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What is a Contraction in Writing? (Includes 129 Examples)

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

Contractions

A contraction is a literary device used to make your writing less formal and more conversational. Since contractions approximate the “sounds” of spoken words used in informal conversation, they’re interpreted in your reader’s minds as written language that’s more relaxed and easier to digest.

Language that’s formal or hard to process, such as that used in legal documents, almost never makes use of contractions, which is one of the reasons legalese can be so boring to read and process.

As a writer, particularly a nonfiction writer geared to a consumer audience, the use of contractions is a great technique to put your readers at ease by lowering potential barriers of communication, as if you were signaling through your writing that you’re a “friendly” person.

In technical terms, a contraction is a way to eliminate certain letters from words (or certain words from phrases), replacing them with an apostrophe to provide your reader with a visual cue of the omission — there are some exceptions where even the apostrophe itself is omitted!

In order to provide you with more tools for your author’s tool chest, I’ve compiled below a large list of contractions so that you don’t have to scour the Internet for useful examples. Hopefully you’ll find this collection to be a handy reference for your writing.

Here are 129 examples of contractions you can use, divided into the following 9 groups:

1-Contraction of Pronouns, 2-Contraction of Negatives, 3-Contraction of Verbs, 4-Contraction by Omission, 5-Contraction of Years, 6-Miscellaneous Contractions, 7-Single-Word Contractions, 8-Informal Contractions, 9-Contractions of Proper Nouns

1-Contraction of Pronouns:

PronounContractedUncontracted
I
I
I
I
I
You
You
You
You
You
He
He
He
He
He
She
She
She
She
She
It
It
It
It
It
We
We
We
We
We
They
They
They
They
They
How
How
How
How
How
That
That
That
That
That
What
What
What
What
What
When
When
When
When
When
Where
Where
Where
Where
Where
Who
Who
Who
Who
Who
Why
Why
Why
Why
Why
I’m
I’ll
I’d
I’ve
I’d
You’re
You’ll
You’d
You’ve
You’d
He’s
He’ll
He’d
He’s
He’d
She’s
She’ll
She’d
She’s
She’d
It’s
It’ll
It’d
It’s
It’d
We’re
We’ll
We’d
We’ve
We’d
They’re
They’ll
They’d
They’ve
They’d
How’s
How’ll
How’d
How’s
How’d
That’s
That’ll
That’d
That’s
That’d
What’s
What’ll
What’d
What’s
What’d
When’s
When’ll
When’d
When’s
When’d
Where’s
Where’ll
Where’d
Where’s
Where’d
Who’s
Who’ll
Who’d
Who’s
Who’d
Why’s
Why’ll
Why’d
Why’s
Why’d
I am
I will
I would
I have
I had
You are
You will
You would
You have
You had
He is
He will
He would
He has
He had
She is
She will
She would
She has
She had
It is
It will
It would
It has
It had
We are
We will
We would
We have
We had
They are
They will
They would
They have
They had
How is
How will
How would
How has
How had
That is
That will
That would
That has
That had
What is
What will
What would
What has
What had
When is
When will
When would
When has
When had
Where is
Where will
Where would
Where has
Where had
Who is
Who will
Who would
Who has
Who had
Why is
Why will
Why would
Why has
Why had

2-Contraction of Negatives:

VerbContractedUncontracted
Is
Are
Was
Were
Have
Has
Had
Will
Would
Do
Does
Did
Can
Could
Should
Might
Must
Isn’t
Aren’t
Wasn’t
Weren’t
Haven’t
Hasn’t
Hadn’t
Won’t
Wouldn’t
Don’t
Doesn’t
Didn’t
Can’t
Couldn’t
Shouldn’t
Mightn’t
Mustn’t
Is not
Are not
Was not
Were not
Have not
Has not
Had not
Will not
Would not
Do not
Does not
Did not
Can not
Could not
Should not
Might not
Must not

3-Contraction of Verbs:

VerbContractedUncontracted
Could
Might
Must
Should
Would
Could’ve
Might’ve
Must’ve
Should’ve
Would’ve
Could have
Might have
Must have
Should have
Would have

4-Contraction by Omission:

ContractedUncontracted
E’er
‘Cause
Ma’am
Jack o’lantern
O’clock
Ne’er
O’er
Run o’the mill
Ever
Because
Madam
Jack of the lantern
Of the clock
Never
Over
Run of the mill

5-Contraction of Years:

ContractedUncontracted
February ’69February 1969

6-Miscellaneous Contractions:

ContractedUncontracted
Let’s
Give’em
Y’all
Let us
Give them
You all

7-Single-Word Contractions (no apostrophe):

ContractedUncontracted
Ad
Flu
Gator
Oft
Advertisement
Influenza
Alligator
Often

8-Informal Contractions (no apostrophe):

ContractedUncontracted
Bout
Coulda
Didja
Dunno
Gimme
Gonna
Gotcha
Gotta
Hafta
Kinda
Lotta
Musta
Oughta
Outta
Sorta
Wassup
Woulda
About
Could have
Did you
Don’t know
Give me
Going to
Got you
Have to
Have to
Kind of
Lot of
Must have
Ought to
Out of
Sort of
What is up
Would have

9-Contractions of Proper Nouns:

ContractedUncontracted
Tom’s
Susan’s
Alex’ll
Jane’d
Tom is
Susan has
Alex will
Jane would

Some of these contractions may sound silly, and some are best used only when writing dialogue intended to accurately represent speech, but they all have their uses. If you’re not sure if a particular contraction is correct or appropriate, ask your editor for advice.

