Writers start training by doing journals, or the more common term is diary. Mostly, journals are all about the things that transpired for the day. As journals go along, writers learn to eliminate things which are not necessary. While there are a lot of things that a writer can take advantage through online learning in terms of writing in general, below are tips they can learn in going about non-fiction writing.

Be clear about your concept

Unlike fiction-writing which requires element of surprise, non-fiction writing has to be straightforward. On that note, the concept has to be very clear on the onset. Also, it has to be reinforced in the body and the closing statements. Readers should not be up for any guessing game.

Content of nonfiction writing

Non-fiction writing may give anybody an impression that its content has to be about people. Apparently, the scope is so wide a non-fiction writer can pick any topic from science to education, lifestyle to technology or even simple things like parenting, inter-personal relationship or even just giving a tip on how to avoid traffic. Whether the topic is complex or simple, the most important thing is that the contents are specific, technical and relevant.

Research about story

One of the things that keep writers from dealing with non-fiction is because it requires a tremendous amount of research to pull through. More than the writer’s personal take on the issue the content has to be associated to studies and published research for citation. A writer doesn’t want to be slapped with libel suits for an inaccurate write up, doesn’t he?

Give importance to value but also the limitations of facts

While fiction capitalizes on the impact of the plot, non-fiction writing is more on highlighting the value of the topic to the readers. The value has to be positioned in a way that would get the reader’s buy in. It has to be packaged like a gift waiting to be opened for the reader to keep on reading.  However, in the process of reinforcing the value, one common pitfall a non-fiction writer commits is circumventing facts. That means that a writer may at some point sugar-coat a not-so-desirable point or feature just to keep the reader interested. It is common on sales pitch and advertising articles. So it is imperative for the writer to take into consideration the limitation of facts at hand while giving importance to the topic’s value. False information can be appealing, but most readers can read between the lines and can discern an honest write-up from an eventual misinformation.
Different type of creative nonfiction story

There are a lot of creative nonfiction story a writer can deal with. From technical writing which requires scientific tables and charts to better illustrate the idea to argumentative opinion pieces and investigative journalism exposes. Among the noted non-fictional documents are journals, photographs, chronicles, blueprints and travel books. That is regardless of whether the information the author has written are true or not. So while the thin line between a non-fiction and fiction can be crossed when a write up takes form as a document, what defines a non-fiction is when the information cited by the author is backed up by verifiable source and citation.

Some other important tips for nonfiction story

Another tip in writing a good non-fiction story is by being technical, but not overdoing it. By being technical means the word-choice has to be appropriate and fit to the topic. Not necessarily a jargon, but it has to be something the reader can associate to the topic. When writing for military readers for example, the author has to call an un-enlisted man a civilian instead of an ordinary citizen.

As a writer goes along and finds non-fiction story writing his niche, he would adapt and develop personal style or technique that works for him best. While still developing the skill, it would be helpful to read more and take online learning a big part of the learning process