Advice for Unfolding Your Story
niemanstory Nieman Storyboard
How do you unfold a story that keeps the reader going?http://bit.ly/id0nzu
Labels: craft, nonfiction, resources
posted by Lois at 2:45 PM
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Monday, April 11, 2011
Links
- Nieman Narrative Digest
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Previous Posts
- Draft: Academic Coach or maybe: Dyslexia, Redux
- Draft 1: Vacation Packing
- Draft 1: Managing the Air and Anxiety
- A Is for Absolute
- Exercise Essay: The Coffee Table
- Rebooting the Writing Life
- Opportunities / Practicing Writing
- Contests
- Calls for Submissions
- That Whole Perfection Thing . . .
Humans Want Stories
As a journalist, I'm interested in telling a story that's true, but in a way that makes it as compelling as fiction. As a person, I'm drawn to quirkiness, whether it's in the living, the dead, or the inanimate. In the mid-90s, I had a good career going as a freelance writer and editor, but I was getting restless in what I was writing. Out of nowhere, I got a flier for the first Mid-Atlantic Writers' Conference on Creative Nonfiction, featuring John McPhee. I went to see McPhee because I knew he was famous (I did manage to read something of his before the conference). And I learned about creative nonfiction (CNF), which is sometimes easier to define by listing what it's not: not poetry, not fiction, not pyramid-structured straight journalism. CNF tells stories that are true using the tools of fiction (dialogue, story arc, suspense, etc.). It's a type of writing that has been variously called literary journalism, feature writing, literary nonfiction, and nonfiction narrative. Next, I got a master of fine arts (Goucher, class of '99) in creative nonfiction. After the MFA, there's just a leap into more writing. I firmly--concretely, granitely, drought-hardened-mud firmly--believe that blogs ought to be more than navel gazing. In this blog, I'll post information pertinent to the craft of writing narratives that are true. Current arguments. New books. Resources. Notes from my MFA classes. Places online to poke around. Stick with me. Although I can't promise a tidy ending, we'll see where this goes.Archives
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