I hope this is the right place to post this and I hope this makes sense. I'm not exactly sure how to format this in my manuscript.
The fictional part of this story is one character talking to another. But on each page I plan on having a non-fiction blurb or side bar. What is the correct way to format this?
For example (and not my real story, just an example to show what I'm doing):
Tree talking to bird:
"OK Robin, it's time to scat. I don't like Robins building nests in my tree!"
Sidebar: Robins are birds that are common all over North America. It is the state bird for XYZ states.
(Next page:)
"Blue Jay, you're not my favorite bird either. Can you land somewhere else?"
Side bar: Blue Jays are fairly large birds that live on the eastern half of the United States.
My two questions are:
Do I format it like I have, with the dialogue as the storyline, then use the word "Sidebar" and insert my factual information on each page?
How do I do word count for this? The fictional part of the story will probably be about 200 words. The non-fiction element will add a few hundred more. Do I separate these word counts, or add them together? I guess this is similar to the Magic School Bus books - fictional storyline with facts sprinkled in.
Thanks for any help!