Is it OCD or CDO (in the proper alphabetical order)? by Kristen Fulton

Shortly after becoming a nonfiction children’s writer, I discovered two things:

1.     I want to have two books published a year.

2.     Verla Kay was crazy.

I knew #2 to be truthful because the first time I had ever heard Verla Kay speak at a conference, she stated that she works on five to six stories at a time.

Are you kidding me? How could anyone keep that many ideas balanced? She writes nonfiction, like me. We are talking facts, research, vetting, more research, and then revising.

I quickly discovered that she wasn’t crazy, and she has an extensive list of titles that bear her name to prove it.  Balancing several stories at one time is a necessity. Especially if I was ever going to achieve goal #1. Today, I live by the rule of five stories always in progress. In January of 2015, my five stories in progress landed me a multi-book contract with Simon & Schuster. When asked, "what else are you working on?" my reply was quick and my description for each story precise. It won them over.

So, how do I keep so many ideas balanced and going? I call it my Fab 5; these are my fabulous five ideas that are always in progress. Each story is in a different place of readiness.

Story 5- Finding a new story. Research. I am looking on-line, finding a topic, reading about it, seeing if the topic would make a great children’s book. Is this topic viable- will editors find it appealing? Does it fit into the classroom curriculum? Will children reach for the topic? Can I find an approach to the topic that would be great for children? Has it has been done a hundred times before, do I have a totally new aspect? If I think this topic will be fabulous, then I go to worldcat.org and find all the resources available and get them ordered.

Story 4- Getting my story facts together. I work through my research material and copy down facts that I want to include in my story. *I use the program Scrivener, so each fact goes on a different index card.

Story 3- This story is in outline form. I have all the facts laid out; I am separating what will go in the beginning, middle, and end of story. Facts not being used go in the back matter.

Story 2- This story idea is in rough draft form. I am still moving things around, changing perspective, even rewriting the entire opening. You get the idea.

Story 1- This is the story that I am polishing. It is close to being sent off to my agent or editor. I may be waiting for a reply back from a Historian to confirm my story accuracy.

Once I send my polished story off, then all of my stories move up one space. Sometimes the #1 spot stays filled the longest, that is okay. I continue working, and my rough draft may slide through polished much quicker.

So, how much time do I devote to each section? This is up to me. When my brain is fried, I can do something mindless like search the internet. Or if I get bored on a particular topic or stuck, I can move to a new subject. Some days I wake and feel like working on a particular story, or I have a breakthrough idea then I work on it. There are no set rules except to keep several stories going.

You can do this, I know you can. It just takes finding your first five stories and then you will be on fire!

Nonfiction picture book author Kristen Fulton is happiest wearing her favorite set of pearls and carrying a notebook into any museum or history center where she could spend hours researching. Wafting through old books or around dusty artifacts, Kristen believes that is where she will find her next story hiding.

Her first two books: Long May She Waves comes out May 2017 from Simon & Schuster and Flight For Freedom is set to release September 2017 from Chronicle Books. Her books, A Royal Ride and When Sparks Fly will hit stores in 2018.

Her biggest fan is her husband Rusty and her biggest critics are her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Kristen knows to amp up the drama when they fall asleep during her story.

Kristen is represented by Kendra Marcus at BookStop Literary.

Contact Kristen Fulton, Children's Author at www.kristenfulton.com

ATTACHMENT:

Current Fab 5

Polishing:_____________________________________________

Write Rough Draft:_________________________________________

New Thoughts:________________________________________

Outline:_______________________________________________

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Fact Gather:______________________________________________

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Is it Viable:_______________________________________________

Resources:________________	________________________
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F Squared, LLP©Kristen Fulton