Non Fiction Craft Lessons

By Joann Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher

Introduction

I'm not the best at writing so got a book that teaches the basics. Aimed at K through 8 I know, but I believe in having strong fundamentals. I think? Idk that sounds right to me.

I don't explain many of these bullet points. These were chapter titles from the book. Through practice and reflection, I plan to get my understanding of them.

Notes Collection

• Choose a topic you're interested in.
• Try some free writing and see if you get anything useful out of it.
• Gather a wide range of resources.
• Maintain an ongoing list / outline of questions about your topic.
• Talk about your subject to everyone you know, and see if you get anything useful out of it.
• You are ready to write once you feel like you could teach the subject.
• Have a table of contents at the beginning.
• Believe you ARE the subject itself.
• Use a story to teach information.
• Use comparisons.
• Repeat a key line.
• Speak directly to the reader.
• Create a strong title, suprise your reader.
• Pick a focused topic, and write from the angle that feels right.
• An introduction states what the whole piece will be about. A summary, but maybe without giving too much away.
• Consider making the first sentence in a paragraph a TOPIC SENTENCE. A topic sentence clearly states the main idea of a paragraph. This doesn't need to always be at the beginning, vary its placement. You should be conscious of it, but don't over stress about it.
• Leave out what the reader already knows. Who are you writing for? Ask yourself, what does this reader already know?
• PLEASE be expressive like geez.
• Use repetition for emphasis.
• Find the most facinating facts.
• Think about the setting or environment. Literal, or conceptual. Don't be so focused on your topic that you that you neglect the role that setting can play for you.
• Include detailed drawings. Add captions to drawings when necessary.
• Include a glossary. Define terms in short easy to understand sentences.
• Try some titles with tension in them
• Write a lead! Intros and conclusions may be out of style. "Back in the day we would tell readers what we were going to tell them, then we'd tell them, then we'd tell them what we just told them. That put readers to sleep.
• Quote some people idk
• Use transition sentences to get out of the last paragraph and into the next one.
• A pros and cons list can be useful.
• Address opposing views.
• Use humor.
• End with a bang!