WRITING NONFICTION THAT'S UNIQUE TO YOUR AUTHORIAL VOICE

by Kate Allen Fox

Nonfiction topics may seem straightforward to write: you pick a topic, research it, and relay what you’ve learned. But those of us writing nonfiction for kids know the truth; every topic provides infinite stories within it. As soon as we start drafting our manuscripts, we’re faced with endless decisions. Where should the narrative begin? Where should it end? What should be included in the main text, and what should be left for backmatter?

All of these decisions shape our stories, making them unique, even if the topic has been well-covered before. This is good news; it means that there is room for our own story of a familiar topic. This is also challenging news; it means that writing our manuscript is anything but straightforward.

How can we decide what information to include in our (often short) manuscripts and what information goes? Here are a few strategies I’ve used while draft and revising.

Find your “why”

When I begin drafting a nonfiction manuscript—after I’ve researched the topic and have gotten thoroughly lost in the details—I think about what themes I want to draw out in the manuscript. I often ask myself why I care about the topic—why I wanted to write about it in the first place. For me, these are often emotional themes, such as feelings of wonder, hope, or community. With this in mind, I start thinking about how the structure of the story can support those themes.

In my picture book A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (illustrated by Khoa Le, published by Little, Brown Young Readers), I knew I wanted to draw out themes of togetherness. So, in early drafts, I included information about the number of people who have viewed eclipses, how long human beings have been watching eclipses, and different cultural practices around eclipses. If my story was going to focus more on the scientific aspects of eclipses, then I probably would’ve omitted that information.

If you ever feel lost in a topic, asking yourself why you care about it can be a clarifying way to regain your focus and find your way into your version of the story.

Think of backmatter as a “parking lot”

The final version of A Few Beautiful Minutes did not include a lot of the information that was in my early drafts. Often, my early drafts contain more facts than I could possibly include in a final draft, but getting them into the story helps me shape the narrative as I revise. One trick I love is using my draft backmatter as a sort of “parking lot.”

If there is information in the main text that I’m unsure is needed, I will move it to the backmatter. Then, I’ll put the manuscript away and reread with fresh eyes a few weeks later. If I don’t miss the information in the main text, I’ll often leave it in the backmatter. If, alternatively, the text feels incomplete upon rereading, I’ll move the information back into the main text.

Experiment!

Early in my revision process, I often rewrite my manuscript from a blank page 3-5 times. I’ll experiment with different nonfiction structures and narratives until I hit upon one that feels right. This is my favorite part of the writing process because when I find the best way to tell my story, I feel unbridled joy. It’s the feeling of finally figuring out a difficult crossword puzzle or of discovering gold (I imagine, having never actually done that). Sometimes, this moment reveals itself easily and sometimes it takes years of failed starts, but, no matter what, it reminds me how much I love writing nonfiction.

Crafting nonfiction that can captivate kids is an iterative process. One that requires patience, perseverance, and the willingness to fail. As we try—and try again—to find our way into a topic, we eventually find the version of the story that’s truest to our authorial voice and intent. The one that no one else could write. 

 

About the Author: 

Kate Allen Fox is an award-winning children’s author from southern California. After working in public health, she combined her passions for science and the written word and began writing picture books that inspire wonder and curiosity about the natural world. Her works include: Pando, A Living Wonder of Trees (Capstone, 2021), A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2023), Winter Solstice Wish (Beaming Books, 2024), and Scratching the Surface: Exploring Earth's Layers (Capstone, 2025). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and McSweeney’s. Find her online at kateallenfox.com or on Instagram @kateallenfox.

 

Finding Your Voice in Writing Nonfiction

By Doreen Rappaport

Writing nonfiction for kids is an absolutely wonderful career. It’s a passion, a commitment to the young to present important and meaningful stories that will stretch their minds and hearts.

Research is the first step.  The deeper you dig, the richer, more interesting and illuminating will be your work. And your research will lead you to the right approach for telling the story you want to tell. Don’t worry that someone else has written about a subject you’re passionate about. There’s always room for more well-written books on your subject.  Do your research and you will find your unique voice, the hook to tell your stories.

In writing about the African-American struggle from the kidnappings in Africa to the Civil Rights Movement, I read the work of scholars who took years to untangle and present this history accurately. I read poetry, interviews, diaries, biographies, autobiographies, documents.  All these elements confirmed that this was a history of resistance, and that’s when I found my hook--resistance. Primary sources allowed me to accurately recreate historical events without fictionalizing. Having studied and taught music myself, I knew its importance as a cohesive force for Black Americans and had to include this great tradition. And so, my trilogy uses all these elements. 

Twenty-two years ago, I was asked to write a book on Martin Luther King, Jr.  There were already 10 or so books about him, and I initially resisted because there were so many other great Black Americans whom kids didn’t know anything about, and I wasn’t sure I could find a different way to write about Dr. King’s life.  But I dug in. I went to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture an immersed myself in biographies about Dr. King and in his speeches, interviews, letters, autobiographies, and diaries.  I thought about what Dr. King meant to me, about my Mississippi summer working in a Freedom School, and the joyous day at the March on Washington in 1963, and of course about Dr. King’s now famous speech, and it all came together.

My hook to present Dr. King’s life would be to combine a narrative punctuated with words by this great man, and so Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born.

Seek out experts to clarify facts. A coal miner helped me with my book on a mining strike in Pennsylvania. I reached out to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who read and commented on every page in my almost final draft, catching confusion and demanding greater clarification, helping me simplify but not dumb-down legal arguments. I wanted to add Cherokee words and phrases to my book about Wilma Mankiller, and her husband provided them and a pronunciation guide. I have found people more than willing to help me, because they too wanted accuracy about what I was writing.

Never fear criticism.  It will only strengthen your work. Have a few writer friends whom you trust to show your early drafts. Ask them to read your revisions, also. 

Write, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.  Revision is the key to all writing.

Read nonfiction books by other writers.  When I began, I read all of Jean Fritz’s early books. I don’t write at all like her, but she taught me about “attitude” and point of view, that we all are unique, and there are lots of way to tell a story, and they are all valid if they are grounded in research and careful self-editing.

And remember, there will be stumbling blocks along the way.  Times you think you’ll never get it right. You will.  Walk away from the book for a while. Sometimes, I walk away for a month or so. Right now, I’m working on a book that I put away two years ago.

 

Give it a Try

I know you have unfinished manuscripts in your files, books you just "couldn't get right."  Well, maybe you couldn't get them "right" when you wrote them a while ago, but dig them out, re-read them, smile about what is strong, think about what doesn't work. You might be surprised that with fresh eyes you can come up with solutions to finish the book. I'm working now on a book that I put away 10 years ago. A long time, right?  Well, I think I've solved most of the problems. Getting away can be so important, and having the courage to go back is essential. Good luck!  Follow your passion! You can do it, too!

 

 

About the Author

Doreen Rappaport is an award-winning author of 75 children’s books that celebrate multiculturalism, historical events, the lives of world leaders and the stories of those she calls the “not-yet-celebrated.” Her books have received critical acclaim for her unique ability to combine historical facts with intimate storytelling, and for finding new ways to present the lives of iconic heroes such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the Statue of Liberty. Among her numerous honors, Doreen is the recipient of The Washington Post Children’s Book Guild Award for Lifetime Achievement for the writing of nonfiction. Visit her at www.doreenrappaport.com