Writing Nonfiction Picture Books

Which type of picture book is published in greater numbers, fiction or nonfiction? If you answered nonfiction, you are correct. The demand for nonfiction titles is growing, in part due to their use in elementary classrooms. Today’s nonfiction incorporates dramatic narrative and engaging language and reads with as much appeal as fiction. 

Creative nonfiction uses elements of fiction with nonfiction facts woven into the text. In my book, ON THE BANKS OF THE AMAZON, I used two characters, a boy and a girl, that watched the animals of the Amazon rainforest at the same time the animals watched them. I embedded factual information about the various animals into the story. 

As you develop the structure of the story, think of the way you want to reveal the information. I first began by listing the animals I wanted to use but I did not have a structure that seemed to work. A simple listing of one animal after another at page turns wasn’t creative or engaging to me so I knew it would not be for the reader either. 

I played with different approaches and realized that some of the animals were awake earlier than others and some prowled at night. That was my Ah-ha moment. The structure would be circular and some animals would appear in the morning, some midmorning, afternoon, twilight, night, and back to the next morning. Of course, I had to rethink the animals I used to fit the structure that made the story unfold in a natural, interesting way. 

Call for submissions for Adult Writers

Dagan Books, Ltd. is now reading for the next issue of Lakeside Circus (est. 2013), a speculative fiction magazine published quarterly with selected stories published at its website. The editor curates short spec fiction stories of under 2500 words.The editorial team is open to other subgenres of science fiction, including urban fantasy, magic realism, horror, the weird or the surreal, doomsday themes, mad science, etc. The ideal story is layered with meaning, driven by an odd, dark, stylish or extraordinary plot without the story evolving into something too strange to understand. Stories must have a fully fleshed out beginning, middle and end, regardless of how short the story runs. - See more at: http://writingcareer.com/post/140458065201/lakeside-circus-magazine-seeks-speculative-fiction#sthash.VeFWyfSV.dpuf

Submission guidelines at https://coffintreehill.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/ongoing-submissions-lakeside-circus/

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Call for Submissions

Today, I’m continuing the series, Writing a Middle Grade Novel.

Learn from published authors. Find a book you love in the genre you’re writing. The first time you read the book, read for enjoyment, then reread to analyze why you enjoyed the book. Make notes. 

Did the first line of first paragraph have a hook that immediately drew you in? How did word choice at the beginning make you want to keep reading? 

Did you like the structure of the story? Was it told in a fast pace, slow and easy, or some of each? Was it told by one character or more? Were the chapters unusually short, especially long, or somewhere in-between? Did the sentences vary in length? 

How were character traits revealed? Did the author provide a detailed description of the character or just a trait or two and the reader has to imagine the rest?  

Is the dialog snappy? Humorous? Pay attention to the amount of dialog vs. narrative. Is the dialog interesting? Dialog serves two purposes: to carry the story forward and to develop the character. Did the dialog stay true to those purposes? 

How was the setting described? Did the setting play a role in the plot? 

Next week, I’ll continue with this series. 

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Another Realm, an ezine. The stories may be science fiction, fantasy or horror only. Our maximum word limit is 5,000 words. Submissions are accepted year round.

  Please send in an e-mail in "plain text" format.

  Do not center titles.

 

  We know when to set most text to italics. If you want italics for anything other than titles or thought, indicate start and stop places as follows: For italics, *****words you wish italicised***.

  Please include your name, both real and as you wish it published.

  Your address, both email and physical, so we know where to send the check and how to contact you.

  Please include a word count.

Submission Guidelines at http://anotherealm.org/FAQ/faq.php