Many writers enjoy writing fiction because they get to create from their imagination however; non-fiction is where the information is. In these days of the information age, people absorb non-fiction. Many writers struggle to write non-fiction. Non-fiction can cover everything from a book to articles, digital products, videos and even blog posts. There are a more non-fiction works on the Internet than there are of fiction. Here are a number of steps that can point you in the correct direction and get you started creating a non-fiction piece of work.

1. Start by creating an outline – An outline will give you structure and keep you on task. It will also help to keep you from repeating yourself. Outlines can also be a great way to think and organize your thoughts. It will also allow you to see the structure of your book before writing it.
2. Break it into threes – Take a look at your subject and break it into 3 main parts, these will be your sections. Continue think of each part and break each one to at least 3 pieces. You can choose more if need be but, 3 is optimal. This will keep you from being overwhelmed
3. Fill in the blanks – As your outline takes shape, you will begin to see some holes. You will need to fill in the blanks. You can save some of it for later, the nice thing about an outline, is that you don’t have to work on everything in order. As you continue to fill in different parts, you will find something to add in another section, this is how you want to work with an outline.
4. Tell stories – Stories are wonderful! They capture people’s attention and draw them in. I mean, who doesn’t like a good story? But stories do other things too. Stories add substance to your book; they can also explain difficult or complex issues and put it into a way that people can understand. Stories illustrate what we have been trying to say.
5. Use pictures and diagrams – Adding visuals can also help illustrate our points. They can take complex issues and break them down into a simple chart or infographic that people can relate to. A drawing or a picture can get across to your reader what words cannot.
6. Research – Absorb everything you can, enjoy it; you are writing a book after all. Look for new and unique angles. Find the direction that new information is headed. Make sure to cite your information and to verify the information you have. Whatever you do, don’t make things up, you WILL be found out.
7. Start writing – you won’t write a book until you start putting it together and writing it. Don’t worry about it being perfect, it won’t be, that’s why they call it a first draft. Just get it down on paper.

Writing non-fiction doesn’t have to be hard and you can use these few steps to create almost any type of non-fiction work.

So what steps would you include in writing non-fiction?