Whether you’re nerdy or not, this fabulous free Nonfiction writing crash course organized by NF Chicks is worth your time. Every day in February, there’s a blog posted by an experienced nonfiction children’s writer. You might be thinking, “but I don’t write nonfiction,” and I say, “So what!”

Every writer can benefit from Sophia Gholz’s post “Visual Storytelling” on February 7th or “What the Marketing Department Wished Nonfiction Writers Knew” on February 15th by Kerry McManus, the Marketing Manager of Boyds Mill and Kane. And I really loved “Listen to Your Heart- and Winston Churchhill” by Jill Esbaum on February 14th.

In addition to the blog posts, there’s an activity grid with daily challenges that will help you hone your research skills with resources like newspapers.com, Worldcat.org, and the spooky but fascinating Findagrave.com

All writers, whether fiction or nonfiction, children’s or adult, need to do research from time to time. You might need to know what landmarks are in the city where your protagonist lives, how did your protagonist’s favorite football team do the year your story is set, or what did your protagonist’s grandfather die of in 1919. These are also great tools for teachers to use when teaching research skills to their students.

You might be thinking, “Why didn’t you tell me about this at the beginning of February?” and I say, “Don’t worry.” All of the posts are archived and the activity grid can be downloaded. Plus there’s still more days of topics to come.

You might be thinking, “Gee, thanks for letting us know about NFFest.com,” and I say, “You’re welcome!”