Pros And Cons Of A Nonfiction

Whether you're trying to boost or start a career as a freelance writer, write a nonfiction book, or simply write articles to build your credibility as an expert in a particular area, you need to write clear, powerful, and interesting nonfiction to do that. Here are a few tips that should help.

1. Create catchy, but meaningful, titles, subtitles, and headlines. A dull title won't attract readers. But a jazzy title that doesn't let the reader know what the article or chapter will be about isn't good either. You want a title that interests readers because it lets them know the article will contain information they want and need.

Visit a bookstore or newsstand and scan the titles on magazine covers. You'll notice that many of these titles contain numbers or steps - "A Dozen Ways to Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Days" or "12 Signs That Your Husband is Cheating on You" - that kind of thing. Both of those titles let the reader know what kind of information will be found in the article itself. Using numbers lets the reader know there will be enough information to make it worthwhile to read the article. And, the numbers in the titles lead the reader to believe the articles will be fairly easy to read since they will probably be much like a list of information.

Make sure the information in your article or chapter flows logically from one paragraph to the next. This is why it's so good to include numbered steps to your article if it's a how-to piece, or subtopic headings in other types of articles. These steps or subtopic headings "lead" the reader through the article, one step or chunk of information at a