I’m a member of the NONFICTION NINJAS – ten authors who specialize in writing nonfiction for children. We post writing tips on our blog every Tuesday. I encourage you to read them all! Here are links to my posts:
EXPERIMENTING WITH MULTIPLE OPENINGS
I experiment with writing multiple openings to figure out how to approach a chapter, article, or story. As an example, I give five openings I brainstormed for a work-in-progress.
OUTLINES – WHAT ELSE ARE THEY GOOD FOR?
I describe four ways that outlines help me after a manuscript is written:
- revising a manuscript
- critiquing others’ manuscripts
- studying mentor texts
- restructuring a text
Find out what ten authors say were challenges they faced in creating their books.
This blogpost explains how nonfiction books benefit from an overall driving question.
How does considering our writing strengths help us choose projects we really enjoy?
I discuss why visiting museums can spark great ideas for writing nonfiction.
I’ve found that I can make short periods of writing time productive by focusing on small, specific tasks. What kinds of tasks work well for short bursts of writing energy?
Here are some of my earlier blogposts:
NONFICTION WRITING AS ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Anticipating readers’ questions helps me in writing nonfiction. I give an example of questions for Chapter 2 of the book that I thought readers would want answered.
A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME (“Author’s Note” from the book)
An insatiable curiosity led me to search for everything I could find related to Mawangdui. But how could I shape what I’d discovered into a book? Aha – as a time capsule . . .
LESSONS FROM WRITING MY FIRST BOOK
I share four lessons I learned during the 14-year process of writing the book:
- choose a topic big enough to sustain your interest
- do your homework
- know why you’re writing the book
- be tenacious
Writing the book involved a personal journey of becoming connected to my Chinese ancestors. I describe how performing rituals to honor my ancestors at their graves helped me understand why Lady Dai’s family constructed such an elaborate tomb for her (and vice versa).
THE NEXT BIG THING WELCOMES CHRISTINE LIU-PERKINS
A Q&A for the Next Big Thing author blog tour, posted by fabulous writer friend Sean McCollum. I give brief answers to such questions as how long it took to write the first draft and what inspired me to write the book.
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