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

 

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert: 11 Reasons Why You Should

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

How Long Does it Take to Write a Book to Help Grow Your Business?

 

Bennett R. ColesBennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

 

Filed Under: Writing Skills

What is the Passive Voice in Nonfiction Writing?

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

Passive Voice

The use of the passive voice in works of nonfiction is a highly debated subject in writers circles, where the active voice is generally the preferred choice.

In this article I’ll first explain what the passive voice is and when it’s okay to use it in nonfiction and then I’ll close with several examples of passive voice sentences in a variety of tenses to use as a reference in case you’re not sure how to structure them properly.

What is the Passive Voice?

In technical terms, the passive voice is made out of two elements: the verb “to be” in various tenses followed by a past participle (e.g. “The town was founded by southern settlers.”)

In terms of usage, the passive voice is applied when there’s a need to shift the focus from the subject to the object of a sentence. Although in most nonfiction writing use of the active voice is the preferred choice, since it makes the message much more direct and clear, there are cases when the passive voice is useful.

How it is Different from the Active Voice?

In the passive voice, the object of the sentence is placed ahead of the subject. In the above example, “town” is the object of the sentence and “southern settlers” is the subject. In the active voice, the subject is placed ahead of the object. In this case, the above sentence would be rewritten as: “Southern settlers founded the town.”

How do You Use Passive Voice in Nonfiction?

In certain nonfiction books, such as scientific or technical texts, it may be of more interest to highlight, say,  a scientific breakthrough rather than the scientists who developed the breakthrough. For example, here’s a sentence written in the passive voice: “The leading vaccine for the XYZ virus was developed in record time by a team of scientists from five countries.”

The active voice equivalent for the above sentence would be: “A team of scientists from five countries developed the leading vaccine for the XYZ virus in record time,” but if the central theme of the text is the discovery of a new vaccine against the XYZ virus, the audience won’t care so much to know who the scientists are or how many countries they came from.

First-time nonfiction writers often fall into the trap of using the passive voice to “hide” behind their words, which muddles the message they’re trying to communicate.

For example, if you write the following sentence: “This weight-loss technique was specifically developed by me to help people who suffer from type II diabetes, which has been a part of my life since I was a teenager,” there’s a sense that you may be trying to hide behind your words because the goal of the sentence is for other type II diabetes sufferers to identify with your own journey.

But if you were to rewrite it in the active voice like this: “I specifically developed this weight-loss technique to help people who suffer from type II diabetes, which has been a part of my life since I was a teenager,” you’re being much more clear and direct with your readers, giving them a chance to identify with the subject of the sentence: you.

Nonfiction Passive Voice Examples

Here are some useful examples in a variety of tenses so that you can get an idea of how the passive voice works in different circumstances. Feel free to use this as a reference in case you get stuck:

(Note: PP means “past participle”)

Present Simple

is + PP

are + PP

Corn is grown by farmers in the Midwest

Most electric cars are bought by Californians

Present Progressive

am being + PP

is being + PP

are being + PP

are going to + PP

I am being made to wait by the doctor

The engine is being repaired by the mechanic

The travel plans are being made by the agent

Several meals are going to be cooked by them

Present Perfect

has been + PP

have been + PP

Susan has been picked up by the taxicab

The players have been selected by the scout

Past Simple

was + PP

were + PP

The gate was installed by the contractor

The curtains were dry-cleaned by her

Past Progressive

was being + PP

were being + PP

He was being kept alive by science

The plans were being altered by the man

Past Perfect

had been + PP

The chairs had been brought inside by staff

Future

will be + PP

am going to be + PP

is going to be + PP

are going to be + PP

The house will be vacuumed by me tomorrow

I am going to be promoted by my boss soon

A new assistant is going to be hired by my partner

The parts are going to be delivered by the supplier

Future Perfect

will have been + PP

The project will have been delayed by legislation

In Conclusion

If you decide to use the passive voice in a work of nonfiction, make sure that you do so judiciously and use it only in those cases where the object of your sentences need to take precedence over the subject. A good test would be to ask yourself: Is the use of the passive voice in this sentence justified by the context, or am I trying to hide behind my words?

Good luck!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or need any help – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

 

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

 

Bennett R. ColesBennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling writers (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghost writing, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

Filed Under: Writing Skills

How to Write a Biography in 8 Easy Steps

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

How to Write a Biography

This article will provide you with the basic building blocks required to write a biography starting from a blank page. Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let’s define what a biography is:

A biography is the full account of another person’s life (unlike an autobiography, which is the account of the author’s own life). For a biography to work, it must tell the story of an extraordinary or otherwise captivating life.

For this reason, most popular biographies center around famous people, be they politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, or other well-known individuals. But this isn’t a must. Many biographies are also written about ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives outside the public spotlight.

