Ask HN: Tips on writing long-form non-fiction?
I've written short essays before, but nothing of this scale. I've developed most of the ideas, fleshed them out, written rough explanations, etc. I know roughly how everything will string together. But I'm feeling kinda stuck and overwhelmed with the task before me, of assembling everything together, knowing where to put what, concerned whether I'll over-explain or repeat myself, etc etc.
One particular problem I'm experiencing is that, while I know and remember all the points I'm trying to make, I feel like I've kinda "lost touch" with some of them, like I'm just robotically piecing ideas together. It's hard to explain, but I hope that makes some sense.
Obviously, I'll probably figure out some of these things as I go, but it'd be nice to hear how others have navigated big complex (non-fiction) writing projects like this.
So, writers of long-form non-fiction (or non-fiction book writers even): What's your process for navigating all this?
Thanks!
9 comments
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- Work with a good editor (or 3)
- Get honest feedback from others
- The best way of proofreading your own writing is to read it out loud like you were reading to a small child (if you can read it out loud and backwards, that's even better)
Though, could you elaborate on the first point? Like I get the idea but tangibly I'm coming up empty.
Or even a whole chapter start to finish
You'll find, as you go, that your outline/plan will morph and shift as you go, that some part(s) will be better elsewhere, etc
Don't be afraid to cut-out content, move it, reword it, etc
Some things have to be done in order (you can't throw a roof up in the air and build the walls under it so it lands on them) ... but many things are not sequence-dependent during creation
Keep this in mind especially if you're writing something of the "technical" or "reference" variety - your audience may (but probably won't) read it all in the order you wrote it. They could easily find half of chapter two to be where they start, move to the end of chapter nine, and back to the middle of four
Create paragraphs - Build a paragraph based on the quote
Create chapters - Build chapter based on the paragraph
Validate chapters - Find references that validate your: Quotes, paragraphs, chapters.
All writing shouldn’t go the same direction. It only appears that way. Finish your chapter, then travel back through it, citing the length-only.
Once you have length, split it into length-by-idea, and now you’re measuring in another dimension. Keep all ideas the same length, to be completely professional. Good luck!