for the occasional opportunity to showcase their ideas and vent their feelings on the op-ed page, were not permitted to think for themselves and advance their own ideas. Even though covering local, national or international affairs provided rare and special insight, they were advised (and edited) to keep those insights to themselves.

Even when reporters tried to liberate themselves through freelancing, the going was rough. Getting your work published in Esquire or Harper’s was nearly impossible. Breaking into The New Yorker was even less likely. And with the exception of The Georgia Review and later The Gettysburg Review, literary-journal editors weren’t too keen on nonfiction, either, unless it was criticism. Most literary journals were anchored at universities; the work they published reflected the interests of faculty and graduate students. Creative nonfiction was just beginning to establish a foothold in academia. While there were many freelancing opportunities in newspaper supplements and smaller magazines, the freedom to dig deep into subject and psyche through nonfiction prose, to say something of substance and find a market for publication, was severely limited.

Thus the launching of this journal. I wrote an editorial statement, put out a call for manuscripts, and waited for the essays to pour in. They did. Dozens of nonfiction pieces arrived in our mailbox over the first few weeks, more and more as the word spread. The first issue featured a rare interview of John McPhee, by Michael Pearson, who was surprised and challenged when McPhee made him put away his tape recorder and just take notes—a detail that captured the connection to traditionalism combined with the freewheeling spontaneity and spirit of the journal.

The essays we received at the early stages were different from those we were reading in journals and magazines of the day: sophisticated in structure and technique, rich with the elements of story—such as dialogue and description—and liberating, since writers were adding their own wisdom and insight to their work. Writers were reflecting on what they knew, an anchoring element of the form.

And this was as I had expected. I had been confident that there were great creative nonfiction writers everywhere waiting for the opportunity to liberate themselves—all they needed was a venue. But I soon began to realize, as I spread the essays out on the floor in my office, choreographing an issue, that most of the best essays were not written by journalists. The titles and themes of our second and third issues mirrored exactly the writers working most effectively in the field, based on our submissions: “Poets Writing Prose” and “Emerging Women Writers.”

In retrospect, I should not have been surprised that most of our best contributors were, in fact, fiction writers and poets embarking on a dramatic literary leap. In the 1960s and 1970s, Tom Wolfe paved the way for journalists to steal technique and glory from fiction writers (he proclaimed the novel to be dead); Rex Reed, Joe Ezterhas, Jimmy Breslin, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese were lionized. As part of its 70th anniversary, Esquire recently reprinted Talese’s classic “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” calling it the best article the magazine had ever published.

But poets and fiction writers were also liberated and inspired. W.S. Merwin’s “Unframed Originals” in the 1970s was an early breakthrough for poets. Others, like Diane Ackerman, Terry Tempest Williams and Diana Hume George, were forging new careers in non-fiction. John Updike’s New Yorker prose, anchored by his incredible profile of Ted Williams at his last game at Fenway Park, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu,” which he wrote without benefit of an interview with “the Kid,” was brilliant and insightful.

This summer, in a Talk of the Town piece, Roger Angell mused that some of The New Yorker’s best writing about families has come from fiction writers and poets, including John Cheever (Angell cited his short story “Goodbye, My Brother,” but I am thinking of his wrenching personal journal, published in its entirety, in The New Yorker), as well as Donald Hall and Donald Antrim. Fiction writers daring to break nonfiction barriers in other venues include Kathryn Harrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, Maria Flook, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth and William Styron.

The fact that the majority of our submissions come from women, that the vast majority of the participants in M.F.A. programs in creative nonfiction and at our writers’ conferences are women, and that writers who seem to do the best work in the genre today are women, does not surprise me. Psychologists will tell you that men tend to be rigid and structured, think in black and white and avoid various and indefinable shades of gray. They are more comfortable talking about concrete, observable events that can be documented and compiled into stratified data, like sports and current events. Women often are more flexible and spontaneous, more willing to delve into the spheres of life that lead to emotional investigation, spontaneity and discovery. They are willing to invest time and effort to pursue tangents that promise illumination, insight and ideas heretofore un-mined or underdeveloped.

That this rather indefinable, creative aspect of the genre, this personal element so integral to creative nonfiction, is allowed, is perplexing for most journalists and a point for criticism and debate. In an article for Poets & Writers Magazine called “Term Limits: The Creative Nonfiction Debate,” journalist Carolyn Hughes reported that I refused to define the term creative nonfiction when she asked for a definition. What I remember saying is that I didn’t think it was a fair question and that I was tired of responding to it every time I talked with a reporter. Interviewers rarely ask poets to define poetry or novelists to define fiction, I said. Why then are creative nonfiction writers constantly harassed for a definition of the genre? Art, whether literature or sculpture or music, defines itself.

5. In Defense of the Creative-Writing Academy

Journalists tend to ridicule and/or attempt to undermine the slow-moving pace of academia. The tweedy professor is the butt of many jokes (in some cases, for good reason). But in the nearly 30 years I have been a part of the University of Pittsburgh faculty, I have learned to value and appreciate the luxury of contemplation academia allows, which inevitably leads to new ideas and insights. Contemplation is the hallmark of creative nonfiction and what sets it apart from journalism.

It is intriguing and, at the same time, predictable to see how critics like Wolcott use their distaste for creative nonfiction to lambaste creative-writing programs, as if they somehow are the source of all evils. For Michael Anderson, an editor at the New York Times Book Review, the entire concept of writing and teaching creative nonfiction is bogus: “Creative nonfiction—I’m so sick of this bullshit! Even the term is an oxymoron. If it is creative, it is not nonfiction. If it’s nonfiction, it’s not creative,” he told Carolyn Hughes in Poets & Writers. “I don’t know what it is other than people making stuff up.” Anderson asserted that creative nonfiction “allows ‘nonentities’ to teach courses. ‘No, I’m not teaching expository writing,’” mocks Anderson, “‘I’m teaching creative nonfiction. I can come to class in a beret and smoking jacket.’”

Where did Anderson attend college? one wonders. There aren’t a lot of berets and smoking jackets on display where I teach. His taunt is old and unfunny and reflects a definite lack of respect for or understanding of his readers and of what happens in a university creative-writing program. Anderson contends that authors like Gay Talese, Joan Didion, John McPhee and Tom Wolfe were not creative, because they wrote reportage. Their writing was creative “only in the sense that anything man-made is creative.”

Anderson’s arrogance (a word synonymous these days with the New York Times) and his disconnection with reality is sobering, considering the power he wields in assigning and writing book reviews. Critics, evidently, don’t need to be rational (Hughes indicates that Anderson is so incensed he “huffs”) or even accurate and insightful.

In a more recent diatribe about creative nonfiction in Harper’s (“Our Essays, Ourselves: In defense of the Big Idea”), Cristina Nehring rips into five newly published creative nonfiction books because they are all about nature, their covers similar, their titles bucolic, and the name of the place about which each author is writing appears in the first sentence of each book. Then she dwells on the idea that the front photographs of two of these books sport similar-looking fish. This from a critic whose thesis is that today’s essayists are avoiding what she calls “the big idea” and who harkens us back to the good old days when Emerson and Thoreau were “exhortive, urgent—clutching after truths for their own improvement and for that of their fellow human beings.” As if no writer (Susan Sontag, Cynthia Ozick, James Baldwin, Philip Roth, Richard Rodriguez) has ever considered such a mission for truth and enlightenment today.

Today’s nonfiction writers suffer from a “frenzy for cozy, complacent, and oddly insular self-revelation,” Nehring continues. Medical problems, childhood experiences, nature explorations and fishing seem to be much too extensively autobiographical to be considered good literature. Even Ian Frazier and John McPhee, both veteran New Yorker writers, McPhee a Pulitzer Prize-winner, have yielded to what she terms “pedestrian rehearsals.”

