The book, "Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer" by Johanna Rothman is the best book on writing that I have read in my life. I am happy that I found it. I am sorry that it didn't exist before so that it could have been part of my life sooner.
"Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer" is a deeply practical book on how to write. We are used to books on writing that repeat the same general advice: write what you know; lead with an annecdote; tell them three times; etc. Well-meaning advice, but so general that it is useless. Especially useless when one needs concrete instructions on how to write. As a student, I often fantasized about a book on writing that would give me those instructions. Rothman wrote that book.
Rothman addresses the problems that most writers face. She goes through every step of the writing process and shares solutions.
The book is especially good at solving the main problem that all of us aspiring and practicing writers have. Our main problem is fear. We are afraid to write. Rothman's solution? We overcome that fear by writing.
We don't conquer our fear of writing by planning, or creating outlines, or drawing mind maps. We overcome it by sitting down, setting an alarm to 15 minutes, and writing fast. We don't fix typos. We don't edit. We keep writing for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, we take a break. We repeat the cycle until we are done.
I love this solution for how specific it is and how easy it is to put it to practice. I have written a lot more thanks to this simple technique. If you find this useful, then you will also love what she has to say about how to edit your work. Editing is more complex that writing a first draft, so it is best to get her opinions on how to edit from her book.
Once you get the book, it will be easy to find her advice on editing. The book is well organized. The chapters are short and to the point. The book is free of filler, so every time you open it, you will quickly learn some new useful technique on how to write or edit.
I recommend this book to everyone who writes. I have recommended it to university students, to collegues, to friends. So let me recommend it to you.
If you write blogs, documentation, or just want to write, even if you want to write fiction, but you have put it off, I strongly recommend you to buy it. Here is the link to the Rothman's web page which will give you different options on how to buy it. Free your Inner Nonfiction Writer