Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University

I learned of this book through a "textbook sale" and it's been a continuing education treasure. I ordered it just before vacation and it arrived the day before I left, so I had the great fortune of sinking blissfully into the essays, some humorous, all passionate, about narrative journalism. Don't skip the intro, where the editors define the genre by all its names: literary journalism, narrative/creative non-fiction, etc. They get the labels out of the way so we all know what we're talking about. Then prepare to be inspired, educated, and guided by the pros. Every aspect of "the story" is covered here, from managing relationships with editors and subjects to--above all--getting to the emotional heart of the story. I am not a journalist but something of a memoirist and this book is inspiring me to do more researched, investigative work. I feel like I have a master's course on my bookshelf, but these writers are so good, you sometimes feel as if you sitting and talking shop with them over drinks. Kudos to the editors for pulling the best work out of these former conference presentations, too. It's no mean feat to transpose the oral presentation to a piece that runs well on paper. Just an excellent book any writer can use for years to come.

Archilochus tells us that "[t]he fox knows many things; the hedgehog knows one big thing." Conventional wisdom is that the hedgehog's big-vision approach always wins the day. But this book convinces us that the narrative journalist is a different animal. These writers are foxes, crafting their success from little tips, tricks and bits of wisdom gathered along the way. Such morsels need to be shared in the same snippety fashion, not force-fitted into some grand unified theory of good writing. This book gets it right. Mark Kramer and Wendy Call have assembled 91 chapters of advice about writing from 51 working authors and editors. This advice is backed up by the contributors' hard-won experience and by a generous bibliography of books and web sites that contain exemplary writings and yet more writing advice. It is presented in the easily-digestible form of brief chapters that focus on one or two aspects of reporting and writing. Kramer and Call briefly introduce each of the book's nine sections then stand aside so we can hear the contributors' voices. Readers will differ in what helps them the most--there is much to choose from. Five contributions that I found particularly valuable: Mark Kramer speaks as a writer in "Reporting for Narrative: Ten Tips." He describes how to balance background research between the extremes of too little and too much. Isabel Wilkerson's "Interviewing: Accelerated Intimacy" teaches how to establish rapport with sources and hear their stories--while maintaining enough distance to report them. Roy Peter Clark's "Ladder of Abstraction" shows how to describe concrete details of people's lives, connect them to larger themes, and avoid the deadly region of "middle abstraction" that alienates readers. Jack Hart's "Narrative Distance" illustrates how to psychologically "place" the viewpoint of a story's narrator--and shift this perspective to guide the reader through a story. Susan Orlean's "On Voice" describes the self-analysis and authenticity necessary to each writer's unique verbal style. Its development cannot be rushed--or faked. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who writes to an audience and wants to do it better. It is dead-on-target for you if you work in narrative journalism. If you do not, there are still lessons to improve your writing. Kramer and Call remind us that "[w]riting well is difficult, even excruciating, and demands courage, patience, humility, erudition, savvy, stubbornness, wisdom, and aesthetic sense--all summoned at your lonely desk." I like writing at my lonely desk--and I like having this book so I don't have to learn everything the hard way.

I don't hand out a lot of five star ratings, but this multi-author book deserves a five-star rating. For the kind of genre of multi-author, it is incredibly consistent and fluid. This comes from the editors introducing each section and detailed editing work that obviously went into the book as well as well-chosen and experienced writers in the field of journalism and narrative non-fiction book writing. I would recommend this book to new journalism students to experienced writers. There's plenty in the the book to use for reference over the years of a writing career. I go back and read articles from the book from time to time when an issue of writing, characters, plot, etc. comes up and I want to refresh my thinking about a certain aspect of writing.

I’ve struggled with narrative writing since I became aware of the genre while working on my high school newspaper staff. I could handle news articles well enough, and opinion pieces came easily enough. But embedding the nuance of narrative was something I never mastered. Although I retain a personal interest in writing decades later, my career in technology and science veered in different directions. I picked this book up with hopes of getting better at telling stories – not just any story from my imagination, but stories from real life. Short entries from journalists and journalists-turned-book-authors fill this book’s pages. The wide variety of professional experiences enlightens the topics as only a collection can. Each of the acclaimed journalists who submitted pieces bring a strong voice to the task. Nine big sections address areas like ethics, structure, quality, and career development. I appreciate the new intellectual horizons that this book opens to me. I will never be an expert in journalism, but a lifelong interest will remain. It gave me new ways to think about structuring narratives and to focus my writing on the essential contributions. Although I suspect journalists in early career might benefit most from this work, hobbyists might also find benefit like I did. We’re all storytellers to some degree, and who better to refine the craft of storytelling than its most expert practitioners?

Had to read it for my non-fiction class and I fell in love. Amazingly, simply, and well written. Super easy to follow and understand.

I must read for writers.

This book distils nuggets of wisdom from 51 leading authors into 91 chapters of advice and tips. If you are not content to take the experience of said authors as authority enough, there is bibliography at the back to delve further into specific areas. The book is thorough and covers every possible topic (and more besides) and question a writer of non fiction today might want addressed. This ranges from the practical, more business-like aspects of writing, such as time management, making it as a freelancer, and working with editors to aspects of craft like structuring stories and developing characters. There’s even a section on the ethical issues one might encounter as a writer. The book’s structure is superb, and it really allows you to pick and chose based on what you need and want. What sections, chapters and tips you find most useful will really depend on the individual and the contributors are really given room to shine and highlight the truly diverse ways of writing there are. All in all, I recommend this book to all those interested in, engaging in or aspiring to get writing. If you want to work in journalism then this book is invaluable, though it will be of use to anyone who finds themselves putting pen to paper (or hands to keyboard). If nothing else, this book will have you looking at writing with a fresh perspective. This book deserves to be on the bookshelves of all writers of nonfiction. If you found this review useful please let me know by hitting the “helpful” button below :)

good one

Really great read for those interested in the process behind really good journalism and narrative non-fiction. So many tips and hints from some great journalists and storytellers sharing their experiences. THe kind of book you can dip into or read from cover to cover (though if you do the latter it may need a re-read or two, as there's lots of gems to take in).