Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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Ebook427 pages
Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction
By Jack Hart
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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Currently unavailable
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About this ebook
Written by Scribd Editors
Narrative nonfiction has become a beloved genre in the past few decades -- from New Yorker essays by John McPhee to full-length books like Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City. While this type of writing has become increasingly popular, there are not many resources for aspiring writers to learn how to improve their craft.
In Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, the former managing editor of the Oregonian Jack Hart shares the tools that he used to guide Pulitzer Prize-winning authors as they craft and publish their stories. Learn the basics of story theory, tips for writing, and recommendations from Hart’s experience as a journalist.
Chapters in this book include:
- Story
- Structure
- Point of View
- Voice and Style
- Characters
- And more
Whether you want to write magazine essays, book-length nonfiction narratives, create documentaries, or record radio programs, there are examples and strategies in this book to guide you.
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Author
Jack Hart
Jack Hart is an author, a writing coach, and the former managing editor at The Oregonian. He has taught at six universities and served as the acting dean at The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.
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Storycraft, Second Edition: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction ... Life in a Northern Town: Small Places in a Big World. Big Worlds in Small Places. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Storycraft
Rating: 4.241379448275862 out of 5 stars
4/5
29 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An excellent guide to the mechanics of good nonfiction story writing. Examples are from a newspaper journalism perspective, and something feels slightly dated but I can't put my finger on why, but the details are very helpful.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good exploration of how story structures can be implemented in non-fiction narratives.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storycraft is an exposition of the techniques and practices for writing compelling (well, that part is largely up to you) narrative fiction. Hart employs the methods he describes himself, thus providing a running demonstration, and are also many examples from some very good practitioners.He may not have covered any new ground. I've only read lightly on the subject before and never had any sort of "aha" moment here, but there are lessons writers need to learn somewhere -- about the narrative arc, outlining by scenes, the different uses of summary and scenic narratives -- and there are some useful "rule-of-thumb" guides to structuring types of narratives, my favorite, or at least the one I remember, is the formula for the 1,000-word personal essay: 650 words of highly specific narrative, then "the turn", 150 word of specific to general transition, then 200 "quite abstract" binding the narrative to things in general. Hopelessly formulaic, but taken as a guideline rather than a rule maybe useful.The writing books I've read generally start with consideration of the sentence, recommending we quickly write the piece without any editing then spend the bulk of the time in revision. Hart suggests, instead, that we first take some time to structure the narrative, THEN write a draft. Most probably do that instinctively, but it's worth pointing out.
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