Society of Environmental Journalists conference 2010: what children’s writers can learn from SEJ

I just finished my time at the 2010 SEJ (Society of Environmental Journalists) conference. My head is spinning with information and ideas—a good sign, since I wasn’t sure whether to come to this conference. I mean, look at the title: Society of Environmental JOURNALISTS? I don’t think of myself as a journalist: I’m a writer. A children’s writer, a medical writer, a science writer, a nature writer—but not a journalist.

This conference made me question that assessment of myself. I write for magazines (journals); I do interviews and research; I fact check and look for bias. My first day here, a fellow attendee quizzed me on what kind of writing I do. When I finished, she said “I think you are a journalist. You just don’t know it.”

It’s an interesting question, because in the past few days I learned that journalists receive different training than “writers” do—and I think we writers (yes, even children’s writers) can learn a thing or three from them. Here are a few for starters:

Read more »

The Ethics of Medical Writing: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Used Ghostwritten Articles to Promote Product

As someone who writes on science and medical subjects, this recent report* in PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine disturbs me greatly.

Dr. Adriane J. Fugh-Berman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Center, analyzed ghostwritten reviews and commentaries published in medical journals and journal supplements that “were used to promote unproven benefits and downplay harms of Prempro—a brand of menopausal hormone therapy (HT)—and to cast competing therapies in a negative light.”

As a writer, it makes sense to me for a pharmaceutical company to hire professional writers to assist in editing, or even creating, articles for publication (the key word being “assist”). However, Fugh-Berman reports that academic physicians were invited to “author” prewritten articles that Wyeth had paid the medical writing and marketing company DesignWrite to produce. In addition, Wyeth paid for numerous reviews, commentaries, and opinion pieces for publication in medical journals—where they are not under the strict FDA regulations seen elsewhere. These types of articles are not usually peer-reviewed, but they can still have an immense influence on physicians’ understanding of disease and its treatment.

According to Fugh-Berman’s analysis Wyeth’s ghostwritten articles were designed to “Mitigate perceived risks of hormone-associated breast cancer”; “Promote unproven, off-label uses, including prevention of dementia, Parkinson's disease, and visual impairment”; “Raise questions about the safety and efficacy of competing therapies (competitive messaging)”; “Defend cardiovascular benefits, despite lack of benefit in RCTs”; and “Position low-dose hormone therapy”. She also states that many physicians have been impacted by these reports, believing that the benefits of hormone replacement therapy outweigh the risks in asymptomatic women, despite clear evidence to the contrary.

I find medical writing to be fulfilling as well as lucrative—it feels good to be writing material that will help someone better understand breast cancer, for example—but the truth is that most medical writing is funded by the pharmaceutical industry, which definitely has selling drugs as its agenda. So where did DesignWrite cross the line in their medical writing business? How can other medical writers avoid doing the same thing?

I think the answer lies in that DesignWrite intentionally designed a marketing strategy that incorporated these ghostwritten articles as means to promote the product—and to promote off-label use of the product. Pre-writing articles for academic physicians to “author” rather than beginning with material from the expert also seems to cross that line from medical writing into medical marketing. One thing is clear: any time a company pays someone to write an “informational” article for them, there’s the possibility that the article will be slanted in that company’s favor. Writers beware.

Cheryl

 

*Fugh-Berman AJ (2010) The Haunting of Medical Journals: How Ghostwriting Sold ''HRT''. PLoS Med 7(9): e1000335. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000335.

Nature Writing Class: Week 1

This past week, I began an online nature-writing class with a fellow science writer I met at the May 2010 Writing Away Retreat, Wendee Holtcamp. Our first week’s assignment: start a nature journal in which to record observations about a specific location.

This seemed fun to me—but a little old hat. I mean, as a writer, I do this already, right? I practice noticing details such as smells, sounds, colors and textures, the mood a place evokes in me.

But—because I’m the kind of person who does every exercise in a class (and most of those exercises in writing books, too)—I picked my spot and christened a new notebook. Besides, did I mention that it sounded like fun? I had an officially sanctioned half hour to sit outside and absorb nature.

The spot: the wooden slat lounge chair by my front door.

