Confessions seem to be the way I start my blog posts lately. So I have to admit something that might shock you... I HATED reading nonfiction as a kid. There I said it. Truth is, I steered clear of that section like a jelly fish avoids sea turtles. As an adult, I do cast my reading nets a little wider. Perhaps if I had found a lovely, lyrical nonfiction like Michelle Cusolito's Flying Deep, my imagination and interest would have been captured. Nowadays, nonfiction for the kid community has become highly engaging. With a greater emphasis on story telling and voice, books like Michelle's have young readers jumping into nonfiction with both feet! As soon as Michelle told me about her book, I was hooked. Her favorite line is, "the very opening line. 'Imagine you’re the pilot of ALVIN, a deep-sea submersible barely big enough for three.' It came to me in a flash while I was out for a walk and I knew I had found the way into my book." Even Michelle's favorite books are visually and linguistically beautiful. When I asked her to share some with us, she had a hard time choosing. This is such a hard question because there are SO MANY! To narrow down my list, here are some of my favorite books to pair with Flying Deep. Giant Squid by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann Otis and Will Discover the Deep by Barb Rosenstock and Katherine Roy Glow: Animals with Their Own Night Lights by W. H. Beck And for older readers: Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact by Jennifer Swanson Michelle's passion for nonfiction took my own interests in this genre to a deeper level. She said, "I enjoy writing all kinds of things (fiction and non-fiction), but I really love writing non-fiction. I’ve learned I’m a bit of a research junkie. I LOVE sitting down with a new resource to start reading and learning more about a new subject. I just finished an adult non-fiction book related to a current project. I devoured it. I always have a stack of books from my library, plus a bunch of tabs open on my computer, plus a bunch of websites pinned to my private boards on Pinterest, etc. Also… I write in books that are particularly useful, so if I find a book that is super helpful, I have to buy a copy." Confession # 2- I write in all my favorite books, too! Since research is the name of the game, I asked Ms. Michelle, what tools she found best for writing her books. I loved her response! "Experts. I do as much research as I can on my own: books, films, reputable websites, journal articles, archives, etc. Once I’ve gone as far as I can, then I reach out to an expert in the field. I could not have written Flying Deep or any of my other non-fiction manuscripts without experts." Sometimes, writing can be a solitary occupation.That little nibble of wisdom was fin-tastic. So, I asked Michelle what was her number one revision tip for writers. She offered up two! I have two key suggestions here (but remember that everyone works differently. Take what works for you and leave the rest).
(For those interested, Michelle wrote a blog post that describes her process in more detail. It’s a combination of these revision suggestions. Visit her website by clicking here.)
1 Comment
Nicole Loos Miller
8/9/2019 04:51:06 am
Punny as always, Ciara! Loved the revision tips! I’ve often steered clear of non-fiction too but picture books are bringing me back around! Thanks so much for this interview.
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