This is one of my absolute favorite writer hacks, one I discovered while researching some history for fanfiction. I needed the information, but I didn't want to spend forever hunting it down and reading some dissertation on my topic just to write a fanwork.
So I took a shortcut. I headed to the children's section.
Children's nonfiction is a great place to start for story research. Not only is it appealing and quick to read, it is often full of illustrations and the kinds of fun, interesting factoids about life as a 17th century peasant/ police officer/ child of a president (to name a few that I've looked up) that really allow your writing to pop. And if it turns out to not be quite enough information, just check the index in the back for that book's source material—you can always grab the sources if you need more.
DK Eyewitness Children's Nonfiction
This month I'm participating in the A-Z blog challenge. My theme is "writer hacks," or 26 shortcuts you can take as a writer to get the most out of writing and the journey toward and through publication. Find out more about it at a-to-zchallenge.com, and hop around to read the other cool blogs that are part of the challenge!
This looks like an excellent choice. You are correct. Children's books can be excellent sources since they are written for children the articles or stories are short but full of information and unique ideas.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy following your blog.
Denise at Organization and Inspiration for Fellow Writers, participant of A to Z Blogging Challenge