Now, there are two main categories of biographies: authorized and unauthorized.

Authorized biographies are written with the explicit permission of the subject of the biography. The main advantage of authorized biographies is that they provide easy access to family members, friends and acquaintances — and even the subject themselves — during the very important research phase.

Unauthorized biographies, on the other hand, are written without the permission of the subject and therefore the authors usually have no access to their inner circle. As a result, authors must draw all of their information from sources that are at arms-length of the subject and therefore may be less reliable or truthful.

Let’s now begin to outline the process for creating a biography from the ground up.

Step 1: Choose the Biography’s Subject

The first thing you need to do is to choose the subject of your biography. In most cases this will be an obvious choice – that is, you’ll select someone you’ve been following and have admired for a long time.

You’ll already know their life story and will therefore know the aspects of their life that will be inspiring and compelling to your readers. In essence, you’ll be writing your biography for an audience of like-minded people who admire your subject as much as you do and who already have a deep thirst for any information about them.

Your subject might be a public figure, a politician, a business person, a scientist, an academic, or as stated in the introduction, an ordinary person who’s lived an extraordinary life. In every case, I advise that you seek their permission to write and publish the biography.

If granted, you’ll be able to gain immediate access to the subject and also family members and friends, who in many cases will provide you with exclusive details not published anywhere else.

Now, if you do get your subject’s permission, it’ll likely come accompanied with a first right of refusal for any information that they deem is not accurate as written and you’ll have to allow for the possibility of people changing their minds about certain aspects of your work as you go on.

You’ll just have to be flexible and accommodating, and sometimes this will be frustrating. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s a small price to pay for almost unlimited access to credible and in many cases unpublished information.

If you’re unsuccessful in obtaining your subject’s permission, you can still write an unauthorized biography, but there are some caveats you should be aware of:

  1. Stay away from writing unauthorized biographies about private persons (no matter how extraordinary their lives may be) because you’ll risk breaching privacy laws with serious legal consequences — in other words, those people may wish to remain private and will certainly not appreciate someone writing an unauthorized biography of their private lives.
  2. If you write about public figures, make sure you stick to publicly available information and that you don’t publish any private, sensitive or otherwise embarrassing information that is not in the public domain or that was illicitly obtained (e.g. through hacked or stolen information)
  3. If you choose to write a biography about some well-known figure in the public domain who you despise and you want to expose their “bad” side to the world, I advise that you consult with an attorney before you proceed, since you’ll be embarking on a journey potentially fraught with expensive litigation

Step 2: Study Popular Biographies

Before you proceed to the writing stage, you’ll be well-served to learn valuable lessons from those who’ve walked this path this before you, especially those who’ve found success in the marketplace.

Find 2-3 biographies about similar subjects to yours that have made it to the bestseller lists. For example, if you’ll be writing about a tech CEO, then find bestselling biographies of two or three other tech CEOs. Also, ensure that those biographies are of the same type as yours (i.e. authorized or unauthorized).

If cost is an object, get those books from the library but, if you can, purchase them instead so that you can make notations and underline text right on the page.

Next, read them twice cover-to-cover — first as a reader and then as a writer.

In your first reading pass, put on your audience hat and enjoy the read. Don’t pause to make notes yet so as not to disrupt the experience. In your second pass, however, make frequent stops to take notes about how the author uses literary devices, such as storytelling, hooks, descriptive techniques, and so on to drive their narrative.

If you read a story or passage that you deeply connect with, analyze it and try to figure out what it is about it that makes it work so effectively. Make note of the author’s literary choices, their use of language, the flow of the story, etc.

When you’re done with this initial genre research, you’ll be ready to start working on your biography!

Step 3: Choose Your Central Theme

Biographies are not unlike any other nonfiction book: you need to know who the target audience is before you write them (in this case it’ll be you and people like you). But just as importantly, you need to have a central theme that permeates the book.

In most cases, the central theme of your biography will be the aspect that has personally attracted you to your subject, such as:

  • Their sense of urgency in enacting change in their personal lives and around them, which your readers will find inspiring
  • Their wisdom and brilliance in their specific approach to life, business, etc., which will inform your readers about proven strategies that they’ll be able to use themselves
  • Their prophetic power about certain world events, which could help readers make better choices about their investments, their choice of careers, etc.
  • Or just their raw courage in the face of extreme adversity, a quality many people strive to achieve in their own lives

You always need to have a clear central theme your biography, an essence that goes beyond a strictly chronological account of someone life (which doesn’t make for a particularly engaging read).

Step 4: Research Your Subject

Now it’s time to begin your research about your subject and their lives.

There are two types of sources of information that you’ll need to rely on for your biography:

1) Primary sources, which originate from your subject and their close circle, and 2) Secondary sources, which originate from people at arm’s length to your subject. Here are some examples:

Primary sources:

  • Anything publicly written or recorded by the subject
  • Anything privately written or recorded by the subject (you’ll need their written consent to publish this information)
  • Anything publicly written or recorded by direct witnesses to events that involved the subject
  • Anything privately written or recorded by direct witnesses to events that involved the subject (again, you’ll need their permission to publish this information)
A Note on Privacy:

Whenever you publish information about a subject that’s not already in the public domain, particularly if the subject is not a public figure, you must ensure that you have their written permission to do so.

