Non-Fiction: Kicking It To The Curb

Before I talk about today's post I need to mention something that happened to me last week for the first time ever on this blog. In the whole scheme of things it was only a little blip in the world of blogging but for me it was a chance to see one of my posts become involved in what I would call a mini-viral blogging event.

Last Monday I posted Step Three of my ongoing series about my personal process for researching non-fiction picture book material.  If you didn't get a chance to read it, you can go to this link...

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2013/09/non-fiction-lineup.html.

I was just sharing how I approach the research part of writing non-fiction and was pleased when I got a few comments on my post.  Then my friend Donna L Sadd decided to tweet my post to her almost 2000 followers on her twitter account (@DonnaLSadd). From there five other people retweeted that original post (Stacie Theis @beachboundbooks, Olga Guseva @meOllyGreseva, Jenny Burnley @JennyBurnley1, Lawrence Wray @lawrence_wray, Scribe Quiver @writetips) and by the end of the next morning that one post had been retweeted to over 19,800 people! I am honored so many people thought my post was noteworthy and overwhelmed with the kindness of others as they share my journey with THEIR friends as well. I just wanted to publicly thank Donna for starting that ball rolling and to express my appreciation for this wonderful writing community.

That being said, this week I will talk a little bit about the types of information I am obtaining and how I'm going to sort through it all...

STEP FOUR: DIGGING FOR GOLD

When you start research for a non-fiction project you might not realize the amount of information you will receive. I knew my topic and I had a general outline of how I wanted to present my story but the deeper I got into my research, the more twists and turns I bumped into which lead me down new uncharted territory.

I had to keep an open mind of where potential gold nuggets of information would come from and had to constantly remind myself not to head off on a tangent.  While there is one major theme running throughout the story, there is some "backstory" which is crucial to the telling of my tale. So I'm talking to people. A lot of people. Librarians. Teachers. Judges. The police. Even innocent bystanders who were minding their own business one night so long ago when they were suddenly thrown into a historical moment their town still celebrates fifty years later.

All of these contacts want to tell me THEIR stories and I want to hear them. But as a non-fiction writer I have to make sure my information is FACT-BASED so I have to kick to the curb any comments suggesting a reason to the cause of the event (to this day it's never been solved) or some people's opinions as to the actions of others at the time. I also have to weed out of my interviews things like how someone's favorite cousin twice removed should have been the town's fall festival queen back then or how their best friend Willie sure could play a mean first base in the neighborhood ball game. I'm absolutely fascinated with those special moments blending to create a meaningful life but right now it won't help me tell my story. THAT isn't the reason for my research and I have to stay focused while I dig for the golden nuggets which will make my story sparkle and shine!

But what about all those other nuggets I'm uncovering along the way? I'll have to think about it. They just might make a good story some day...