Nonfiction 101: Answers to Your Burning Questions Handout

On April 17, I’ll be offering this workshop, which is hosted by SCBWI’s Southern Breeze Region. Here are some resources related to the questions submitted by attendees when they registered.

Can you explain the different nonfiction markets?

5 Kinds of Nonfiction offers a more detailed discussion of the nonfiction categories as well as various aspects of nonfiction craft, including text structure, text scaffolding, voice, style, point of view, and rich language. Perfect for writing teachers and aspiring nonfiction writers.

 

What’s the different between narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction?

 

What do you think about writing “outside your lane”?
Please listen to Linda Sue Park’s excellent SCBWI podcast about cultural misappropriation. She recommends:

1.    Choosing something from your own identity that hasn’t been explored

2.     Collaborating with someone from that background to share the recognition and
 profit

3.     Giving the story idea away

4.     Immersing yourself and living the experience which could take decades

 

How can you turn a topic that isn’t a biography into a narrative?
Biographies and books about events and processes work as narratives because they have a chronological sequence text structure. If your topic doesn’t have a built-in chronology, it won’t work as a narrative. See this blog post for more info.

What’s the different between narrative nonfiction and creative nonfiction?

 

What’s is informational fiction?
Check this post as well as this one from my blog. Also take a look at this Nonfiction Ninjas blog post by Wendy Hinote Lanier and this excellent essay by Candace Fleming and the late Karen Blumenthal.

 

How can I recognize a good topic? How can I give a tried-and-true nonfiction topic a fresh perspective? What’s the best way to make nonfiction creative and exciting? How can I “rewrite” my research so I’m not paraphrasing someone else’s work?

Many people seem to think that writing nonfiction is simple and straightforward. Just do some research and then cobble together a bunch of facts. But nothing could be further from the truth. That’s why 50 of today’s leading nonfiction authors came together to create Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep.

The goal of this anthology is to share a critical part of their writing process that often goes unseen and unappreciated. To craft high-quality prose, nonfiction writers have to dig deep. We have to get in touch with our passions and our vulnerabilities and use them to fuel our work. Discover how we choose a topic, find a unique and fascinating focus, and explore concepts and themes through our own personal lens to craft nonfiction that sings.

 

What does an agent expect me to have ready at the querying stage?
For a picture book, you should write the complete manuscript. For long-form nonfiction, it may be possible to secure a contract with a proposal and three sample chapters.

 

Do you offer critiques or one-on-one coaching?
No, but I highly recommend Emma Dryden and Catherine Frank.

What if I have more questions?
Join NF Fest, a Facebook community created and moderated by author Pat Miller. NF Fest also hosts an amazing virtual learning event each February, coordinated by Pat Miller and the Nonfiction chicks.

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You!

 

Resources for Educators: The Interruption Construction in Nonfiction

More and more, teachers are requesting educational resources that go beyond traditional teachers guides and activity sheets. So while I do still have those kinds of materials on my website, I’m also offering resources that delve deeply into the nonfiction reading and writing process from an author’s point of view. 

Some of these resources focus on books I’ve written and describe various stages of my creative process in detail, while others provide more general information  and highlight books written by a wide variety of nonfiction authors.  

On Mondays this year, I’m sharing some of these resources and providing ideas for how they might be used in the classroom. Today, I’m going to continue discussing the Writing Activities and Mentor Text sections, which you can access by clicking on the Nonfiction Writing Resources icon.

Under the Interruption Construction link, you’ll find a description as well as examples of this text pattern combined with a treasure-hunt-style activity.

Nonfiction Writing Tips: The Value of Infographics

Teachers today have so much to accomplish, so much material to cover in just 180 days. Since every minute counts, it may seem like a waste of time to add another step to the student writing process. But it makes a difference.

As you’ll discover in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep, when writers pause and ponder before they start writing, they’re able to take ownership of the material and formulate a plan. This kind of preparation builds enthusiasm, and in many cases, it makes drafting go more smoothly. It may also reduce the amount of time students spend revising.

 

To try this technique on your classroom, begin by asking students to read through their notes and circle facts and ideas that seem interesting and important. Then encourage them to use one of these thought prompts or simply have them make a list of the information they circled.

 

After sharing excerpts from several of the mentor essays included Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep, ask students to think about the information using their head (their brain) and in their heart (their feelings). Then invite them to spend a few minutes free writing and sketching. This gives young writers time and space to digest the information, view it through their own lens, and make their own meaning.

