Getting
the Best from Both Worlds.
I
finished work on a book to help writers with writer’s block. The book
called
Idea Genesis was vetted with techniques discovered while
teaching storytelling/filmmaking to high school and college students. I experienced
about a 100 percent success rate with students struggling to create a good
idea.
The
Good and Bad News
During
a panel event at Phoenix comic con this past June, the presentation for the
book was very well received. Everyone really enjoyed the concepts &
techniques used to generate great ideas quickly. I realized afterward however
that there probably should have been a chapter for nonfiction writers as well.
Fiction
Fiction
is imagined stories featuring characters, situations, and locations for the
purpose of dramatic impact and entertainment. If done right, we live
vicariously through these characters to experience the thrill and the joyride
of the journey.
Genres add more to the experience by adding specific elements to the story in terms of
form, style, and subject matter to appeal to a certain audience.
Fans
have certain expectations that must be met when reading fantasy, romance,
sci-fi, humor, or horror. The primary thing the writer must do is create
interesting characters and situations leading to conflict and unique
resolutions. Using 3 act structure can help pace your story and keep forward
momentum.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
takes a completely different approach. The style of the writing is done to
point out the truth and facts of a given example or situation. The reader is
expecting to gain knowledge, inspiration, critical thing skills, and wisdom
based on what you reveal.
Does
nonfiction have genres too? Why yes it does. History, philosophy, biographies,
self-help, science, and business are a few of the notables.
Some
things to consider with nonfiction would be the usefulness of the
material and the authenticity of the writing. If you are not touching on
solutions to problems people are experiencing, real-world life lessons, ways to
inspire, or knowledge/ tips to benefit the reader emotionally or financially
you may not have much luck. Drawing from your own experiences is key to
authenticity.
Best
of Both Worlds
The
advantage of fiction is that it doesn’t have to be based on reality, and you
can build to climatic situations with the correct structure. Is this possible
with nonfiction? Can you apply elements of storytelling in your work? You sure
can.
Though
you are dealing with facts, there is no reason not to think beginning, middle,
and end, building to a climatic revelation or inspirational moment. How about
writing your nonfiction with genre trappings like a mystery, action/adventure
or humor? The readers are following you on your journey and hopefully, your
trip is worth the ride
Some
techniques that work well with nonfiction are meaningful questioning, being the
devil’s advocate, listicles, do’s and don’ts, and instructional steps to
achieve an objective or overcome problems. Alternately, some of these
techniques when applied to fiction could help you generate more situations and
scenarios for your characters.
Lessons
Learned
If
you are truly creative enough you can use the best of both worlds to help in
whatever type of writing or genre you attempt to tackle.
- Genre conventions can help add excitement/ interest to your style/form of
writing in both camps.
- Storytelling structure can help build to climatic points regardless of writing
fiction or nonfiction.
- Certain nonfiction techniques can be used to generate additional situations and
scenarios for your fiction writing.
- Use the best of both worlds, be creative, and have fun.
Want
to generate ideas quickly with your writing? Get the Ideas Genesis ebook here.
