Monday, September 2, 2013

Non-Fiction: A Labor Of Love




I'm guessing it's only in the states that Labor Day is celebrated? It's a day when we are supposed to take a moment to honor the working men and women who are the backbone of our free society. A day when the working class is supposed to relax, kick back, and enjoy NOT having to work. While I'm not exactly working my regular job this Labor Day, I will be working to represent my TaeKwonDo school as we perform a Board Breakathon at one of the malls to help raise awareness and money for Muscular Dystrophy Association. We've been doing this for almost twenty years in our organization and I'll try to post some pictures on my Facebook page over the next couple of days.

There is another little bit of "laboring" I'm doing these days and today's holiday is not stopping me from working as hard as I can on one of my current writing projects.  Now that I've got a number of polished picture books in my writing portfolio and more in revising phases, I am turning my attention to one of my true loves...children's non-fiction.

I love learning new things and I was always one of those geeks in elementary school who couldn't wait to be told I had to write a paper.  That meant it involved research and THAT was addictive to me.  The rush to be first with a new bit of information others might not have.  Today it is the excitement of realizing I've stumbled across something few people in the world might know about and how can I turn my discovery into a compelling story?

I have to thank my sister, Janet, for the historical nugget she tossed my way a few months ago. When I read the blurb about something that happened more than 50 years ago I was compelled to find out more!  This non-fiction research path I've traveled lately has been a true labor of love. It astounds me how little written information is available and that there is NO published book ANYWHERE covering this moment in history.  So it's a challenge to me and a mystery I am determined to solve.

In the next few weeks I plan on posting about this particular journey...what I am doing research wise, what works, and what doesn't. Hopefully one day soon I will be able to announce the first draft of my non-fiction picture book is complete but for now it's...

STEP ONE: PICK A TOPIC

There are literally millions of non-fiction ideas just waiting to be developed so why not by YOU? Find something you can be passionate about. Something you've heard on the news, read on the internet, saw written in the sand...you get the idea...and run with it.  The first thing I did was Google anything I could find on my topic.  I literally found only half a dozen articles written over the past 50 years on this event. Does that mean I should give up and pick another topic? No, it just means I needed to dig further.

Next week, find out what I did to discover some primary sources who were very helpful with my research. Until then, look around and keep an open mind. You just might be surprised what idea seeds might begin to bloom...












8 comments:

  1. Hi Donna .. congratulations on your TaeKwonDo Breakathon .. raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy - an excellent cause and I'm sure you'll have had loads of support ...

    Good luck with the books and idea et al - looking forward to hearing what your sister's idea was ..

    Cheers Hilary

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    1. HI Hilary! Thanks for your kind words. The Breakathon was a success...we raised over $4200 for MDA. The only injury was to ME...I'll post the damage to my FACEBOOK page later...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  2. Great article, Donna. I usually write fiction, but sometimes I, too, come across an historical nugget that is just too good to ignore. Good luck with your story!!!

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    1. Hi Christine! I mainly write fiction as well but would love to expand into non-fiction. This might be a good start...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    1. Lol, Janet...not THOSE kind of nuggets...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. Donna,
    I'll be following your comments on the non-fiction journey. I love it too; the two most enjoyable ICL assignments were non-fiction, and I love the research part. I suppose it so deeply targets the 'wondering' that I think is the critical for non-fiction, which in turn excites and satisfies readers.
    Hope your returns are good on the MD fundraiser! Such a real need.

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    1. Thanks Sevenacresky for joining me on this journey! I've researched before but never turned it into a picture book so it will interesting to see if I can pull it off...;~)

      As for our MDA Board Breakathon, our organization raised over $4200 dollars and the only injury from the event is MY finger which was struck by an overeager student attempting to smash the board with a knee break and my finger got in the way...lol...swollen, black, and sore but I'm just proud he broke his other boards!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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