If you don’t and choose to publish anyway, you’re opening yourself to expensive litigation. People are entitled to their privacy and if you reveal unauthorized information that they deem to be embarrassing or injurious to their reputation in any way, expect them to seek financial damages through libel litigation and other legal remedies.

Secondary sources:

Writings or recordings by people who don’t know the subject personally and who haven’t directly witnessed events involving the subject. Examples are:

  • Documentaries
  • Books
  • Magazine articles
  • Online articles or recordings
A Note on Secondary Sources:

Before you use these sources, you’ll need to establish their credibility and the veracity of their accounts. Whenever you do refer to secondary sources in your biography, make sure to include the proper citations so that your readers can access the original information if they desire.

Also, make sure that you don’t infringe the copyright of your secondary sources by reproducing entire passages from their works, unless you obtain their written permission first (which usually carries a financial cost).

Step 5: Organize the Information

Once you’ve collected all the relevant information for your project, it’s time to put it into perspective by first creating a timeline for your subject’s life. You want to be able to see where it all fits chronologically so that you can begin to draw a through-line in relation to your biography’s central theme.

Your timeline will allow you to see the sequence of events that formed the character, ability or special circumstances that led your subject to live an extraordinary life. Also, this through-line will allow you to draw inspiration to choose specific time periods and past events should you wish to use flashbacks as a device in your narrative.

Once you’ve defined the proper chronology of events in your subject’s life, you can begin to draft a general outline for your biography, driven by your central theme. Begin by choosing the main milestones on your subject’s journey. These are the building blocks of your central theme. Then, break them down further into as many layers as necessary.

Finally, label your outline entries and, looking at your timeline, allocate your research materials throughout the outline by assigning them to the relevant label.

Step 6: Write Your Manuscript

You now have a fleshed-out timeline, an outline that aligns with your central theme, and lots of well-researched notes. In other words, you’re ready to begin the writing process! But first, you’ll need to develop a clear writing routine.

When it comes to book writing, there’s no substitute for rubber to the road and this means that you’ll need to get into the habit of writing for a set amount of time every day. Like professional authors do, you’ll need to budget this time religiously and have clear boundaries.

Consistency is key, especially if you’ve never done a project like this before. What you don’t want to do is to write for 4-5 hours straight one day and then take a break for the next day or two.

How long should you write each day? I recommend between 2 and 3 hours but no longer than that — you don’t want to end up creatively spent by the end of a writing session.

Now, it’s critically important during this time that you have no disruptions such as phone calls, notifications from electronic devices, people walking in and asking you for help, etc.

So, enlist the help of those around you to keep you undisturbed, turn your smartphone and tablet to airplane mode, and mute the sound of your laptop.

Step 7: Hire a Professional Editor

When you complete the first draft of your manuscript, take a break to re-calibrate before you begin the re-writing process. Then revisit your manuscript from top to bottom as many times as necessary. This should take you a few weeks.

Keep in mind that the revision process is as creative as your original writing process but in a different way. While your initial writing is more like a stream of consciousness, the revision process is much more clinical and measured. What you’re looking for here is attention to detail, not the broad strokes.

But at some point, you’ll begin to experience diminishing returns for your efforts and here’s when you’ll need to hire the services of a professional editor. In fact, professional editors are paramount to the success of all authors, not just first-time authors but also those with long and illustrious careers.

No author worth their salt would dare publish an unedited book and neither should you. Your biography will be your calling card as an author and you never want to present a less than professional image. So, make sure you budget for a professional editor to take your diamond in the rough and make it shine!

Step 8: Hire a Professional Book and Cover Designer

Now that you have a fully edited manuscript, it’s time to focus on book design. Biographies need to not only be well-edited, but also to be well-produced. That means, they need to have a professional cover design that reflects your central theme, and a book interior as well-designed as your traditionally published competitors.

Don’t fall for the temptation to use free layout templates and book cover maker apps. As sharp as they may look on the surface, they’ll appear amateurish in comparison to what a professional can do and you don’t want to be judged by decision makers and gatekeepers on your path in a less-than-ideal light.

For example, some colors and visual patterns on your book cover may look great to you but won’t work in the market. The same goes for font styles, font sizes and font treatments. Leave this important work to the pros and you’ll never regret your decision.

Best of luck on the journey to your first biography!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

 

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

What to Look For in a Top Book Self-Publishing Company

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas for Nonfiction Authors

 

Bennett R. ColesBennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

Filed Under: Book Writing Tagged With: 122

How to Write Your Memoir in 9 Easy Steps

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

How to Write a Memoir

Memoirs are often confused with autobiographies. Although both genres revolve around events in someone’s life, a memoir focuses on a singular event or a unique circumstance, whereas an autobiography is centered on the person’s entire life journey, from birth to the present.

Like autobiographies, memoirs need to be addressed to a specific group of readers. You never want to write a memoir before you first know who its intended audience is and what they’re looking for.

Unless you’re a celebrity with an large following eager to buy your book as soon as it comes out, you need to figure out what it is about your life that will cause a certain group of people to find inspiration, motivation for change, or the strength to forge ahead with a difficult circumstance in their own lives.

