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Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction Paperback – 12 October 2012

by Jack Hart (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 331
Edition: 1st
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Storycraft, Second Edition: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction
Storycraft, Second Edition: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction
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From the work of the New Journalists in the 1960s, to the New Yorker essays of John McPhee, Susan Orlean, Atul Gawande, and a host of others, to blockbuster book-length narratives such as Mary Roach’s Stiff or Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, narrative nonfiction has come into its own. Yet writers looking for guidance on reporting and writing true stories have had few places to turn for advice. Now in Storycraft, Jack Hart, a former managing editor of the Oregonian who guided several Pulitzer Prize–winning narratives to publication, delivers what will certainly become the definitive guide to the methods and mechanics of crafting narrative nonfiction.

Hart covers what writers in this genre need to know, from understanding story theory and structure, to mastering point of view and such basic elements as scene, action, and character, to drafting, revising, and editing work for publication. Revealing the stories behind the stories, Hart brings readers into the process of developing nonfiction narratives by sharing tips, anecdotes, and recommendations he forged during his decades-long career in journalism. From there, he expands the discussion to other well-known writers to show the broad range of texts, styles, genres, and media to which his advice applies. With examples that draw from magazine essays, book-length nonfiction narratives, documentaries, and radio programs, Storycraft will be an indispensable resource for years to come.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0226318168
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0226318165
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    *University of Chicago Press
  5. Publication date
    12 October 2012
  6. Part of series
    Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    15.24 x 2.29 x 22.86 cm
  9. Print length
    280 pages
  10. See all details
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From the brand

Product description

Review

"Instructive and essential, reading Storycraft is like finding the secret set of blueprints to the writer's craft. Better still, it is engaging, funny, and wise - wonderful to read and wonderful to learn from." (Susan Orlean) "Despite a career focused on the world of journalism, the author demonstrates much insight into the canon of more 'literary' creative nonfiction by choosing sound examples that are both accessible and widely acclaimed.... This book can function as both a practical introduction to narrative nonfiction and a concise refresher for professionals." (Choice)"

About the Author

Jack Hart was formerly managing editor and writing coach at the Oregonian. He received a National Teaching Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and a University of Wisconsin Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to journalism, has taught on the faculties of six universities, and was named the Ruhl Distinguished Professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. He is the author of A Writer's Coach.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ *University of Chicago Press; 1st edition (12 October 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0226318168
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226318165
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 2.29 x 22.86 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 331

About the authors

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  1. Jack Hart

    Jack Hart

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    Jack Hart, a former managing editor at The Oregonian, is an independent author, editor, and writing coach. He holds a University of Wisconsin doctorate in mass communication has taught at six universities, including the University of Oregon, where he was also acting dean at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication and interim director of the school’s Turnbull Center. He has edited all or part of four Pulitzer winners and winners of every other major national feature-writing award. His books include The Information Empire, A Writer’s Coach, Storycraft, and the novel Skookum Summer.

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  2. Jack R. Hart

    Jack R. Hart

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
331 global ratings

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Top review from Australia

J
5.0 out of 5 stars Good, and not just for non-fiction
Reviewed in Australia on 4 June 2019
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The narrative was concise and relevant to fiction as well as non-fiction. I’d seen the book earlier and was put off by thinking it was focussed on non-fiction and I am a fiction writer. But after reading a sample I was really impressed. First audiobook then hard copy. One of the best chapters is on the ‘ladder of abstraction’. 5 stars.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Bons conseils très concrets
Reviewed in Canada on 29 November 2019
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De bons conseils, même après 23 ans de métier. J’en mettrai plusieurs en pratique.
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Gasper D'Souza
5.0 out of 5 stars The one book on non-fiction you need
Reviewed in India on 18 February 2019
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If there's only one book you will read on non-fiction narrative writing, this is it. Packed with examples, Hart leads the reader on a journey, dissecting story. It's not just theoretical, but with real-world examples, Hart explains the theory. I found it useful to google some of the work he cites to read the whole story - powerful examples of the genre.
I read this book once, then read it again when I bought it in 2017. I find it useful to get back to it regularly to revise the concepts.
This book contains everything you need to know about narrative non-fiction writing.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb book on nonfiction writing
Reviewed in the United States on 11 February 2013
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This is an excellent book because it provides excellent content and fairly comprehensive coverage on all the key aspects of narrative and explanatory nonfiction writing. In the last part of the book, it makes summary points on a variety of other nonfiction types such as short stories and vignettes, and discusses issues such as reporting and ethics.

Both the book and the author definitely have the ring of authority. According to my Kindle, about 32% of the book is devoted to references and footnotes. I wish they were annotated footnotes, which are often worth reading, but these ones generally contain just the reference (which I'm sure the author thought was important to include).

The writing was very good, as were the examples the author used. There were only a few places (mostly early in the book) where it felt like things were bogging down, or the connection between the body text and the examples was hard to find.

The pace was fine too--it was neither a light nor tedious read, just about right for the subject matter.

If I had to pick a nit, it would be in the (seemingly endless) number of words and sentences in the early part of the book devoted to scrupulously making full references to authors (full names) and their various articles to support one of the author's points. Many times the author would make a point, and basically say, "Joe X was a master at this in whatever, as was X in Y, and W in Z." No examples of writing from these articles were given for the reader, so it bordered on nothing more than name dropping to me.

Having said that, the obvious gravitas and authority of the author made me believe that he was not the sort of person to just name drop for name dropping's sake. I'm sure he had a different intent (such as seriously meaning to support his points), but the utility of all the references was lost on me. Worse yet, it felt like more than a few such references were repeated in full, so I just skipped ahead when I saw another paragraph of that type.

All in all, an excellent book by an author who clearly is a master at what he does. The book is worth every penny and every minute that I spent with it. I highlighted huge sections of the book, and was both surprised and pleased when I came to the big second topic of explanatory nonfiction, which exactly matched my current project, so I could immediately apply his excellent advice.

I'd give this book 6 of 5 if I could. I gave it 9 (excellent, couldn't put it down) of 9 on my personal scale. I would strongly recommend this work to all writers, both fiction and nonfiction.
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J. Kertesz
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and easy to read too
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2013
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He is now retired, but behind him a lot of experience.
Evan I'd it is written more with journalists and writers for magazines, its advices apply also to telling true stories, not only to writing them. I tell true stories. I learned a lot from this book.
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Armond M
5.0 out of 5 stars It gave me both technical and ethical insight into writing my first book
Reviewed in the United States on 19 September 2021
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I’ve always known a good story when I came across one but I didn’t understand why I liked it. Story Craft gave me the insight into the structure of good stories. The author saved the best for last. His chapter on Ethics was both thought provoking and convicting. It forced me to asked the hard questions like “How many times have I violated the rules of ethics for the purposes of persuasion?”

After I write this review, I’m going back for a second reading of the last chapter. This is a book I will be reading many times over.
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