Truth of the Matter, The: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction

ISBN: 0321277619

Author: Moore, Dinty

Condition: New

This introduction to creative nonfiction examines the building blocks of nonfiction prose one by one, illustrating how individual voice and narrative strategies delineate this literary form from conventional nonfiction. Individual chapters are devoted to detail and description, characterization and scene, distinctive voice, intimate point-of-view, and the various ways in which writers discover the significance or universality of their work. Essays from contemporary nonfiction writers such as Henry Louis Gates, Norma Elia Cant, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and others are integrated directly into the text to illustrate concepts.

• Step-by-step approach illustrates for students how detail, description, and voice interweave to create a full essay. | Essays from contemporary nonfiction writers such as Henry Louis Gates, Norma Elia Cantú, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and others are integrated into the chapters to illustrate concepts. | Questions of truth and creativity are addressed directly, showing where fiction and nonfiction diverge, and helping students enter the discussion around memory and objectivity. | Part IV, "The Anthology," exposes students to various approaches to and styles of the creative nonfiction form, including brief essays and essays on the craft. | "Writing Prompts" offer realistic and attainable writing goals, inspiring confidence in beginning writers, and provide a ready storehouse of raw material for future essays. | Examples of the ‘sudden’ nonfiction essay (under 750 words) allow students to experience a wide variety of styles and approaches. Instructors are given the option to assign brief essays or use them only as illustrations of the building blocks of nonfiction writing. | A strong focus on revision, interwoven throughout the text, provides a variety of tactics and approaches and presents revision as an integral step in the writing process.