Writer S Guide To Nonfiction

A WRITER’S COMPASSDirection for your writing career Don’t get lost on the publishing path. Just forge ahead with the Writer’s Compass. Drawing on decades of professional experience as an author, editor, writing instructor, mentor, and marketing consultant, Elizabeth Lyon helps you navigate the art and craft of writing—with clear, easy-to-follow directions: NORTH Getting Your Bearings Understand your purpose and your audience; learn to refine your ideas, select effective titles, and find the best method of organization for any piece SOUTH Troubleshooting Use checklists and guidelines to spot weaknesses and problems in leads, organization, conclusions, and style—and find out how to correct them EAST Learning to Market Map a successful cover letter, query letter, or proposal, and discover a four-step process to facilitate publication and sales WEST Refining Your Vision Brainstorm to gain perspective on your writing—and how it fits with your values, goals, and dreams

Interested in journalism and creative writing and want to write a book? Read inspiring stories and practical advice from America’s most respected journalists. The country’s most prominent journalists and nonfiction authors gather each year at Harvard’s Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism. Telling True Stories presents their best advice—covering everything from finding a good topic, to structuring narrative stories, to writing and selling your first book. More than fifty well-known writers offer their most powerful tips, including: • Tom Wolfe on the emotional core of the story • Gay Talese on writing about private lives • Malcolm Gladwell on the limits of profiles • Nora Ephron on narrative writing and screenwriters • Alma Guillermoprieto on telling the story and telling the truth • Dozens of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists from the Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and more . . . The essays contain important counsel for new and career journalists, as well as for freelance writers, radio producers, and memoirists. Packed with refreshingly candid and insightful recommendations, Telling True Stories will show anyone fascinated by the art of writing nonfiction how to bring people, scenes, and ideas to life on the page.

Methods outlined in this book are easy-to-follow steps for formatting, completing, and marketing a nonfiction book. The most popular subjects for nonfiction books are covered, along with writing instructions and painless tips for self-publishing. Included is information on finding an agent and book publisher.

FEATURING ESSAYS FROM: Barrie Jean Borich • Jenny Boully • Norma Elia Cantú • Rigoberto González • Philip Graham • Carol Guess • Jeff Gundy • Robin Hemley • Barbara Hurd • Judith Kitchen •Eric LeMay • Dinah Lenney • Bret Lott • Patrick Madden• Lee Martin • Maggie McKnight • Brenda Miller •Kyle Minor • Aimee Nezhukumatathil • Anne Panning • Lia Purpura • Peggy Shumaker • Sue William Silverman • Jennifer Sinor • Ira Sukrungruang • Nicole Walker Unmatched in its focus on a concise and popular emerging genre, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction features 26 eminent writers, editors, and teachers offering expert analysis, focused exercises, and helpful examples of what make the brief essay form such a perfect medium for experimentation, insight, and illumination. With a comprehensive introduction to the genre and book by editor Dinty W. Moore, this guide is perfect for both the classroom and the individual writer’s desk—an essential handbook for anyone interested in the scintillating and succinct flash nonfiction form. How many words does it take to tell a compelling true story? The answer might surprise you.

It has become commonplace these days to speak of “unpacking” texts. Voice and Vision is a book about packing that prose in the first place. While history is scholarship, it is also art—that is, literature. And while it has no need to emulate fiction, slump into memoir, or become self-referential text, its composition does need to be conscious and informed. Voice and Vision is for those who wish to understand the ways in which literary considerations can enhance nonfiction writing. At issue is not whether writing is scholarly or popular, narrative or analytical, but whether it is good. Fiction has guidebooks galore; journalism has shelves stocked with manuals; certain hybrids such as creative nonfiction and the new journalism have evolved standards, esthetics, and justifications for how to transfer the dominant modes of fiction to topics in nonfiction. But history and other serious or scholarly nonfiction have nothing comparable. Now this curious omission is addressed by Stephen Pyne as he analyzes and teaches the craft that undergirds whole realms of nonfiction and book-based academic disciplines. With eminent good sense concerning the unique problems posed by research-based writing and with a wealth of examples from accomplished writers, Pyne, an experienced and skilled writer himself, explores the many ways to understand what makes good nonfiction, and explains how to achieve it. His counsel and guidance will be invaluable to experts as well as novices in the art of writing serious and scholarly nonfiction.

Ever wanted to share your passion, tell your story or pass on a skill? Here is your chance. Memoir, travelogue, history, how-to, self-help or textbook; you can write your own book with this fully comprehensive guide, which includes all the techniques and tips you need to plan, research, write, edit, choose publishing options and market your book. Becoming an author enables you to boost your career or business success, share your expertise and experience, inform readers on important issues, put the record straight, or leave a heritage for family and friends. Written in a reader-friendly style and focusing on your individual needs, Writing Your Nonfiction Book also contains a list of websites and a handy glossary of publishing and writing terms. Though suitable for beginners, there is much in this book for experienced writers of non-fiction, and even fiction. Whoever you are, your voice can be heard, your story told, because Writing Your Nonfiction Book leads you one step at a time through the whole process. Key selling books of the point are: This is the only truly complete guide, with equal emphasis on planning, research, writing, editing, publishing and marketing. It teaches the creative/narrative style of non-fiction, with specific advice for writing memoir, travel, history, textbooks, biography, how-to and self-help books. The book recognises the information needed by international writers, and lists support services and resources for various countries. Writing Your Nonfiction Book has been selected as a required text for international writing courses.

Get all the tools you need to craft compelling creative nonfiction prose. This helpful guide gives you everything you need to write real-life characters, compelling plots, natural dialogue, and captivating details.

A professional writing instructor helps writers navigate the art and craft of writing nonfiction, including essays, memoirs, how-to, travel, technical, food/recipes, and more.