Straight from the Source: Traci Sorell on Writing Non-Fiction
What typically comes first for you: a person or people? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?
There is no typical for me. I’ve had all of these come first for one of my books. I write historical and contemporary nonfiction and biographies. Each book has come to me through very different paths.
How do you conduct your research?
I start out with making a list of what I know and what I need to know. Then I work to identify where I can find the sources to help me fill in the knowledge gaps.
Do you have a specific system for collecting data?
No, I don’t. Each project requires different approaches to collecting data. I use physical, audio and electronic data, but collecting it is very project specific.
What kinds of sources do you use?
Some projects rely more on interviews – both oral and written. Others necessitate gathering primary documents (court records, legislation, newspaper articles, employment records, etc.), which I find online or in archives, libraries and museums.
For Classified, one of Mary Golda Ross’s cousins told me I’d find her files and more in the archives at her undergraduate alma mater. Going through nearly twenty boxes of her papers, research notes, and books gave me a plethora of source materials. I even got to hold her slide rule (most of her work in aerospace engineering was before calculators). Beyond cool!
In a notebook Mary had written out the formulas and drawn the trajectory of a rocket traveling into space. Illustrator Natasha Donovan used some formulas in the book. I needed to consult with Indigenous engineers working at NASA to make sure what was shown in the art like a fighter plane or a rocket matched the formulas appearing behind them. Mary had mathematically worked to fix a defect in the design of the P-38 fighter plane in WWII that was causing pilot fatalities. She also helped design rockets for traveling to space. That visit to the archives yielded a treasure trove of information about her and her work. It was as if Mary was my co-author, giving me what I needed to weave together her story.
What is your favorite thing about research?
I love discovering what the throughline for the book will be. I know I’m ready to start drafting when I can determine what that is from the research. I might think I know what the throughline will be, but only until I find evidence of it in sources can I be sure. Again, it’s nonfiction and it must be factual. Nobody gets words put in their mouths they never said; whatever the weather was on the day of the big event or the order of events in someone’s life do not get changed to build tension or make a story “more exciting.” Nonfiction (true occurrences and real people) is far more fascinating than anything we can make up. I love researching and writing it because of that.
What’s your least favorite thing about research?
It can take awhile to find the person, document, photo, map, or other historical item that helps you with the story. But persistence pays off─and a lot of patience!
Has your research ever affected the overall trust of your book? How so?
I believe there is a high degree of trust in my nonfiction books because I share all the sources used. That invites readers to review what I’ve consulted and determined for themselves if I’d used the source in its correct context, made accurate citations, etc. As an author for young people, it’s important to me that they have the tools to interrogate the work and know for themselves that what is represented in the book is factual. I hope it spurs them to always share their own sources when writing nonfiction works and to critically examine sources in their textbooks, news sources and other media.
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Best-selling author Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association.
Her nonfiction titles include: We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga ᎣᏣᎵᎮᎵᎦ; Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer; We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know; She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller; and Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series.
A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. For more info about Traci and her work, visit tracisorell.com.