The holidays tend to summon peak popularity for craft and activities book in one way or another, either because they are used as reference for holiday preparation—decorative ideas, party planning—or because they are incorporated into gift-giving, either as the gift (a how-to inspirational book of some sort) or as the guide to the gift (homemade something).
Many of them are themed for festive events and include:
- recipe books
- homemade how-tos/craft (knitting, sewing, other specialty technique)
- arts (drawing, painting, other speciality techniques)
- games
- ornamentation
- traditions & rituals
And many other variations.
If you are writing or thinking of writing an arts & crafts festivity book or blog, it would be a good idea to brush up on two types of writing that frequently form the basis for these books—and they are often thought to be in conflict with each other: storytelling and technical writing.
There’s a perception (that often turns out to be a misperception) that writers are either creative or technical writers. However, many trained writers have at least some experience with both technical and creative approaches, and don’t forget that creative writing is often more technical than many people realize. Nonetheless, they are two distinct approaches, and arts & craft, cooking, and general festivities books combine them both. Technical writing might not be the first thought that occurs to you when you think about writing about your favorite memories of traditions at Christmas, Hanukkah, or breaking the fast of Ramadan—after all, these are books on creativity, aren’t they? But it’s likely to be included in at least some aspect of your project.
These nonfiction, frequently family-oriented books, which often assume that the audience includes children and adults of all ages as they prepare for holiday festivities, highlight creative ideas for special occasions, often including recipes, decorative inspiration, homemade gift ideas, games to play, and stories to read aloud.
Narrative nonfiction storytelling lends itself to this genre as a means of furthering a tradition and setting up the meaning behind it. It’s the why you would do something as opposed to the how you would do something. Technical writing—in this case writing instructions— is the how you do something.
In other words, books—and blog posts or online articles—like this provide instructions and inspiration, and the approach to your writing of each element will probably be more effective when it’s intentional.
If you do find that you are better at or more interested in one aspect of the writing for these books than the other, a developmental editor could go a long way to ensure that the balance will work for readers. Too much storytelling and the reader who is mostly looking for what to do and how to do it will grow impatient (“Just give me the recipe already!”). Likewise, if they finally reach the recipe only to find that it’s written in a way that doesn’t seem logical (“How can I sew that seam before I’ve inserted the stuffing?!”) or skips important steps (“The pie filling is liquid still—how long was I supposed to refrigerate this?!”), they probably won’t be happy readers no matter how great the photos look.
On the other hand, even a perfect set of instructions detailing the process might never be followed if the reader isn’t inspired to try them in the first place.
To achieve the balance between technical instruction and narrative storytelling, ask yourself some self-editing questions:
-Have I provided the readers with a why? (I.e., Have I told them why this is a meaningful, fun, or otherwise interesting tradition or activity?)
-Is the how effective?
–Do the readers know what they need for this activity, and do they know where to get the required items?
–Do the instructions follow a logical order (First do this, then do that)?
–Do the readers have all the information they need (i.e., Are steps missing? Beta readers can help you here.)?
–Do the readers clearly know what the objective of the activity is (i.e., “Quick and easy no-bake appetizer.”)
–Do the readers have realistic expectations for the result (E.g., “Yes, this sweater is supposed to be oversized,” or “This game requires a lot of prep time, so it should be played on a day when kids are home from school all day and not when they have just fifteen minutes to spare.”)
Finally, don’t forget how valuable visual aids (either accompanying the instructions or portraying the final result—or preferably both) are to activity and craft books.