Writing nonfiction can feel a bit like writing a research paper. You may have a great time finding interesting tidbits to include in your writing, but if you can’t locate them a second time, they don’t do you much good. And if the old index cards and file box solution doesn’t work for you (it didn’t work in high school so it probably doesn’t now), I’ve got a better solution.
Back in the day, writing a bibliography was tedious and usually took almost as long as it took to write a paper. Thanks to the age of computers and the internet, this is no longer the case. Bibliographical generators online make it easy to create a list of your sources in whatever style you choose with the click of a mouse. And these online generators can do more than just create your final bibliography. They can also help you verify your information to an editor or fact checker long after you have moved on to another project. Start by creating a new bibliography for your project before you even begin to write. As you research, enter the bibliographical information into a generator for all of your sources. (You can delete entries later if you find that you didn’t use one.) Use your newly created bibliography to footnote your project as you write using the footnote feature in Word. Then copy and paste the appropriate entry from your bibliography into the footnotes. Even if you don’t have to turn in a footnoted copy of your project to your editor, save a footnoted copy for yourself. At some point someone may ask where you found a particular piece of information. A quick look at your footnoted copy will tell you what you need to know without having to retrace your research steps. Easy peasy. Some bibliographical generators: Citefast.com – www.citefast.com Grammarly.com – www.grammarly.com/citations EasyBib – www.easybib.com Bibme – www.bibme.org Cite4Me – www.cite4me.org/bibliography For more information about nonfiction research see my video “Research for Nonfiction and More” and other videos from Nonfiction Ninja members at Serious Writer Academy on line. www.seriouswriteracademy.com
4 Comments
Linda Skeers
2/28/2019 07:45:14 am
This is so helpful! I am not the most organized person in the world so I appreciate all the tips and suggestions I can get to make it easier!
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2/28/2019 08:09:18 am
This is such a great help - and how smart to start with the bibliography!
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Jilanne Hoffmann
2/28/2019 02:10:44 pm
I've been using Easybib and Evernote. I should extend this one step further and create the MS version with footnotes for later reference. Thanks!
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Heather Beers
4/2/2019 11:14:44 am
Wendy, this is so helpful. I especially love your wisdom about creating a copy of your manuscript with footnotes that you keep for yourself in case your editor or fact-checker has questions. GREAT HELP! Thank you so much for sharing this!
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Disclaimer: The Nonfiction Ninjas are a group of writers with diverse ideas . The views expressed in each post are those of the author and may differ from others in the group.
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