Non-Fiction...And What It Takes to Write It

Sometimes characters do exactly what we don't want them to do.
Sometimes a post winds up teaching us something, rather than us teaching someone else something.
Sometimes we want a coffee in the morning and wind up with a tea or hot-chocolate instead.

In other words, sometimes life just doesn't go our way.

I tend to pride myself on my fictional works.
I tend to brush off non-fiction.
But, as I have recently discovered, I am better at non-fiction.

In light of that, I'd like to give a shout-out to all those who are writing non-fiction. Fiction is often fun, and can even be important, but

the world wouldn't exist without the non-fiction as well.

So, this post is for those of you who like non-fiction, whether it's biographies, documentaries, journalism-related material, etc.

When writing non-fiction, I think one of the most important things to remember is you don't have to get it 100% perfect in the first draft. As a matter of fact, if you feel like you need to, even make up a few details along the way. That's what second drafts are for. 

I love detail. In my opinion, it's difficult to have too much detail. (Which probably is why I adore literary works such as The Hobbit and Pride and Prejudice and Little Women.)
When I don't know all the details, I use "filler" text. (And when I do this, I generally highlight it as I go so when I am ready for the revision steps, I can easily spot what is made up.)
When I'm done with the first draft, I like to simply read through it once.
Then I create a new document and copy everything from the original onto the new. I go over the new one and take out all the highlighted fictitious parts. I read through it again without them.
Now I have a "editing document" and an "original". This helps to see what kind of extra or previously missed information I need to "smooth it out".

  Then, depending on how long of a work it is, I put it down for a while. If it's 3-10 pages, I generally just leave it for a day or so. If it's 10-30 pages (which a lot of my works turn out to be) I leave it for one to two weeks. Anything over 30 pages, I tend to just lay it down and whenever I get the itch for it, I pick it back up.
While revision is difficult for some, it comes somewhat easily to me. I am particularly fond of job, so to say, but I don't hate it, either.

I like to do my "largest chunk of research" during my break. This is where I look for those little details I need for filler text--little things to make certain actions more "real" to the reader. I don't just use Google. I love to read just as much--if not even more--than I love to write. So, that said, I love spending hours upon hours at the library. There's something special about working while you're in a library.
So, once all research is done, I usually move on with the second draft. This is where I do all the fill-ins.
Third draft is for general grammatical mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.).
And the last is the final copy.
That's a typical non-fiction work for me.
But I'm curious to know how the rest of you handle it, so comment and let me know!