Non-fiction Writing is Creative

People want to believe that technical writing is a rote and mechanical task and that, therefore, it should be quick and easy.  Of course, the people who think that clearly have not done much technical or non-fiction writing.

It's a mistake to think that there is no creativity involved in non-fiction work.  To the contrary, it can be very creative, and there are times when the creativity is just not flowing. You hear fiction writers talk about writer's block or the inability to "get into the flow," and people just accept it as part of the creative process for them.

But when a grant writer or technical writer gets blocked or says "it's just not coming together," people tend to blame the writer's organizational skills or overall writing ability.

I do a lot of non-fiction and technical writing, including grant writing (and I really do mean a lot). Here's a news flash - there is nothing mechanical or rote about it. Each piece is different and has different demands. There's a learning curve involved with every single piece that does not burden fiction writers (for the most part), and it cannot be accomplished alone.  I simply must have data or other information of some kind from someone else in order to do my work.  If they are behind, then I am behind. I can't just make it up (even though I have been known to be very creative sometimes).

Still, just like a fiction writer, I get to enjoy an amazing sense of accomplishment when each piece is finished.  If it's a grant proposal that gets funded, I will get to see a real program or set of services come to life where before there was nothing. Wow! It's really an incredible feeling.

So, if you are a non-fiction or technical writer, stop feeling like a second class citizen right this minute! You are a writer. Celebrate that...and go create something that wasn't in existence before.