The more your life experience connects with that of others, the more potential for success you’ll encounter when you publish your memoir.

So, your first step before you begin writing your book is to find out who your readers are.

Step 1: Define Your Memoir’s Audience

Humans are creatures of self interest. Whenever we’re presented with new information, the first thought that comes to mind as we consider the opportunity is “What’s in it for me?” This automatic mental filter works at a subconscious level and is always activated.

When someone picks up you memoir, this is the first question that’ll come to mind the minute they a) read your book title, b) read your marketing blurb, c) browse your table of contents and d) scan your introduction. If they don’t feel there’s something “in it” for them in either of those four stages (in that order), they’ll bail on you.

So, unless your goal is to write your memoir just for your family and immediate circle of friends, you’ll need to define your target audience first. Now, in order to find said audience, you’ll need to determine how you’d like your memoir to be of service to others.

Step 2: Define Your Memoir’s Theme

Readers are attracted to memoirs from authors who are like them and who’ve been through what they’re going through yet managed to came out at the other end. In most cases (though not all) this involves a journey from suffering to healing, from challenge to overcoming, from injustice to justice, from rags to riches, and so on.

In other words, memoirs will be interesting in the eyes of readers when there’s a clear journey on the part of the author (in the world of fiction this is referred to as the “character arc”).

But unlike fiction, the journey of a character in their memoir can’t be a fantasy. It has to be something rooted in reality that readers can relate to, something that reflects where they are and where they want to be.

Therefore, in order to define your theme, think about circumstances in your life that involve a journey many others are going through right now.

For example:

  • You were faced with and conquered a debilitating illness that currently afflicts a lot of other people
  • You were confronted by and overcame a major societal obstacle, such as poverty, injustice or other systemic prejudice, that also affects many others in society
  • You overcame a major physical or psychological trauma that many other people have also experienced
  • You achieved a level or religious or spiritual transcendence than many others aspire to in their lives

If the journey you choose to focus on has a clear redeeming value for your readers, then you have a winner in the making (provided you can write with eloquence — we’ll get to this later.)

Step 3: Research Other People’s Memoirs

Now that you know who your target audience is and what journey of interest you’ll be sharing with them, it’s time to explore how successful memoirs are written. Go to the library or, if you have the financial means, purchase 3-5 popular memoirs and read them cover-to-cover — first as a reader and then as a writer.

It goes without saying that you need to focus strictly on bestselling memoirs, because you need to learn from and emulate the best out there. You need to select books that have been voted by the court of public opinion to the be best in their fields, because this means that not only are they well-written but also that they connect with their audiences at a deep level.

In your first reading pass, put on your reader hat and enjoy the books cover to cover. Make a note whenever you read a passage or a section that truly connects with you so that you can come back to it later. In your second pass, make notes about how the author is using certain descriptive devices, hooks or angles to drive their narrative.

Whenever you read a story or section that deeply connect with you, analyze it and try to figure out what it is about it that makes it work so well. Note the choice of words, the use of descriptive language, the flow of the narrative, and so on. By the time you’re done with your reading passes, you’ll be have the information you need to begin the next phase.

Step 4: Brainstorm The Events Driving Your Theme

Now it’s time to switch the focus to your life. Chronicle and catalog the life events, anecdotes, circumstances, experiences, etc. surrounding your memoir’s theme. What you want to do is turn out everything that you recall and everything that you’ve documented in diaries and journals, so that you can sift thought it all and begin formulating your memoir structure.

You want to look for:

  • Stories with vivid characters that shaped you or influenced your journey
  • Events that had an significant impact on you
  • Anecdotes that add substance to your story
  • Characters that are central to your memoir theme (both positive and negative)
  • Interviews with friends and family members

In short, anything that relates directly to your theme. Take lots of notes because these details will form the foundation of your memoir. In fact, you’ll be using this information to embark on the next stage.

Step 5: Mind Map Your Memoir

Mind mapping is a technique that encourages creative thought through radial thinking. It’s triggered by taking a main idea (in your case, your theme) and placing it at the center of a mind map, like the one below:

You then proceed to break down your theme into its main drivers, branching out radially and away from the middle of the map. Next, you break down the main components into sub-components, also radiating out, and then repeat this process as often as needed.

Your goal is to take all of your self-research and place it on the mind map by first tackling the major elements of your theme, and then breaking them down further into more specific aspects. Keep in mind that this process takes time. You may end up making constant changes and small adjustments until it settles into something that feels right.

For efficiency’s sake, you can use a large table with index cards or color-coded post-it notes spread out on top so that you have the freedom to shuffle things around as you move along. I recommend that you take pictures of the evolving map with your smartphone to keep a record of your progress in case you want to go back to a previous idea.

Step 6: Outline Your Memoir

When you’re done working with your mind map, it’s time to turn it onto your memoir’s outline. To do so, simply turn each branch coming out of your theme into a chapter and each sub-branch into a sub-chapter, as follows:

A- Branch 1

          1- Sub-branch 1-1

          2- Sub-branch 1-2

          3- Sub-branch 1-3

B- Branch 2

          1- Sub-branch 2-1

          2- Sub-branch 2-2

C- Branch 3

          1- Sub-branch 3-1

          2- Sub-branch 3-2

and so on…

Your outline will serve as a working table of contents and as a source of writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing when you begin to write your memoir.

