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12 Techniques For Beginning Your Nonfiction Book (Part 1)

Beginning the actual writing process of your first book can be intimidating. But with an understanding of the most common techniques and a few options to choose from, you should have the confidence to begin. Once you have your research completed and your outline drafted, it’s time to start writing.

The length of your beginning, the style, and the tone will depend on your specific subject. For nonfiction books the opening section is often the entire first chapter and may launch with one of the following:

  1. Anecdote or Case Study
  2. Quotation
  3. Descriptive or Narrative Lead
  4. One-Line Hook
  5. Statistical Information
  6. Theme
  7. Question
  8. Comparison
  9. Directly Addressing the Reader
  10. Journalistic Lead
  11. Factual
  12. Summary

Each of these techniques can be used to open a book or subsequent chapters.

How Do You Select The Opening That Is Right For Your Book (or Book Chapters)?
One technique for crafting an effective opening is to analyze the needs, expectations, and intent of the lead. Here are questions you can ask to determine the best opening for your subject.

  • Who is your reader? Is your reader over 50 years old and retired, a twenty-something, recent graduate looking to launch a tech start-up, or a single 30 year-old mom, trying to balance career and family?
  • What is the purpose of the opening? Is it to inform, entertain, educate, instruct, motivate, inspire, persuade, enrage, provoke, or connect?
  • What is the promise you want to deliver? Is it how to obtain wealth, fitness, love, knowledge, understanding, appreciate, explore, travel, learn, etc.?
  • What is the emotional reaction you want to evoke in the reader? Is it to capture their attention, create intrigue, make them laugh, arouse curiosity, deliver motivation, etc?
  • Evaluate how well your opening lead achieves your goals. Does it speak to your reader, serve its purpose, deliver what’s promised, and evoke the intended emotion?

STAY-TUNED: the next three posts will examine and provide an example of each type of opening technique.

Related posts:

  1. 12 Techniques For Beginning Your Nonfiction Book (Part 4)
  2. 12 Techniques for Beginning Your Nonfiction Book (Part 3)
  3. 12 Techniques For Beginning Your Nonfiction Book (Part 2)
  4. Get Started: Write Your Book
  5. Narrative Nonfiction: 7 Research Techniques To Capture A Sense Of Place

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Posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 6:00 am.
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    • About Me

        Laura Cross
    • I'm Laura Cross, author, ghostwriter, freelance book editor, writing coach, and owner of Scenario Writing Studio I have researched, edited, and ghostwritten more than 30 nonfiction books on various topics, and developed winning book proposals that helped clients land six-figure book deals. I specialize in helping business leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts develop bestselling nonfiction how-to and self-help books. My clients have appeared on "Oprah", and been featured in Publishers Weekly, and The New Your Times book section, and on Amazon's bestseller list.
      Contact me at: Laura @ ScenarioWritingStudio . com
      Check out my script writing blog About A Screenplay.

      Unless otherwise indicated in the individual post, I have no connection with the publishers or authors, nor have I received any compensation for the books reviewed on this site. The opinions expressed on this blog are my own.