Writing non-fiction: which style works best for you?

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Levi

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I have recently read two books one by Sol Stein and another entitled Writing with Powerhttp://www.amazon.com/Writing-Power..._bbs_sr_1/102-1314587-0464931?ie=UTF8&s=books by Peter Elbow.

According to Peter Elbow one should write off the top of ones head and then only review it much later. Sol Stein seems to think that much more deliberate writing is better. I am wondering what other non-fiction writers here feel works best for them.
 

ATP

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I would say that much depends on the nature of the material and the writer's degree of knowledge of the subject matter.

Are we talking just ledes/leads? What about the objective of the piece? This question appears to me to be akin to 'how long is a piece of string?'
 

MOON GODDESS

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I think ATP is right. It depends on the article. If it's one that requires a lot of research beforehand, you almost have to be "deliberate."
I sometimes write articles about the craft of writing. Many of those, I know about, so just take my idea and write spontaneously, stopping only to double-check facts or sometimes rewrite and edit as I go along. I guess you can say I combine both styles in that case.
 

Levi

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MOON GODDESS said:
I guess you can say I combine both styles in that case.

This is the strange thing for me. Books tell us to write this or another way and although I find some of the tips helpful the truth is that there are no such hard and fast rules. Since I write mainly non-fiction, about topics I am very familiar with before I begin writing, most of it is off the top of my head.

However, when I need to add a story into the article or chapter I need to rewrite and and make sure that each sentence conveys the story in the best manner and am therefore much more deliberate.

I would be interested in hearing other views and experiences on this.
 

Odile

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I write in different ways too, one is what comes to mind, the other is a rewrite and more deliberate writing. I also wrote in different languages and this is very deliberate. When writing deliberately, I encounter objections and original ideas in my mind. I follow up on these. I also do research, but even then I use both methods. When I write what I have in mind, I very often have to rewrite. One thought leads to another. The more I know about a subject, the more I have metathinking about the subject ready. But often I need the step of research and deliberate first to find myself rewriting later.
I am not a sequential writer. I may write sequentially when rewriting or when I have a slow down of thought.
 

cattywampus

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I second Odalie.

I write somewhat deliberately with keyword articles, but in fiction I write whatever comes to mind. I don't write much fiction, though, I'm not very good at it. Can't finish it, for one thing, too easily bored to finish a long piece.

It's true, there are no hard and fast rules (except perhaps the rules of spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, etc.) only techniques that work or do not work according to the skill of the writer. A writer should know what s/he wants to accomplish with the sentence before s/he commits it to paper. Every word, every comma, every sentence, has a function. Most writers feel it's important to know these functions.
 

aarthurco

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I write both ways depending on the material; if I know nothing about what I am writing it must be deliberate. If of course I am writing on a familiar topic (writing, parenting, health) very often I just shoot what comes out of my head. I think it depends on the person too, we are all individuals. Some people may have an outline, others not so much. It really depends...
 

Franz

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I am going through the same dilemma. I am researching for an actual incident that my uncle was involved in during the cold war. He was flying the Atlantic Barrier in 1958. In Feb of that year the plane and crew dissappeared with no trace.

The problems I am wrestling with:

I want a factual account
A lot of "the facts" will probably not be available. (research will tell)
I want a good story line and plot
Is the incident the story or is my uncle the story

Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Oh well,I imagine Junger went through this in "The Perfect Storm" and he got through it.
 

tombookpub

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For creative non-fiction work based, in part, on research, I find that writing on the side of formality helps to ensure I have the facts covered and correct. Then, I soften-up the prose and build the story creatively. To start off creatively and in a free-form manner may cause the writer to stray from the accuracy and thoroughness of the piece. Also, it may be difficult to introduce or "pry" facts into the work, IMO.
 
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