Writing non-fiction for children? Think multiculturally. Moira Butterfield

When we write non-fiction for children we need to get facts right, and that means careful research. That’s pretty self-evident, but there’s something else we should be aware of as we work – something that novelists are well used to considering but non-fiction authors ned to consider, too. We need to make sure that our work is multicultural.

By ‘writing multiculturally’, I mean creating text that has an awareness of the whole world naturally and effortlessly within its fabric.

How would a book of facts not be multicultural? That depends on the fact choices the author has made. The thought struck me recently as I was researching science. I was looking at highly-respected internet sites. My search terms led me mainly to university sites or those of science organizations. These were sites from the UK and US. I realized I had to change my search terms, get creative with them, if I wanted to find scientific work going on in Africa or South America, for example. I needed to be aware that I didn’t get trapped in the limitations of the internet and get too parochial.

Illustrated non-fiction books make their money by having as many foreign editions as possible and so it’s best to have an internationally-popular theme, but we non-fiction authors should always make sure we do our utmost to find our facts from everywhere, exploring the world for everyone.

Home Sweet Home, published by Red Shed on June 27th

 My newest non-fiction book, out at the end of June, provides facts within a multicultural framework. It’s called Home Sweet Home, and it sets out to explore the familiar features of a home, touching on different cultures and history, too, to get everyone thinking about what it is that makes a home. I’ve tried to do it with a light touch, using my writing to encourage the opposite mindset to: ‘aren’t those foreigners odd/funny’.  Everyone from everywhere is in this book because it’s entirely normal.

I was greatly helped by illustrator Clair Rossiter. The choices she makes in her work are naturally multicultural. People of all kinds walk, talk and live their lives together in her lovely detailed scenes.

I heard a teacher discussing her work on the radio this morning. she said:“It’s a privilege to be in a position to make a difference.”  We non-fiction authors have that privilege and we should keep it in the forefront of our minds as we research and write.

Moira Butterfield is an internationally-published author of illustrated non-fiction, and many other things besides. Her new book, Home Sweet Home, is published by Egmont imprint Red Shed, and illustrated by Clair Rossiter. 

Moira Butterfield

www.moirabutterfield.com

Twitter @moiraworld

Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

http://www.clairrossiter.com

#mywritinginspo - by Rachel McIntyre

Imagine a room full of authors. Ask them which question they hear the most and I guarantee ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ will be a top contender. (You could also ask for the one that triggers a quick mental face palm. Mine is ‘Have I read any of your books?’ I still haven’t worked out the correct response.)

Before I started writing, I vaguely assumed plots dropped fully-formed into authors’ minds, transforming into books by some writerly alchemy the second they fired up the PC. If only! Three YA novels later and I am a platinum member of the staring-at-a-blank-screen-at 2- am- with-a-deadline-looming club.

I wrote my first book, ‘Me & Mr J’ deadline-free and for fun, squeezing it around the fraying edges of a life crammed with single-parent tasks and full-time work. The story is about a girl, Lara, enduring the toughest of times- family breakdown, money troubles, horrific bullying- who has an affair with her teacher. And I suppose it’s a clear example of how ideas ping at me from various directions.

First, conversations. I was teaching English in a college and a class of learners were discussing an (theoretical) rumour about a girl who’d started seeing her old PE teacher after she left school. Their take (‘it’s romantic’) contrasted totally with mine (‘it’s a gazillion shades of wrong’) and really struck me, sparking the plot line for what would be ‘Me &Mr J’, a book from the perspective of the poor girl involved. Around the same time, I was sent on some truly eye-opening training about cyberbullying and that fed into the sub plot of what she endures at the hands of her bitchy classmates.

Second, students. Being a teacher has had a huge impact on my writing. I’ve spent the majority of my working life observing my target audience and that’s initially what made me choose to write YA. Many of the learners I’ve taught over the years haven’t been keen readers. Not because they’re not capable, but because they had so many distractions and sometimes because reading wasn’t something they’d grown up with. I wanted to write funny, shocking books with ordinary protagonists, scandalous storylines and a soap opera/ magazine/ real-life appeal. My second book, ‘The Number One Rule for Girls’ fits this mould too. Daisy, like Lara in ‘Me & Mr J’, uses flippant humour as a defence mechanism when she finds herself caught up in a toxic relationship with a guy she meets at college. The fuse for this was lit when I overheard a super-ballsy, confident student at my college being publicly bad-mouthed by her boyfriend. (I’m happy to say she ditched him shortly after).

I was spending several hours a week with two archetypal bad boys at the time: Heathcliff and Stanley Kowalski; and I’d just read a stack of ‘troubled boyfriend’ novels. Plus, the ’50 Shades’ juggernaut was still thundering along and I loathed that whole abuse-masquerading-as-love thing. (My personal view. I know plenty of people who consider the novels empowering). All of this distilled in to a desire to create a heroine who’d realise her life was too valuable to waste on Mr Broody Bad Boy and his moody shenanigans. Kick the bad boys to the kerb, it’s Rule Number One.

Third writing inspo: the news. I’m a recent Pinterest convert and I’ve started pinning interesting news stories that fire my ‘what if…?’ engines and my latest book, ‘This Careless Life’ began with seeing a reporter interviewing migrant workers in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. One woman in particular talked about her fears and as she spoke, she reminded me so strongly of Eva Smith in ‘An Inspector Calls’, one of my all-time favourite plays. Her words and her fears really resonated with me and I remembered how every time I’d taught the play, I found myself saying ‘look how relevant this still is today.’ I was never stuck for a contemporary example. My first two books had been about two girls and the way other people’s actions impacted on them as individuals. I decided this time, I wanted to flip that and look at how the main characters’ behaviour affects others. Everything fell into place then and I wrote a post-Brexit re-imagining of ‘An Inspector Calls’ in which four wealthy 18 year olds with varying degrees of self-centredness are forced to face up to the consequences of their actions.

Overall, I’d say writing inspo is all around. Over the last few years, I’ve chucked teaching, eavesdropping, discussions, TV programmes, GCSE texts and watching the news into the pot, given it a good stir, let it brew...and written three books.

But it’s not been easy. The first leap from full head to empty page is consistently the scariest part. That’s the thing about ideas: they sparkle like fairy lights strung around your brain. Getting them to shine as brightly on the page, now that’s when the real graft begins.

Twitter: @rachinthefax

Website: www.rachel-mcintyre.uk