Step 7: Begin the Writing Process

Time to begin the writing process! By having completed the mind map first, you’ll notice that the book will begin to write itself. Keep in mind that all the knowledge and wisdom you need to write your memoir is already inside of you. The right prompts will get this information out of your brain and onto the written page.

Your mind map-generated outline will ensure that you never run out of inspiration! All you need now is to develop the focus and discipline necessary to see you through your writing project.

Step 7.1) Make Sure to Write Every Day

Professional authors write every day and so should you. There’s no substitute for rubber to the road when it comes to book writing. You already know what to write (your outline) so you need to put in the time to do so, and this time has to be allocated with a strong sense of purpose.

In other words, you need to budget a set amount of writing time every day, and like most day jobs, it needs to begin and end at the same time every day. What you don’t want to do is to write like a mad person for 6 hours straight until you’re creatively or physically exhausted, and then to take the next couple of days off.

Consistency is key here, especially if you’ve never done a project like this before. Now, how long should you write each day? I recommend between 2 and 3 hours but no longer than that. Not unlike going to a gym, you want to work out the muscle and then rest it so that it can rebuild before the next workout.

It’s critically important during this time that you have no disruptions, either external (phone calls, notifications from electronic devices, people walking in and asking you for help, etc.) or internal (answering emails, making phone calls, browsing the Internet, etc).

So, enlist the help of those around you, turn your smartphone and tablet to airplane mode, and mute the sound in your laptop.

Step 7.2) Write With Your Authentic Voice

A memoir is by definition personal, and as such it demands an author who’s willing to be intimate with their thoughts and vulnerable with their emotions. Remember that people will be reading your book to feel motivated, inspired and uplifted and if you hide behind your words you just won’t be able to connect with readers.

And the only way to truly connect with your audience is to be authentic — to share your authentic self, warts and all! You’ll be encouraging people to overcome their difficulties by giving them permission to be vulnerable themselves through your example.

People will read your memoir because they need you to be their guide to what’s possible in their lives. They’ll want to live vicariously through your life until they can build the courage to face their own challenges (through your inspiring story!).

Step 7.3) Protect Your Characters’ Privacy

Finally, since you’ll be writing a memoir you’ll likely have no choice but to bring other people into your narrative, perhaps family members, perhaps friends or even total strangers.

In all cases, your job is to protect their privacy at all costs. For those people who you portray in a positive light, make sure you get their permission in writing to include them in your book. And for those who you have no choice but to portray in a negative light (deservingly so), as well as those people on the “good” list who wish to remain anonymous, make sure that you fictionalize their characters.

And when I say fictionalize, I mean changing your story in a way that they cannot identify themselves in it. For this purpose you may have to not only fictionalize their names, but also their gender, age, relationship to you (e.g. a father becomes a sports coach or a boss), time and place.

While this may seem, well, fictional in nature, what matters is that the foundation behind your theme remains intact while removing the risk of an expensive lawsuit for defamation and injury to someone’s character and reputation.

Step 8: Hire a Professional Editor

When your first draft manuscript is complete, it’s time to begin the revision process, which should take you several weeks if done right. You want to revise each chapter and each section several times, walk away and “sleep” on the changes and then go back to your manuscript the next day.

The revision process is as creative as the original writing process, but in a different way. While your initial writing is more of a stream of consciousness type of thing, the revision process is more about being a painter putting in the fine strokes to add detail and nuance to your piece.

However, at some point you’ll reach a point of diminishing returns and this will be the stage where you need to hire the services of a professional editor. Professional editors are central to the success of all books, whether published by first-time authors or authors with long, illustrious careers.

No author worth their salt would dare publish an unedited book and neither should you. Your memoir will be inextricably linked to you and your personal image, and you don’t want to publish a book that has great content but that’s presented in an unpolished way (unedited) or worse in an amateurishly edited way (that is, done by non-professionals).

So, make sure you budget for a professional editor to take your diamond in the rough and make it shine! You’ll never regret making this important investment.

Step 9: Hire a Professional Book and Cover Designer

Before readers see your book, they’ll first see your book cover — if you fail to catch their attention at this point, you’ll fail to catch them at all. Unfortunately, all books are judged by their covers (and second to that, their internal layout). So please make sure not to do this important work by yourself, no matter how tempting the available tools may be.

Most word processors offer attractive layout templates and many apps allow you to easily create a book cover with minimal (or no) expense. My strong advice is: take a pass! Book layout and cover design is a multifaceted art. Not only do professional designers have as strong visual sense, but they also know a lot about book marketing.

Some colors may look great to you (perhaps your favorite color?) but don’t work at all for your particular genre in the market. The same goes for font styles and font sizes. Leave this important work to the pros and you’ll never regret making this investment.

