Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life

I was using this book as the support text for an online course with Writers Online Workshops, but would have been happy to have the book on its own. The author leads the reader to think carefully about the differences between fiction and nonfiction, and what is unique about creative nonfiction. There are a remarkable number of useful sections including those on form, interviews, and revising. I have followed the chapter on revising and found it to be the most useful information to date to improve my own creative nonfiction writing.

Last week, I happened to come across this book in the library. As I had recently bought "Writing a Book that Makes a Difference" and "Writing Creative Nonfiction: Instruction and Insights from Teachers of the Associated Writing Programs" by the same author, I thought it would be good to read this book to get a feel of what's in store when I finally get down to reading my own books.

Gosh! I hope the other two books are better than this one. I tried hard to read this book, but I had to give up finally. Call me a philistine, but I just could not "get into it" (I'm at a loss with words to describe how this book simply could not grip my attention).

I've used this book in the classroom, mainly because it was one of the only texts available on cnf. However, I really dislike this book for its dumbed-down approach. Whazzup with that, Phil? Most of your audience for this book would be those in an academic setting...so why not write with some real insight? You manage to make this fascinating genre sound dull and stodgy...middle-agey...ZZZZzzzzZZZzzz...

The problem with cnf, in general, is that so few good texts are available for those who teach creative writing. Even the AWP book with co-editors Carolyn Forche and good old Philip Gerard is second rate. It doesn't have NEARLY enough essays on the how-to's of writing cnf, and includes some cnf essays that are wildly inappropriate, as if the editors had to flesh out the volume and just crammed some stuff in at the last minute. If someone doesn't compile a better cnf textbook, I'm gonna have to do it myself. :-(

Creative Nonfiction is an invaluable resource for writers of reality-based material. I am a television producer and college film professor who specializes in documentary production. While this book is crafted for a print writer, it is by far the best resource I have found for a complete review of the nonfiction creative process. No film or television how-tos come close to the depth and insight of Gerard's work. From formulating an idea to conducting an interview, from structuring a story to creating suspense, Gerard has articulated priceless insight to a process that is too often intuitive and hard to communicate. A stunning achievement.

This is not a comprehensive book about creative nonfiction. Instead, Gerard has a very narrow view of the field, limiting it almost exclusively to literary journalism. Many types of creative nonfiction (humor, reviews, opinion pieces, personal essays) are all but overlooked in this book. If you are interested in a more comprehensive treatment of creative nonfiction, look elsewhere. I would highly recommend Lynn Bloom's Fact & Artifact.If your primary interest is in literary journalism, you might want to read this book. However, Gerard does not just have a bias towards literary journalism, he also has a bias towards specific topics. Specifically, he writes almost entirely about war, Hemingway, risky activities, and nature. If you share most or all of his interests, you may be satisfied with this book. Otherwise, you might want to try reading something else.