My agent and I have been talking non-fiction recently, so here’s a quick exercise to get you thinking about it too!

Make a list of “When, Where, What, Why and How” questions – i.e. “Why is the sky blue?” or “When did the White House get its first toilet?”

The goal is to have five of each (so if it helps you separate your paper into five sections with headings, go for it.)

Once you have 25 how, what, when, where and why questions, go back and star the three that you actually really want to know the answer to. Do some preliminary digging on those three questions. You might not know if they’re all book or article worthy right away, but if the preliminary research inspires you to keep going — well, then, keep going!

Happy writing!

(For more on non-fiction, see 5 Tips for Beginning Non-Fiction Writers.)