Creative Nonfiction: 5 Questions about Creative Nonfiction

Because I teach writing nonfiction for young readers, I end up answering a lot of questions about nonfiction writing. Here are the five I get most often.

What is creative nonfiction?

This term was first used by Lee Gutkind to describe narrative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction frequently uses elements associated with fiction writing. The writer builds scenes to help bring the story to life for the reader.


Did you say story?

You better believe it. Many pieces of creative nonfiction are written with a focus on story. For example, if I was going to write about Teddy Roosevelt, I could write about the story of his dinner with Booker T. Washington. Or I might focus on the story of his life as a Rough Rider. Whichever story I chose to tell, I would select only those facts that supported this story.


Isn’t that like hiding the truth?

No. Everything I would include in my nonfiction story would be true. But I would only include the information that fits my slant, the story that I’m telling. I wouldn’t write about Roosevelt’s daughter Alice although she would make a colorful character in her own right. It isn’t dishonest to leave her out. She didn’t play a part in either story. This is just a matter of focus. Especially when you write for young readers, you face a very limited word count. Reserve those words for information that is a good fit.


Okay, you’re not hiding the truth. But you called it CREATIVE nonfiction. What do you get to make up?

Nonfiction, even creative nonfiction is 100% factual. One hundred percent. That means that you have to find sources for all of the facts. When you describe the setting, you have to find sources. Your characters, the people in your story, are also factual and you have to have the sources to prove it. Absolutely everything has to be researched.


But what about the dialogue? I can make that up, can’t I? Or just say that it is what she was thinking?

No, no, no! Even dialogue has to be sourced. Listen to interviews or watch documentaries. Read or listen to speeches that the person gave. Look for published letters or diaries or even unpublished letters and diaries. In my mind, newspaper stories are second tier sources just because they aren’t as reliable. Too often reporters rush to get the story in first. But the point is that even dialogue needs to be researched.


Creative nonfiction is a fun and fascinating style of contemporary nonfiction. It isn’t anything like the nonfiction we had when I was in school. It is fast-paced. It pulls the reader in with a sense of voice and creative word play. But like all nonfiction before it, it is true and it is factual. After all, creative though it may be, it is still nonfiction.

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.
She also teaches our class, Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults.  The next session begins December 5, 2016.

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1 comment creative nonfcition, Sue Bradford Edwards, writing nonfiction for kids

Writing Science

As a nonfiction writer, I’ve had the opportunity to write about both genetics and geology for young readers.  I’ve written about disease in horses and the biology of sharks.  While I also write history and crafts, science topics are often easier to sell because there is less competition. If you want to write science for young readers, here are five things you need to know:

1. Kid Friendly Topics.  Whether or not a science topic is kid-friendly is going to depend on your audience.  If you are selling it to an education market, it obviously has to be educational. Kids don’t mind learning something new, but for their selection a topic needs to be fun and fascinating.  There is more overlap between educational and fun then you might think but you have to know which aspect to emphasize when you approach the publisher.
2. Respect Your Reader. Whether you are writing about chemical reactions within the sun or the biomechanics of flight, you cannot write down to your audience. They may be shorter, they may have less life experience than you, but kids are smart.  When they are passionate about a topic, they can be scary smart like Boyan Slat, the 19-year-old who has invented a way to clean the plastics out of our oceans. Write down to this market and there is no point in submitting your work.
3. Talk the Talk.  It may be tempting to avoid the jargon that often accompanies a scientific topic, but if you’ve ever known a three-year-old who adores dinosaurs or a five year-old fascinated by rockets, you’ve heard them use the terms themselves. If you want to play on this playground, you better come with the right toys and in this case that includes the buzzwords and lingo that show you are in the know.
4. Build Bridges. Jargon is good but if your reader doesn’t already know the topic, you must be reading to frame concepts in terms your readers understand.  When I wrote geology, I compared stratigraphy to layers of cake and icing. Find something your audience knows and use it to help them cross into the world of your topic. 
5. Seek Professional Help. When I’m writing about a field other than my own, I need to make sure I didn’t skew any of the facts when I made the work more accessible.  Every scientist I have ever approached has been willing to review my writing for free. 

Writing science is a great way to put your work into the hands of young readers who are eager to learn all about the world, past, present and future.  You just need to know how to get your work into their hands.

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards is teaching Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults in the WOW! Classroom this October and November.  

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7 comments children's nonfiction, science, writing nonfiction for kids