Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 10

A Treasure Chest of Library Books

[image error]

Hip hip hooray for public libraries! Our library is finally semi-opened and the 30 nonfiction picture book biographies I ordered in before the shut-down are arriving fast and furious for pick-up.

So that means I’m working fast and furious to read and dissect them.

For starters, I’m picking out the ones that really resonate with me. I want to use them as mentor texts while I’m learning and writing my own picture book biographies. I’m either typing these out by hand, including the Author’s Note at the end (which is frequently soooooo much longer than the picture book text) and the source notes.

Others, however, especially ones that the art is important to me, I’m photocopying. Yes, this is legal. Over the years I’ve checked in with multiple libraries from public libraries to university libraries. Their policy is one and the same. I am permitted to photocopy entire books for my own personal research as long as I don’t share them with others.

Plus, I’m taking the time to evaluate each one before I return it to the library. I’m using the handy worksheet I created to do this. You can use this NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK RUBRIC, too, as you dissect the nonfiction picture book biographies you read for mentor texts.

CLICK HERE to visit one of my websites where I offer free worksheets for children’s writers. Scroll down until you find the link for the NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK RUBRIC and then download the file. Print out a copy for each nonfiction picture book you are evaluating.

Why do I take the time to fill out each of these worksheets/rubrics for the nonfiction picture book biographies I’m reading? For many VERY IMPORTANT reasons. Here are a few:

#1 By learning to look for strengths and weaknesses in published books I learn to look for strengths and weaknesses in my own manuscripts.

#2 By having a rubric to follow to evaluate published books, I now have a list of techniques I can look for in my own manuscripts to evaluate.

#3 With the info about the publisher and copyright, this gives me a handy place to remember what publishers are looking for.

The list of benefits goes on and can be an entire workshop on its own!

Encouragement in Challenging Days

[image error]

Praying you will find strength, encouragement, comfort, and wonderful times of refreshment in God’s presence during these days of sheltering in. (Read Acts 3:19-20.)

NF PB Bio Step 9: Self-Editing

[image error]

Nonfiction Picture Book Biography Step 9: Self-Editing

Now that I have my first draft in my hands, I’m busy working on it to get it ready for today’s publishing standards.

I like to print out a check-list to go over to help me at this stage. You can print it out for free and use it too as you’re working on your biography.

CLICK HERE to visit the site where I list freebies and scroll down to print out the NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK SELF-EDITING CHECKLIST.

Basically, I go over this list and over it and over it. I check off items I feel are doing okay. But the ones that need work I keep working on.

Let me know if you have any questions about this!

NF PB Bio Step 8 The First Draft

[image error]

Nonfiction Picture Book Biography Step 8 The First Draft

For those of you who are following along, I just wanted to give you a reminder that I’m sharing in this series of blog posts the journey my brain is taking to write a picture book biography for a BREAKTHROUGH topic.

In other words, I’m giving you a sneak peek into my world as a writer and what I actually do as a writer during this writing process…especially what I’m thinking and how I’m working with the process of writing a picture book biography.

After I plotted out my story arc on the handout I like to use, I then began in earnest to write the first draft of my manuscript. I did this in a process of 4 sittings.

When I write a magazine article feature fiction story like I do every year for Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. magazines, I often write those manuscripts in one sitting. It’s 700 words long and has a similar story arc to a picture book biography.

So why do I write a similar length story for a picture book in 4 sittings you may ask?

It makes a difference in the strength of a story arc. You see, a magazine’s story arc, even tho it’s still has all 3 acts and 4 main plot points, isn’t meant to be a page turner. There are only 1 or 2 illustrations and the story flows more in a straight line.

A picture book, however, requires page turns and different illustrations all through the plot. I’ve found that in the end my plot is stronger and automatically includes more page turning action if I separate my writing into 4 session.

So in my first session, I wrote the beginning…up to CHANGE 1.

In my second writing session, I wrote the first half of the middle, leading up to CHANGE 2, the turning point of my character’s life.

In my third writing session, I wrote the second half of the middle, leading up to CHANGE 3.

And in my final and fourth writing session to complete my first draft from beginning to end, I wrote the ending of my story.

So there I was. After 4 main sitting sessions, I was holding the first draft of my picture book biography in my hands.

And it was awful.

But hey! I actually factually have a first draft in my hands. And first drafts are supposed to be awful. But now I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work on it.

So here in this post I want to remind you that first drafts are supposed to stink! I even have a poster you can print out to remind you about this. CLICK HERE to visit the page where it’s available and then scroll down to the Printable Posters and Signs. Print out the FIRST DRAFT and hang it next to your writing desk.

Then get your first draft down on paper from beginning to end.

NF PB BIO Step 7 Act 1

[image error]

As I mentioned in my previous post, my brain started coming up with opening lines, ending lines, cliffhangers, and other tidbits. I started jotting down anything my brain wanted to work on and I encourage you to do the same.

But right from the get go, I also plotted out my story arc following the 3-Act structure I always like to use.

