Writer Unboxed

Some questions for me this week.

Therese,

Do you think your nonfiction credits have helped or hindered you at all? Does your nonfiction writing experience tie in with fiction?

Are you going to continue writing nonfiction now that the fiction is going to be published?

Cathy J

Thanks for the questions, Cathy J!

I worked for over ten years as a nonfiction health writer before my fiction deal came in this summer, and I don’t regret it at all. Writing nonfiction most definitely helped me rather than hindered me, for at least four reasons.

1. I learned all about the D word. Nonfiction and fiction writing share similarities, but probably the most significant involves deadlines. Working in the publishing world in any capacity teaches you that deadlines are to be taken seriously. You learn to do what you must to meet them — even if it means shortening your lunch or staying up late — and you earn the respect of your team because you become someone who can be counted on. You also learn what you’re capable of turning out in a short period of time!

2. I was able to practice and receive valuable feedback. Anytime you write, whether it’s a scene or an article or a long letter, you’re practicing your writing skills. I still have the edited drafts of my first articles for Prevention Magazine. My editor wrote things on my article like, “your head and deck say the same thing” and “all these B-heads must be parallel in form — all sentences, or all noun phrases, etc…” and “sentence is WAY too long; break into two” and plenty more. It’s always good to learn from those who know more, and every time my editor wrote a thoughtful note for me, I did learn — don’t be overly repetitive, be consistent, be user friendly. I became good friends with my copy editor, too, and asked a lot of questions. Though my degrees are in science, nonfiction work helped close the gap between what I knew intuitively and what I might have learned in college had I been an arts major. I definitely became a better writer for the experience.

3. I learned the value of good research. I was a researcher before I became a writer, and my ability to research continued to play an important role in my nonfiction writing — and later my fiction writing. I can’t imagine writing a story without the ability to examine books and articles, and interview experts. Because I know how each can enrich, I’ll always dig deep when it comes to research — a skill I gladly credit to my first pro job as a researcher.

4. It bought me time. By making an income through nonfiction work, I was able to stay at home and work on fiction as well. If I’d had a 9-5 job it would’ve been do-able to write fiction, no doubt, but it would’ve been more difficult and my six-year journey probably would’ve been even more drawn out.

As for your last question, whether I’ll keep working nonfiction now, that’s a hard call. For the time being, I’ve decided not to. I’ve been surprised at just how much work goes into the editorial side of writing. Between now and September, I’ll have to orchestrate a website and maybe a book trailer; I’ll have to finish copy edits (almost done!) and go through galleys. And I’d really like to have a decent draft of book two before book one comes out. I don’t know if it’s do-able or not, but certainly it’d be less so if I’m juggling fiction with articles on heart disease and nutrition.

That said, I’m planning to do some health-related nonfiction work for Writer Unboxed! I’m already in the process of interviewing an expert about writerly health issues, and I’d love to do a series on depression.

How about all of you? Do you write anything other than long fiction? If so, what? And do you think it’s helped your pursuit of a fiction career?

Thanks again for the question, Cathy J. Write on, all!

Therese Walsh co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006. Her debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, sold to Random House in a two-book deal in 2008, was named one of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2009, and was a Target Breakout Book in 2010. She's never been published with a lit magazine, but LOST's Carlton Cuse liked her haiku best on Twitter, and that made her pretty happy.

Therese Walsh

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