Asking Questions in Non-Fiction: An Article for Freelance Writing

As in any form of writing, a question is always asked and answered in any non-fiction piece. It can be a history question: How did Lincoln win the Civil War? It can be a question on novel writing: How does the character change? Or even a simple question on a video game: What is the replayability of this?

Questions form the core of a non-fiction writing. A reader is curious enough about the question to read on if the question itself is well developed. There are millions of questions to be asked, and a good magazine article finds one with the most weight.

Consider the examples I offered you. They could be taken in several ways. If Lincoln really won the war why did so many die? If the character changed, why did they not do the right thing at the end? Sure, the game is replayable, but why are the graphics so dark?

It all boils down to a serious game of cat-and-mouse with the reader. The question has to be valid in order for it to hold for an article, whether it be a shorter 300-400 word article or a more comprehensive 1,000-1,500 word article. Even some questions that seem strong might not carry a story 400 words. Sometimes more than one question needs to be asked in order for the piece to work.

A prime example would be writing an article intended for writers as I am doing. You as the reader will be thinking of putting words to paper even as I write this, so I need to keep your attention. If you write articles for other writers, you need a broad range of examples in the general article. If a mystery writer reads your content expecting to find some answers, they will be disappointed that you did not bring mystery into the piece with examples. Perhaps you only offered examples on fantasy; whatever it may be, a broad article is becoming of examples from a wide variety of fields.

The question for the article should come out in the first hundred words. This will be your hook, something that keeps the readers interested. If the game is dark, ask if it actually affects gameplay-like if you cannot see soldiers in that Warcraft or Starcraft game.

You will inevitably have to take some chances on what your general audience will want. Writing for specific groups is good, but you cannot bring in every idea you have into the article.

What it all amounts to is this: Build your articles upon questions you might have asked about the idea or review. By involving your own thoughts, the work has more resonance.