Best of luck on the journey to your first memoir!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

 

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

What to Look For in a Top Book Self-Publishing Company

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas for Nonfiction Authors

 

Bennett R. ColesBennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

Filed Under: Book Writing Tagged With: 123

711 Paragraph Transition Words for Nonfiction Authors

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

Paragraph Transition Words

If your book is the building and your chapters are the floors, your paragraphs are the bricks.

For your nonfiction book to be read and enjoyed by your readers, your flow of ideas must be carefully developed one brick at a time, making sure that you craft each idea fully within its paragraph and then transition to the next idea in a clear way.

The literary device that you’ll use for this purpose is the transition word or transition phrase. Now, since the universe of transitions is extensive, I’ve divided it into groups based on the need and intent of the author. For example, if your upcoming idea clarifies or expands on the previous one, you would then use a “Clarification” transition, such as In other words, or To put it another way.

If your upcoming idea is connected to the previous one, you’d use a “Connection” transition, such as Additionally, or Moreover, and so on.

So without further ado, here are 711 paragraph transition words and phrases you can use, divided into the following 29 groups:

1-Addition, 2-Agreement, 3-Causation, 4-Chronology, 5-Clarification, 6-Comparison, 7-Concession, 8-Conclusion, 9-Connection, 10-Consequence, 11-Contrast, 12-Details, 13-Effect, 14-Emphasis, 15-Examples, 16-Exception, 17-Generalization, 18-Illustration, 19-Importance, 20-Intensification, 21-Location, 22-Opposition, 23-Proof, 24-Purpose, 25-Restatement, 26-Repetition, 27-Sequence, 28-Similarity, 29-Summary

1-Addition:

Additionally
Again
Also
An additional
And
And then
Another
Apart from this
As a result
As well as
Besides
Both-and
Consequently
Coupled with
Finally
First
For example
For instance
Further
Furthermore
However
In addition
In addition to
In fact
In the same way
In the second place
Lastly
Likewise
Moreover
Next
Not only-but also
Not only…but also
Otherwise
Second
Similarly
Therefore
Thus
What’s more

2-Agreement:

As a matter of fact
As well as
By the same token
Comparatively
Correspondingly
Coupled with
Equally
Equally important
First
Furthermore
Identically
In addition
In like manner
In the first place
In light of
In the same fashion
In the same way
Like
Likewise
Moreover
Not only … but also
Not to mention
Of course
Second
Similarly
Then
Third
To say nothing of
Together with
Uniquely

3-Causation:

Accordingly
And so
As
As / so long as
As a result
Because
Because of
Consequently
Due to
For fear that
For that reason
For the purpose of
Given that
Granted (that)
Hence
If…then
In case
In order to
In the event that
In the hope that
In view of
Inasmuch as
Lest
On account of
On condition
Only / even if
Otherwise
Owing to
Provided that
Seeing / being that
Since
So as to
So that
Therefore
Thus
To the end that
Unless
When
Whenever
Wherefore
While
With this in mind
With this intention

4-Chronology:

About
Above all
After
After a few hours
Afterward
Afterwards
All of a sudden
Always
And then
Another
As long as
As soon as
At first
At last
At length
At the present time
At the same time
At this instant
At this time
Before
By the time
Concurrently
During
During the morning
Earlier
Eventually
Finally
First
First and foremost
First or firstly
Following
For a minute
Formerly
Forthwith
From time to time
Further
Generally
Hence
Henceforth
Immediately
In a moment
In due time
In order to
In the first place
In the meantime
In time
Instantly
Last
Last but not least
Later
Meanwhile
Most important
Never
Next
Now
Now that
Occasionally
Once
Ordinarily
Presently
Previously
Prior to
Quickly
Rarely
Second or secondly
Shortly
Simultaneously
Since
So far
Sometimes
Soon
Sooner or later
Straightaway
Subsequently
Suddenly
Then
Thereafter
Third or thirdly
This time
To begin with
Until
Until now
Up to the present time
Usually
When
Whenever
While
Without delay

5-Clarification:

In other words
That is
That is to say
To clarify
To explain
To put it another way
To rephrase it

6-Comparison:

Although
Although this may be true
Analogous to
Balanced against
But
By comparison
Compared to
Conversely
Equally
However
In a similar fashion
In a similar manner
In comparison
In contrast
In like fashion
In like manner
In the same way
Likewise
Meanwhile
Nevertheless
On the contrary
On the other hand
Similarly
Up against
Vis a vis
Where
Whereas

7-Concession:

Granted
It is true
Naturally
Of course
To be sure

8-Conclusion:

After all
All in all
All things considered
Altogether
As can be seen
As has been noted
As shown above
By and large
Definitely
For the most part
Generally speaking
Given these points
In a word
In any event
In brief
In conclusion
In either case
In essence
In fact
In short
In summary
In the final analysis
In the long run
Obviously
On balance
On the whole
Ordinarily
Overall
To sum up
To summarize
Ultimately
Usually

9-Connection:

Additionally
Again
Also
And
As a result
Besides
Even more
Finally
First
Firstly
Further
Furthermore
In addition
In the first place
In the second place
Last
Lastly
Moreover
Next
Not
Or
Second
Secondly

10-Consequence:

Accordingly
As a result
Because
Consequently
Due to
For this reason
Hence
In other words
Since
So
So that
Then
Therefore
Thus
With the result that