While I appreciate Nehring’s belief that writers should strive for such high ideals, this idea is as old as literature itself, as old as the Old Testament. Nehring is wearing Michael Anderson’s metaphorical beret and smoking jacket, pontificating to an empty classroom, while McPhee and Frazier are dealing with real-life issues and embracing readers by sharing, rather than avoiding, real life.

6. Thinking and Doing

The challenge in creative-writing programs (in creative nonfiction especially) is to teach students how to write and how to think. If the thinking isn’t fresh, exciting, filled with discovery, daring and surprise, then what is worth writing about in the first place? Creative nonfiction (creative and nonfiction) must contain both style and substance. It is achieved by approaching a subject in a way that captures its three-dimensional essence.

I have interviewed dozens of candidates for jobs over the years who have aspired to teach creative nonfiction yet haven’t the slightest idea how to do it beyond the basics of journalism and workshopping (discussing and debating student work in class). While it is true that writers who are successful and productive are talented, enterprising and hard-working (and write on a regular schedule), I have been surprised to discover that they often don’t think much about what they do, perhaps because it comes so naturally. When I appoint faculty members for the writers’ conferences I direct—accomplished writers with impeccable editorial credentials—and tell them to teach technique, they often find it difficult to teach something that comes so naturally to them, to communicate such subtle and distinct methods. Ideally, university writing programs provide writers with the opportunity to think about what they do and to learn how to communicate that vast body of knowledge to students in helpful and hopefully enlightening ways. There are ways to this enlightenment, ways of thinking and projecting, that can be daring, inspiring, confusing and controversial—an absolutely vital aspect of the creative nonfiction genre.

Thinking is an integral part of the process. But then there is also the question of doing. The root of memorable, history-making non-fiction has always been experience—the writers’ own or others’. In the spirit of Orwell, Hemingway, Pyle, Halberstam and Plimpton, writers have gone out in the world, experienced real life, and then reported and re-created it for others to see, appreciate and understand.

Yet the very people most critical of this genre—journalists and essayists alike—seem to know very little about the form, based on their own experiences, and don’t go out of the their way to unearth the information necessary to make informed, evaluative comments and observations. Wolcott scorched me in 1997 without interviewing me, going so far as to ridicule me for quoting a personal journal entry in a textbook I wrote for beginning writers, ages 12 and up. Had he familiarized himself with my work, he would have seen that I was not, at the time, a memoirist and could not be accused of navel gazing. If he had talked with me or any of my students or colleagues, he would have confirmed that I, too, had been critical of the whining that tends to appear in memoir and had strongly advised my students to avoid this type of writing until they could actually get out into the world and experience enough of life to write about it.

7. A Movement and a Way of Life

In the few days following my roasting by Wolcott in Vanity Fair, I stuck close to home, licking my wounds and wondering how my colleagues, friends and family would respond to my public scorching. But soon I had to teach class. At the elevators near the English department, the first colleague I ran into, novelist and nonfiction-writer Bruce Dobler, dropped to his knees and announced, “I kiss your hand, Godfather.”

Suddenly, the fog of uneasiness and humiliation lifted. We both laughed and went on with our day. I realized that Wolcott s disparaging remarks might actually fortify the creative nonfiction movement. As an immediate benefit, our subscription inquiries at Creative Nonfiction shot up. We got phone calls from Hollywood producers seeking new stories for their movie mills. People recognized me in airports and restaurants—and congratulated me. When I completed my first memoir, published in September 2003, I titled it “Forever Fat: Essays by the Godfather” and dedicated it to Wolcott, among others. More recently, confused critics like Anderson and Nehring further elevated the discourse surrounding high-quality creative non-fiction literature, producing a wave of new converts.

Today, creative nonfiction has reached beyond the confines of a fourth genre. It has become a bridge that allows poets and fiction and nonfiction writers to discover common ground and shared vision. Throughout the academy, creative nonfiction has become the interdisciplinary glue aligning the sciences and the humanities in an unprecedented fashion. Narrative history, narrative law and narrative medicine are slowly becoming popular in graduate studies. Listening to our subjects—not lecturing—has become today’s mantra. True stories, reported and expressed in unconventional form, can capture the ebb and flow of life, achieve a special dimension of enlightenment and unforgettable personal clarity.

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How to Write Non Fiction

Last Updated: December 29, 2022 References

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 69,990 times.

Nonfiction writing includes many different types of creative work, including essays, memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies. But nonfiction also includes different types of instructive/informational writing, such as academic textbooks, self-help books, and travel/reference books. If you're interested in writing nonfiction, you'll want to decide on a type of nonfiction that you're most interested in and read as much as you can by popular authors in that field. Once you've gotten the hang of the genre, you'll be ready to write your own compelling work of nonfiction.

Crafting a Personal Essay

Think about things that you care about or are passionate about. Make a list of 10 subjects, then decide which subject you will have the most to say about (and/or the subject with which you have the most personal experience).
Don't resist a topic because it will be difficult or require research. If you're passionate about that subject and you think you have a lot to say about it, then go for it.
Be flexible. You may decide to change your mind, or you may find that some items on your list relate to one another (and could potentially be woven together).

Since you're writing a personal essay, it's important that the topic you choose has some direct, personal significance in your life.
Be as specific as possible when choosing your topic. Narrow it down to a memory, an occasion, etc.
For example, instead of writing about loss, you might choose to write about a specific kind of loss (like death), then choose one specific event (like the death of a parent or friend) as your starting point.
The various elements of your essay should all be related somehow, and you'll need to make that relationship clear to the reader to avoid confusion.
You can always expand your topic to include other related concepts/events, or to become a larger meditation on the larger subject that your event touches on, but it's best to begin with one single topic idea and go from there.

One common form for writing personal essays is to begin with a very specific image, instant, or memory (zoomed in, to put it in film terms) and gradually expand outward to address the larger subject.
Another common form employs the exact opposite: starting very broad, then zooming in on the specific memory, event, etc. This can be a bit tricky, though, as a broad topic can easily lose the interest of your readers early on in the essay.
One form that's been gaining popularity over the last few years is the lyric or hybrid essay. This combines poetry and essay elements, essentially creating a long-form nonfiction poem.
Try writing your essay in one form, and if it doesn't feel right you can experiment with a different form.

Try to incorporate all five senses. You won't be able to make the reader see, hear, smell, taste, or touch the things you have, but if you craft your piece of writing skillfully, the reader should feel like he/she has experienced them first hand.
Build your images in a linear, narrative way. In other words, don't fill every tangent with long-winded descriptive passages - save that for the main "story" thread of your book or essay.
Make sure your details are relevant. If you're just throwing in details to make the essay or book "pretty," it's probably just a distraction.

Don't worry about typos (unless they'll be impossible to decipher) while you write your first draft. You can fix these minor errors in the editing and revision stage.
Make sure you're using visceral details - what many writing teachers refer to as showing, not telling. For example, instead of saying outright that you were frustrated, describe the way you narrowed your eyes and furrowed your brow at someone.
Think about whether the form you're using is working for the essay at hand. If it's not working, try something different, as the overall form will be more difficult to work with during revision.
Consider whether or not you adequately address every aspect of your subject. As you complete your first draft, you should also think about whether or not you've left anything unresolved and make any necessary corrections.

Writing a Creative Nonfiction Book

Think about the things that you find most captivating.
Unlike a personal essay, you do not have to be the main subject of a nonfiction book (though you can be!).
As you consider your subject matter, remember that you'll need to be able to write a whole book about that subject. Think about whether you'd be able to say that much about a subject before you commit to it.