Act 1 is the Beginning of the story

Act 2 is the Middle (It has a first half and a second half)

Act 3 is the Ending of the story

And then I became very intentional about writing my story’s beginning.

When I write a picture book like this, I like to write it in 4 different sittings. Even if I’ve been jotting down actual text my brain is coming up with, I’ve found that my story arc is stronger and my plot is stronger and each different part of my story is much stronger and fresh if I separate it into at least 4 different sittings.

So for this first sitting, I worked on my beginning. At this point, I didn’t worry about word count. But do the math. If you want to write a 500 word picture book, the beginning should only be about 175 words. If you’re gearing for 800 words, the beginning should only be about 200 words. If you’re gearing for 1000 words, the beginning should only be about 250 words long. I wouldn’t aim for anything longer than that for today’s picture book market with a breakthrough topic.

But again, I didn’t worry about the word count. I just wanted to get the first draft down. As it turns out, my beginning was probably about 300 words for my first draft. But I had to get it all down before I could trim it to be what it should be. I encourage you to do the same.

Just sit down and write the first draft of your beginning.

Now…since most of my “mentor” texts are still sitting there at the library waiting until the library opens, I did some digging around in my own book stashes and discovered the perfect mentor text for a breakthrough topic about a woman picture book biography!

ALABAMA SPITFIRE is the biography of Harper Lee, the author of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

The great thing is that you can look up this picture book. CLICK HERE to see it on Amazon. Then click on the feature: LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK. You can read the first several spreads of this picture book…it’s a great mentor text for the beginning or Act 1 of your own biography!

I encourage you to type this out, word for word, as much as you can read of it. And while you’re at it, type out the Author’s Note at the end. And take a screen shot of the bibliography, too.

You see, even though I own this book, I typed it out word for word. And I typed out the Author’s Note, too. Why? You may ask? Because typing out mentor texts of published books trains our brains for the pacing and word count in a way that’s simply irreplaceable. I do it all the time! I encourage you to do it too. Have fun!

NF PB Bio Step 6B More on Story Arc

[image error]

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY STEP 6B MORE ON STORY ARC

I thought I’d give you another sneak peek into what I’m actually factually doing on my own journey to write a picture book biography. And the peek this time is to understand more clearly how I filled out my BASIC PLOT WORKSHEET A that I encouraged you to download in my previous post.

First of all, there are lots of formats you can pick to use to write the plot of your picture book biography:

You can write a birth to death plot.

You can write a plot that focuses on a significant event.

You can write a comparison between two people.

The list goes on.

For my picture book biography, I played around with different formats. I plugged different plot points on my BASIC PLOT WORKSHEET and actually went through a couple of different versions.

But the one I chose to use at last was one that focused mostly on the career of the woman I’m writing about because it was her career that was significant. And even more specifically, I focused on one small part of her career so that I could better tell a story instead of just a list of accomplishments.

So here’s how my BASIC PLOT WORKSHEET turned out:

For the BEGINNING, to answer “How does the story start?”:

I show my Main Character, as a child, encountering a problem. (This is the same problem she will later deal with in her career as an adult.)(This literally took less than 100 words.)

CHANGE !: This is where my Main Character, still a child, deals with this problem. This shows how she works to solve it as a child.

First Half of the Middle:

Then I give some brief background information about my Main Character and where she grew up and how it gave her a passion to deal with that problem.

Change 2: The Turning Point of the story. The Middle.

What happens in the middle?

The turning point of my story is where my Main Character, because of her passion, applies and is hired for a special job to deal with the same problem she dealt with as a child. This makes her the first woman to ever do this. The reason this is the turning point is because it was the build up of everything she was as a child and now the story turns because this will be what she spends the rest of her life doing.

Second Half of the Middle

This is where I show what my Main Character’s duties were in her new job as she’s working to deal with the problem.

CHANGE 3:

The big change that happened was one key significant event that shaped the rest of her career.

The End: How does the story end?

I again tried to bring out her passion for the problem she deals with. I tried to tie the ending back into the beginning and show her dealing with the same problem, but successfully now as an adult instead of as a child. I ended the story with how she successfully accomplished one milestone in her career.

Author’s Note

Then in the Author’s Note, I tell everything else there is to know about her. In the author’s note I tell all about her whole career. All the rest of her background about her parents and where she grew up. And all the rest of the information about her, how she got famous, etc.

In other words, for the actual picture book story, I picked one problem that she dealt with as a child and then as an adult, with key plot points to move the story forward. I focused just on that story, and not on her life as a whole. I saved her life as a whole for the author’s note.

Please feel free to use this same story arc with the same plot changes as I have, if it makes it easier for you to focus on and learn how to craft a strong story arc.

Have fun and let me know if you have any questions!

NF PB BIO Step 6 Story Arc

[image error]

Nonfiction Picture Book Biography Step 6: Story Arc

As I started moving forward at this point, a lot of the activities I was doing with my manuscript began to overlap.

I started reading a lot of my research.

