Re:Ask HN: Tips on writing long-form non-fiction?
by warrenm on Wednesday March 30, 2022 @11:48AM
(#30856807)
Nothing says you have to write the whole book start to finish
Or even a whole chapter start to finish
You'll find, as you go, that your outline/plan will morph and shift as you go, that some part(s) will be better elsewhere, etc
Don't be afraid to cut-out content, move it, reword it, etc
Some things have to be done in order (you can't throw a roof up in the air and build the walls under it so it lands on them) ... but many things are not sequence-dependent during creation
Keep this in mind especially if you're writing something of the "technical" or "reference" variety - your audience may (but probably won't) read it all in the order you wrote it. They could easily find half of chapter two to be where they start, move to the end of chapter nine, and back to the middle of four
Or even a whole chapter start to finish
You'll find, as you go, that your outline/plan will morph and shift as you go, that some part(s) will be better elsewhere, etc
Don't be afraid to cut-out content, move it, reword it, etc
Some things have to be done in order (you can't throw a roof up in the air and build the walls under it so it lands on them) ... but many things are not sequence-dependent during creation
Keep this in mind especially if you're writing something of the "technical" or "reference" variety - your audience may (but probably won't) read it all in the order you wrote it. They could easily find half of chapter two to be where they start, move to the end of chapter nine, and back to the middle of four