A memoir (from the French word for "memory/reminiscence") is a detailed retelling of some part of your life. Unlike an autobiography, which can cover a whole life, a memoir is usually rooted in a specific theme, event, or time and place in your life. [6] X Research source
A travelogue discusses a place and its people, culture, and/or food. It tends to be very heavily based upon the author's experience and therefore is a subjective personal account (unlike a travel guide, which seeks to objectively convey information without any personal experience). [7] X Research source
Nature and environmental writing should revolve around a personal experience with nature. The writing should ultimately promote some degree of awareness of current environmental issues and should ideally foster a sense of wonder, adventure, and advocacy in readers.
A biography is a retelling of someone else's life, and it may cover a specific time period (like a memoir of someone else's life) or that person's entire life. Biographies can be captivating narrative reenactments of a person's life or you can even create a historical fiction, and can really bring the subject's story to life.
If you have a series of related personal essays, you can organize them into a book-length essay collection. Make sure to focus your story around a central theme, form, or idea.

Think about where you could best begin your book, and what the logical conclusion of that story should be. If writing a biography, for example, the book might end with a retelling of the subject's death.
If you're writing a memoir, the book should adequately frame the chosen time and place in your life. It's up to you to decide where the logical conclusion of that part of your life should be, and how to tell it best.
If you're writing a travelogue, you'll need to include details about yourself, as well as where, when, why, and how you traveled. You should make yourself easy to relate to for readers and write in a way that brings your experience to life on the page. [9] X Research source
When writing about nature or the environment, you'll need to show a genuine engagement with nature (ideally through some form of outdoor activity), balance nature facts with your subjective thoughts and feelings, and show a level of curiosity that makes everyday objects in nature seem new and exciting. [10] X Research source

If you're writing a biography, you will most likely need a lot of factual information. This may require reading through textbooks and other biographies, or even visits to a museum or historical society.
If you're writing a memoir, talk to other people who knew you during that time (ideally a close relative, friend, or someone who was with you as you experienced that part of your life). You'd be amazed at how many details you've forgotten, misremembered, or completely fabricated.
A travelogue should draw heavily upon your notes and journals from the trip, but you'll also need to conduct research on the subjects you write about. For example, you'll want to learn as much as possible about the culture and people of that region, the food most frequently associated with that culture, etc.
A nature or environmental project should involve researching the names and descriptions of the plants, animals, and geographic areas you describe. You may also want to research how ecosystems work together in complex and unique ways in the areas you write about.

Step 5 Treat each chapter like a work of fiction.

Create scenes within your essay or book, the same way a fiction writer would portray a scene in a short story or novel.
Think of the people in your nonfiction essay/book as characters. Are they fully developed on the page, and do readers get a good sense of their overall personalities?
Write strong dialogue. No one can remember the exact, word-for-word transcript of every conversation they've ever had, but your recollection of conversations should be as truthful as possible and written in a way that's easy to follow.

Make sure you work in a quiet place where you won't be distracted or disturbed.
You can measure your writing time temporally (by how many hours have passed), or by word or page count.
Be consistent with your schedule. It doesn't necessarily have to be every day, but it should be the same days and the same times, week in and week out.

Focus on larger issues as you hammer out your first draft. You can correct line-level issues during the revision/editing process.
Make sure everything is tied up by the end of the book. Don't leave anything unresolved, and make sure the reader will have a sense of closure and completion by the end of your book.

Composing Other Types of Nonfiction

If you're going to write an informational book, you'll need to know a lot about that subject. Most informational books are written by experts in that field.
If you're not an expert, that's okay. You'll just need to make up for it with exceptional and extensive research.
Informational writing should provide readers with clear definitions of terms, detailed descriptions of what something is and how it works, and information on how to engage with that object (using it, finding it, etc.).
Make sure you'll be able to write a whole book on the subject you've chosen. Again, you don't need to know everything about that subject, but it should be something that can be written about at length if you want to fill a whole book.

Think about the intended audience/readership for your book.
Academic texts should be written formally, avoiding any slang or colloquialisms. Academic writing should also include complex language that is technical and specialized when necessary. [14] X Research source
You'll need to make connections clear to the reader so that seemingly disparate concepts are explicitly related and clarified.
An academic book will treat and comment on research done by other authors in the discipline associated with your book.

Writing an instructive book will require a good deal of research as well, but it will be research that will help you relay steps in a project (rather than research that will create the definitive book of World History, for example).
An instructive book should break down the basic concepts of a project, define any unique terms, and give readers a thorough, step-by-step guide on how to complete that project.
Do your research, talk to experts, and take extensive notes. Then, when the time comes, you'll be able to break down those notes (informed by the research you've done) into a simple how-to guide.
An example of an instructional book might be a hunting guide, written for someone who's never been hunting before. The book will need to explain the ins and outs of hunting, from its most basic concepts to the most complex ways of preparing the meat, for example.

Revising and Editing Your Work

Step 1 Set your work aside for a while before revising/editing.

Give yourself anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after finishing the project before you attempt to revise/edit your work.
If you try to edit/revise right away, you'll be less likely to notice issues within the writing (typos/errors, as well as things that aren't clear or don't make sense), and you'll have a harder time cutting things that aren't necessary.
Keep in mind that revising and editing your work is an essential part of the writing process. Do not skip over this step or spend less time on it than the other steps.

Read your draft slowly out loud to yourself.
Take your time and circle, highlight, or otherwise mark anything that is incorrect or incomplete. Don't make revisions as you read, though, or you could lose your place many times.
As you read, make sure you're only reading what you've written on the page, word for word.
In addition to typos and incomplete thoughts, look for any sentences that trip you up or confuse you as you read aloud. These sentences should also be marked for revision.
Once you've gotten through the whole thing (or a good chunk of it, like an entire chapter), go through and make the necessary changes.

Step 3 Make sure everything is resolved by the end.

This is another aspect of why approaching the work after a short intermission will give you the best results. You may not realize that something hasn't been resolved because you've connected all the dots in your head (which a reader obviously can't do).

Step 4 Ask a trusted friend or colleague to read through your manuscript.

If something hasn't been fully explained or resolved, you're less likely to notice it than an outside reader. Your mind will fill in the gaps precisely because you were the author and you know what you meant to say.
Ask your friend to help you proofread your manuscript for typos, errors, and other line-level problems.
Let your friend know that you want honest, critical assessment (not just praise).

Step 5 Find areas that need expansion and/or clarification.

If anything was rushed through or not fully explored, revisit that section and think about ways to flesh out the subject so it's more comprehensive.
Rearrange certain sections to see if they can complement one another. A sparsely-written section may end up being much fuller and more complete by being rearranged near another section.

Step 6 Cut anything that's not necessary.

Use clear, concise language. Cut out any flowery prose that distracts from the rest of your book or essay.
No matter how fond you are of the way a sentence sounds, if it is not necessary or relevant, it shouldn't make the final cut.

Expert Q&A

↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/753/1/
↑ https://www.uvm.edu/wid/writingcenter/tutortips/nonfiction.html
↑ http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/25-tips-to-make-you-a-better-nonfiction-writer
↑ http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/8-ways-to-prepare-to-write-your-nonfiction-book-in-a-month
↑ http://literarydevices.net/memoir/
↑ http://www.writersdigest.com/tip-of-the-day/breaking-into-travel-writing-the-5-elements-of-writing-travel-articles
↑ http://www.ecopsychology.org/journal/ezine/naturewriting.html
↑ http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm
↑ http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-revise-edit-and-proofread-your-writing/
↑ http://www.gbcnv.edu/documents/ASC/docs/00000057.pdf
↑ http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/editing-essay-part-one

About this article

To write nonfiction, choose a topic that’s significant to you, then write a personal essay connecting it to one of your memories. For example, begin an essay about death by describing an experience of losing a loved one, then expand from there. A nonfiction book, unlike a personal essay, simply has to focus on a specific topic you’re interested in. Think of each chapter like a story, the people like “characters,” and the events like the “plot.” Even though you’re describing true events, the book will be more interesting if it’s written in an engaging style. To learn how to research and outline your nonfiction work, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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No one knows what ‘creative nonfiction’ is. That’s what makes it great.

