Non-fiction Writing Course

Non-fiction writing is often considered the poor cousin of ‘real’ writing. Being a novelist sounds far more exciting than an author of a guide to painting and decorating, but I can guarantee the painter and decorator author has a far better chance of being published and paid. At the top end of the scale we have the Bill Brysons, the Antonia Frasers and the Alistair McGraths, so it’s not all tiling and grouting.

In this eight-session non-fiction writing course we will look at various outlets for your non-fiction writing. Please try out the exercises and feel free to leave your comments at the end. The course is completely free and available for you to work through in your own time.

Here’s the course outline:

1. Non-fiction writing
   A look at the non-fiction market, what opportunities there are out there, and how to get started by writing letters to the editors of some of your favourite magazines.
2. Non-fiction writing style
   How to engage your readers by using a narrative style and employing creative writing techniques. We also look at writing to a word count and documenting your research.
3. Writing for the Internet
   Online writing opportunities: e-zines, wikis, copywriting and blogging, and we finish off with some web-specific writing tips.
4. How to write an autobiography
   Autobiographical lenses and some different types of autobiographical writing: life stories, family histories, and true-life articles.
5. Freelance travel writing
   How to break into the market, the myth of all-expenses-paid trips, and how taking great photos can help you get published.
6. How to write a feature article
   Documenting your research, choosing an angle, and structuring your article, and we end with some tips on feature article layout.
7. Writing a proposal
   Approaching editors and publishers, and how to write a magazine or non-fiction book proposal.
8. Finance, copyright and libel
   Financial and tax considerations, copyright, libel and defamation.

This course serves as an introduction to the topics listed above; for a more in-depth treatment you should check out the websites and helpful books I’ll mention as we go along, which you can either buy or borrow from your local library. If you can only get your hands on one book for this course, I highly recommend Successful Non-fiction Writing by Nicholas Corder.

Any questions? Then check out the Frequently Asked Questions page. Otherwise…

>> Click here to get started.

Happy writing!