Fiction is the glamour writing. The most famous writers are the best selling writers of novels. But only a tiny proportion of novels written are ever published. Short stories and poetry are published even less. The vast majority of the words which make it to the eyes of the readers are non-fiction. Everyday newspapers and magazines have to be filled with writing, and almost none of it is fiction. I write both. I love writing fiction and have a novel published. I love writing non-fiction and have thirteen non-fiction books published, with more in discussions with publishers. I have also written for magazines and newspapers, sometimes for money and sometimes to get my words out there. I will be drawing on this background throughout this unit. Feel free to criticise the samples given. What you like and dislike about them will establish your personal guidelines for your own writing. You can't just be a writer - you need something to write about. Your passion is your topic!
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I write about scientific themes. I love science and I love mathematics. I don't expect you to be the same. I write about the paranormal - from psychics to UFOs, from beds of hot coals to spontaneous human combustion - and why I think science is more wonderful than pseudoscience. I love writing because I am writing about things I really care about.
I do not expect you to share my passions. I expect some of you will disagree with some of the things I say in my samples throughout the unit. That's fine. That's good! But that is the way I can write best - from my passion.
You must now decide what your passion is. What is it which fires you up? What gets you enthralled and is your favourite topic over the dinner table or with friends? What words will make you turn your head to hear what is being said? What do you read about? Collect? Defend? Watch on TV? Seek out others who share the interest?
If you have a passion which is not shared by lots of others, then you have an added advantage. You have something to write about which is not general knowledge. Are you into Star Trek? Collecting dolls? Cross country running? Growing succulents? Watching B-grade movies? Special effects? Cosmology?
Decide now what you will use for your theme throughout this unit. Then we will use that as the basis for you to try a range of non-fiction formats. So what is it going to be?
Decide on your topic - the choose one, two, most or all of the formats given on the front page of this unit, and write about your field of interest.
Make it something you care about and already know a fair bit about. It doesn't matter how narrow a topic it is. It does matter that you are interested in it - passionately.
If you can't think of something you are passionate about, then something which interests you - and then get fired up! Conveying something you know, understand and care about is the very essence of writing non-fiction.
 The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal Australian Edition, Allen & Unwin, 2004 |
The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal American Edition, Thunder's Mouth, 2005 |
Crocodile: evolution's greatest survivor Allen & Unwin, 2006 |
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Avenging Janie, a novel
Lothian Press, 2003
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Practical Computing |
Nuclear Technology |
 Lasers Sunshine Books, 1994 |
 Challenging Minds Hawker-Brownlow (AUS), 1994 Prufrock Press (US), 1996 |
Mathematics by Computer: Iteration Wizard Books, 1996 |
 Motion: Simple Concepts in Physics (Science Kit) Wizard Books, 1996 |
Sound and Light Wizard Books, 2000 |
Maths Wizard Wizard Books, 2000 |
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Motion: Simple Concepts in Physics (book) Wizard Books, 2001 |
Words and Images (co-author) Wizard Books, 2002 |
Multimedia CD-ROM:
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