In the first paragraph of “ The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting ,” Lee Gutkind, the “Godfather” of the creative-nonfiction genre (a title used once to describe him in Vanity Fair in 1997 and since taken up repeatedly over the years, mostly by Gutkind himself, including in the bio on this book jacket), begins with a question he often receives: “‘What is creative nonfiction?’ Or, in some cases, ‘What the hell is creative nonfiction?’”

It’s a fitting sentiment for the genre, and for its longtime champion. This term, which others forgo in favor of “literary nonfiction” or “narrative nonfiction,” or simply “the essay,” as Gutkind writes, is a blanket that seeks to cover works from Joan Didion’s stylized journalistic chronicles of the ’60s to Mary Karr and the memoir boom of the ’90s to Annie Dillard’s nature writing, and everything in between that isn’t made up but also probably wouldn’t run in the newspaper. To practice or teach creative nonfiction (or whatever else you might want to call it) has been to operate from a defensive position. As Gutkind shows, this is a genre whose inception and growth were met with uncertainty, skepticism and in many cases disdain.

In trying to name, categorize, legitimize creative nonfiction, it’s hard not to feel that you’re being defined by what you are failing to do — it’s not creative in the eyes of fiction writers, or rigorously factual in the eyes of journalists, or properly literary in the eyes of academics. Here, Gutkind attempts to narrate the history of the genre, and that story is inevitably one of contestation and conflict — about what “creative nonfiction” even is, above all else, and just how “creative” writers can be before they’re no longer writing nonfiction. Those are familiar debates for some of us, and they haven’t stopped. I was in graduate school more than a decade ago, at one of the creative-nonfiction programs that Gutkind describes, and I was constantly getting into “Literary Fist-Fights,” though I imagine most of the people around me wanted to punch me for real.

Gutkind has been out there on those self-drawn front lines since the early ’70s. He’s a writer of numerous creative-nonfiction books (for which he immersed himself in topics ranging from the lives of those awaiting organ transplants, to the cutting-edge robotics program at Carnegie Mellon, to the ecosystem of a children’s hospital), a professor and an editor, all of these identities working toward a final form somewhere between evangelist and carnival barker. “I know that all of this scheming, all of these machinations, seem pretty crass and certainly not literary,” he writes about his efforts to get sustained funding for his seminal magazine, Creative Nonfiction. “I got a lot of heat from colleagues and other writers for being an unabashed promoter and even a self-promoter. Okay, maybe that was true — or partly true. But so what? It might work.”

It did work, and those of us who love the genre — many first drawn in by Gutkind’s magazine or his edited anthology — are grateful for it. These days, I don’t know if anyone would knock the hustle. Doomed hustling is the only literary mode left available, as so many great magazines, especially the kind that published the inventive, diverse work that we might call creative nonfiction, have fallen by the wayside — cut from shrinking university budgets, bought and gutted by venture-capital goons, scrubbed from the internet. The latest issue of Creative Nonfiction came out in 2022; there doesn’t seem to anything coming down the pike.

To look back, in these times of true literary and academic scarcity, the “fist-fighting” of grad program expansion and barbs exchanged between the tenured and endowed can seem like pretty enviable brawls. As much as anything, “The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting” is a book about academia, a version of it that’s nearly extinct. Multiple scenes take place in panels at academic conferences, or during contentious department meetings; enemies are blazered, bloviating, Faulkner scholars who pound the table and refuse to let nonfiction writers into their ivory tower.

In the midst of all this, Gutkind, in his own telling, is the perma-rebel: a former hippie motorcycle man without a graduate degree, who doesn’t belong. He’s the scrappy kid from the real world, pushing himself through every door the fancier folk might want to slam in his face. But for most of the book, he’s ensconced within the literary and academic establishment, ultimately moving comfortably through the tenure track at a major research university in the city where he was born. I don’t mean to downplay Gutkind’s enormous accomplishments; only to say, as a fellow academic, that it’s easy to get caught up in the perceived intrigue of a meeting, to frame yourself only against those in your bubble, to lose sight of the fact that the art being discussed is a far more compelling subject than the minutiae of the discussion about it.

Gutkind is at his best in this book when he grudgingly becomes the type of memoirist that he usually writes about. The moments when he stops to look back on his own evolving perspective and investment are truly compelling — reflecting the continuing intellectual curiosity of someone who cares enough about this field to allow himself to change with it. He thinks back on essays that he rejected from the magazine that he might accept now, and shows us how dogmas seem indispensable until suddenly they’re old fashioned.

Most compellingly, he reflects upon his writing career, the choices he made within the murkily defined borders of creative nonfiction. He describes a scene from his second book, in which he sits outside a motel room to eavesdrop on a fight between two White baseball umpires and their crewmate, the first Black umpire in the National League. Decades on, he delves into not only what happened in the scene but his place as eavesdropper, the context leading up to the moment, the stylistic choices in not making up but certainly emphasizing the cruel language, and most of all, whether “in the end I actually hurt the man I was trying to help.” He puts himself, and us, right back in the moment — and the results are vivid, ambiguous, emotionally resonant, fascinating.

That is the enduring thrill of creative nonfiction — tiptoeing along the border between art and fact. It requires turning a critical eye on your own ambition, your care for others, the literal truth of what happened and the style with which you might express how it felt, as well as the question of whose story is being told and who has the right to tell it. It’s one that Gutkind chronicles as a reader, too, capturing the experience that we who love the genre have all had, coming upon a work that feels epiphanic with all these tensions and intimacies, even if you didn’t have the language to call what you were reading “creative nonfiction.” He writes of what it meant to a young journalist to encounter a piece that broke the rules, as he did when he first read Gay Talese’s “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.” And he describes the awe he felt upon reading James Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son,” an essay that achieved so much . He captures this experience as an editor, too, when a then-unknown writer sent him her first manuscript and, decades into his career, he discovered that he could still be surprised.

This is, I think, what so often gets buried in discussions about creative nonfiction — including many of those documented in this book. The more one zeroes in on defining and defending, the more the writing can move away from whatever it is that makes the genre meaningful to so many people. Gutkind has given his life to this genre; I wish I knew more about what it means to him.

The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting

How a Bunch of Rabble-Rousers, Outsiders, and Ne’er-Do-Wells Concocted Creative Nonfiction

By Lee Gutkind

Yale University Press. 292 pp. $35

No one knows what ‘creative nonfiction’ is. That’s what makes it great.

Fellowships

Exploring the art and craft of story

Personal Essays

May 17, 2024, early influencers in a writing life, journalist, nonfiction author and teacher ben yagoda returns to some of the passages that inspired his career and helped shape his voice.

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Photo of a pile of rolled-up old newspapers

Jen Theodore via Unsplash

By Ben Yagoda

When the year was over, my father decided not to renew. But the magazine kept coming, possibly because its bean-counters judged that keeping the rate base up, even to the point of giving the product away for free, was worth it in terms of advertising revenues. Teenage me read the magazine not word for word, but scattershot: Malcolm Muggeridge on books, Dwight Macdonald on movies, Robert Alan Aurthur’s column “Hanging Out,” Rex Reed’s movie star profiles, occasional voices from the magazine’s past like Helen Lawrenson or George Frazier, and certainly the annual Dubious Achievement Awards and the Gorge Lois covers, including Andy Warhol drowning in a giant can of Campbell’s tomato soup and a smiling William Calley hugging a quartet of cute Vietnamese children.

