Book Review -- The Art of Creative Nonfiction

Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality

Mar 26, 2009

The Art of Creative Nonfiction, by Lee Gutkind, covers the art and craft of creative nonfiction.

The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality (Wiley Books for Writers)

About the Author, Lee Gutkind

“The leading figure behind the creative nonfiction movement.” Harper’s Magazine.

Lee Gutkind is an award-winning author, essayist, teacher, and editor. Former director of the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh and currently Professor of English there, Gutkind has pioneered the teaching of creative nonfiction. He has conducted workshops and presented readings throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.

His award-winning book, Many Sleepless Nights, is an inside chronicle of the world of organ transplantation and has been reprinted in Italian, Korean and Japanese editions. An Unspoken Art, a profile of veterinary medicine, was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection.

He has also written a number of books on the art of writing including, Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction, Creative Nonfiction: How to Live It and Write It, and The Essayist At Work.

Creative nonfiction stories are dramatic, true stories that use scene, dialogue and close, detailed descriptions - techniques usually employed by poets and fiction writers - to examine and explore a variety of subjects: politics, economics, sports, race relations, family relations, the arts and sciences and more.

Creative nonfiction heightens the whole concept and idea of essay writing. It allows a writer to employ the diligence of a reporter, the shifting voices and viewpoints of a novelist, the refined wordplay of a poet and the analytical modes of the essayist.

About the book: Art of Creative Nonfiction

In the first Part: The Creative Part, Gutkind discusses creative nonfiction as a genre and what it means to write about the truth. In this section he covers devices of nonfiction such as dialogue, description and point of view. He then has further sections covering scenes, framing and point of focus.

In the second part: The Nonfiction Part, Gutkind covers topics such as: finding your topic, research, immersion as a writer, interviewing, and the elusive truth.

Appendices included a sample book proposal, writer’s conferences and other helpful information.

Gutkind offers concise, pointed advice on every aspect of writing and selling your work, including guidelines for choosing provocative and salable topics; smart research techniques; tips for focusing and structuring a piece for maximum effectiveness; and advice on working successfully with editors and literary agent.

This book is less about selling and more about writing something that will sell. If you're interested in writing creative nonfiction, this book is full of helpful advice.

The copyright of the article Book Review -- The Art of Creative Nonfiction in Writing Memoirs is owned by Lisa Koning. Permission to republish Book Review -- The Art of Creative Nonfiction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.