Non-Fiction Writing - 10 Essentials from Dawn Groves

Last night I started a Non-Fiction Writing class with Dawn Groves.  Readers will remember that Dawn taught a great class on blogging; in fact, this blog is a direct result from her class.

Here are 10 great takeaways from Dawn on becoming a successful non-fiction:

1. Stop waiting
2. Commit
3. Configure your data management system.  Hard copy, interviews (mp3 and transcription), websites, blogs, periodicals and books, aggregator websites and misc. data.
4. Plan for a goal and then release it. (Construct a timeline, word count goal, and outline.)
5. Submerge and indulge (Research).
6. Keep an idea pad handy.
7. Prepare for distractions.
8. Cultivate strong readers.
9. Establish an on-line presence,  preferably a blog and twitter account.
10. Join  www.writersmarket.com

Note:  I think I've found my non-fiction book combining what I've learned from urban farming, mental illness and finding personal peace.  Now to put these steps to use and get this done by August 1, 2012!

Memoir Writing with Susan Colleen Browne- 6 More Great Ideas in the PM

No lack of energy after lunch for this writing workshop. 

• Avoid long expository passages; instead, link scenes with expository writing
• Have your characters talking and doing something
• Life is like a collage-your big task is to make it all coherent
• When you're writing fiction, use all your senses, including your sixth sense
• Writing a memoir is about figuring out who you used to be and how you became who you are now
• Anytime you make a decision, you are becoming a different person

Thanks so much to Susan Colleen Browne for being such a kind, knowledgeable and inspiring instructor.  She kindly agreed to let me interview her in the coming weeks and I'm looking forward to more of her insights.

Dawn Grove's Blogging Class-5 Timesaving Takeaways

At 57, I know how much I don't know about blogs and blogging.  So, I enrolled in Whatcom Community College's Community Ed class, Write Blogs that Get Noticed.  Nearly three hours into this four hour class, my head is a gurgling cauldron of ideas, do's and don't's, and best practices.  The teacher, Dawn Groves, is a tiny, juggernaut of powerful ideas based on her hardwon experience.

Here are five great takeaways I've learned so far:

• Just post it.  Don't edit and re-edit, waiting until you've written a perfect post.  Put it in, and if you need to, edit later.
• Link to other websites for reader interest and your own credibility.  For example, former Writer's Digest staff member Jane Friedman, is a marvelous resouce, and has a marvelous website to browse
• Try and post at least twice a week.  You can even write something in Word, stick it in a folder, and post it later.
• Blogging takes focus and determination.  Don't put off blogging for the end of the day.
• You have 10 seconds to grab a reader's attention--use that time wisely!

So many questions I've had are answered; so many more questions are tumbling around my poor stuffed brain.  But I'm posting, regardless!

Kudos and flowers to me for posting!