Nonfiction author and teacher Ben Yagoda

Esquire stopped arriving after two years or three years. But that was long enough for me to absorb its ethos, similar to (though somewhat hipper than) what I was getting from a mix of newspapers and magazines that came into the house and were, without my realizing it, giving me a sense of what it was possible to do on a page. At the top of that list was The New York Times, which arrived every morning and where I would turn first (on his appointed days) to Russell Baker’s column, which offered a take on politics and other matters that was both funny and serious (but never solemn, to use Baker’s classic distinction). I’d read Robert Lipsyte on the sports page, John Leonard on books, Vincent Canby on movies, Craig Claiborne on food, and features by Charlotte Curtis and Judy Klemesrud (loved that byline). Second was The New Yorker, my mother’s Bible, where naturally I started with the cartoons and the newsbreaks like “Constabulary Notes from All Over” but grew to appreciate writers like Calvin Trillin, John McPhee, Pauline Kael, John Updike and Whitney Balliett. Then throw in in the New York Post , which my father occasionally brought home and where I read wise-guy “chipmunk” sports writers like Phil Pepe, Maury Allen and Larry Merchant; the even-wiser-guy Village Voice, which I picked up on my own forays into the city; Sports Illustrated and Sport magazines, which I intermittently subscribed to; and, needless to say, Mad magazine .

This is a story I’ve always told myself, that as writer I was formed by osmosis, not especially consciously. But recently, perhaps because I’ve reached the stage of life where taking stock seems called for, I’ve had an inclination to flesh out that story. And, thanks to Google’s hoovering up of most of most of what has ever been published, plus the existence of proprietary archives from Esquire, the Times, the New Yorker and other publications, I’ve been able to add specifics to the narrative: to track down particular articles, passages or even sentences that had an impact.

Archived treasure

Just the other day, someone mentioned something about Richard Brautigan on Facebook, and I flashed back to a line in a Brautigan parody I had read in The New Yorker at least five decades ago. I had thought it was written by Donald Barthelme, probably because his 1973 spoof of Cosmopolitan ads had made such an impression on me. But some time with Google and New Yorker digital archives revealed that the piece was by pre-“Prairie Home Companion” Garrison Keillor. It appeared in the issue of March 18, 1972, and here’s how it started:

Screenshot of a passage from an old New Yorker, written by Garrison Keillor

A couple of months ago, I saw Calvin Trillin speak on his book tour for “The Lede: Dispatches from a Life in the Press.” I pondered when it was that I became a Trillin fanboy for life, and after rooting around a while found what I think of the Rosetta Stone. It’s the opening of a New Yorker article from July 3, 1971. (Trillin is not only a connoisseur but a perpetrator of great ledes.)

Larry Goldberg, the pizza baron, is slim, but I still think of him as Fats Goldberg. So does he. Although he has ‘been down,’ as he puts it, for twelve years, after twenty-five years of exceptional fatness, he sees himself not as a man who weighs one hundred and sixty pounds but as a man who is constantly in danger of weighing three hundred twenty. “Inside, I’m still a fat man,” he sometimes says. When Fats and I were boys in Kansas City, he was already renowned for his corpulence—though I can’t say I was ever approached about posing for Refugee Relief ads in those days myself. During college, when Fats weighed three hundred pounds and was known to some as Three Cases Goldberg, I occasionally saw him at the University of Missouri, where he was one of a number of storied eaters. According to one tale, when a restaurant near the campus instituted a policy of giving customers all they wanted to eat on Sunday nights for a dollar thirty-five, a fraternity brother of Fats’ called Hog Silverman, who weighed less than two and a half cases, went over one Sunday night and put it out of business.

A little later there’s this quintessentially Trillinesque sentence, about the first time he saw Goldberg after college:

It was a Sunday morning, and I was at Ratner’s, on Second Avenue. I was having eggs scrambled with lox and onions, and I was glancing around constantly, as I tend to do in Ratner’s, to see if some other table was being given a roll basket with more of my favorite kind of onion rolls than our roll basket had.

Given the well-known vicissitudes of memory, it’s not surprising that sometimes I get these passages wrong. I was sure I had read a bit by Dan Jenkins in Sports Illustrated where he was making fun of sports-writing cliches and had a list to the effect of, “Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear; Lee Trevino, the Merry Mex; and Arnold Palmer, comma” — the idea being that Palmer was so mighty, no epithet would suffice. For years I tried to find it with no success. Then I Googled “Jack Nicklaus comma” and was directed to SI of September 13, 1976, where Jenkins had this lede:

Jack Nicklaus, comma. Having a bad year by his own standards, comma. Bored when there isn’t a major championship on the line, comma. Disinterested in money earnings, comma. Well, there’s only one thing wrong with all of that. How do you explain the fact that every time they think up a golf tournament of special significance, Nicklaus goes out and hammers everyone so deeply into the bunkers that they think they must be living in a tent in the Sahara?

And speaking of Sports Illustrated, one of my favorite quotes of all time appeared in the issue of April 21, 1969. Curry Kirkpatrick was profiling a young golfer named Bruce Fleisher and reported his answer when someone asked him why he went to Miami-Dade Junior College: “Because I’m dumb and the weather is hot.” (I actually streamlined that one in my memory as “Because it’s hot and I’m dumb.”)

Revisiting early influences

Sometimes my efforts lead to naught. Probably in the late ‘60s, the New Yorker’s television writer, Michael Arlen, had a set piece about a Saturday afternoon so dreary that the most interesting thing on TV was a professional hockey game. It was probably the starkest evocation of ennui I’ve ever read, but the search capabilities of the magazine’s archives are so quirky that I haven’t been able to find it.

Here are some of the other influential lines, passages, or whole pieces I’ve recently tracked down:

W riting about Count Basie’s minimalistic piano playing in the New Yorker of April 7, 1975, Balliett made an analogy that opened my eyes to a thing that criticism could do:

What Hemingway had done for American prose Basie was doing for American music.

On the other hand, Balliett taught me that I did not want to be haughtily dismissive, the way he was in 1971 when he wrote:

There is no need to worry about (Dave) Brubeck anymore. He is what he is — a jovial amateur pianist who happened along at the right time with the right music and make a million.

I t kind of blew my mind that the Voice could print a profile of a typeface, to wit, Helvetica, in 1976. And Molly Haskell, writing about the 1964 Howard Hawks film “Man’s Favorite Sport” in 1971, was my introduction to the auteur theory idea that even in an ostensibly witless Rock Hudson sex farce, there was more going on than met the eye:

Hudson is a virgin, who has written a ‘How to’ book on sex while harboring a deep, fastidious horror of it. His masculinity is a lie.

Meanwhile, costar Paula Prentiss:

…must take the initiative in Hudson’s sexual initiation, for which the fishing exploit is metaphor. Fish are phallic symbols, of course, and there is even a scene in which a loose fish thrashes around inside Hudson’s pants, causing him to jump and jerk uncontrollably.

J ohn McPhee’s two-part article about a tennis match between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner, “ Levels of the Game ,” appeared in The New Yorker in June 1969. McPhee’s description of Ashe’s backhand showed me something about precision and observation (and provided an aspirational template for my own one-handed backhand, a lifetime work in progress).

Ashe loves the movement of the backhand, because the follow-through does not cramp the arm into the body but does just the opposite-opens both arms wide and high, so that the stroke ends in the stance of the Winged Victory.

Later he quotes Ashe about the stroke:

…you fling your arms away from your body and you wind up in a position that looks as if you’re calling for help, both arms in the air.

And, the kicker (spoiler alert), when Ashe hits a backhand to win the match, is a callback :

When the stroke is finished, he is standing on his toes, his arms flung open, wide, and high.

I n August, 1972, right after the Republican National Convention , my favorite columnist, Russell Baker, brilliantly appropriated my favorite novel. What could be better? Here’s how Baker’s Times piece started:

My name’s Huckleberry Dick. You ain’t heard of me less’n you watched a TV show called the Republican National Love-In. That show was made by Mr. Walter Cronkite and Mr. John Chancellor and Mr. Howard Smith and lots of other smart TV people, and mostly they told the truth, ‘cepn for leavin’ out a lot of the more disgustin’ scenes of crowds of love‐crazed Republicans a‐flingin’ themselves on me and a‐lickin’ my hands on account of my havin’ done so much to make the country a fit place to love in again.

