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

5 Responses to “Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University”

1. Wily Dog says:

   August 21, 2010 at 2:11 pm

   I learned of this book through a “textbook sale” and it’s been a continuing education treasure. I ordered it just before trip and it arrived the day before I left, so I had the fantastic chance of sinking blissfully into the essays, some humorous, all passionate, about narrative television journalism. Don’t skip the intro, where the editors define the genre by all its names: literary television journalism, narrative/creative non-fiction, etc. They get the marks 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 tale” is covered here, from managing relationships with editors and subjects to–above all–getting to the emotional heart of the tale. 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 excellent, 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 ex- talks presentations, too. It’s no mean feat to transpose the oral presentation to a piece that runs well on paper. Just an brilliant book any writer can use for years to come.

   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
2. John M. Ford says:

   August 21, 2010 at 4:10 pm

   Archilochus tells us that “[t]he fox knows many things; the hedgehog knows one huge thing.” Conventional wisdom is that the hedgehog’s huge-vision approach permanently wins the day. But this book convinces us that the narrative journalist is a different animal. These writers are foxes, crafting their success from small 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 excellent writing. This book gets it right.

   Mark Kramer and Wendy Call have assembled 91 chapters of advice about writing from 51 effective 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 open in the easily-palatable 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 establish 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 small and too much.

   Isabel Wilkerson’s “Interviewing: Accelerated Intimacy” teaches how to set up rapport with sources and hear their tales–while maintaining enough distance to report them.

   Roy Peter Clark’s “Ladder of Abstraction” shows how to clarify 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 tale’s narrator–and shift this perspective to guide the reader through a tale.

   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 fervently 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 television journalism. If you do not, there are still lessons to improve your writing. Kramer and Call remind us that “[w]riting well is hard, 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.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
3. Midge Raymond says:

   August 21, 2010 at 6:23 pm

   I find myself turning to this book over and over again, as both a teacher and a writer. From interviewing to ethics, from tale structure to editing, this book provides a wealth of information from today’s top writers and editors, neatly organized and open. It’s an essential reference for anyone writing/teaching nonfiction.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
4. Mallie Kim says:

   August 21, 2010 at 7:40 pm

   This book provides various perspectives on what it takes to find a meaningful tale, report well on topics, structure a tale, edit, and more. The perspectives come from writers who are masters at their crafts – and each one does things a bit differently, so this book does not place you in a box!
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
5. Jessica Mans says:

   August 21, 2010 at 9:41 pm

   This is a fantastic collection of advice from top notch journalists. It’s all the stuff you wanted to get out of J-school but never did. And it’s about one ten-thousandth of the fee.

   Whether you read it in one sitting or over the course of several years- this book has something for everyone and every type of tale.

   Buy it, read it, pass it along.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5