The Joys of Non-Fiction

We love fiction; it transports us to exciting worlds with exciting people, whether we’re taking an epic journey across another universe or navigating a family crisis.

I’m a voracious fiction reader. I write fiction, I adore fanfiction; any kind of fiction, count me in. But if I’m being honest, the most beneficial reading I do is non-fiction.

In my naïve egotistical years, I used to make a lemon face when talking about non-fiction; it always brought to mind a washed-out navy blue cover with Papyrus font and a Shutterstock image that would be dry as a day-old cracker to slog through. What do I want to read non-fiction for? I live in the real world every day and it sucks; take me to Middle Earth.

I didn’t understand then. Non-fiction makes me a better writer. Non-fiction is research, it’s expanding your boundaries and horizons.

I recently read a book on bodybuilding. I have no particular interest in bodybuilding; I’m 120 pounds with rocks in my pockets, but in the future if I decide one of my characters likes to work out, he or she is gonna know their stuff.

Non-fiction can be inspiring; autobiographies bring to light amazing feats of will or creativity by remarkable people. They can inspire characters or plot devices that wouldn’t have occurred to you otherwise because you’re sitting in a box of your own making.

Read A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It’s a staple, a classic of non-fiction, plus it’ll blow your ever-loving mind. Trying to grasp the vastness of time and space might inspire a novel based on a planet in a far-reaching solar system, or a futuristic novel where people time-travel as easy as hailing a cab on the street.

Documentaries have the same flair. I hated documentaries. Ugh, boooooring. But my husband forced me to watch a documentary about building a tiny house and you know what? It was super interesting. I watched a documentary about growing corn. The corn industry is whack, let me tell you. I watched behind-the-scenes at Tony Robbins’ annual life-coaching event and I bawled not just one, but both of my eyes out. Watch Cosmos, I’m begging you. Neil Degrasse-Tyson is everyone’s gentle Uncle and I want to invite him to my kid’s next birthday party.

Sure, there are some non-fiction works out there that will make you cough sawdust they’re so dry, but there’s good to be found in every word you read, even if it’s just knowing how not to do it. Plus, if you’re researching a specific subject, knowing the nitty gritty ins-and-outs will make you a literal expert, so you don’t have to just pretend to be one while you’re writing your novel.

When you know more on a wider variety of subjects, it has the bonus of making you more interesting to talk to. 

Any time you can expose yourself to something new and different, you grow as a person. Which means you grow as a writer. And if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

(Recommend me some non-fiction books in the comments below!)