I n June 1969, Rust Hills published a piece in Esquire that was accurately titled “How to Do Four Dumb Tricks with a Package of Camels” and that started this way:

Another reason for smoking Camels, besides because they satisfy, never change, are available most everywhere, are romantically-dangerously unfiltered, and taste best, is that there are four dumb tricks you can do with the package that amuse children and other simpleminded, amiable people.

So much of that screams David Letterman — the air-quotey phrase “they satisfy,” the idea of doing dumb tricks, even the word “dumb” — that I am convinced he read it in Indiana and it made even more of an impression on him than it did on me.

T he funniest and cleverest thing I’ve ever read remains “Albert Brooks’ Famous Schools for Comedians,” published in Esquire in February 1971. It changed my life.

Hearing your own voice

Later in 1971, I showed up in college, with the vague idea I wanted to be a writer. I took a couple of fiction-writing classes and didn’t produce anything very good. I went out for the school newspaper and wrote a few articles, including an interview with Robert Strauss, the head of the Democratic Party, and an account of a speech by the governor of Puerto Rico. I realized that hard news wasn’t for me either.

Then some people started a monthly magazine associated with the newspaper. My roommate was one of the people and one day I tagged along with him to a meeting. I left the meeting having been appointed Road Trips Editor of the magazine. In that role I assigned travel stories and wrote some of my own. The first one appeared on May 1, 1975. I know that because, sure enough, my complete college output is online, including the Robert Strauss interview.

This first Road Trips story was about going to the New York Yankees’ home opener. I start out writing a bit about my history as a Yankee fan, then talked about arriving at the game:

Our seats today, are, again, in the mezzanine. My father, a champion of the middle way, always brought me to this sheltered cove, and it is like home.

“Sheltered cove” is a bit much. But that line about “champion of the middle way” and etymologically linking it to the mezzanine. Yup, that’s me. I didn’t realize at the time — I didn’t realize much at the time — but all that reading had borne fruit. I had a voice.

Ben Yagoda is the author or editor of fourteen books, including “About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made: and “ Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English ,: which will be published in September 2024. His podcast is “ The Lives They’re Living .”

Best AI for Writing Non-Fiction Books: Top 5 Expert Picks for 2024

See how the latest AI writing tools stack up to one another

AI has had a MASSIVE week with OpenAI's (the team behind ChatGPT) latest updates. Their models can now translate languages in real time and interact with the world through voice and video. And these are just the updates they've shared with the public—there's no telling what's on deck.

Here's what that means for publishers:

Going from idea to execution in a fraction of the time
Having more control and power throughout the publishing process
Generating even more recurring income and royalties as you build out your published library

There are already tons of AI writing tools out there, specifically tailored for non-fiction writers and publishers, but this blog post covers the top 5 that are making waves.

See what's possible with just a laptop + a free Amazon account. Stop by our no-cost publishing training and discover the formula that's already generated millions of dollars in royalties for total beginners with no publishing, writing, or tech experience.

Can You Legally Publish a Book Written by AI?

We've answered this question multiple times across our blog because it's one of the biggest concerns we hear among newbie publishers. The short answer, is YES, you can definitely publish a book written by AI.

Now, here's the long answer...

The laws surrounding purely AI-generated content are still evolving, but as of now, there are no legal barriers to publishing a book written or assisted by AI.

Any new technology is automatically going to have some resistance to it because that's how we humans are. We're usually not too fond of change. But at the end of the day, using AI like a co-pilot is really no different than hiring a ghostwriter. You still have to put in the critical thinking and creativity to make the final product worth your readers' time.

Amazon has started testing a new policy that requires self-publishers to declare if their content is AI-generated or AI-assisted, but this is strictly for educational purposes. It is NOT punitive despite some rumors you may have heard online.

What Is the Best AI for Writing Non-fiction Books?

When it comes to selecting the best AI for writing non-fiction books, the "best" tool is really going to boil down to personal preferences and the extent of the work you're looking for help with.

These are 5 recommendations for AI tools that have been gaining a lot of popularity on the publishing scene:

Publishing.ai

#1: Publishing.AI: Best AI for Writing Non-Fiction Books

Although Publishing.AI is currently exclusive for members of Publishing.com's student community, it is a gamechanger for the industry. This powerful tool is specifically designed to cater to non-fiction authors and serve as a one-stop-shop to all things publishing.

Best Use Cases:

Customer Research Reports: Gather essential data about your audience to actually tailor your content (most AI's fall completely short here).
Comprehensive Text Generation: Capable of producing well-structured 30,000-word books from scratch.
Book Descriptions and Marketing Copy: Helps create compelling descriptions specifically formulated for Amazon's KDP to reach more readers and boost your book sales.
Detailed Research: Provides in-depth audience AND competitor insights.
Structured Content: Generates comprehensive and well-organized text (which is also fully editable).
Marketing Support: Optimizes book descriptions with SEO analysis already built-in!
Built for KDP: Designed with Amazon's publishing guidelines in mind and offers helpful reminders so you can make sure your manuscript stays compliant.
Exclusivity: Must be a Publishing.com member to gain first access.
Limitations: The AI tool can't actually publish or market your book for you (...yet), so you'll still need to put in the 10% of work to bring your book across the finish line.
Visit the Publishing.AI website for pricing updates.

#2: ChatGPT

ChatGPT has come a LONG way since its earlier versions, and it's still constantly being updated. Premium subscribers should already have access to its 4.o version, which is even faster and smarter than GPT 4, 3.5, and so on.

Outline Draft Creation: Helps in setting up a clear and detailed book outline.
Overcome Writer's Block: Unlimited idea generation for your chapters based on market research (though it might not always be completely up to date).
Research Assistance: Suggests sources for further research or generates citations based on your preferred style (APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.). Just keep in mind that ChatGPT has been known to "hallucinate" facts, figures, and sources, so triple-check everything!
Quick: You can get instant answers to practically any question on your mind.
Accessible: The free version is open to anybody with a computer!
On the Go: They also offer a mobile version, and there are rumors that future iPhones will all be automatically integrated with ChatGPT!
Learning Curve: May require some practice to get used to prompting and providing the AI with feedback.
Niche Limitations: Might not be perfect for every subject area, requiring manual edits.
Free or $20/month for Premium Subscribers

#3: Scrivener

Scrivener is perfect for those who love having everything in one place. It lets you manage your research, notes, and first drafts, all from the same dashboard (just like Publishing.ai).

Project Management: Organize your entire book project, from research to final draft, all in the same place.
Detailed Outlines: Create comprehensive outlines with multiple features that let you really customize your experience.
Multi-Format Support: Easily format your manuscript for various publishing platforms.
All-in-One: Combines writing, research, and organization tools.
Flexible: Supports various writing styles and project types.
Distraction-Free Mode: Helps you stay focused while writing in Composition Mode.
Learning Curve: Can be complex to learn initially.
Not AI-Powered: Doesn't generate content or ideas for you; it's more of a management tool.
Scrivener is available for a one-time fee of $59.99 for macOS and Windows , and $23.99 for iOS .

#4: WriteSonic

WriteSonic is another decent AI-powered writing tool for creating non-fiction books. It uses advanced machine learning algorithms (like ChatGPT) to generate content through chat-based prompts.

Content Creation: Ideal for writing eBooks, articles, and other non-fiction content.
SEO Optimization: Built-in SEO tools help your content rank better in search engines.
Branding: Teach the AI what your preferred brand voice is, and it will automatically apply that feedback to future prompts.
Multiple tiers: Choose which plan best suits your budget and content needs.
Tool Suite: Also offers image and voice capabilities through Audiosonic and Photosonic.
Versatile: Suitable for various types of writing projects (not just manuscripts).
Not Perfect for Everyone: May not meet all writing needs and may not be as in-depth as other tools.
Not Specific to Publishing: This is more of a general AI tool than a manuscript-specific one.
WriteSonic offers a free plan and individual plans starting at $16 per month.

