I’ve learned a few things about writing non-fiction articles, and as my first blog entry, I’d like to share the insights I gained studying the process. So far, I’ve found that non-fiction writing has three major points that the author must consider: audience, concision and insights.
This spring I recommitted to my writing and decided to study the art of writing non-fiction. I’ve always focused on fiction and only dabbled in editorial, article and feature writing on occasion. I believed I could do well with non-fiction as I have insights and experience in several fields that would prove beneficial to readers, so in 2022, I decided to take the matter seriously and study basic crafting. The style of the modern feature has evolved, especially with the development of new media markets, and I wanted to give myself the best chance of being published by learning that style. And learn I did.
My first disciplined attempt proved successful. It gratified me and justified my work when my first substantial article was accepted by Still Point Arts Quarterly. The article was published this June as part of their Gardening as an Instrument of Grace Summer 2022 issue. You can find a free digital copy of the magazine by clicking. In the article, I talk about healing from a rare form of lymphoma by volunteering at a museum, specifically working in a 17th century kitchen garden at a colonial manor home in Pennsylvania.
After surviving a rare form of blood cancer, I healed myself in the gardens at Pennsbury. The lessons I learned how to live again where root meets soils, and anyone with a little dirt, some sunlight and a few seeds can find a new way to overcome mental, physical and spiritual trauma.
–From Healing after Cancer in the Kitchen Gardens at Pennsbury Manor by T. Fox Dunham featured in the Summer 2022 issue of Still Point Arts Quarterly
I studied several books on non-fiction writing to develop a basic structure system. I choose my topic and the components carefully. I had written a few op-ed pieces for political campaigns based on provided research material and a couple of non-fiction pieces that were biographical, but I’d never dived into non-fiction before. Like fiction, it has its own structure that has evolved over time and changed with each generation depending on the medium. The world wide web has given non-fiction writing a new lease, and there are many markets out there looking to pay a few dollars to feed their ravenous audiences. From Facebook to IMDB, humans search constantly for new input, and I wanted to get in on this. But first, I had to figure it out.
Every format has an evolved structure. The novel was still in its infancy in the 1700s and grew as literacy spread across the world. When I write a short story, I consider plot, character, theme, setting. So, I knew that non-fiction had to have its own components. You have to pick your topic. You need data to support your statements. There are different types of non-fiction pieces like features, op-eds. I’m not going to write a full guide as there are plenty. I’m only going to talk about what I found to be the most important three elements to consider.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
First and I think most important, you have to know the audience that will read your piece. Knowing their particular likes and dislikes will define many of the stylistic choices you’ll make when writing your NF (non-fiction) piece. When you write something to be read, you’re promising the reader that if they spend their limited currency of time, they will get something out of it like an insight, knowledge, or some special perspective that only you can offer. An audience will define the tone and content of your piece. My article was about how I healed my spirit and body through gardening, and the magazine I aimed at was written for artists, spiritual seekers, new agers, poets, beatniks and hippies. How did I learn this? I read an issue. I could tell by looking at the art, the photos, reading the articles, the poems exactly what kind of audience found value in this magazine. Knowing that, I knew to include spiritual components in the work, history, artful language, poetic prose. I needed a new age tone to my prose and even my selection of words. This is what the audience of Still Points wanted in the magazine, and to write successful NF, you need to identify what your audience is looking for when it reads. And how they like it presented.
READ BACK ISSUES AND DO YOUR RESEARCH
So do your research. Take the time to read previous issues and make a list of the qualities and nuances you find common in each published item.
KEEP IT SIMPLE AND CONCISE
When writing anything, you have to be cognizant of your reader’s attention span. In a world of instant media, streaming services, video games, the attention span of the average person has condensed. People read stuff on their phones when they have time, and there’s a tsunami of content available. So, if you’re lucky enough that someone clicks on your link, you have to write to keep their attention all the way through to the end. Remember: the reader is constantly challenging your piece to be worthy of their time. How many times have you closed the window in the middle of an article because it lost your attention? We move on fast to the next thing to stimulate us.
READERS GET BORED FAST AND MOVE ONTO THE NEXT THING
When writing the gardening NF, I filled several pages with ideas to include. I had so many interesting elements, so much nuance and depth, and I struggled pruning these details. But I wanted to be professional. I wanted this to be successful, so I disciplined myself and pruned the content down to a few central ideas. NF articles aren’t for including an array of ideas and topics. If you’re determined to write it that way then write a book. A good NF should average around 2,000-3,000 words, so condense your content to the important components. You want bullet points with a little elaboration. The reader needs to be able to finish the NF while riding on the bus to work or even, yes, sitting on a toilet. So when selecting the elements you plan to cover in your piece, keep ‘toilet time’ in mind.
TOILET TIME IS A THING!
And finally, offer insights. Anthony Rivera, editor and owner at Grey Matter Books, once said to me that Twitter was about insights. I can’t think him enough for sharing that insight. It’s guided me in social media and now writing NF. When choosing the topic for your article, you have to ask yourself what makes me qualified to write about this topic? What can I offer a reader for their time? I had some unique insights to offer because of my experience battling cancer in both a chemo room and a colonial garden. The magazine theme was Gardening with Grace, which is what attracted me to the idea. I had experienced, learned and felt things that not too many others had shared fighting my cell-type of lymphoma and then healing at a museum. I’ve also studied shamanism and Celtic spirituality, which gave me several personal insights that allowed me to grow and renew. We’re all in pain. We’re all sick. We all need to heal. So that’s what I focused on. I talked about viriditas: the healing power through working with the natural green world. I gave insight on how someone could heal through gardening and not just from cancer but from all sickness physical, mental and spiritual. These were insights I was qualified to share. It’s why I choose to write this NF and not something on the mental discipline of raising llamas. I have nothing valuable to offer about llamas except maybe that they smell funny.
So ask yourself, what personal insights do you have to share about your topic that will make reading your NF valuable to others?
Those are my three basic core elements for writing non-fiction pieces. I will continue to test them as I write, and I’m sure I’ll expand them as I study and grow in my new field. But these are the essential elements you need to consider when planning your article.
Thank you for reading.
