Write Nonfiction in November Comes to an End

The month has come to an end. I hope you’ve risen to my Write Nonfiction in November challenge and finished your nonfiction writing project. Depending upon where you live, you might still have a few hours left to do so. As with NaNoWriMo, if you have finished, you can now take some time to edit, polish and fine tune your manuscript. That’s what I’ll be doing during December.

On that note, I’m going to write about editing once more. Actually, I’m going to write about writing.

Recently, I’ve edited several projects that had my hair bristling. I found myself totally frustrated and wanting to ask my clients why they didn’t write more clearly. To be more explicit, I wanted to yell, “Write simply! Write what you mean! Don’t make it so complicated!” I had to spend huge amounts of time – and their money -- trying to make sense of their sentences, which were written in amazingly convoluted ways and with the most absurdly odd word choices.

From this experience, I wan to offer this advice: As you write, rewrite and edit, keep this in mind the fact that most readers don’t want to struggle to understand what you are writing. They want to read your sentences once - - not two or three or four times -- and comprehend your point. They don’t have a need for you to impress them with your amazing use of the English language, especially if that use leaves them wondering what you are trying to say. If you have a good vocabulary, use it, but write as you would speak. If you aren’t sure if your writing is easily read, read it aloud. Does it sound like you? Would anyone speak the way you’ve written? Does what you have written really make any sense? If you answer “no” to any of these questions, rewrite for clarity and simplicity. If you aren’t sure, ask someone who knows nothing about your subject to read a page or two of your manuscript. Then ask them if they understood what you wrote. You can even ask them a few pointed questions to be sure they really got your message. If they didn’t, clearly you need to go back and try again – this time more simply. Believe me, your readers (and your editor) will thank you.

My pet peeve -- passive writing -- gets activated almost every time I work on a client’s manuscript. Turning passive writing into active writing takes up about 75 percent or more of my time as an editor. It costs my clients a lot of money. So, here’s my last piece of advice: Learn how to write an active sentence. This means getting rid of any form of the verb “to be” whenever possible. Occasionally, the verbs “is,” “are,” “were,” and “was” do sneak into even the best writer’s work (even mine), but if you can avoid them, you’ll end up with much stronger – and more active – writing. Sometime you can substitute another verb and change a passive sentence into an active one, but, more often than not, accomplishing this requires a full sentence rewrite.

Thanks for joining me for Write Nonfiction in November. I’ve been told that maybe the San Francisco Writers Conference will get behind this idea and turn it into a real contest like NaNoWriMo at some time in the future. If so, it might not happen during November but some other month instead. If you want to know what's happening on that front, you'll surely hear about it on my web site, http://www.purespiritcreations.com/. Between now and next year, if anyone feels the need for some writing, editing, ghostwriting, or writing coaching services, you can find me at http://www.copywrightcommunications.com/ (which takes you to http://www.purespiritcreations.com/, because CopyWright Communications is – There’s that dirty little verb! – a division of Pure Spirit Creations). You also can e-mail me at cpywrtcom@aol.com. If you mention this blog or the Write Nonfiction in November challenge in your e-mail, I’ll give you a 20 percent discount on the first four hours of services rendered.

Happy nonfiction writing! Thanks for joining me for the past 30 days! Good luck!

Writing Long vs. Writing Short

My husband calls me the Queen of Verbosity. When it comes to writing (or speaking, I suppose), I’m never at a loss for words. In fact, I rarely suffer from so-called writer’s block. I’ve always got something to say – usually too much to say.

I bring this up, because I swore I would begin posting some shorter blogs. I simply cannot keep writing so much every day here and keep up with my editing work load and actually write and complete my own nonfiction project this month. However, as soon as I made this oath, the next thing I knew I had written another long blog (the one I posted last).

Yesterday, I didn’t write a blog at all. That’s really short! (I was going to write this blog yesterday, but I just didn’t get a chance).

I believe writing long serves a nonfiction writer – and probably a fiction writer as well -- more than writing short, and here’s why. I find it easier to cut and slash and tighten than to have to write more once I’ve finished. You see, if I’ve finished writing, I must have run out of things to write about. (Yes, I do sometime run out of words to put on paper.) For example, if my contract for an article requires 2,000 words and I’ve only written 1,500, I don’t want to have to write another 500 words when I’ve said all I’ve I had to say on the topic already. Those words will be forced and the content won’t be as strong. Plus, writing more might require me doing more research or conducting more interviews.

