Excerpts from a Wide Range of Books
Because of the vast number of health, mind, and body books and the substantial number of topics, writing styles vary considerably within the genre. Reviewing several techniques and voices will help give you ideas of how you should write your book, but before getting started it is always wise to read several books similar to the one you intend to write.
Upbeat and Genial
Imagine yourself in a gym with a fitness trainer. Does a monotone voice counting backward from fifteen as you crunch out your reps motivate you? Is the voice one you can stand for more than a minute? Or, would you prefer an energetic, enthusiastic, and personal voice encouraging you? Same goes for writing an exercise book, as exemplified in this excerpt from the beginning of Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes by Teresa Tapp, with Barbara Smalley.
“Hi, I'm Teresa Tapp.
“Fit and fabulous in fifteen minutes? I know what you're thinking. It sounds too good to be true and even a bit sensationalized, doesn't it? Well, get ready, because in this book, you're going to discover that ‘yes you can!’
“Welcome to T-Tapp, the wellness workout that works wonders for your body, mind, and spirit. I take a rehabilitative approach to fitness and spent nine years creating this workout — plus over two decades perfecting it.”
Can't have a more personal tone than T-Tapp, can you? But note that she immediately establishes herself as a person with experience and as someone the reader can trust.
Personal and Professional
You've seen how most books in this genre are written by recognized experts and professionals. But this is not to say that the tone is cerebral or written in the way one would write a scholarly book. The writing must be clear and personal yet also establish a voice of authority. Consider how Richard M. Restak, a neurologist and bestselling author, accomplishes this in the following excerpt from his book Older and Wiser: How to Maintain Peak Mental Ability for As Long As You Live.
“Older and Wiser will give you the information you need in order to keep your brain functioning at its peak throughout the mature years. Everyone can benefit from reading this book, primarily individuals forty and older. After age forty, the brain undergoes a series of changes that modern brain science, neuroscience, now understands sufficiently well that we can establish guidelines for preserving, even enhancing, our brain's performance during the later years of our lives.”
Purely Personal
Sometimes, based on your own life experience and with no degrees or credentials, you can write a book in this genre. When you do, the voice is as personal as it can get. Consider the following excerpt from The Athlete's Way by Christopher Bergland, a world-class endurance athlete who has won the longest nonstop triathlon in the world three times and holds the Guiness World Record for treadmill running — 153.76 miles in twenty-four hours.
“I have spent the past two decades exploring my own motivation and what motivates other people, and I am excited to share everything I have learned here. This book offers hundreds of reasons that will inspire you to exercise. Sport turned my life around and continues to inform my life — I know the power exercise has to improve daily life and to change your life. That is why I am a zealot about this program.”
Notice how Bergland not only piques the reader's interest and curiosity to want to know how exercise turned his life around but even more important, how the reader can do the same, thus making the book a page turner.
