DT – Books are not essays. You need a system when writing long pieces like books or eBooks

DT – Books are not essays. You need a system when writing long pieces like books or eBooks

dt 014One of the problems with our educational system is that we train students to write essays and then leave them with the impression that writing a book is the same. There are many types of writing forms and each of them has a unique set of needs. The system each writing form requires reflects those unique needs.

Short pieces such as essays, articles, reports and white papers need a system which is easy to use, easy to learn and doesn’t represent a great deal of effort. After all, these are simple pieces and the overhead of a complex system is neither justified nor wise. Outlining is the typical process that we are taught in school.

However, in fiction terms, a short story is about the maximum that this technique will support before it begins to break down. Book length pieces have their own requirements that a simple outline will not be capable of providing. And because these are longer pieces representing weeks of effort, they can justify you expending greater effort on the design stage of the book.

But size isn’t the only consideration. Time-based writing such as fiction or screenwriting has its own set of requirements. After all, you need to coordinate time, characters, setting and plot. Information-based writing such as how-to books and other non-fiction is focused on organizing facts, ideas, and concepts. It is this type of writing that this book and my own writing system are focused on. If you are interested you can find my book on the writing system I use and a series of videos on selecting the right writing system for you at http://www.learningcreators.com.

Like this tweet? Get the complete collection from Amazon "101 Writing Tweets: 101 Tips and Tweets about Writing How-To Books for the Kindle" by Glen Ford