If, however, I’ve written 2,500 – a much more common problem of mine – and I only need 2,000, I can usually find at least 300 or 400 words to cut that are unnecessary, drivel, redundant, or off the point. More often than not, I can slash whole sentences or paragraphs and solve my overwriting problem. If after this process I find I have written such wonderful copy that I am still left with 100-200 words to cut, I usually can get rid of these by simply tightening sentences and paragraphs. This takes a whole lot more time, but I don’t mind. You know why? When I’m done looking at every sentence and every word in every sentence to see how I can reduce the number of words used, my copy is SO MUCH BETTER. Really.

Also, I have found that editors usually like getting a little more copy than they need. They really hate having to ask a writer to send them more copy because they didn’t get the agreed-upon amount, but they don’t mind cutting a little bit themselves if they get more than the agreed-upon amount. (I was an editor on several publications, and I can assure you that getting too little copy from a writer doesn’t ingratiate you to an editor.) And if they find themselves with some extra space in their magazine or newspaper, they are usually pleased to have an extra 200 words on hand or a sidebar that you just happened to send along. (By the way, you can sometimes earn yourself a little extra money by offering an editor a sidebar, and it might simply be those 300-400 words you just cut from your original article to meet the required word count.)

Well…I could go on…but I won’t. I’ll honor my oath. Except that I wanted to tell you… (You also have to know when to stop writing – when you (and your manuscript) are done. That’s an important thing for a nonfiction writer to learn.)

Articles are Nonfiction, Too

I focus so much of my time on editing my client's nonfiction books and on writing and promoting my own nonfiction book projects that I sometimes forget that I'm trained as a magazine journalist. I still love writing articles, though, and I often use my skills as a journalist. I love to query magazines with ideas and to get assignments. I enjoy conducting the interviews and then taking the information I've compiled and putting it together into a cohesive and interesting article. And I enjoy seeing it in print, not just on the screen of my computer.

I use my journalism skills in other ways as well, including every time I promote myself on the Internet by posting free "news releases" to e-zine directories. I do this a few times a month. While it's good for business, I get a lot more satisfaction out of writing an article that appears in good old fashioned print and for which I receive a big fat check.

There's nothing like writing an essay or an article, submitting it to a magazine or newspaper and then opening up that publication to find your story published there -- hopefully word for word -- with your byline showing off the fact that you wrote every one of those words. And then to get paid for doing what you love...well, that's even better.

And there are so many different types of articles to choose from. Profiles, news stories, trend pieces, human interest articles, personal essays, and opinion pieces -- take your pick. Depending upon what you like to write about, you can surely find one or two article forms that you'll enjoy using and numerous magazines, newspapers, trade journals, or e-zines that will be happy to have you write for them.

If you aren't concerned about pay, of if you are looking to promote yourself or you other work (such as your nonfiction book), writing for the numerous e-zines provides great exposure. If you're just starting out as a writer and need bylines and clips to prove that you can write and meet deadlines and article specifications, try writing for small or regional publications. They usually like "free" writers, and working for them can be a fun way to become a nonfiction freelance writer. Additionally, you might try writing for trade journals published on your area of expertise.

As I said, I interned every summer in high school and in college without pay. I ended up with some great clips that helped me land my first few jobs after graduation.

I teach Writing for Publication classes that expose attendees to a variety of article forms. As a magazine journalist, however, I love writing profiles of interesting people and human interest articles. I also love to pen a good essay, which is an article form I did not learn in college. Essays fit my lifestyle these days; I'm usually very short on time, and they don't require me to do any research or interviews nor are do they have to be too long. My life experience is enough fodder to fill several pages with type since I've lots to say about what happens to me, why it happens to me and what others can learn from what happens to me. Getting paid for essays is fun. I write something off the top of my head and someone pays me for it. What could be better?

And as long as I didn't make it up, it's still nonfiction. (Ah...Those of you writing memoirs remember that.)

So, if you are trying to figure out what to write this month, try an article. It's doable in a month, that's for sure. Pick a topic and a form, then do whatever research is necessary, and start writing. You can easily finish an article in the days left in November.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to work on MY writing project...which, between writing this blog and my other blog and editing a book for a client, seems to be falling by the wayside. And I am determined to finish it before the end of the month.

