How To Write Non Fiction

encouraged by the fact that virtually all other creatives, including your writing heroes, feel these things too with every book they write. In fact, if you don't feel any kind of doubt or fear, perhaps you don’t care enough about your book.

When you feel fear and self-doubt, acknowledge it. Write down your feelings in your journal … and then continue with your writing.

Protect yourself in practical ways

Embrace these fears as part of the creative process

No one is going to die if you write your book and it only sells five copies. No one is going to die if you get a one-star review. And the only person who will care if you don’t finish your book is you.

So finish it and face those fears. You’ll likely find they are unfounded. And if they do happen, then write about it in your next book and move on.

Fear is often worse than the reality
Your wonderful mind is trying to protect you. It is conjuring possible threats and helping you avoid them. But we have all faced fears only to find that they are not the monsters of our imagination.

Fear of success
What if my book is a runaway success and suddenly everyone knows who I am and then trolls attack me on social media? What if my accounts get hacked, or people ask me for money?

These experiences are part of the rollercoaster creative journey, and we all go through aspects of them along the way. So you are not alone if you feel this way.

Fear and self-doubt
“If writers had to wait until their precious psyches were completely serene, there wouldn’t be much writing done.”

William Styron

Questions:
Brainstorm aspects of your life that might be more interesting to other people than it is to you.
What's interesting about your background that will help you stand out?

Read through some of the non-fiction books that you resonate with in your niche. What kind of voice does the author have?

When I co-wrote The Healthy Writer with Dr Euan Lawson, he wrote his initial chapters in the same tone as his medical journal articles. They cited medical studies with no personal opinion or experience. Once I explained that we were writing a self-help book for a general audience of writers, Euan started using dictation to write his first drafts, weaving personal stories and opinions around the medical evidence, which brought the book alive. We also removed any technical jargon and made it as easy to read as possible.

It took me years of blogging before I relaxed and could write as I talk.