by John W. Paulus

Created on: March 12, 2008

What is good non-fiction writing? Whether we're talking about journalistic writing, book writing, blogging, article writing, or web content writing, there are specific characteristics that mark good non-fiction writing:

* Clarity. Good writing is clear. Good writing doesn't confuse the reader. Good writing doesn't leave the reader rereading phrases or paragraphs. This doesn't mean that good non-fiction writing is simple; in fact, quite the opposite is generally true. What this does mean is that the non-fiction writer uses a specific set of strategies and tools. Some of these tools are subtle, and some are obvious, but they are all desinged to make sure that the reader understands what has been written.

*Coherency. Good non-fiction writing is well-organized, thoroughly planned and tightly connected. Everything in a good piece of non-fiction is connected with patterns and transitional phrases. Everything in the particular piece of non-fiction writing helps to develop the writer's central idea.

Efficiency. Good non-fiction writing won't waste time. Good non-fiction writers get rid of any excess words. Good non-fiction writing is terse and uncluttered. Good non-fiction writing will be trimmed of extraneous adjectives and repetitious phrases. Anything that does not enhance the main idea. This is true in all of writing, but is especially true when it comes to Internet writing. Web surfers tend to have short attention spans, and good Internet non-fiction writing is long enough to cover the topic but short enough to maintain the reader's interest.

Grammatical acceptability. If the Internet has one fault when it comes to writing, is the informality with which most people approach their writing. If you don't believe me, just look at the last dozen or so e-mails in your inbox. How many of those e-mails use the traditional elements of a letter, such as using a colon instead of a comma after the greeting in a business letter. Still, while grammar rules may be becoming more lax, good non-fiction writing will still be grammatically accurate enough so as not to distract from the writing itself. While very few non-fiction writers have mastered all the hundreds of rules governing English use, having an acceptable mastery of English language is requisite to effective non-fiction writing.

Authenticity. Good non-fiction writing provides the reader with the ability to interact with the writer by way of the writing. Good non-fiction writing does not come across to the reader as canned or cobbled together by some formula. Good non-fiction writing has its own authentic voice which projects itself as genuine and knowledgeable.

Significance. Good non-fiction writing addresses a felt need in the reader. It makes a point. Something in the writing should be engaging, persuasive, enlightening, or surprising. Good non-fiction writing benefits the reader by providing the reader with information that is useful, and it does it in such a way that the reader can understand. Non-fiction writing has value. That is why how-to boks, blogs and Internet article directories make money. Good non-fiction writing has this value because it contributes to the body of knowledge and to the ongoing discourse on the topic.

If you look at your favorite non-fiction book, top blogs or the top web sites in a given niche, or the highest rated articles on Helium.com you will find them as well. While good non-fiction writing alone won't magically sell books, produce web site traffic or earn millions of dollars, bad non-fiction writing will surely prevent readers from returning.

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