(Okay...I technically wrote twice today, since yesterday's blog was written after midnight this morning. I guess that makes up for technically missing Tuesday. If nothing else, I'm writing lots of nonfiction in this blog, that's for sure!)

Why I like Nonfiction Writing

As you know, I had dreams of being a fiction writer. My most recent foray into fiction during the 2005 NaNoWriMo event was loads of fun, and I was so excited to have agents interested in that novel. I remember running around at the San Francisco Writers Conference mumbling to myself, “I’m going to sell a novel. I’m going to be a novelist.” And I was thinking how easy it was and how much fun and how maybe fiction was the place with the action when it came to being a writer.

I guess you could chalk it up to rationalization or denial since my manuscript came back rejected and marked for major editorial work, but in returning to what I know and what I’ve being doing for so many years – nonfiction, I found myself newly in-love with my chosen writing genre. You see, getting away from nonfiction briefly gave me a new perspective and reminded me of what I enjoy about it so much.

And what is that, you want to know? (Well, even if you don’t want to know, I’m going to tell you, since that’s the subject of my blog for today.) I love nonfiction, because it allows me to explore subjects that are of interest to me and to then share what I learn with others. More specifically, as a magazine journalist and as a writer who likes to wrestle with issues in my life or subjects that excite me, I get to take this issues and subjects and research them, speak to experts about them, find answers and solutions to them, and come up with ideas and theories related to them. Then, I get to offer what I’ve learned and discovered and put to use successfully in my life to others through my writing (articles, booklets, books, and essays). This makes my work both stimulating and rewarding.

One of the best parts of my job involves interviewing experts. Often, I sit alone in my office writing. Other times, I get to talk to the most fascinating people (usually by phone). I get it in my head to pursue a certain subject, and then I get to contact some of the most interesting people. Often they are well-known people in their fields or the authors of best-selling books or simply individuals that I respect. I get to pick their brains and to learn with them. Sometimes I get to tell them my ideas and to ask them for feedback and for help figuring out if my premises are valid. And sometimes when I finish an interview with them, they thank ME for calling them and engaging them in such a thought-provoking discussion. And then I get to take the information I've gotten during the interview, mull over it, figure out what I think about it, and put it down on paper. Basically, I share with others what I have learned in the hope of helping them in some way.

In the process, my dream of being a self-help writer is realized.

As I’ve grow and changed, my interests have grown and changed with me. I get to pursue those interests through my writing. For instance, much of my writing has a spiritual bent or deals with issues of reaching full human potential. So, I’ve become a spiritual writer and a human potential writer. I get to be a writer of whatever interests me. And again, I get to share that with others and, hopefully to help them in the process.

I get to research and learn about things that interest me and that help me solve problems in my own life. Then I get to write about these subjects so I can tell others what I've learned so they benefit as well. What could be better?

I’ve learned that part of who I am is a problem solver, and through my writing I solve problems. I see a problem in my own life, such as the fact that my children changed schools many times, and I want to know how that affects them. I query a magazine about an article on this subject; they accept my query. I interview experts who tell me what affects changing schools has on children and how to counter those affects – how to make this into a positive experience. I take this information back to my family and to my children. I help them. I also put all this information into an article for the regional parenting magazine, which publishes it. I get paid and the magazine’s readership benefits from my problem and the research I did to try and solve it. I can even take that article and research and try to sell it a second time in a spin off article to a national magazine and help more parents help their children. How good is that?

I love the idea of creative thought and the Law of Attraction. I'm interested in Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah. I had an idea about how creative thought could be applied to some Kabbalistic principles. So, I began to interview some experts. And then I began to write a booklet, that I hope will one day be a book. I self-published that little booklet, and I began to teach and speak in conjunction with that little booklet, which my agent says really could one day be a book. And I've set up more interviews with more experts to discuss my idea, so I can begin expanding and improving on my little booklet and on my knowledge of this subject. Much of my time is spent learning more about a subject I love, putting into practice a theory that I came up with and that work, teaching others about this practice, writing about what I have learned, talking about what I know, etc. What could be more fun?

I think you get the idea. I love what I do. Writing nonfiction is great. I wouldn’t change my career…but I will one day go back and finish that novel just for fun.