 

Finally, encourage students to create an infographic that includes what they really want other people to know about their topic and why that aspect of the topic is important to them. The infographic could also show the order in which they plan to present the information, but it doesn’t have to.

When students take the time to represent key parts of their research as infographics during the prewriting process, they'll find their own special way of conveying the information. Instead of being tempted to plagiarize, they'll create prose that's 100 percent their own.

5 Tips for Starting a Nonfiction Book Club for Kids

Many schools and libraries host fiction-focused book clubs, but it’s important to keep young nonfiction lovers in mind too. After all, studies show that 40 percent of elementary-aged children prefer nonfiction and another 30 percent enjoy fiction and nonfiction equally.

While you can certainly run a student book club that features a healthy mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, some children may be particularly interested in a group that reads all nonfiction. And the benefits are undeniable.

Besides encouraging students to talk about reading, which enhances their comprehension, book clubs give children an opportunity to practice life skills like taking turns, expressing opinions, listening to others, and working collaboratively.

When students read and discuss nonfiction with their peers, they learn to recognize when they don’t understand the text and develop a range of strategies that can aid their comprehension, such as re-reading, asking questions, using a dictionary, and reading passages aloud.

If a nonfiction reading club seems like a good fit for the children you serve, why not give it a try. Here are some tips for getting started.

1.    When students sign up for the club, ask them to fill out a brief survey that will help you identify some of the topics that interest them most.

2.    At the first meeting, briefly book talk a range of titles about the topics they listed in their surveys. Be sure to include books that represent all 5 Kinds of Nonfiction. After the children have had some time to further explore the books on their own, ask them to select their first and second choices. Use that information to determine which books they will discuss during the next few meetings.

3.    Ask the children to decide how often the group should meet and how many pages they’ll read between each meeting.

4.    During the first few meetings, as the students get to know one another, it may be helpful for you facilitate their conversations, but trust that they’ll quickly take ownership of the club and learn to engage in meaningful conversations about the books.

5.    As the students become more confident readers and begin to develop their own opinions about nonfiction books, encourage them to select their own titles, just as adult book club members would. You can introduce them to popular book review sources and invite them to help you make decisions about which nonfiction titles you purchase.

Resources for Educators: Text Scaffolding in Nonfiction

More and more, teachers are requesting educational resources that go beyond traditional teachers guides and activity sheets. So while I do still have those kinds of materials on my website, I’m also offering resources that delve deeply into the nonfiction reading and writing process from an author’s point of view. 

Some of these resources focus on books I’ve written and describe various stages of my creative process in detail, while others provide more general information  and highlight books written by a wide variety of nonfiction authors.  

On Mondays this year, I’m sharing some of these resources and providing ideas for how they might be used in the classroom. Today, I’m going to continue discussing the Writing Activities and Mentor Text sections, which you can access by clicking on the Nonfiction Writing Resources icon.

Under the Text Scaffolding link, you’ll find a description of this text pattern combined with a treasure-hunt-style activity.

Nonfiction Writing Tips: Sources Students Can’t Copy

When it's time to write nonfiction, most students turn to books and the internet for information, but as you’ll discover in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep, professional writers know that these sources are just the tip of the iceberg.

For us, gathering research is like a treasure hunt—a quest for tantalizing tidbits of knowledge. It’s an active, self-driven process that requires a whole lot of innovative thinking. We want our books to feature fascinating facts and intriguing ideas that no one else has ever written about. To find that information, we think creatively about sources. We ask ourselves:

Who can I ask?

Where can I go?

How can I search in a new or unexpected way?

Unfortunately, most students don’t bring this same creative spirit to their research, and that’s why they often find it boring.

Research should be as varied and wide ranging as possible, and it should include sources that can’t be copied, such as firsthand observations made in person or via webcams. Students can also watch documentary films, examine artifacts, and interview experts.

While the idea of asking students to conduct interviews might seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be if your school takes the time to develop a community of experts.

Everyone is an expert in something. By surveying parents at the beginning of the year, the school can build a database that includes what parents and staff members are passionate about and whether they’re willing to answer questions from a child doing a report. You can also identify community workers who are willing to assist students.

By interviewing the experts right in their own backyards, children will gain a stronger understanding of how professional writers go about their work. And because students develop their own questions and record the answers, the information they collect will be imaginative and original. When students do this kind of research, there’s no chance of plagiarism.