G = Gather

A to Z Blog Challenge: Day Seven

GATHER

 

I was very tempted to chose the word "gelato" for the letter "g" but decided to go with "gather" instead and how it relates to gathering information or resources.

 

When writing nonfiction it only makes sense that I tend to gather more information than I do for my fiction work. So I'm going to share some of the places I like to visit for gathering facts (day 6 word), like a squirrel gathering nuts, before I begin to write.

1. My first stop is the library. I go online and reserve as many books as I can find and have them delivered to the branch closest to where I live. Then I anxiously await their delivery. Because they're coming from various other libraries this takes days so it helps to plan ahead. Once my books start arriving I wait for them to gather on the reserve shelf so I only have to make one or two trips to pick them up.

 

2. While I'm waiting for my library books to arrive I continue my search on the Internet for various other sources. I may need to buy some books from Amazon but I always stick to buying used copies for just a few pennies and shipping. I'm going to mark them up anyway. Now I wait for them to be delivered which is usually just a few days.

 

3. In the meantime, I gather information from the Internet including YouTube, Facebook, websites, etc.. My favorite resource is Google Books. I can search inside books and magazines and even sometimes a news article using a keyword. I can gather all kinds of facts this way without ever leaving the house!

 

4. I look for museums and exhibits that I can visit where I can gather more information. I always call ahead to see if there's a particular person who is an expert that I can meet with and I find out what the person's availability is.

 

5. I gather a list of possible primary sources so I can conduct phone interviews, arrange a meeting with them in person, or converse through email. When I attend writer conferences or events I always visit the displays or booths to see if there are any organizations in attendance that I might be able to assist me in gathering materials or finding experts on a particular subject.

6. When I finally have everything gathered, organized, and reviewed I can start writing and this is where the gelato comes in!

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Linda Bozzo has published more than 50 nonfiction books for the school and library market. For more information about Linda and her books, you can visit her website.

 

Copyright 2015 Linda Bozzo