11-Contrast:

After all
Alternatively
Although
And yet
At the same time
But
Contrarily
Conversely
Despite
Differing from
Even so
However
In contrast
In spite of
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
Nor
Notwithstanding
On one hand
On the contrary
On the other hand
Or
Otherwise
Rather
Though
Unlike
Whereas
While this may be true
Yet

12-Details:

Especially
In detail
In particular
Including
Namely
Specifically
To enumerate
To explain
To list

13-Effect:

Accordingly
As a result
Because the
Consequently
For
For this reason
Forthwith
Hence
Henceforth
In effect
In that case
Then
Therefore
Thereupon
Thus
Under those circumstances

14-Emphasis:

Above all
Indeed
Truly
Of course
Certainly
Surely
In fact
Really
In truth
Again
Besides
Also
Furthermore
In addition
Definitely
Obviously
Absolutely
Positively
Naturally
Surprisingly
Always
Forever
Unquestionably
Without a doubt
Undeniably
Extremely
In any case
Perennially
Eternally
Never
Emphatically
Without reservation
Undoubtedly
Clearly
It should be noted
Importantly
Particularly
Especially
In particular
Chiefly
Singularly
With attention to

15-Examples:

Another key point
As an example
As an illustration
By all means
Certainly
Chiefly
E.g.
Especially
Explicitly
Expressly
First thing to remember
For example
For instance
For one thing
For this reason
Frequently
Important to realize
In another case
In detail
In fact
In general
In other words
In particular
In this case
In this situation
Including
Indeed
Like
Markedly
Namely
Notably
On the negative side
On the positive side
On this occasion
Particularly
Point often overlooked
Significantly
Specifically
Such as
Surely
Surprisingly
Take the case of
That is
That is to say
Thus
To be sure
To clarify
To demonstrate
To emphasize
To enumerate
To explain
To illustrate
To point out
To put it another way
To put it differently
To repeat
Truly
With attention to
With this in mind

16-Exception:

Despite
However
In spite of
Nevertheless
Of course
Once in a while
Sometimes
Still
Yet

17-Generalization:

As a rule
As usual
For the most part
For this purpose
Generally
Generally speaking
Ordinarily
Therefore
To this end
Usually
With this in mind
With this purpose in mind

18-Illustration:

For example
For instance
In other words
In particular
Namely
Specifically
Such as
Thus
To illustrate

19-Importance:

Chiefly
Critically
Foundationally
Most importantly
Of less importance
Primarily

20-Intensification:

In fact
Indeed
No
Of course
Surely
To repeat
Undoubtedly
Without doubt

21-Location:

Above
Across
Adjacent
Adjacent to
Along the edge
Alongside
Amid
Among
Around
At the bottom
At the front
At the left
At the rear
At the right
At the top
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside
Between
Beyond
Centrally
Down
From
Further
Here
Here and there
In front of
In the background
In the center
In the center of
In the distance
In the forefront
In the foreground
In the middle
Near
Nearby
Nearer
Neighboring on
Next
Next to
On the side
On this side
On top
Opposite
Opposite to
Out of sight
Over
Peripherally
Straight ahead
Surrounding
There
To the left/right
Under
Up
Where
Wherever
Within sight

22-Opposition:

Above all
After all
Albeit
Although
Although this may be true
As much as
At the same time
Be that as it may
Besides
But
Conversely
Despite
Different from
Even so / though
Even though
However
In contrast
In reality
In spite of
Instead
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
Notwithstanding
Of course … but
On the contrary
On the other hand
Or
Otherwise
Rather
Regardless
Still
Then again
Unlike
Whereas
While
Yet

23-Proof:

Although
At any rate
At least
Because
Besides
Even though
Evidently
For the same reason
Furthermore
Granted that
In addition
In any case
In fact
In spite of
Indeed
Moreover
Obviously
Of course
Since
That is
Though
While it may be true

24-Purpose:

For this purpose
In order that
So that
To that end
To this end

25-Restatement:

In brief
In essence
In other words
In short
Namely
That is
That is to say
To put it differently

26-Repetition:

As I have noted
As I have said
In brief

27-Sequence:

After
Afterward
And so forth
And then
At first
At the same time
At this point
At this time
Before this
Concurrently
Consequently
Earlier
Finally
First
First of all
Following this
For now
For the time being
Hence
In conclusion
In time
Later
Meanwhile
Next
Now
Previously
Second
Simultaneously
Soon
Subsequently
Then
Therefore
Third
Thus
While

28-Similarity:

By the same token
Here
In like manner
In similar fashion
In the same way
Likewise
Wherever

29-Summary:

Accordingly
After all
All things considered
As a result
As I have said
As I have shown
As previously stated
Briefly
Consequently
Finally
Given these points
Hence
In brief
In conclusion
In short
In sum
In summary
In the end
Lastly
On the whole
Overall
Summing up
Therefore
Thus
To conclude
To sum up
To summarize

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

 

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert: 11 Reasons Why You Should

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

How Long Does it Take to Write a Book to Help Grow Your Business?

 

Bennett R. ColesBennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

 

Filed Under: Book Writing Tips Tagged With: 124

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