The time: late afternoon, on a cool, cloudy May day

I sat without writing for ten minutes (as instructed—I even used a timer) and just…observed. I breathed. I noticed the moisture in the air, scanned for manmade sounds and then let those sounds fade into the background.

And then I wrote. And wrote. And discovered all sorts of wonderful details about this place, mere inches from my front door, that I thought I knew—including three birds’ nests, one abandoned, one occupied, and one still a work-in-progress.

It was wonderful.

It made me think:

• …How much detail can I capture about a place by paying attention that I miss if I’m not wearing my observation hat.
• …How valuable those details will be for my writing, if I ever need to write about my yard, or the birds I observed, or the garden, or even another like it.
• …How I’ve visited other places and then, later, decided to write about them…only to discover that I can’t remember the details as well as I thought I would.

I want this practice of nature journaling to become a habit—and I’ll start collecting notebooks of setting detail to bring my writing to life, whether I’m working on nonfiction or fiction.

:) Cheryl

PS: If you’re interested in delving more deeply into the art of nature writing, check out Wendee’s class. It’s so jam-packed full of information, market analyses, and writing resources, it’s worth the cost even if you *don’t* do the assignments. I’d recommend doing the assignments, though. They’re a blast!

Kate Gale on blogging

One of the best aspects of the Writing Away Retreat is the opportunity it provides for writers to pick the brains of all those lovely keepers of the keys in the New York publishing industry. Or the LA publishing industry, as in the case of poet/editor/publisher/(unofficial) stand-up comedian Kate Gale.

Kate was one of the two folks I asked to critique my nonfiction children’s books projects…a conversation that quickly evolved into a discussion of the future of the children’s nonfiction book market. Since I’ve devoted years of my life to working on these two nf projects, you can imagine this is a subject near and dear to my heart.

See, here’s the deal: I started on the nf projects years before because nonfiction, theoretically, is easier to sell; I have a science background; and I actively enjoying researching and writing about my latest obsession in the nf world. The problem is this: now I’m a bit farther along in my writing career, and I’ve done quite a bit of market research, I’m realizing that the children’s nf book market is actually much smaller that I’d first believed. And most of the nf market is educational publishing, which is fun and all, but my two pet nf projects (the almost-finished, I’d-like-to-send-them-out-soon projects) definitely don’t fit most educational publishers’ lists. And I’m not sure they appeal to a wide enough audience to appeal to many trade publishers.

Wisdom from Kate: the future of children’s nf lies in online content associated with the book. Science teachers want the kind of stuff I’m writing—but I have a much stronger platform if I can offer online content to augment material in an actual book. For instance, can I include additional info on the books’ topics in my website? How about a choose-your-own adventure approach to expanding the material? An hour critique appointment transformed into an hour-and-a-half brainstorming session and ongoing conversations throughout the weekend on ways to add value to my book concepts.

What’s the blogging connection? Well, Kate authors a smart, funny blog that covers everything from her latest speaking engagement to her thoughts on news, education, and nude beaches. It also includes pieces that will appear in one of her own nf book projects. She sees the blog as a way to discipline herself to produce the material for her book as well as building a platform on the topic.

Hmm. One of my ongoing blogging concerns is what value I add to the blogging community. I mean, sure, I love blogging, I love reading about other writers’ ups and downs in their writing lives, and I love collecting my thoughts on how the heck we thrive in the crazy writing life some of us choose—but I also want to reach beyond my circle of writers to the folks who might, someday, become my readers. I want my writing to reach a wider audience. I’ve never had a good idea how to do that.

Thanks for the food for thought, Kate! And for my fantastic readers, I’ll add this: someday, somewhere, find a time and place where you can ask smart people in the publishing industry smart questions about writing, career, marketplace, and so on. Those conversations are valuable beyond measure.

Plus people who share this weird writing life have GOT to be the best, most interesting people in the world, so you’ll have a darned lot of fun, too :)

Cheryl

The Powers of Popcorn

If you give school talks--or even if you just love hearing how other writers connect with kids--you have to check out today's post over at I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids).

(Image borrowed from "The Popcorn Factor," by David Schwartz).

