The Truth of the Matter Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction

by Moore, Dinty W.

• ISBN13: 9780321277619
• ISBN10: 0321277619
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-03
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This introduction to creative nonfiction illustrates the influence of individual voice and narrative strategies on nonfiction prose. Essays from contemporary nonfiction writers such as Henry Louis Gates, Norma Elia Cantuacute;, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and others are integrated directly into the text to illustrate concepts. 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. For writers wanting to explore creative nonfiction.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
About the Author	p. xv
About Creative Nonfiction
True Stories, Innovative Forms	p. 3
Basic Forms of Creative Nonfiction	p. 4
The Art of Narrative	p. 4
The Narrative Craft	p. 5
The Truth of the Matter	p. 6
Curiosity and Passion: The Indispensable Tools	p. 6
What Makes Nonfiction Creative?	p. 8
A Way of Seeing	p. 9
More than "Just the Facts"	p. 11
Creative Nonfiction versus Standard Journalism: An Illustration	p. 12
Honesty, Memory, and the Stranger in the Room	p. 14
Writing Prompts: What Is Creative Nonfiction?	p. 17
Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction
Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction: Detail and Description	p. 21
Detail and Description	p. 22
Specific and Particular	p. 24
"Injection,"	p. 24
Revising for Detail and Description	p. 26
Writing Prompts: Detail and Description	p. 28
Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction: Characterization and Scene	p. 29
Characterization through Dialogue	p. 29
"A Dramatic Dogalog,"	p. 32
Characterization through Action	p. 34
"Drink It,"	p. 35
Scene: Letting the Facts Speak for Themselves	p. 38
Revising for Scene	p. 39
Writing Prompts: Characterization through Dialogue	p. 40
Writing Prompts: Characterization through Action	p. 41
Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction: Distinctive Voice and Intimate Point of View	p. 42
Distinctive Voice	p. 43
"Pop Art,"	p. 43
Intimate Point of View	p. 46
"Sunday,"	p. 49
Revising for Voice and Point of View	p. 51
Writing Prompts: Distinctive Voice and Intimate Point of View	p. 52
Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction: Discovery	p. 54
What You "Make of It"	p. 55
"Solstice,"	p. 55
"Tino & Papi,"	p. 58
Discovery and Details	p. 60
Revising for Discovery	p. 60
Writing Prompts: Discovery	p. 62
From Building Blocks to Complete Essay
The Memoir Essay	p. 65
Examining the Memoir Essay	p. 66
"Genesis,"	p. 66
"Thumb-Sucking Girl,"	p. 68
Writing Your Own Memoir Essay	p. 69
But "Who Cares?"	p. 70
Writing Prompts: Memoir	p. 72
The Literary Journalism Essay	p. 74
Examining the Literary Journalism Essay	p. 76
"Hope,"	p. 76
From "Where Worlds Collide,"	p. 78
Writing Your Own Literary Journalism Essay	p. 80
Writing Prompts: Literary Journalism	p. 82
The Personal Essay	p. 84
Examining the Personal Essay	p. 85
"The Meadow"	p. 85
"In Bed"	p. 86
Writing Your Own Personal Essay	p. 90
Writing Prompts: Personal Essay	p. 91
Revision and Narrative Structure	p. 93
On Serious Revision	p. 94
Revision and Narrative Structure	p. 94
Braiding	p. 95
Collage	p. 96
Frame	p. 97
Other Strategies	p. 97
Writing Prompts: Narrative Structure	p. 99
The Anthology
The Brief Essay	p. 103
"Alive"	p. 103
"You'll Love the Way We Fly"	p. 105
"Dumber Than"	p. 107
"The Stories Tell the Land"	p. 109
The Conventional Length Essay	p. 111
"Notes of a Native Son"	p. 111
"Out There"	p. 127
"Silent Dancing"	p. 132
"Living Like Weasels"	p. 140
"Somehow Form a Family"	p. 143
"What They Don't Tell You About Hurricanes"	p. 151
"Mirrorings"	p. 157
"Difficult Decisions"	p. 167
"Reading History to My Mother"	p. 174
"The Courage of Turtles"	p. 184
"Where Worlds Collide"	p. 189
"Biography of a Dress"	p. 200
"Brothers"	p. 207
"The Search for Marvin Gardens"	p. 211
"Three Pokes of a Thistle"	p. 220
"Buckeye"	p. 224
"The Drama Bug"	p. 229
"The Knife"	p. 236
"42 Tattoos"	p. 243
"Mother Tongue"	p. 252
"The Clan of One-Breasted Women"	p. 257
Essays on the Craft of Creative Nonfiction	p. 263
"Seeing"	p. 263
"Making the Truth Believable"	p. 276
"Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction"	p. 279
"Memoir? Fiction? Where's the Line?"	p. 286
Notes on the Authors	p. 293
Credits	p. 297
Index	p. 301
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