Advice on Writing Nonfiction

Question: What is some good advice on writing?

Cory Doctorow: “Write every day. Write even when the mood is not right. Write when the book stinks and isn’t going anywhere. Stop in the middle of a sentence…to start the next day. Write even when the world is chaotic.”

Bill Wasik: “Outline.”

Barry Boyce: “Planning, planning, planning.”

Sylvia Boorstin: “Don’t write from beginning to end. Write in the order that particular parts take form.”

Mark Frauenfelder: “Write the book that you want to read.”

Joshua Wolf Shenk: “Get through a draft as quickly as possible. Break it into chunks. What’s the idea/argument in sentence or two?”

Seth Mnookin: Start each day with some discrete goal. You’re going to spend a lot of time in your head.”

Title: “Writing Your First Nonfiction Book.” Steve Silberman. The Writer (January 2012), 34-37.