by Jonathan Roth
You know the feeling: a
rising heartbeat, a quickening of breath, an urgent desire for passionate and
obsessive embrace. I am, of course, talking about writing non-fiction. That visceral
moment when you know you’ve fallen for an idea.
It usually happens in a
flash. One minute I’m sipping my coffee with the morning paper. The next I read
a strange, small fact near the end of an article, such as that a small
helicopter on Mars is carrying a piece of Earth’s first airplane, and fireworks
go off in my head. In this case, I turned it into a book: Almost Underwear:
How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars, which begins
with two brothers buying a bolt of muslin in a Dayton department store in 1903,
and then follows that cloth on the most unlikely of adventures.
The vast majority of my sparks don’t turn into published books, but that’s okay. As I’m sure you know, writing is 99% butt-in-chair, long hours of honing your craft. And that’s okay too. But because the perspiration part is so often emphasized and the inspiration part seems uncontrollable, the Muse-like moments don’t get talked about much. After all, what can you do?
I think there’s a lot you
can do. And I suspect you’re already doing it.
Like me, you probably
geek out for a number of things. I’m obsessed with space stuff. With you, maybe
it’s plants or dolphins or the history of trains. Whatever it is, I know you
often read about it, think about it, delight in the minutiae. This is a prime
space where you’re going to find your sparks, those little nuggets or small
facts (“a piece of the Wright Flyer on Mars!”) that make you pause, make you
jolt, and want to dig deeper.
And deep you can go! Everything
is connected. When I pulled at the thread of that small piece of cloth on Mars,
I found connections from everything from Neil Armstrong to ladies’
undergarments. It led me to big themes like technological innovation and
commemoration, and to equally small, cool details.
Of course, your writing
ideas won’t just come from other writing. Non-fiction covers everything under
the sun (and the sun too!). Ideas can come from anywhere. Gaze at the stars, ride
some trains, swim with the dolphins. Your job is to be open, to be curious, and
to be ready to pounce when inspiration strikes. Carry a notebook!
Editors can smell the
lack of passion. So really, if you’re chasing some idea just because you think
it sounds good, or might sell, just like with fiction you’re probably barking
up the wrong tree. As they say, no passion (about some interesting non-fiction
subject) for the writer, no passion (about some interesting non-fiction
subject) for the reader.
So give yourself
permission to follow strange threads. Trust in your gut. Follow your instincts
and let yourself fall in love. Your interests matter, and by sharing them with us
you widen our lives.
About the Author:
Jonathan Roth is an Earth-bound but space loving author-illustrator
of fun, STEAM-themed books for kids including the chapter book series Beep
and Bob (Aladdin/S&S), the graphic novel series Rover and Speck
(Kids Can Press) and the surprising true story Almost Underwear: How a Piece
of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars (Christy Ottaviano
Books/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), which is a Kirkus Best Picture
Book of 2024. He also teaches art to elementary students in Maryland. Learn more at www.jonathan-roth.com.
Amazing text,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it and identified!
How right he is about the adventure of writing,
I have never published but I have been writing for as long as I can remember!!
Thank you very much!
Surprising connections and passion projects go hand in had don’t they?
ReplyDeleteOoh, just the title drew me into this article. And yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with the love geek aspect of writing. I recently felt the same way when writing about plants!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! I love to find the geek-outable pieces. Then the challenge becomes how to weave them into a story.
ReplyDeleteI love this book, Jonathan! Thanks for sharing how it came to be, and giving us encouragement.
ReplyDeleteThe connections you found by digging deeper are fascinating and made for an inspiring and motivating post for brainstorming today, thank you! Your work looks like fantastic books my daughter and whole household would love reading; I'm following you on IG now!
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting the posts are automatically set to anonymous, I'll remember at some point this month to change it before hitting the button to publish the comment every time, LOL!
DeleteI feel your passion in your book, Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteMy stack of picture books I requested from the library includes Almost Underwear: How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars.
That is an impressive amount of research to track the cloth over all those years and all that distance!! I definitely need to start digging deeper.
ReplyDeleteYou have such great points here. I think it's one's individual passions that provide the stamina to dig deep enough to get at the good stuff, but also it's our own passions that make our manuscript different than someone else's on the same topic.
ReplyDeletewithout passion, it's just words on the page. Great post, Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteLove this! My favorite manuscripts I have written definitely have come from feeling that spark about a piece of historical fact. Also must say that my kid is the biggest Rover and Speck fan so it was great to read this post by you, Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteJONATHAN: GEEK OUT, FALL IN LOVE, and then help others FALL IN LOVE, TOO! REPEAT! A SURE-FIRE recipe for success! THANK YOU for INSPIRING us to DIG DEEPLY into the subjects that INSPIRE us, so we can use that PASSION to propel our work---and help INSPIRE our readers. To remain OPEN and CURIOUS--just like our main readers!--so we can PULL at the threads of ideas we come across, and see where else they lead us---and our readers.
ReplyDeleteCatchy title that immediately made me want to read this blog—titles are more than placeholders; they make a promise to the reader. Awesome post; packed with helpful information. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWow, Jonathan! I connected to your post in so many ways and I’m looking forward to reading your books. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said. Thank you for your passion and yes, that is the best feeling when we are obsessed with finding out....more .... and creating it into a story for others to learn what we know and have learned. Look forward to reading your books!
ReplyDeleteJonathan, love the spark and passion of this post. Searching for the right threads is the best part of writing. Oh, the stories that surface and become the threads of creativity for readers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this inspiring post, Jonathan. My favorite line: "Editors can smell the lack of passion." So true. So true.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely true, Jonathan. Glad for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true about the spark and the passion! Once I find the spark and begin researching, it's down the rabbit hole I go! I keep digging and find more to facts fan the flames, or send me on another quest. I'm a space geek, too! I just got home from Kennedy Space Center on Feb.1. The Mars exhibit mentioned the Flyer 1 swatch that was attached to the Ingenuity helicopter. So cool!
ReplyDeletePassion for your subject matter...YES! Such an important ingredient in the NF recipe. My students are really enjoying the Rover and Speck series!
ReplyDelete