Today we continue the series in which award-winning nonfiction
authors discuss the joys and challenges of writing narrative
nonfiction and expository nonfiction with an essay by Marcie Flinchum Atkins. Thank you, Marcie.
I
am endlessly fascinated with the world. I often see things with a poet’s eye
and compose poems in my head. Sometimes, I follow the poem up with a
scientist-like curiosity. I want to know more facts about what I saw. This
leads to lists of ideas for books that are longer than I could write in two
lifetimes.
I
recently took the StrengthsFinders quiz to find out more
about myself as a writer. My number one strength is LEARNER (discover how this
strength applies to writers in this video). This rings so true
for me. I’m constantly trying to find out more—about everything.
When
I see a word that is a very specific science or nature word in poetry or
scientific papers or in my everyday reading, I jot it down in a tiny journal.
It’s here that I have developed my own little glossary of words—words I might
use in future books (at least one book has come out of that list), words I
might use in poems, or words that I just like to know for the sake of knowing
them.
The
more I experience and read about the world, the more I realize there is so much
I don’t know. The not-knowing, the wanting-to-know—that’s what drives me as a
researcher and as a writer. When I write expository nonfiction, I am
researching and writing to quench my own curiosity. Writing about science
topics that fascinate me help me to make connections about the world for
myself. Once I make connections for myself, I can write about them. Sometimes
that synthesis, letting an idea “cook,” takes time.
I
am an elementary school teacher-librarian and before that I taught science to
fourth graders. I always needed well-written books about science topics that
could be read in one sitting. I needed books that could launch our learning
about a topic or help us dive deeper into a topic. That’s also the kind of
books I want to write. Expository nonfiction allows me to present a topic in a
synthesized way using many writer’s tools.
When
I wrote Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy
in Nature,
I’d been teaching about dormancy for years with no books about it. I knew it
was a hole in the market—especially about plant dormancy. Miraculously, I knew
the structure of the book early on. I even jotted down notes on how I wanted it
to sound before I’d written a draft.
One
of the biggest challenges I face when I dive into one of my ideas is answering
the questions: What fits in THIS particular book? How does this information
work together? I always have way too much information, and then I want to pack
the book with all the things I’ve learned. I’m not writing all-about-books
though. Part of the challenge in revising expository nonfiction is finding that
one thing that ties my information together and paring it down.
I
also am fond of unique text structures. I keep lists of different structures
authors use in their books. Can I use a text structure that is unique to this
topic? Can I present this information in a way that teaches but also uses
beautiful language?
Finding
a structure often takes time. Sometimes I try on different ways of writing the
same book using different text structures, until I find the right fit.
I
also love words (as evidenced by my tiny little personal science glossary). One
of things I love to do is play with words. It’s my favorite part of the
process. But as a science writer, I also must be mindful of accuracy. I want to
be as accurate as possible with the most interesting words possible. Scientists
are brilliantly specific with their vocabulary. I want to use vocabulary that
is also specific, accessible, and accurate.
Expository
nonfiction allows me to take my poet’s eye, my learner strength, and my desire
for interesting ways to explain concepts to readers and combine them all
together. A lot of research and revision goes into books that might only be a
few hundred words long. The process helps me quench my own curiosity, and I
hope it does the same for my readers.
Marcie
Flinchum Atkins
is a teacher-librarian by day and a children’s book writer in the wee hours of
the morning. She holds an M.A. and an M.F.A. in Children’s Literature from
Hollins University. Wait, Rest, Pause:
Dormancy in Nature (Millbrook Press, 2019) is her most recent book. You can
find her online at www.marcieatkins.com and on Twitter and
Instagram as @MarcieFAtkins.
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6 Responses
I'm looking forward to the day when Marcie and I can hang out for a long period of time to chat but until then, I love reading posts written by and about her because I want to know how her very organized mind works (and hope that it'll rub off on me 😄 ).
Teresa, The feeling is mutual. We must get together SOON and chat about all the things!
This was a fascinating peek into Marcie's writing process…and into her impressive "tiny journal." WAIT, REST, PAUSE is a groundbreaking book in the expository literature realm, and I hope it's in the hands of many schoolkids.
Thanks for sharing your process, Marcie! I love learning new words–all kinds of them, and am a word collector too, though I never thought of keeping a journal of them–thanks for that helpful tip!! I have many little books that would be perfect for such a collection 🙂
Thank you so much, Heather!
Yes! Collect all the words. 🙂