Tell it Slant
Creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing segment in the writing
market. Yet, the majority of writing guides are geared toward poetry
and fiction writers. Tell It Slant fills the gap. Designed for
aspiring nonfiction writers, this much-needed reference provides
practical guidance, writing exercises, and a detailed discussion of the
range of subcategories that make up the genre, including memoir, travel
writing, investigative reporting, and more.
On Writing Well The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper column, William Zinsser's On Writing Well should be required reading. A beloved classic, this definitive volume on the art of nonfiction writing celebrates its 30th anniversary. Revised seven times, it has stood the test of time and remains a valued resource for writers. 4.5 Star On Amazon
The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality (Wiley Books for Writers Series)
Added by: bramjnet | Karma: 463.20 | Fiction literature | 23 August 2007
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The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality (Wiley Books for Writers Series) This book is for the beginning creative nonfiction writer--one who needs to be told that writers are an eccentric lot; one who has never heard of the Yaddo artists' colony. Still, Lee Gutkind, the author of several books of creative nonfiction and the founder/editor of the journal Creative Nonfiction, has some interesting things to tell us about this genre of writing, which strives to communicate real-life stories dramatically. The most important quality that a creative nonfiction writer can have, writes Gutkind, is passion: "A passion for the written word; a passion for the search and discovery of knowledge; and a passion for ... understand[ing] intimately how things in this world work." Gutkind offers instruction on finding story ideas, focusing one's work, keeping story files, fact checking, and interviewing; he tells us what to expect from editors and agents; and he teaches us how to know when we're ready to start writing (when you can "think of nothing more to ask or to learn"). Perhaps the best tidbit here is Gutkind's emphasis on delving deeply into one's subject matter without inserting oneself into the situation. "While immersing myself in a writing project," he says, "I routinely like to compare myself to a rather undistinguished and utilitarian end table in a living room or office. It is a fixture. You walk in and out of your living room dozens of times a day. You see the table, you expect to see the table, but you do not say, 'Well, there is the table, hello table.'" Appendices include a sample book proposal and readings.
