Making the Switch from Nonfiction to Fiction Writing

I have the honor of being a guest on Joanna Penn's blog today. Here's the beginning of my article over there, with a link to the rest of it.


Making the Switch from Nonfiction to Fiction Writing 

by Jodie Renner, editor, author, speaker

You’re already confident with writing nonfiction, so making the transition to fiction should be no big deal, right? Not. There’s actually a significant learning curve to recognizing and mastering the essential elements of writing fiction that captivates readers, sells well, and garners glowing reviews.
As an independent editor specializing in popular, fast-paced fiction, I often receive manuscripts from professionals and others who write a lot of nonfiction and are attaching a draft of a novel or short story. They often assume that since they’re used to writing, the transition to fiction will be easy.

Not so.

Nonfiction writers and first-time novelists often don’t realize the importance of issues they’re simply not aware of, so they ask me for “just a light copyedit.” When I start reading their manuscript, I often notice right away the story seems to lack sparkle. It doesn’t engage me and make me want to keep reading.

The writers, although accomplished in their field, have little or no concept of the critical aspects of point of view and showing instead of telling.

Other issues I see are...

For the rest of this blog post, click HERE.  


Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor, workshop presenter, judge for fiction contests, and the An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Captivate Your Readers, Fire up Your Fiction,and Writing a Killer Thriller. She has also published two clickable time-saving e-resources to date: Quick Clicks: Spelling Listand Quick Clicks: Word Usage. Jodie recently organized and edited two anthologies for charity: a BC-wide anthology of stories and poetry for Doctors Without Borders, called Voices from the Valleys, and Childhood Regained – Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers,created to help reduce child labor in Asia. You can find Jodie at www.JodieRenner.com, www.JodieRennerEditing.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Click HERE to sign up for Jodie’s occasional newsletter.
award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series