My brain couldn’t help it. It started to come up with opening lines. Ending lines. Little tidbits of scenes and snippets of dialog.

Story arc ideas started floating through my brain.

Ideas for stronger curriculum tie-in and universal theme that could tug at every reader’s heart.

But in this midst of all this overlap, I want to isolate out specific details so you can join in on the process my brain was taking and hopefully help your own brain move forward in a positive way with your manuscript.

One of the things I started working on is my story arc. The plot. A picture book is so short and such a page-turner that I always like to determine and plan my plot before I start.

So I printed out a copy of my handy-dandy plot chart that I ALWAYS use when I write a picture book. You can use it too. CLICK HERE to go to my website WRITING ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY AND FRIENDS. Scroll down to the link for the BASIC PLOT WORKSHEET A. (It looks like the image at the top of this post.) Download the worksheet and print it out. I actually have about 20 copies printed out that I keep handy because sometimes the sheet I’m filling in gets messy and I want to re-do it.

Also, you may want to click on the link next to the worksheet with tips on how to fill this out.

I didn’t do this in one sitting. I filled this out as I read up on my research. And then I changed it several times.

The key is that I really didn’t start writing my manuscript until I had plugged in my story arc on this chart and also started to read my mentor texts to help me with this genre. (Even if you’re not yet able to get in any mentor texts because your libraries are closed, try to look them up on Amazon to peek at as much as you can in their ‘LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK’ features. It will help you get started.)

Oh, and sometimes I like to fill in outlines, too, to help me create my story arc chart. If you want to create an outline for your manuscript, you’ll find worksheets on that same site to help you.

NF PB BIO Step 5 Footnotes

[image error]

As we’ve been moving forward on writing a nonfiction picture book that is a breakthrough topic, in my last post I talked about gathering my research.

I also mentioned that I usually put together my bibliography right at the beginning. It makes it so much easier to track research as I’m typing my manuscript into a document. Every day I can just copy and paste from my bibliography into my document to track where I got that fact that I stated.

To show you what that looks like, I created a pdf document of my most recent picture book, THE VERY OLDEST PEAR TREE. (release date August 20, 2020…CLICK HERE to pre-order it on Amazon). In this pdf document I included the first 3 pages of my manuscript. It’s a work in progress but it’s getting near the final shape as I had gone in and included the publisher’s name and the illustrator’s name on my manuscript.

I just want to make it clear that the publisher NEVER saw this version of my manuscript, however. This is my research reference ONLY. When I submitted any version to my publisher, I always went through and deleted all my footnotes. This is just for my frame of reference.

In other words, I kept one version for myself to track all my research, and then I made a second copy of that version, deleted all my footnotes, and then sent it to the publisher.

Hope this give you an idea of how I track my research while I’m typing out my picture book manuscripts.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Here’s the pdf to show you how I add in footnotes:

The Very Oldest Pear Tree with footnotes

NF PB BIO Step 5 Research

[image error]

Nonfiction Picture Book Biography Step 5 Research

While waiting for my mentor texts to arrive (this process is taking a lot longer than normal due to the libraries closing), I started gathering my online research.

Because there are no books written about my topic, all my research sources will be online unless I call a museum or historic site and they tell me of some more published books about her. (If you do have published books you’re planning on using for research, order those in from the library, too.)

I went online and basically printed out EVERYTHING I could find about my topic.

As I printed out each article or reference, I also started my bibliography.

Here’s how I formatted my online resources for my bibliography:

Name of Website. Name of Author of Article first name and then last name. “Title of article in quotes.” Date I printed the article with Month, day, year. URL of website article.

I put these in alphabetical order.

The nice thing about creating my bibliography the very first day I start gathering research is that it makes it so easy to take notes while I’m writing the manuscript. As I type my manuscript onto the computer, I just add a zillion footnotes and copy from the bibliography and paste the reference into the footnote for each fact I mention.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

NF PB BIO Step 4

[image error]

The very next thing I did after choosing which woman I wanted to write about was to order in mentor texts from my local library.

Basically, mentor texts are books that are already published in your genre that you want to model your manuscript after.

I am targeting a specific publisher so I looked through their catalog and basically ordered in from my library about 8 of their picture book biographies about women. Plus 2 others from a different publisher just to compare. (I also ordered in more titles from my library from the links below, also to compare.) Unfortunately, our local library is now closed, but I ordered about 30 picture books anyhow and hope to grab them as soon as they open back up. Hopefully soon!

So if you’re targeting a specific publisher, you can do the same. But don’t worry if you don’t have a specific publisher in mind. Just order in 10-20 (or more!) picture book biographies about women that have been recently published.

Here are several links you can explore to order in titles from your library that interest you as potential mentor texts:

12 Picture Book Biographies of Truly Amazing Women

25 Biographical Picture Books for National Women’s History Month

31 New Picture Book Biographies

And just a note…stay healthy! Read lots of Psalms to strengthen you and comfort you in these challenging days!!!!