The dif­fer­ence between writ­ing fic­tion and writ­ing non­fic­tion? I liken it bak­ing a cake. In fic­tion, I’m pret­ty much allowed to whip up what­ev­er I like. I can choose ingre­di­ents, put togeth­er any com­bi­na­tion of fla­vors to cre­ate a deli­cious dessert. With non­fic­tion, I’m also expect­ed to whip up some­thing yum­my. But I’m expect­ed to do this out of ingre­di­ents that some­one else has already cho­sen for me. It’s my job to exam­ine those ingre­di­ents, con­sid­er them in fresh com­bi­na­tions, and bake them in sur­pris­ing ways. In-depth research pro­vides the ingre­di­ents. But imag­i­na­tion makes the cake worth eating.