Reasons to do school talks...

...even if you aren't published in the book genre.

1. For the experience: most professional authors bring in a significant portion of their income from speaking engagements, so it never hurts to start figuring out what works and what doesn't work.


2. To encourage kids to read or write or both.


3. For the opportunity to ask kids questions.


4. For the opportunity to talk to teachers.


5. To spark ideas for new articles or books.


6. Because it's fun!

Cynthia Leitich-Smith's blog contains a great post on doing school visits (which I read just after speaking to three separate classrooms full of 5th graders yesterday!): The ABC's of School Visits.

If you're an introvert, speaking in front of a classroom of kids may seem daunting, but it's entirely do-able--with some practice and preparation. Here are a few of Cheryl's tips for keeping the kids engaged (because engaged kids are happy kids!)

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare! I prepared my talk as a Powerpoint presentation (and wow, is it easier to speak to a group when you have slides to show), then practiced until I could go through it with minimal help from notes. If you're stumbling through your words, the kids will lose interest.


2. Lots of eye contact and interaction with the kids. I like to ask lots of questions when I'm speaking, questions such as:
   
   - What things have you wondered about that might make good article or paper topics? (answers included: Why does my cat think she's a dog? Why does your nose get all stuffed up when you have a cold? And, why do some people get sick when they try to read in the car and others don't?)
   
   - If you were writing about this topic (I spoke on the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite), how would you narrow the topic?
   
   - Which of these cool facts would you want to include in the story?
   
3. Mix plenty of pictures and fun stories into your talk.


4. Practice your talk in front of a mirror with a focus on movement. Movement, facial expression, variations in voice tone and volume--these are all tricks that presenters can use to help keep kids engaged. Practice being big! Wave your arms! Stand on tip toes! Make eye contact! Get excited! And they'll get excited along with you.


5. Finally, have a stash of small pieces of candy available (with the teacher's permission) to toss to kids who answer questions. Participation will skyrocket :).

I spoke about writing nonfiction to the 5th graders of my local elementary school yesterday morning. We went through the process I used when writing "Walking Like a Dinosaur", which appeared in the September 2008 issue of Highlights for Children. The kids especially appreciated all the cool info about dinosaurs; the teachers especially appreciated my emphasis on rewriting. It was exhausting, but great!

:) Cheryl

The worth of kids' opinions....

There's a great entry today on one of the blogs I follow--I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids): http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/2008/09/out-of-mouths-of-babes.html

Susan E. Goodman writes about her timely new book, See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House, and the corresponding KIDS SPEAK OUT! survey on her web site (http://www.susangoodmanbooks.com/). Her post is worth reading purely for the quotes she's collected about kids and their political concerns. She raises a larger question as well when she tells of the reporter who dismissed the survey as a fine way to find out the parents' opinions. Ouch.

It's too true that our society tends to dismiss kids' opinions and ideas--and yet kids often see most clearly right and wrong and injustice and priorities, without worrying about politics or practicality. We grownups could do worse than to listen to kids' opinions.

As a writer for children, I'd like to help kids be heard. Maybe that's why I write children's literature first and foremost. I respect my audience. I think we have to, if we want kids to bother listening to what we have to say.

Encyclopedia Fun for the NF Writer

As a kid, I loved encyclopedias--but as soon as I started writing professionally, I learned to shun them. After all, writers are supposed to use primary sources and hands-on research, right?

Well. Yes and no.

You can learn a lot from encyclopedias. For instance, one hot summer, I learned how to play poker: "Indian" poker, five card draw, seven card stud. I taught my younger brother and sister, then proceeded to win all their pennies. (I'm not sure my parents knew....)

My recent time using an encyclopedia introduced me to another great feature: anything that packs that much information (the history of the known world and universe) into that little space (a dozen or so volumes or, more likely, a few CDs) is a great source for article ideas. Take a look at your local encyclopedia's entries for the history of mathematics, the credit care, or zoos to gather tidbits for your next writing jaunt. Or check out the article on poker--hey, there have got to be other kids out there who want to learn how to play!

Or not :)

Cheryl

How Cheryl writes an article...

