I'm mainly interested in writing fantasy, but non fiction is easier to get noticed. Of course when someone learns something it's from something else. I'd like to write a book about something or how to do something, but I'd have to do some research first. How do I give credit to the websites or books I learn from, and how do I know what's true or not? Do I just make a bibliography or do I have to do more (or less) than that? Thanks so much in advance.

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People read non-fiction books because they think the author knows more about the subject than they do themselves. Yes, authors of those books do a lot of research before writing, but they also usually have some form of personal experience, or a background in the subject from education. If you don't know how to determine "what's true or not", then you are not qualified to write that book.

write what you want to write....I am 14 years old and i write a lot but i am waiting to publish those when i get older so they can be better!

well you need to think of a great plot build on that plot do a timeline of when everything happens create your characters make sure they are somebody you could relate to ~~~Scooby-Doo~~~

Hey Zen! Wow - lots of questions in one! The best thing you can do is read all you can about writing nonfiction before you start. It will save you loads of time in the end and make it more likely that your work will be publishable. Here's one place to start: http://writingnonfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_write_for_nonfiction_genres This guy has some good information, too: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/02/how-to-write-nonfiction-book-proposal.html Google something like, "How to write nonfiction" and you'll find lots more to read. If you're writing nonfiction, you'll be doing a lot of research, so be smart and save yourself a lot of time and trouble by checking the sites I've recommended and by googling and reading, googling and reading. Happy writing! =D

Go to the 808 section of your libeary. It has all the books on writing and publishing. Read it. Then read at least 500 non-fiction books similar to what you have in mind to write. All good writers are GREAT readers.

Okay, if you're serious about writing, here's a few essential things you will need to know. You need to go the library and make your local librarian your best friend. Well, you don't have to become friends, but you will be seeing a lot of him/her. A librarian has to get a bachelor's degree, some even master's degree to be a librarian. They are the one's who know how things work in the written world. They know how to research written information, how to look up things and find what they are looking for. You need to go and talk to him/her and tell them that you want to start being a writer. Go to Barnes and Noble or some cheaper place and buy "A Writer's Reference." This book will fast become like a Bible for you in writing. You can go to http://www.dianahacker.com/ to preview the ebook copy. Also they offer the Chapter on MLA free online under the link for previewing the ebook. At least I think it's the whole chapter, I'm not really sure. This is the link: http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/writersref6e.php On the left side of the page you will find a list of links. Click the one that says MLA papers. What is MLA? Well, MLA is one of the two major organizations for standardizing the way you can give proper credit where credit is due. To avoid plagiarism. It tells you how to cite, and properly record citations in your writing according to the MLA standard. The other citation organization is APA. They are like the MLA, but their standards for citations are different. Either one will show you the proper way of giving credit to your sources, you can merely choose which standard you prefer. Where I'm from, our college teaches us mostly the MLA standard because they think it's easier. I haven't tried the APA standard yet, so I don't know which one I prefer. Now a good non-fiction book is going to require good research and a central theme. Obviously you can't write about the same thing in every paragraph, but you must have a central topic that you are seeking to teach the reader about. Research that topic well, find out what it is, what it relates to, what's it's significance? Find arguments about it, find issues about it. Find research on it, find out the latest discoveries concerning it. And if, when you are done you realize that your topic isn't accurate to what's written down, than it may be easier to merely change a few sentences to change your topic to something a little more in line with what you've written. Take notes on what you read about your topic. Then maybe make an outline that illustrates the main ideas/points and what you want to write about under those ideas/points. Then just start going to town, if you need to remember something, then look it up again. Any non-fiction writing, whether it be for science or English, or an argument, will require some in-depth research on your part so that you can even get an idea of what you want to say. And even more research if you want to be well informed and come up with supporting ideas without always having to re-read the information. In non-fiction, if it doesn't discuss actual facts too much, then that's a little easier because just about all of it comes from your own brain. Now The Writer's Reference may be a little confusing because it is a college level book and no book explains things just right. I mean I even had to re-read a few sentences and paragraphs to make sure I understood what it was saying. Your librarian should be able to help you with that as well. If you need further explanation, take the book and show the librarian, or even your English/Language Arts teacher and see what he/she thinks it's saying. He/she should know because he/she had to learn that stuff at one time.