Today’s passage in my non-fiction writing was about how to use a particular site’s search function to identify researchers in Japan, but I had to learn how to use it in order to teach it.
I tried several different functions and examples to compare the search results, assuming that not all of my readers would have the same patience. In the process, I also discovered that some of the search criteria did not work the way I would have expected/wanted them to, so that was a valuable factor to add into my book. Sure, a reader could have figured it out by themself by playing around on the site for half an hour like I did, but the reason I am writing is to save them that trouble.
Really, this is the reason that I’m writing the book in the first place. It is forcing me to learn more about my field, particularly about specific details, so that I can better serve my audience. If not for the book, I probably wouldn’t have bothered going into that level of detail to answer a single question on my blog, for example, but now I can.