Here are the eight steps I use for writing a nonfiction article. Use them at your peril:

1. Find Idea. (Mood=Ridiculously optimistic) (Actions=brainstorm a million beautiful words)


2. Begin Research. (Mood=Wow! This is so cool!) (Actions=spend hours collecting and reading articles, get distracted by every available nuance of every available topic)


3. Write Outline. (Mood=Man, this will be a cinch!) (Actions=daydream in tub)


4. Write 1st Draft. (Mood=Danger! Danger! What the heck was I thinking?) (Actions=Polish nails, repaint living room, write new blog posts)


5. Rewrite. (Mood=Man, this is really, really terrible) (Actions=Pick off nail polish, write more blog posts, check flights to Australia)


6. Rewrite more. (Mood=Maybe this will work...probably not, but it's definitely possible) (Actions=Rearrange commas, read manuscript aloud, get excited by discovery of perfect introduction idea)


7. Rewrite still more. (Mood=Hey, this is actually getting somewhere!) (Actions=Rewrite more)


8. Give article final polish. (Mood=Relief) (Actions=resist sending it off before critique group review)


9. Dream up next projects (Mood=That wasn't so bad! Hey, I should write these other 20 books and articles. Tomorrow. Before breakfast. It'll be a piece of cake!)

~Cheryl

Should you blog? --continued--

Yesterday, I told you to look at why you wanted to blog when thinking about whether you should blog. Well, here are a few "why's" to consider:

1. Establish a web presence: blogging is an easy, inexpensive way to showcase your writing and establish a professional-looking web presence.


2. Build a platform: for the nf writer, blogging is a great way to establish credibility in your subject. An online following gives a boost to any book proposal.


3. Sell something: if you're selling an e-book, coaching, editing, etc., blogging lets you showcase your work and tempt people into buying more.


4. Writing discipline: blogging calls you to come up with and develop ideas on a regular basis--a terrif writing discipline!


5. Create a record: some people blog to record a school experience, the publication journey, a backpacking trip through Europe... Some topics are more exciting than others. Consider your target audience and write for them.


6. Get a job: If you have great, tight writing on high-interest topics, who knows? You might land yourself a column or other writing gig.


7. Give back to the world: some writers (bless them) blog to share their insight with those of us who aren't quite as far along in our careers. If you have info to share just because you're a great person, that's an awesome reason to blog.


8. Connection: blogging is a great way to connect with other people--readers, writers, poodle owners. This can be an unexpected blogging bonus or it can be your primary blogging purpose.

:) Cheryl

Nonfiction Markets: Writing Crafts

Speaking of breaking into the magazine market... I have an article in my SCBWI's winter newsletter about how to write and sell craft articles. Check out the newsletter for that and other helpful writing info: http://www.rmcscbwi.org/kitetales/pdf/kt0208.pdf

Enjoy!

Cheryl

How to Make a Magazine Sale

Last week I promised more on how I sold my first article--and how, maybe, you might do the same. I followed my advice from last week: studied my target market, kept my eyes open for cool ideas, and wrote my article with a similar sample article close at hand.

Now for the specifics. I had just started the Institute for Children's Literature writing course. That meant I had a pile of great reference material and not enough writing to do, because the first few assignments were too short and simple to offer much challenge. (It's a fantastic course, I just didn't click with the first (read beginner) assignments.) So, being me, I read ahead.

I learned that nonfiction is easier to sell than fiction, so I spent time studying sample articles collected in one of the ICL publications. I particularly loved one from Highlights: "Watching a Bee Keeper" by Joan Davis (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/accountability/testing/eog/g5/ReadingSamples/Gr5WS6beekeeper1615.pdf). It was written in an appealing conversational style. Its story-like format draws in the reader--guerrilla educational reading.

I thought I could write an article like that--if I had a topic.

The next step took a bit longer: I kept a lookout for news that would catch hook a second-grader. I found what I needed when I passed a herd of goats chomping weeds along a nearby bike path. A story!

