how to write great non fiction research
The third rule is to continue to build your understanding and know… Come prepared with questions that pertain to your nonfiction topic. Here are some tips for getting that research done effectively and efficiently. You have to protect your reputation as a writer; if you get a name for sloppy and inaccurate work then an editor is unlikely to even bother reading your work, let alone using it. Rather than aimlessly flicking through a book or browsing a few websites, hoping something interesting will jump out at you, make a list of exactly what you need to know in order to write your article. Similarly, if you have interviewed people for your piece, make sure you have recorded their names and their words accurately – mistakes here are at best sloppy and disrespectful, or at worst potentially libellous. Very few people would do this deliberately, but it is surprisingly easy to plagiarise without meaning to; some publications, for example, consider as few as three consecutive words that match an existing source to be plagiarism, so take care to make your work entirely your own. The best thing to do here is to acknowledge the limitations of your article and list some useful contacts, books or websites that the reader may like to investigate if your piece has piqued their interest. So, you’ve got a really great idea for an article; you may even have managed to get the editor of a magazine or newspaper interested. The first rule of interviewing is to find an expert. If you continue to use this site we’ll assume you’re happy to receive all cookies. For example, there is no substitute for actually visiting the medieval castle that you are writing about, or going to a library and actually seeing the manuscripts of the novelist who you have chosen as the topic of your article. You may already have a good knowledge of the topic you are writing about, in which case you shouldn’t need to do too much additional research, although you do be sure to check any facts you are not completely sure of – it is easy to misremember things! Clearly, interviewing people will not be appropriate for every topic, but in many circumstances this is a useful research method. You are there to learn, not to show the other person how much you know. Have a clear idea of what you are hoping to find out, or your research will lack focus. Jeff Biggers is the author of The Trials of a Scold: The Incredible True Story of Writer Anne Royall (St. Martin's Press), among other books. But how do you go about getting the background information for your piece? How to Write a Nonfiction Book. If you do have personal experience or knowledge of a subject, your piece will often sound more natural than if you rely heavily on research. This will depend on several factors. The second rule is to use every listening skill at your disposal. This is the point you’ll be glad you kept a list of all the useful sources you found during your research. Quite apart from this consideration, you should never try to pass off the material you’ve discovered during your research as your own, as this is plagiarism – a very serious offence for a writer. The amount of information required will also depend on the length of your article, and whether it is a one-off piece or part of a series – the more you have to write, the more you need to know. Writing a great nonfiction book doesn’t have to be hard if you follow the writing system on this page. We use cookies to improve your experience of this website by remembering your usage preferences, collecting statistics, and targeting relevant content. There’s no point in offering a dry list of facts that your reader could easily find out for themselves – your job as a writer is to take the information you’ve found and weave it into a piece that entertains as well as informs. However, whilst the internet can be an invaluable resource, it is easy to get lazy and over-rely on it as your sole source of information when other methods might be more appropriate. How To Write Non Fiction And Article Writing How To Research Non-fiction and article writing - how to research a5d437a4-8a44-4ea5-9731-dc1e0ef2940b Non-fiction and article writing - how to research. Summarize, in your own words, what you understood. It is up to you how you decide to use material collected in this way; you may speak to someone just to check a fact, or you may decide that you want to include interviews within your article itself. This is particularly true if you are using the internet for your research, as information published online is not generally vetted in the same vigorous way that a book would be checked during the publication process. If you don’t understand what you’re hearing, ask for clarification. 2572212 | VAT registration No. Nonfiction writers certainly straddle the line between being artists and archivists. If you take the time to do some research, organize your thoughts, and find a problem that you’re uniquely qualified to help people solve, you’re well on your way to writing a non fiction book that can land you at the top of the bestseller charts. Get your first 3 issues for just £3.99 and read on any device straight away, Non Fiction And Article Writing How To Research. This should be quite straightforward, as part of your planning – when you are sketching the outline to your article you can simply make a note next to anything you don’t already know. So, if you’re a non-grad student who thinks that you have a great idea for writing a book but don’t know how to start, here are five useful pieces of advice I can proffer about the process. Most people don’t mind being asked for their opinion or expertise on something, and often speaking to an expert on something can save you a lot of online or book research. Equally, if you are writing for a specialist publication that has readers who are already quite knowledgeable about the subject, then you will have to offer them something new that they don’t already know, or perhaps a new angle on the topic. Strong research is the key to writing non-fiction articles that sell, and which readers find useful, but where do you start, and how do you prevent your article sounding like an encyclopedia entry? Company Registered in England no. The key thing to consider here is your audience, and the type of publication that your article is aimed at. For example, if you are writing about a local landmark of historical interest, you may have decided to cover when and how it was built, what it was originally used for, any interesting tales connected with it, how it could be used now to serve the community, and the amount of funding needed to secure its future. The research process behind every nonfiction project is a great journey, and one I almost love as much as writing. If you are writing for children, or for people with no existing knowledge of a topic, then you should avoid very complex and detailed explanations that may confuse or bore your readers. Every time you find a fact or piece of information that you think may be useful, make sure you record the full details of where you found it. This outline plan will now form the basis for your research. This is particularly important if your article is a stand-alone piece rather than part of a series, or if your chosen topic is a complex one – you cannot possibly hope to cover everything in a short piece. Books may also lead you away from what you are meant to be doing – if you just need one fact about Henry VIII, for example, then don’t get sucked into reading the rest of the book, no matter how interesting it may be. The standard rule of checking at least three sources for one fact should still be applied to the internet but take extra care – you may find a number of sources that agree on a particular piece of information, but they could all be wrong if they have taken it from a site that was incorrect in the first place. This can certainly be a good way of bringing a piece to life, and including the views of two people who have differing opinions or attitudes can be a useful method of presenting a balanced view. It is quite common to want to go back to a source to double-check something, or use it further, and to have lost track of what book or website gave you the information. GB 638 3492 15, Copyright © 2020 Warners Group Publications Plc. You may of course find that your chosen topic is far bigger than you thought, in which case you may decide to write a number of articles pitched at different publications, each offering a different angle on the subject. In some ways, the arrival of the internet has made research much easier, as facts can very quickly be checked online, saving a great deal of time and effort and removing the need to go to a library or track down people to talk to. Some websites are notoriously unreliable, particularly those which anyone can contribute to, as there is no way of knowing whether the writer is giving correct information. It’s all too easy to think that you’re doing background reading that could come in useful one day, but this is not a very practical way of working, particularly if you have a deadline to meet. This is true no matter where you get your information from, although obviously the internet is particularly dangerous for side-tracking the would-be researcher – don’t even think about have a quick look at your emails or Facebook while you’re meant to be finding something out! Remember, editors and readers are looking for articles that they can trust, and if you do your research right you could be just the person to provide them. For this reason, you should only write about areas that you know well for this type of market. Should only write about areas that you know well for this type of market for your piece writing great. A clear idea of what you are there to learn, not to show other... 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