#5: Squibler

Squibler is a versatile writing tool known for its user-friendly interface and more comprehensive feature set, making it a great choice for fiction and nonfiction authors, writers, and publishers.

Fast Drafting: Helps you quickly draft your non-fiction book, novel, or screenplay quickly.
Collaboration: Supports real-time collaboration, perfect for co-authors or editors.
Templates: Offers a variety of templates to kickstart your writing process.
User-Friendly: Easy to navigate and use, even for beginners.
Collaboration Tools: Allows for seamless teamwork on your writing projects.
Goal Tracking: Keeps you on track with word count and chapter goals.
Limited Advanced Features: The free version only allows 6,000 AI words generated per month.
Genre Limitations: Its nonfiction writing capabilities are mostly specific to memoirs.

Squibler offers a free plan or a $20 per month plan for premium subscribers.

How Do You Know Which AI Writing Tools Are Worth Trying?

Here are some things to look out for when you're comparing AI writing software:

Accuracy and Reliability

In a perfect world, AI will always be accurate and reliable.

That includes things like:

Context Understanding: The AI should get what you’re saying and keep the flow consistent.
Error-Free Text: The tools should produce clean, polished content that doesn't require rewriting from scratch.
Regular Updates: A good AI gets regular updates to stay sharp and current (look out for knowledge cutoffs, which are usually disclosed in the terms and conditions).

User Interface and Experience

Publishing takes a lot of focus and planning, so a smooth user interface can make a world of difference.

Clean Layout: A cluttered dashboard isn't going to help produce a clean, organized manuscript.
Intuitive Navigation: You want something easy to navigate without a ton of instructions and training videos required just to get started.
Personalized Assistance: Look for tools that adapt to your writing style and needs.

Support and Community

Good support and an active community can be lifesavers, especially when you find yourself hitting a mental roadblock.

Look for companies that provide these things on top of the AI writing tool:

Active Online Community: A place to share ideas and get tips from other users.
Comprehensive Documentation: Helpful guides and FAQs that make using the tool easier.
Responsive Customer Support: Quick, helpful responses when you need help.

Cost and Value

Ghostwriters, editors, and graphic designers start to add up, so your AI tools should help you get the best bang for your buck.

Think about:

Pricing Plans: Compare different tools and see whether you can save money on an annual plan or whether the free plan is actually sufficient for your content needs.
Value for Money: Look for tools that offer more holistic features to help you across multiple steps of the publishing process versus just writing or editing.

Use Cases and Practical Applications

There is always something new to learn about AI—even for those of us who have been using it for years.

Here are some practical ways to put these new tools to good use:

1. Research and Outline:

AI tools like Squibler and Publishing.ai can simplify your research process, gather valuable information, and create a detailed outline for your book.

2. Content Generation and Improvement:

Tools like ChatGPT and WriteSonic can speed up your writing by offering suggestions to improve your storytelling and convey information in a different way.

3. Editing and Proofreading:

Scrivener can help you organize and manage your writing process, making editing and proofreading more efficient.

4. SEO Optimization:

AI tools like WriteSonic can help you craft content that's already optimized for search engines to improve your book's online visibility.

5. Language Translation:

WriteSonic and ChatGPT are already testing out translation, which can be a great way to add an additional income stream and reach new book markets. (In our opinion, these capabilities still aren't completely perfect, but they're definitely on their way there.)

Which AI Writing Tools Offer the Best Value for Money for Non-fiction Writers?

Publishing.ai does things a little differently than most AI writing tools . For one, it's specifically designed for DIY publishers and authors, and the main goal is to simplify the publishing process as much as possible.

From just one dashboard, you can generate:

-Unlimited book topic ideas

-Hefty customer and market research reports

-Optimized book outlines

-First-draft manuscripts based on your ideal chapter count ready for polishing and editing

See how Publishing.ai is changing the publishing industry!

Are There Any Free AI Writing Applications Suitable for Non-fiction Books?

If you're a non-fiction writer balling on a really tight budget, ChatGPT's free plan is the way to go.

Most blogs are going to recommend ChatGPT because it's so accessible and easy to practice with.

Sure, its output isn't always going to be perfect, but even if it can help you save a few hours of research time, that's ultimately more freedom over your time and schedule (which is why most people want to start publishing in the first place).

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Our public 7-Day Publi$hing Challenge officially kicks off at the end of May, and the best part isn't even that THOUSANDS of people have already committed to publishing their first book...

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FREE WEBINAR

Self-Publishing FAQ: How Many Book Reviews Can I Actually Expect?

IMAGES

How To Teach Nonfiction Writing To Second Graders
4 Tips for Writing Creative Non-Fiction
Write Your Nonfiction Book Manuscript: Ultimate Author Toolkit
21 Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts to Inspire True Stories
3 Easy Steps For Teaching Students to Use Nonfiction Text Features
18 Nonfiction Anchor Charts for the Classroom

VIDEO

How Can Pairing Fiction and Nonfiction Books Enhance My Reading Experience?
Writing Nonfiction 101(Part 1)
Choosing a Topic || Creative Nonfiction
The BIG publisher causing a major disruption! Or are they?
Writing Nonfiction 101 (Part 2)
Editing Nonfiction: Why is it MORE Expensive?