Over the next months, I performed hours and hours of research, visited the goat ranch, interviewed the goat herder, wrote the article, and polished, polished, polished. I compared it, paragraph by paragraph, with the “Bee Keeper” article. I compared the amount of time I spent on description versus education. I looked at sentence lengths, word choices, point of view. I gave it to my critique group. Finally, I rewrote the article twice based on much-studied comments from Highlights’ editors.

Want to break into the magazine market? Find a publication you love and study, study, study. When you learn what the magazine likes, you’ll be able to write for them.

:) Cheryl

Break-In Markets: Highlights for Children

I decided it's time to plug my favorite magazine market again: Highlights for Children.

Highlights is a great break-in market for new writers. Why? Here are a few reasons:

• They accept--and respond to--unsolicited manuscripts, including manuscripts from unpublished writers. As for any publicaion, a list of publication credits in the cover letter helps, but they'll take a serious look at your writing whether you've been published before or not.


• They actively encourage beginning writers with their yearly fiction contest (http://www.highlights.com/custserv/customerservicecontent2main.jsp?iCategoryID=203&iContentID=1584&CCNavIDs=3,203 -- deadline of Jan 31; sorry not to mention it sooner,) with the Highlights Foundation's Writers Workshops http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/, and with a generous scholarship program to help struggling writers to attend.


• It's a well-known and well-respected publication with a circulation of two million+ readers.


• They have diverse needs, publishing fiction, nonfiction, multicultural, science, history, crafts, rebuses, poetry, puzzles and recipes.


• They publish a list of "current needs" that helps writers target topics to the publication (http://www.highlights.com/custserv/customerservicecontent2main.jsp?iContentID=2552&iCategoryID=203&CCNavIDs=3,203)


• They're devoted to their writers. Once you've sold a piece to the magazine, they try to respond personally to all future submissions.


• They have a reputation for fairness. Although this company buys all rights, they resell articles and share the profits with the writer.


• Comparatively rapid response time. Depending on the department, response time can range from a few weeks to a few months--which is still relatively quick for the magazine market.


• Highlights is closely associated with Boyds Mills Press, a high-quality children's book publisher. When you build a relationship with the editors at Highlights, you're building relationships with Boyds Mills' editors as well.

On the flip side, Highlights buys all rights (never a favorite amongst writers) and the pay is modest compared to adult publications. If you've spent time studying the children's magazine market, though, then its pay scale starts to sound pretty good!

The market can provide great writing credits for the beginning writer. Sound good? Tune in later this week for an analysis of the most recent Highlights magazine.

:) Cheryl

The Best E-Newsletters for Writers

Online resources and free newsletters abound for the writer today--so many that at times I find my in-box flooded with an excess of helpful advice. I tend to subscribe to free newsletters quickly and unsubscribe just as quickly. Here are five "keepers":

• Writing coach Cynthia Morris's newsletter, Original Impulses, always helps to stir my creative juices. Sign up for her newsletter at: http://www.originalimpulse.com/ or visit her blog for a daily dose of inspiration: http://www.vivelaslink.typepad.com/


• Writer's Digest offers a free newsletter with snippets of market info, articles, and creativity boosters. http://www.writersdigest.com/newsletter.asp


• The Write4Kids web site is chock-full of market and writing craft information. They offer a monthly newsletter that previews some of the information found in their subscription publication The Children's Book Insider. Check it out for breaking market news and useful tips on writing craft: http://www.write4kids.com/update.html


• Newswise (http://www.newswise.com/support/register/) provides press releases in a variety of research fields--a great resource for nonfiction article ideas.
  
• Publisher's Weekly offers a number of info-packed newsletters: https://www.publishersweekly.com/subscribe.asp?screen=pi10

Any others to suggest? Let me know!

:) Cheryl

Transformative Travel

One of the most valuable things I gained--both as a writer and as a person--from my recent trip to Peru was completely unexpected. The trip changed me. It changed the way I see the world, the way I see myself, and the way I see the faith and love and peace and joy. Why is this important for my writing? Because as writers, we portray our characters as they grow and change. The best way to capture the emotions of transformation is to go through it ourselves.

