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           “If you want to write nonfiction, dig out the humanity. Really, this is the old ‘show don’t tell’ rule—if you show the human actions behind the event, the story comes alive…”                  --Vicki Oransky Wittenstein

            Day 2 of our interview with Vicki Oransky Wittenstein, author of Planet Hunter, Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths (Boyds Mills, March, 2010).

Q: The story of Geoff Marcy as he develops his groundbreaking system to detect new planets is full of human drama. From Marcy’s boyhood on he seems to battle the odds against becoming not only a world class astronomer but the man who achieves what others believe is impossible. I’m reminded of Phillip Hoose’s wonderful book on Claudette Colvin Twice Toward Justice in that you were able to create new awareness and excitement about a subject by showing events through another’s eyes. How did this human drama help shape the book? How much did you draw on fictional techniques while writing? Do you have any advice for other writers in approaching non-fiction in terms of shaping their story? 

            The nonfiction I admire most draws on fiction techniques to create suspense. The story arc is so important. Without it, nonfiction is just narrative and pretty hard for people, especially young people, to follow. Behind every true-life event, there is human drama, often a special kernel of truth that imparts significant meaning to children. If you want to write nonfiction, dig out the humanity. Really, this is the old “show don’t tell” rule—if you show the human actions behind the event, the story comes alive, and important life messages are conveyed without sounding didactic.

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