COMMENTS

How To Write A Nonfiction Book: 21 Steps for Beginners
How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 21 Steps. #1— Develop the mindset to learn how to write a nonfiction book. #2 - Create a Book Writing Plan. #3 - Identify your WHY. #4 - Research nonfiction book topics. #5 - Select a nonfiction book topic. #6 — Drill down into your book idea. #7 — Schedule writing time. #8 — Establish a writing ...
Creative Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write It
Often, creative writers experience insight as they write it, drawing conclusions they hadn't yet considered as they tell their story, which makes creative nonfiction much more genuine and raw. ... CNF pioneer Lee Gutkind developed a very system called the "5 R's" of creative nonfiction writing. Together, the 5 R's form a general ...
A Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction
Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Sep 29, 2021 • 5 min read. Creative nonfiction uses various literary techniques to tell true stories. Writing creative nonfiction requires special attention to perspective and accuracy.
21 Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts to Inspire True Stories
Tell about a time you had to dig. 8. Write about the first time of drove or traveled alone and it changed you. 9. Tell about a painful or poignant goodbye. 10. Relate a favorite memory about a significant figure in your life. 11. Write the story of the most difficult decision you made in each decade of your life.
How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 8 Steps
Level Up Your Team. See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. Writing about others is no trivial act. It's not merely entertainment or a distraction. When readers and nonfiction writers turn to factual topics, they are in search of something powerful and fundamental about what it means to be a better person.
How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 6 Steps
Hold onto that book idea of yours, and let's see how we can turn it into something that readers will love. How to write a nonfiction book: 1. Determine what problem your book will solve. 2. Outline your book with a logical structure. 3. Choose a style guide to remain consistent. 4.
How to Write a Nonfiction Book (8 Key Stages)
By adhering to a methodical approach, writers can transform their knowledge and ideas into compelling, well-structured nonfiction books. How to Write a Nonfiction Book. Here are the main 8 stages of writing a nonfiction book. Let's start. Choosing a Topic. Selecting the right topic is the cornerstone of writing a successful nonfiction book.
Creative Nonfiction: How to Spin Facts into Narrative Gold
Creative nonfiction is not limited to novel-length writing, of course. Popular radio shows and podcasts like WBEZ's This American Life or Sarah Koenig's Serial also explore audio essays and documentary with a narrative approach, while personal essays like Nora Ephron's A Few Words About Breasts and Mariama Lockington's What A Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew also ...
How to Write a Nonfiction Book: A Step-by-Step Guide for Authors
Choose the structure for your book. Draft an outline. Choose your style guide. Write, write, write. 1. Get clear on what you want to achieve with your nonfiction book. Before you embark on your writing journey, you need to know why you're going on this journey in the first place.
How to Finally Write Your Nonfiction Book
A lower-tech option: Look in the back of similar books to see who the author thanks in the acknowledgments. You may have to query multiple agents about your idea. Ideally, one of them will bite ...
A Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction
According to Wikipedia: Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing truth which uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is ...
25 Tips To Make You a Better Nonfiction Writer
Do not start with "It was" or "It's" or "When.". Do not ever use time stamp sub heads (ie: 12:15 p.m.) to break up a feature story. Write in scenes. If you can't find the killer declarative sentence to lede with, use an evocative scene-setting description. See like a movie camera—make your writing cinematic.
A Guide to Creative Nonfiction Writing
Creative nonfiction is a category of writing that combines facts and real-life stories with literary elements like narrative structure, dialogue, and character development. It can be tempting to equate it to memoir or autobiography, as these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but creative nonfiction can also be topic- or subject-specific ...
199+ Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts to Spark Your Creativity
Share your experience with a random act of kindness. 27. Write a narrative creative nonfiction piece about a significant event in your community. 28. Describe a moment when you realized you had grown up. 29. Write about a tradition in your family and its origins. 30. Share a personal essay about a turning point in your life.
7 Essential Tips on How to Write Creative Nonfiction
Research Your Subject Thoroughly. Once you've decided on your topic and idea, it's time to start researching. In addition to personal experience and anecdote, researching is one of the fundamental parts of writing nonfiction, even if you're writing creatively. If you want to make your research more interesting and engaging for the reader ...
How to Write a Nonfiction Book (with Pictures)
But a big advantage of non-fiction writing is that even when you experience writer's block, you can always take that time to do more research and dig deeper into the facts of your topic. Writing nonfiction, especially well, is a craft and takes patience, persistence, and a strong narrative voice to get it right.
Writing A Nonfiction Book Using Your Personal Experiences
Self-help guides, health and wellness, cookbooks, social commentary, creative nonfiction, and business books can benefit from your personal touch. 1. Reflect on your experiences and memories. Self-reflection is an important step in personal storytelling. It allows for a deeper understanding of a certain experience's significance, its impact ...
Creative Nonfiction: A Movement, Not a Moment
Five R's. Basic public education once covered the three R's: Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmatic. I find it's helpful to think of the basic tenets of creative nonfiction (especially immersion journalism) in terms of the five R's. The first R is the "real life" aspect of the writing experience.
Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs
Creative nonfiction enhances a writer's potential to connect with readers. This, after all, is why writers write: to inform, to impart wisdom, to make an impact, to influence attitudes, to change a life. That's creative nonfiction at its best. 2. Journalism vs. Creative Nonfiction.
25 Types of Nonfiction Writing and Their Characteristics
Here are 25 of the most common types of nonfiction writing: 1. History. History is a nonfiction writing genre that describes true historical events and eras. History books detail political and social situations, using primary and secondary sources to help readers understand their legacies and causes.
How to Write Amazing Narrative Non-Fiction
Narrative non-fiction brings to life true stories like historic events and personal experiences. It uses the techniques usually associated with fiction writing, such as plot, character, and detailed scene-setting.. This very popular genre informs the reader with facts and detailed accounts of real-life events, but is written in an engaging and dramatic way designed to grip the reader's ...
4 Ways to Write Non Fiction
Try writing your essay in one form, and if it doesn't feel right you can experiment with a different form. 4. Incorporate sensory details. Sensory details are the bread and butter of any narrative piece of writing. Just because you're writing a nonfiction essay or book, it doesn't mean you can't get creative.
Evoking Emotion and Conflict in Fiction and Nonfiction
Tips for the Reading and Writing Portions of the Digital SAT. Author (and perfect SAT scorer) Dr. Shaan Patel, MD, MBA, shares his top tips for getting a great score on the reading and writing portions of the digital SAT, including 10 "kiss of death" phrases and words to avoid.
Christina Myers: Stop Talking Yourself out of Your Book Dream
Christina Myers is a writer, editor, and former journalist. She is the author of the novel The List of Last Chances, winner of the Canadian Book Club Award for Fiction and longlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour, and editor of the award-winning anthology BIG.An alumnus of the Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, she now teaches creative writing through SFU's continuing studies.
No one knows what 'creative nonfiction' is. That's what ...
This term, which others forgo in favor of "literary nonfiction" or "narrative nonfiction," or simply "the essay," as Gutkind writes, is a blanket that seeks to cover works from Joan ...
Early influencers in a writing life
Jen Theodore via Unsplash. By Ben Yagoda. O ne day in the very late 1960s, my father brought home a copy of Esquire magazine. Out popped a card offering an annual subscription for, I believe, $1.99. He filled it out and mailed it in, and subsequently the magazine, which was just a little past its New Journalism heyday, arrived every month in the mailbox of our home in New Rochelle, New York.
Best AI for Writing Non-Fiction Books: Top 5 Expert Picks for 2024
#1: Publishing.AI: Best AI for Writing Non-Fiction Books. Although Publishing.AI is currently exclusive for members of Publishing.com's student community, it is a gamechanger for the industry. This powerful tool is specifically designed to cater to non-fiction authors and serve as a one-stop-shop to all things publishing. Best Use Cases:
Mike Hixenbaugh: On Writing About Current History
In this post, Mike discusses the process of researching and writing his new political nonfiction book, They Came for the Schools, his hope for readers, and more! Name: Mike Hixenbaugh Literary agent: Lauren Sharp, Aevitas Book title: They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms Publisher: Mariner Books
How to write a discussion text
This short film is from the BBC series, The Facts About Non-Fiction. Teacher Notes Ask pupils as a group to come up with arguments 'for' and 'against' wearing a school uniform.

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How To Write A Nonfiction Book: 21 Steps for Beginners

How to write a nonfiction book

What is a nonfiction book?

What is the author’s purpose in a work of nonfiction?

How many words are in a nonfiction book?

How long does it take to write a nonfiction book?

Benefits of writing a nonfiction book

Some rewarding results that can come after you write a nonfiction book are:

How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 21 Steps

#1— Develop the mindset to learn how to write a nonfiction book

#2 – Create a Book Writing Plan

Here's how to overcome the excuses that prevent you from writing:

#3 – Identify your WHY

#4 – Research nonfiction book topics

Here's how to write a nonfiction book that's well-researched:

#5 – Select a nonfiction book topic

#6 — Drill down into your book idea

#7 — Schedule writing time

#8 — Establish a writing space

Display your favorite author photos

Hang up a yearly calendar

Create a clutter-free environment

Choose a writing surface and chair

#9 — Choose a nonfiction book writing software

Here are 3 writing software for new authors to consider:

#10 — Create your mind map

Here is how to create your mind map:

#11 — How to write a nonfiction book outline

Here's how to write a nonfiction book outline:

What is a nonfiction book outline?

Option 1: Simple Nonfiction Book Outline

Option 2: Chapter-by-Chapter Nonfiction Book Outline

Create a mind map for each chapter to outline a nonfiction book

#12 — Determine your point of view

#13 — Write your first chapter

#14 — Write a nonfiction book first draft

To learn how to write a nonfiction book, use this format:

#15 — Destroy writer’s block

#16 — Reach out to nonfiction book editors

#17— Self-edit your first draft

Questions to ask as you self-edit your nonfiction book:

#18 — Create a nonfiction title

Here are the main points to consider when creating a nonfiction book title:

#19 — Send your nonfiction book to the editor

#20 — Hire a proofreader

#21 — Hire a formatter

Here are the key pages to include in your nonfiction book:

You know how to write a nonfiction book!

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