In Criss-Cross, the 2006 Newberry Medal winner, a character says:

"I think...that it's a good thing to get out of your usual, you know, surroundings. Because you find things out about yourself that you didn't know, or you forgot. And then you go back to your regular life and you're changed, you're a little bit different, becuase you take those new things with you."

That was my experience in Peru. I returned to the States with a better handle on my values, with a bit thicker skin, and with a new clarity of purpose for writing. I also returned with a passion to write this self-discovery into a novel. Change, self-discovery, growth: these are the things a reader identifies with in a character.

Today's challenge: Do something out of the ordinary. Put yourself in a new situation, one that forces your to be brave, to be self-reliant, to discover new aspects of yourself. Nurture your own transformation. What can you do in the next six months that is radically different from your normal life? Learn to skydive? Join a soccer team? Take a weekend trip over the border? Heck, take a quick trip to Lima? Commit. Stretch yourself.

Then write about it.

And hey, let me know what happens!

:) Cheryl

Ack! Where's the time in December?

We headed out to cut a Christmas tree in the National Forest Saturday morning--one of the last days when the site was open. Our car died halfway there, just as the snow that had been threatening all morning decided to come down in earnest. Did you know it's difficult to get a tow truck when the roads are snowy? The Christmas-tree adventure turned into a full-day adventure sans tree. We sat in the car for hours; but luckily, in my family, there are always a few books in tow, so we read aloud for most of that time: The War of the Roses, by Astrid Lindgren of Pippi Longstocking fame. It's a fun read, and a good distraction if you're ever caught in a snowstorm.

December is such a crazy month. How do writers write, with decorating to do, presents to buy, snow to shovel (it's still coming down here in Colorado,) and countless holiday programs and parties to attend.

In my house, the writing projects are starting to stack up. It's time for me to resubmit The Last Violin, I have a half dozen nf articles I'd like to write, and there's always contract writing waiting in the wings.

I've spent most of my free moments polishing my nonfiction picture book. That's going very well. It turns out that the contract writing I've been doing has been a perfect warmup for my current phase in the nf book project. In medical writing, I need to document every little fact; as I prepare this final version of the nf book project, I need to footnote every quote and statement. It's like a treasure hunt through my research. Ideally, I would have noted all these things as I went along--but this is a first try at something as complicated as a nf book.

My time in December feels as if it is in short supply, but I keep reminding myself that I'm choosing where to spend the hours. Right now, it's more important to spend extra hours with my family and preparing for holiday celebrations; some of those hours, I'll save to write. But if the blog posts are farther between, you'll know why!

Cheryl

NF Picture Book Contest

One of the members of the nonfiction children's writers list passed along this contest information:

http://www.thewritemarbles.com/ is hosting a contest this December. TELL THE TRUTH: The Write Marbles Nonfiction Picture Book Contest

GRAND PRIZE: Professional manuscript review by Sue Bradford Edwards –teacher and writing instructor specializing in nonfiction for children.

First and Second Prize: Critiques by Marbles

Open to: Everyone

How to enter: Send your polished nonfiction picture book manuscript, along with a bibliography listing primary and secondary sources, to: mail AT thewritemarbles.com

How the contest works: The Write Marbles will read and judge every entry and send the top three to Sue Bradford Edwards who will choose the Grand Prize winner. The winners will be announced in early January.

Entry Fee: NEVER

If this might be something you are interested in you can go to http://www.thewritemarbles.com/ for even more information.

:) Cheryl

More on Interviews from Liz Rusch

Elizabeth Rusch, nonfiction writer extraordinaire (http://www.elizabethrusch.com/), spoke at my SCBWI 2007 Fall Conference a few weeks ago. Two of her most recent books, Will It Blow? (Sasquatch Books, May 2007) and The Planet Hunter (Rising Moon Books, Fall 2007) draw extensively from interviews with scientists. She uses the first-hand information from the individuals who do the science to draw readers into the world of science. Liz gave a wonderful talk on the benefits and how-to's of using interviews to round out your writing at our conference. Here are a few of the tips she shared:

1. For ANY subject, there is at least one expert. Her example? Ketchup. There is an expert in the field of ketchup. I kid you not. She read the article to us--from The New Yorker or Harpers Magazine.




