In Today’s Journal
* Writing Nonfiction to Instruct and Entertain
* Of Interest
Writing Nonfiction to Instruct and Entertain
A few days ago I mentioned receiving an email from Andrew S that served as a partial catalyst for this series of posts.
This post addresses Andrew’s request for advice on how to write “short, pithy, quality articles.”
In his email, he also wrote that he sometimes still struggles with tag lines for dialogue.
Tag lines really are inconsequential. Beyond including them only when they’re absolutely necessary to avoid reader confusion, the writer should show them no more concern than the reader does.
And if the tag line is well designed (Character Name or He/She said) the reader will practically skip over them. But in case anyone else has trouble with this, I recommend reading these posts:
- The Top 7 Mistakes Writers Make
- Italics, Who’s Talking?
- Real Dialogue Tips
- Tag Line Verbs and Reverse Structures, and
- These Are Not Tag Line Verbs
Now, how to write “short, pithy, quality” articles.
I’m afraid I don’t have any specific advice on this, so instead I’ll offer you the same general advice I offered Andrew, along with a fun recollection.
As you will see, fortunately these same techniques apply when teaching from a stage or from the front of a classroom.
My big ‘secret’ for writing nonfiction how-to books and articles is Include No Fluff. If I don’t think something might be useful to someone, I don’t put it on the page.
As for humor, I’m actually a very introverted guy. Humor, either live or in nonfiction books, has always been a great defense mechanism to keep folks at arm’s length.
And yes, when I was presenting sessions at writers’ conferences and in my private seminars on writing I often used humor. I did the same thing when I was teaching grunt English or GED prep classes or in other programs in a junior college environment.
To this day, even when I’m talking in passing with my wife, I tend toward humor. Often it’s thinly veiled cynicism, but laughter’s always better than a frown or a scowl.
As I alluded to above, humor is also great in classrooms. Honest, authentic humor puts people off their guard and helps them relax. Also, if the students are laughing a little, that enables whatever serious topic to go down easier or sink in better and more quickly.
A reminiscence…
In one GED English class I was teaching back in the day, I’d gotten at least one smile from every student except one little abuela (Mexican grandmother). She was bone-dry serious. That bugged me.
Also, owing to Mexican cultural norms of the closeness of family, each day when she came to class, several members of her family would come in and stand along the back wall during the class.
So I soon realized anything I did to get through to her and help her relax a little would have to get through to her family members too.
I noticed the abuelita and her family always arrived at the same time each day.
One morning, as her husband opened the classroom door for her (as he always did), I raced from the front of the classroom, hit my knees about six feet short of the door, and slid up to stop in front of the abuela just as she stepped through the door. I smiled and offered my right hand, my palm up, my fingers slightly curled.
She canted her head, but she automatically put her tiny hand in mine.
I gently folded my fingers over her hand, looked up at her, and said, “Abuelita, tu eres mi corazón.” (Grandmother, you are my heart.) Then I lightly touched my lips to the back of her hand.
She absolutely beamed and even chuckled a little, and her husband (and two or three relatives who were still in the hallway behind her) burst out laughing. Bam, just like that, everything was more relaxed.
Of course, the class chuckled at my idiocy as well.
As I walked back to the front of the classroom, the grandfather led his bride to her usual chair and seated her, and then went to the back of the room where he lined up with the rest of the family. Every time I glanced up during the class, they were all still smiling.
Humor and sincerity. Works every time.
As for other tips on writing nonfiction (or fiction, for that matter),
- hit the return (Enter) key more often so you don’t have huge blocks of text on the page (for readability).
- Use simple language and shorter sentences whenever possible.
- Never let the language become more important than the story.
- Don’t be afraid to let the reader see your personality.
- And as I said earlier, include no fluff.
Overall, the tone of your nonfiction should be that of a neighbor talking with a friend over a backyard fence. Which mostly boils down to being yourself.
As far as public speaking, we’ve all heard the advice to “visualize the audience naked.” I’ve never liked that advice. It feels rude to me, and it’s far too easy to take out of context.
Instead, I recommend believing in yourself. When you walk into the venue to make your presentation, remember that it’s your room. The audience is there to hear what you have to say.
The same thing applies when you sit down at the keyboard to write a how-to article or book. Be confident and let who you are shine through. Potential readers picked up your article or book because they want to read your thoughts on the topic.
And whether you’re in a live venue or speaking on the page, have fun doing it.
Up next, my recommended best practices for placing your work with magazine publishers or for publishing a magazine yourself.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
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