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Nonfiction discussion
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From: Vicki Cobb <vicki.cobb2_at_verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:03:20 -0400
Thank you for bringing up this discussion I hope I'm not to late to chime in. With the new emphasis on the Common Core Standards, we who create nonfiction literature are, hopefully, coming out of the shadows. And teaching again will become fun. This year, Authors on Call, the videoconferencing division of iNK Think Tank, has been working with Bogert Elementary, a school in New Jersey, in a pilot program. The authors meet with the teachers via interactive videoconferencing to plan how to use their books in the classroom. Bogert has many teachers who have attended the Reading and Writing program at TeachersCollege, which emphasizes fiction as mentor texts. The premise is that everyone knows their own lives so the content is already there for the development of literacy skills. The BIG difference for us nonfiction authors is that our writing cannot be separated from our content; indeed the content often shapes the way we write. I recently wrote about this more fully in my post "Content If you would like to see what we've been doing with Bogert, here's the link to the wiki that documents the program: http://bogert-authorsoncall.wikispaces.com. So far our outcomes have been improbable and quite spectacular.
At iNK, we are also drawing a line in the sand when it comes to invented dialogue. Nonfiction, to us, means "nothing is made up." So we try not to list books in our database that cross this line. As to getting more "voice" into nonfiction, that is happening. Personally, I have fought many battles with editors to keep my informal, playful writing style in my books. The root of the dry, impersonal listing of facts comes from a tradition of authority. If writing is distanced from the reader, it has more authority than if it relates to the reader. (The web is full of impersonal, authoritative writing, that is not accurate.) This has been a tough nut to crack, but I think that the new democratization of publishing is going to produce new works where people who are passionate about the real world are freer to incorporate that passion in their written language. Of course, the other plus from tradionally published nonfiction trade books is that they are fully vetted for accuracy. The job of people who know children' s literature is going to be increasingly important to help separate the wheat from the chaff.
Vicki Cobb President www.inkthinktank.com www.vickicobb.com www.inkrethink.blogspot.com www.educationupdate.com/vickicobb/ (914)949-1104 cell: (914)500-5429
Received on Fri 30 Mar 2012 10:03:20 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:03:20 -0400
Thank you for bringing up this discussion I hope I'm not to late to chime in. With the new emphasis on the Common Core Standards, we who create nonfiction literature are, hopefully, coming out of the shadows. And teaching again will become fun. This year, Authors on Call, the videoconferencing division of iNK Think Tank, has been working with Bogert Elementary, a school in New Jersey, in a pilot program. The authors meet with the teachers via interactive videoconferencing to plan how to use their books in the classroom. Bogert has many teachers who have attended the Reading and Writing program at TeachersCollege, which emphasizes fiction as mentor texts. The premise is that everyone knows their own lives so the content is already there for the development of literacy skills. The BIG difference for us nonfiction authors is that our writing cannot be separated from our content; indeed the content often shapes the way we write. I recently wrote about this more fully in my post "Content If you would like to see what we've been doing with Bogert, here's the link to the wiki that documents the program: http://bogert-authorsoncall.wikispaces.com. So far our outcomes have been improbable and quite spectacular.
At iNK, we are also drawing a line in the sand when it comes to invented dialogue. Nonfiction, to us, means "nothing is made up." So we try not to list books in our database that cross this line. As to getting more "voice" into nonfiction, that is happening. Personally, I have fought many battles with editors to keep my informal, playful writing style in my books. The root of the dry, impersonal listing of facts comes from a tradition of authority. If writing is distanced from the reader, it has more authority than if it relates to the reader. (The web is full of impersonal, authoritative writing, that is not accurate.) This has been a tough nut to crack, but I think that the new democratization of publishing is going to produce new works where people who are passionate about the real world are freer to incorporate that passion in their written language. Of course, the other plus from tradionally published nonfiction trade books is that they are fully vetted for accuracy. The job of people who know children' s literature is going to be increasingly important to help separate the wheat from the chaff.
Vicki Cobb President www.inkthinktank.com www.vickicobb.com www.inkrethink.blogspot.com www.educationupdate.com/vickicobb/ (914)949-1104 cell: (914)500-5429
Received on Fri 30 Mar 2012 10:03:20 AM CDT
