Writing from an Informed Cultural Point of View

By Traci Sorell

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines culture two ways. Its first definition contains six subparts, with the first one of those having its own four components.

In reviewing the definition, it reminded me of the work we do as nonfiction writers to scaffold our stories. There is the overarching topic, but there are numerous subparts and components of information we need to sift through and understand to craft a factual story for publication.

As I begin brainstorming an idea, I ask myself questions related to what I read as components of the first definition’s subpart.

1a. the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group

I start with examining my own intersectional cultures in relation to the story I am writing. I belong to many, but there are always gaps between what I’m writing about and my lived experience in my overlapping identities. 

In working on my upcoming book about the first Native American female engineer in the United States, Trailblazer: Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Female Engineer, I knew we shared the same heritage as citizens of the Cherokee Nation and as women, and we had both left our tribal homeland for educational and professional opportunities elsewhere. But I had no training as a mathematician like Mary, nor had I blazed a trail in aerospace engineering, a field created during the time she worked in it. This appeared to be a formidable culture gap.

Yet I found my way into the story. I reached out to her first cousin, who shared valuable information, including that her non-classified work files, tools, photographs, and other memorabilia had been donated to her undergraduate alma mater close to me. Even though I had researched her life, I didn’t feel close to the engineering culture she inhabited until I read through thick, three-ring binders of her handwritten equations and the NASA books on interplanetary space travel. I also held her slide rule and thumbed through books she referenced. The concepts in her notebooks showed me her incredible mind, work ethic, and persistence in her field across decades – even though I did not understand all the complicated formulas and equations detailed within the binders.

Tip #1: Take stock of the gaps between the cultures you belong to and the cultures represented in the work you are writing. What assumptions, stereotypes, and lack of knowledge/vocabulary do you bring to the work? Budget significant extra time to make connections to cultures you do not share in order to present the facts accurately and craft a complete story. Be aware of primary sources about a culture written by those outside of it, which can be highly problematic and not factual.

Once I have evaluated myself in relation to the subject, I remind myself about the culture of nonfiction itself and how my approach to the story must be influenced by it.

1c. the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity or societal characteristic

Within the world of nonfiction, writers focus on the facts. Not invented dialogue, not manufactured memories, not giving anthropomorphic characteristics to non-human creatures or objects and definitely not shaping the facts (events, timeline, etc.) to fit the story we want to tell. Adhering to those tenets are part of the shared values and practices that define the field. I am diligent about that work because fellow nonfiction authors and readers depend on me practicing and maintaining that focus within the shared culture of nonfiction writing for children and teens. If I didn’t do that and if you didn’t, how could our audience rely on what we craft as fact?

One of my nonfiction writing challenges comes from my love of poetry and preference for writing picture books in a sparse, lyrical style. I must be extremely careful with word choice. Choosing one word that may be easier to understand or sound better when read aloud may not reflect reality and the facts of the story.

I regularly wrestle with my former self, who wrote academic, legal, and policy papers with lengthy explanations and copious footnotes. It is critical to understand your subject well enough to know what words can and cannot be employed in the story to reflect the facts. Similarly, balancing what to include within the story versus what to include in the back matter or cut from the book entirely requires careful evaluation. Less is not always best, but neither is including more in some cases.

   

Tip #2: What tools do you need to tell the story? How do you plan to gather the resources to tell the facts? What experts do you need to connect with to help determine that your story does not include factual gaps considered critical by those from that culture? Even if you are very knowledgeable on the subject, what other experts can you ask to review your work, fact-check your word choice and explanations, and examine the substance of what you’ve written?

Culture, like nonfiction writing, is multilayered. The intersecting cultures of the author come through in what is crafted on the page. It is imperative that we as authors sift through our own layers of identities, personally and professionally, as well as inform ourselves about those outside of our experience in order to create and deliver factual stories to our readers.

SOURCES

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books as well as poems for children. Her 2018 debut nonfiction picture book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac, won an Orbis Pictus Honor, a Sibert Honor, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. In 2021, Traci will release her next two nonfiction picture books: We Are Still Here, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge), and Trailblazer: Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Millbrook). For more information about her work, visit www.tracisorell.com.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

Traci Sorell will be awarding a signed copy of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga.

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