Steve Brew's Blog

Personal accounts are one of the most valuable tools in illustrating the message you are trying to convey in your writing. They may come in the form of books, memoirs, letters, diaries, recordings, and personal interviews.

Whilst written accounts are often prerecorded and you have no influence in their subject matter or suitability for your own requirements, the ability to interview the subject or a participant in, or witness to, an event enables you to add unique value to your writing.

In an...

Before you startwriting, it is important to know who you are writing for, as this will determine the language you use. This may affect your choice of words, your tone, and your style.

Writing an article for a niche group might mean that your use of jargon is not only understood, but welcomed; it shows a mutual understanding of the subject matter. On the other hand, using the same language for a generalist or novice audience may mean that your message will not be understood.

Children may requi...

“I think I’ll write a book!” How many times have you heard that, followed by no further action? Or what about that old gem, “Everyone has a book in them”? They don’t.And if you think that writing a book is your quick path to riches, think again.

The simple fact is that writing is a passion that requires a significant amount of dedication and discipline. Similarly, there is a lot of work to do on the sports field before you get to the grand final and take home the cup. Writing – at least writ...

There’s nothing wrong with being protective of your work, but do not be precious about it. Even if you think it’s good, the fact is that if your proof-readers don’t understand the point you’re making, no-one else will, so be open to making amendments.

You have probably chosen your proof-readers specifically for the knowledge they have in the subject matter. As such, they should have a better understanding of your work than the average reader. Before submission to a publisher, I tend to use t...

For ease of working, build your manuscript in individual documents for each chapter, appendix, and part of the beginning and end material.

Although all the parts of your work will ultimately require amalgamation into one large manuscript, keep them in separate documents in the initial stages, as this will make them easier to work with.

Create a sub-folder for your manuscript and name it something like ‘Complete’. As you finish each document, move it into the folder. Separating your work in t...

If you’re using someone else’s work, quoting or paraphrasing someone, or making a bold or controversial statement attributed to someone else, always cite your source. Whether the material is copyrighted or not, whether it falls under ‘fair use’ or not, always cite your source.

On the one hand, many entities, e.g. archives, require a specific citation when using their material that they will provide you; on the other, it is etiquette and a professional courtesy to cite the source. However, yo...

Where you place your notes within your work is a matter of choice, but it is cleaner and generally more accepted to have them at the end of the entire work.

Although footnotes – that is, notes at the end of the page – are suitable in some circumstances, such as office memorandums or business letters, they tend to take up more space and look disjointed in a printed book. I have seen notes at the bottom of a page take up almost half of the entire page; to me, this looks and feels wrong.

All re...

Always acknowledge and cite your quotes and sources by adding an endnote to the text.

While it is imperative that every quote, opinion, or interview is acknowledged and correctly cited, keep your text flowing by listing your citations in the endnotes.

Aside from the legalities of copyright law and permissions (a subject in itself), it is also etiquette to acknowledge your sources. Moreover, readers may be interested in knowing the source of your quote. However, keep these out of your text as...

Tips and hints from a seasoned author on how to write better non-fiction. Weekly updates on different subjects to help you improve your writing.

Source: Home

Keep your story flowing by relegating asides, unrelated but interesting facts, and side-stories to the end notes.

It is one thing to describe a place, an object, a situation, or an event in the scope of your storyline, but do not digress from the subject at hand, by going off on a long, unrelated tangent. It may be interesting to you, but is it really just an aside that would be better moved out of the main storyline?

Is the fact that Jill’s former husband became a decorated officer or famous person after their divorce relevant to Jill’s life story? Unless there was an interesting twist to Jill’s story that brought Jill and her former husband back into (relevant) contact after their parting of ways, her former husband’s subsequent life has nothing to do with Jill’s story after their divorce.

If it’s not relevant, can the account of the former husband’s subsequent life be removed from the story altogether? Or could it at least be moved to the endnotes to avoid a broken storyline that digresses and then must return to the main story at hand?

In my books about the pilots of a World War II RAF squadron, pilots’ lives and deaths after being posted away from the unit were always moved to the endnotes. Interesting to some? Yes, certainly. Necessary to the main storyline? No.

Think about your storyline and ask yourself if a digression is relevant.