COMMENT ON TODAY'S WORLD EVENTS

Nonfiction writing can be an amazing vehicle for reporting your own observations about today's world news.

Examples from The Many Faces of Journaling, 2nd edition

          August 1990 What a very strange world we've become. Now we have a real live prime-time war. Let's see -- how will the commentary go?
                            Scuds 1 -- Patriots 2 -- Pass the popcorn...
For the very young, this is no more real than a video game. How awful for humanity!

Add a few statistics of the day of the event to give the future reader perspective:

          Jan. 2, 2008 In the world outside my office – the futures price of light sweet crude oil topped the $100 mark for the first time, settling back only a few cents to close at $99.62. The market wasn’t altogether happy about that and the DJA lost 220 points to land just above the 13xxx level. Ah, fun and games ~ 

__________________________________________

TODAY'S WORLD
... is "happening" non-stop every day, seemingly at the speed of light! Even our own United States never seems to run out of excitement, strife, marches and protests, world championships and state fair surprises.

Keep a note pad or journal by your chair and when you see and/or hear news that stirs you emotionally -- excitement, fear, fascination, human events. 

WRITE IT WHILE YOU'RE LIVING IT!
Write your anticipation, opinion, hopes
 and fears. Make it come alive.

Next year or decade, your words will reflect those current events AS THEY AFFECTED REAL PEOPLE AT THE MOMENT THEY HAPPENED!

Why do that?

     1. You're creating your future book based on "a look back in time."

     2. Writing it out, really venting, releases your own momentary stress!

     3. By all means, write an addendum the following day or week -- a short term retrospective.

And since it's your book, you can rant, rave or celebrate all you want~

Happy writing 

Testing New Nonfiction Writing Ideas

TheBookDesigner.com shared this  practical and useful article on test driving your book (or article) topic ideas.

10 Ways to Test Market Your Nonfiction Book Idea Before You Publish 

Not only can we check the interest level among potential future buyers, we can also build a following, work up our research files, and explore alternate subtopics and slants along the way.

Stay tuned. I plan to use some of these tips myself!

Happy writing ~

Lin

Tips for Life Experience Writing

Any writer who feels that tug to write about their own life-lived and lessons-learned has to read this article! It  relates that topic to the hot new movie "The Fault in our Stars" and tells you which buttons to aim for to boost reader appeal.

Writing Lessons from "The Fault in our Stars."

Maybe your nonfiction book will become a multimillion dollar movie, too...

Happy writing ~

Lin

Deciding What to Write About

Scanning bookstore shelves provides only a hint of the virtually endless nonfiction topics of books available - from Mayan calendars to missile defense, camping to cantatas, wrestling to Richard Rogers. That fact can muddle the mind of an author who's trying to decide on the topic of his or her next book.

Key ~ be sure you have the credentials and feel a genuine passion for your chosen topic. Without the first, book promotion will be tough. Absent the passion, and the writing will be boring and flat.

However, even if you've decided on the subject for your book, you'll need to decide what you want to tell your readers about your topic. (If you have the passion and depth of knowledge, you may cover different aspects in separate books!) Does one of these approaches resonate with you?

* How-To
How-To Build a Sand Castle;
How-To Create Edible Decorations;
How-To Please Anyone, Anywhere, Any Time.

* Learn from my Experiences
Setting Up a Referral Business;
Making Peace with Diabetes;
Legal Indoor Gardening.

* Learn from my Mistakes
How Not to Raise Creative Children;
Job Interview Comments to Avoid;
Don't Tie-Dye the Dog!

* Informational
Practical Divorce Guidelines;
Locating In-Home Help for Seniors;
The Nature Festivals of the Tropics.

Self Help ~ Cooking ~ Business ~ Relationships ~ Sports ~ Ecology ~ Chemistry ~ Humor ~ Entertainment ... the list goes on and on.

So before you start jotting down the points you want to cover in the book, write "Topic ... Approach ... Credentials" in bold across the top of the first notebook page. Then pause and visualize your reader. From those, the passion and words will flow!

Linda
nonfiction book coach ~ author