For me, writing non fiction has been akin to attempting to assemble a 1000 piece all white puzzle #amwriting #writerslife #challenges

Non-Fiction-
A new hip and cool word to replace the slang term "true story."

Shortened slang is "N to da F."
Person 1, "Man, that guy over there is so stupid!"

Person 2, "Non-Fiction!" (Urban Dictionary)

fiction-
Disguised autobiography.
All fiction is at least partially autobiographical, and all autobiography is at least partially fiction.(Urban Dictionary)

For me, writing non fiction has been akin to attempting to assemble a 1000 piece all white puzzle. I know it can be done, it's pleasurable, but it's nothing like the speedy experience of assembling puzzles with scenic pictures, or as fun.

These ten words sums up the non-fiction writing experience: I had no effing idea it would be so hard!

(By the way, effing is a real word. I know because I researched it for this post.) Effing is a word I seem to be using more often lately, along with research. The two words are often used in the same sentence.

 Okay, so here I am, getting my butt kicked by this non fiction manuscript I started this summer. Some people snicker when I say 4 months. I heard: "Is that all? I've been writing my book for 2 years, and I'm not even close to being done!" I heard: "Didn't it take that writer like 60 years to write War & Peace?" Or this: "That's okay, LOTS of writers don't finish books."  O.o

     The  passion for writing was triggered 3 years ago.I have penned a large number of fictions over the past 3 years.  Writing gave me a high that I am still on. I'm seriously addicted to writing. But, and there is a but, the speed of my writing slowed down substantially when I began my 1st non-fiction this summer. I used to clock in thousands of words per day,. That has been reduced to hundreds.

I absolutely LOVE the book I'm writing. Relationships, human behavior, self esteem, self-help,positive thinking and positive actions are areas I love to talk and think about.  I'm excited to share all of the wisdom from the people I interviewed for this book.  I just had no idea  non-fiction would take so much longer for me.

To alleviate my anxiety with writing speed  I researched the difference in writing fiction vs. non-fiction. I am much more relaxed now after listening to other authors voice their own difficulties when switching from one genre to another.

SOME USEFUL TIPS ON WRITING NON-FICTION 

Research-LOTS OF RESEARCH. Essential for writing what you don't know, but also what you know (or think you know) I also recommend researching your target audience. Who are you writing for? What type of information do you really want to get to them? And you can't forget researching publishers if you are not going the self-publishing route. Finding a list of publishers for your manuscript in itself requires time. Publishers have different requirements as to submission so  a lot of research is required to insure you present and format your work in the appropriate manner upon completion.

Writing Plan- Formulate a plan that includes time allotted for research, outlining book, more research, filling in chapters, editing... I highly recommend learning from master non-fiction authors. They've already done what you are attempting.  You can find books and online information with specific guidelines on structuring your manuscript.

Time Management-Choose a feasible work schedule for writing and stick to it. Pick a specific goal that works best for you. It could be a goal of x amount of words per day or  x amount of writing time per day. If you pass your goal then cool,, but at least meet it. If you quickly find that your goal was set too high then lower it. Some writers are slower than others. Others have less time to write. No worries. As long as you're writing! No matter what goal you choose, you'll feel incredible when you see the pages adding up.

This book IS getting written, just at a slower pace than I'm used to. I work on it everyday. I remind myself that slow and steady also wins the race.  I remind myself that I can't do everything at super speed the 1st attempt. I remind myself that I go through a bit of a WTF period with every new project I tackle.
But still, I'll learn how to speed up non-fiction as well. Right? Right???????

Peace, May

https://www.facebook.com/MayBWilde

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/21360932-may-woodworth

My fiction audio book(soon to be paperback) >> https://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/heartofthehurricane/enter/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MayWoodworth/posts

https://twitter.com/MayWoodworth