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Stevie Cameron- Notes on Writing Non-Fiction

Stevie Cameron--award-winning journalist and the best-selling author of On the Take, The Last Amigo, and The Pickton File--joined the Humber School for Writers for its July 2002 Workshop in Creative Writing, where she offered key tips for writing non-fiction:

  1. Write simply and avoid passive voice. As editor Jan Walter told Cameron, "don't ornament your prose."
  2. Pay special attention to how your work is organized. "Organize it, organize it, organize it.  That’s what I do," Cameron said. "And I would say that the most important single thing you can do when you’re writing non-fiction is to do a chronology."
  3. Collect your research in an indexed binder. It will help to organize your thoughts, and may come in handy if your work is ever challenged legally.
  4. AOC. "Ass on chair."