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 Teresa Robeson.
Thank you, Teresa.
Say
the word “story,” and people of think of fiction, but nonfiction can be written
as a story too. To create narrative nonfiction, writers weave verifiable facts
into an exciting tale that follows Freytag’s pyramid structure—introduction,
inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and
denouement.
Because
they’re the stories of people’s lives, biographies work well as narratives. But
a big challenge is to tell a good tale while sticking to the facts—no invented
scenes, dialogue, or characters. I kept this in mind when I wrote Queen of
Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom.
Why
did I want to write about Wu? With the same Chinese-American immigrant status
and love of physics as her, I felt that if I’d known about Wu sooner, she could
have been an inspirational mentor figure. I knew that sharing her life and
accomplishments in a children’s book would give many kids—those who love STEM,
Asian-American kids who face obstacles because of their identity, and girls who
fight for equality—the role model I never had.
My
first step was to search for children’s books about Wu. She was included in a
couple of biographical collections of notable women, and I found one middle
grade biography of her. But there were no picture books about this remarkable
woman. I knew I wanted to write one.
Next,
I looked at books written for adults about Wu for details that might have been
left out of children’s books. After that, I read some of the scientific papers
she wrote and perused her textbook on beta decay to get a sense of her thinking
and research. I understood her work, but I wanted to know more about her as a
person, so I tried to contact her only son for an interview, but he never
replied.
Fortunately,
I located the author of an adult nonfiction book who had interviewed Wu in
person when she was still alive. The author answered some of my questions and allowed
me to use direct quotes from the interview transcripts.
At
that point, I was swimming in a pool of information about Wu. The question I grappled
with was how—how do I tell Madam Wu’s story so that there’s a narrative
arc, and not just a list of her (many, many) accomplishments?
I loved the fact that Wu was dubbed ‘Queen of Physics,” so I latched onto it for
both the title of my book and the climax of the story. And because she was
“queen,” I felt a good way to get into her life story was to begin it like a
fairytale.
Paralleling
the structure and musicality of “A long time ago, in a land far away,” I wrote,
“In China, in the small town of Liuhe…” In some of my earlier drafts, I
actually mentioned the year in the introductory paragraph to demonstrate “a
long time ago,” but that was subsequently edited out.
Once
I had my opening and climax planned, I needed to plot the path between the two
points so that it followed the Freitag’s pyramid structure. This is where using
a through line, or core idea, served as a roadmap to maintain focus. In doing
research, one idea rose above all others: the “ignore the obstacles” advice given
to Wu by her father, which helped her persevere through racism and sexism.
In
the introduction, I included the setting and circumstance into which Wu was
born to provide background and lay the foundation for the challenges she had to
face. For me, the inciting incident is the point where she needed to go abroad
to continue her study of physics.
Then,
to maintain rising tension, I chose specific episodes in her life where she made
progress but also experienced setbacks due to racism or sexism, but each time,
gaining greater strides.
While
more dialogue might make the book more engaging, I had to be careful not to put
words into Wu’s mouth. I could only use what I knew she has said or written.
The
climax of the story is her title (and the book’s title)—the recognition from
her peers and her adopted country.
After
that, the book’s brief combined resolution/denouement harkens back to the
opening and brings her life story full circle.
Finally,
I provided a successful or happy ending—without altering facts or fabricating
information. It offers readers satisfying closure, making it the final note I
needed for a complete narrative that lingers in the reader’s mind long after
closing the book.
Teresa Robeson is the APALA Picture
Book Award-winning author of Queen of Physics (also ILA Nonfiction
Picture Book Honor and NCTE Orbis Pictus Nonfiction Recommended Book). Other publications
include Two Bicycles in Beijing and an essay in Nonfiction Writers
Dig Deep, edited by Melissa Stewart. Her upcoming works include a poem in No
World Too Big, two biographical graphic novels with Penguin Workshop, and
an astronomy-themed picture book yet to be announced.
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6 Responses
Great post, Teresa! I love how you parallel a nonfiction biography with the pattern and feel of a fairy tale. Looking forward to see your upcoming astronomy-themed PB.
Love the Freitag’s pyramid structure for writing nonfiction! Great post. Thanks.
I love that book! What a helpful post, Teresa. You rock! Now maybe I'll finally get to the NF I have in mind about a rather famous great-great-great-grand cousin 🙂
Aww, thanks, Sue! By the way, have I told you yet how much I love your 13 Ways To Eat A Fly? It's pure genius and so fun!
Thank you, Farida! I know it's not the only structure out there, but it's pretty classic and helps me to think of how to format my PBs.
Donna, thank you! I hope you'll write about this distant cousin one day soon; I would love to read the book!