Narrative Nonfiction: More about writing narrative nonfiction because I discovered there were a lot of writers, including yours truly, interested in this topic at the SCBWI chapter meeting I attended a few days ago. I found this excellent post by Eerdmans Publishing Company on the From the Editor’s Desk blog titled “Four tips for Writing Nonfiction Plots.” It lists the following four main steps and then goes into detail for each one:

Creating plot in narrative nonfiction is all about choosing wisely what you keep and what you cut.

Remember that character should always shape the action of the story.

Use scenes that set up conflict and show resolution.

Look for the dark and difficult points in a character’s story.

Visit the above website and read it in full. It is very helpful. Good luck with your narrative nonfiction piece.

Chautauqua

“A writer ‘gets started’ the day he is born. The mind he brings into the world with him is the amazing machine his stories will come out of, and the more he feeds into it, the richer those stories will be.”—Lois Duncan