2. Why is this important? Because the expert will keep current in the subject. The expert can provide information that you can't find in books. The expert can answer questions, helping you learn about a topic more quickly and thoroughly than you could through book research. And (my favorite) the expert can give you unexpected information, bonus material that you can't find anywhere else.




3. How do you find an expert? Google is an obvious starting point. Other sources include authors of recent books on the topic; authors of recent articles on the topic; university professors; and sources cited by other references you might find.




4. Do your research first. The more you know about the subject, the better research questions you can ask.




5. Include "The Most" questions in your interview. These are the questions that give you good stories for your book or article. What was most important? most surprising? most difficult? most fun? I used her advice in my most recent interview and asked for "the funniest" things that had happened during the research--with some wonderful results. And no, I'm not going to share the answers here: they're for the article :).

Interviews are a great way to add life to a book or article. They can provide quotes, anecdotes, new perspective, greater understanding, personal insight. They connect the writer to other people, other lives. Give it a try!

:) Cheryl

PS--No, that's not Liz Rusch. Since the emus inspired this thread on interviews, I thought they rated another picture....

Weaving Wonder into an Article: Interviews

This past weekend, I had the chance to do one of my favorite writing-related jobs: interviewing experts. In this case, I spent time talking with Terry and Linn Turner, of the Rabbit Creek Emu Ranch; a zoology student from Colorado State University; and a scientist who is interested in emu behavior. I also got to spend time up-close and personal with the birds. (More on this later, once the writing is finished...)

Female emus make the weirdest sound: ba-ba-boom, ba-ba-bum, like distant drumbeats. The males cross a roar with a growl to make a noise that, I'm told, sounds similar to the noise an ostrich makes, but I haven't had the opportunity to meet any ostriches face-to-face.

Most my nonfiction writing projects lead, sooner or later, to an interviews with an expert--and I've discovered that these interviews are one of my favorite parts of writing nonfiction. I've had the chance to speak with the most interesting people: an ethnomusicologist, a museum curator, and a steel drum player; a paleontologist, a geologist, and other scientists from around the world. For an hour or two, I have the chance to absorb their excitement for their particular field. I get to hear the inside scoop of what it's like to live the life of the geologist or paleontologist or field biologist, with all the funny stories and confusing turns that don't make it into scientific papers or newspaper reports.

Afterward, I get to distill all the collected information--about the person, the field, the stories, the struggles--into a few paragraphs that, I hope, paint a picture of the people, not just the facts. When I can capture the excitement of these people for what they do, I can communicate a sense of wonder to the reader.

Or maybe I'm just communicating my own wonder, because whenever I learn about a subject in-depth, from someone who loves it, I come away with a new love for the topic. Maybe enthusiasm is catching, because I caught some this weekend!

:) Cheryl

Thursday's thing to love...other writers!

Sticking to the conference theme, one of my favorite speakers at this year's RMC-SCBWI conference was Elizabeth Rusch (http://www.elizabethrusch.com/.) She gave talks on writing for magazines, on using interviews to craft terrific nonfiction, on marketing books through magazine articles, on the editor/author collaboration and on obtaining meaningful feedback from child audiences. I enjoyed her first talk so much that I rearranged my schedule to come back for more!

Liz's recently-published nonfiction book Will it Blow? Become a volcano detective on Mount St. Helens (Sasquatch Books, 2007) was a must-have addition to my collection of great nf books. She takes a unique twist on the standard volcano book, opening with a memo from the Department of Volcanic Investigation:

"Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to predict a Mount St. Helens eruption. It's not enough to catch Mount St. Helens red-handed. To protect the public, you must sniff out what kind of volcanic trouble is brewing...."

The book is chock-full of information collected under fun headings, such as YOUR MISSION, THE SUSPECT, PRIOR OFFENSES, and KNOWN DISGUISES.

My goal, as a nonfiction writer, is to find those incredibly cool, unique twists on subject and presentation. Creative nonfiction is the art of crafting story from facts. If you want to read a great example of creative nonfiction, check out this book. It's a great book for the nonfiction writer to study--not to mention a downright fun read. Thanks, Liz!