Jack Hart (2)

Storycraft is an exposition of the techniques and practices for writing compelling (well, that part is largely up to you) narrative fiction. Hart employs the methods he describes himself, thus providing a running demonstration, and are also many examples from some very good practitioners.

He may not have covered any new ground. I've only read lightly on the subject before and never had any sort of "aha" moment here, but there are lessons writers need to learn somewhere -- about the narrative show more arc, outlining by scenes, the different uses of summary and scenic narratives -- and there are some useful "rule-of-thumb" guides to structuring types of narratives, my favorite, or at least the one I remember, is the formula for the 1,000-word personal essay: 650 words of highly specific narrative, then "the turn", 150 word of specific to general transition, then 200 "quite abstract" binding the narrative to things in general. Hopelessly formulaic, but taken as a guideline rather than a rule maybe useful.

The writing books I've read generally start with consideration of the sentence, recommending we quickly write the piece without any editing then spend the bulk of the time in revision. Hart suggests, instead, that we first take some time to structure the narrative, THEN write a draft. Most probably do that instinctively, but it's worth pointing out. show less

Down to earth, practical, real world examples and experience. I don't agree with every opinion that he holds, but his reasoning is crystal clear. Plus, having lived in Portland OR for many years, it was a thrill to read about how the local Oregonian stories came together - the author is a former managing editor at that newspaper. Great fun to read, highly recommended if you want or need information on this writing style

3.5/5
Denser than I expected, but there's plenty to take from it, and it applies to both fiction and non-fiction.

I have started reading more narrative non-fiction these last few years, so I thought this would be interesting when I saw that my library was purchasing a copy. The cover is very catching, I love it.

This felt more academic than some of the other craft books I've been reading. It just felt more dense and maybe that's because of the tone. Regardless, there's plenty in here to help show more all types of writers. As I don't write non-fiction, there were things I learned that I never thought about, like with dialogue, and I loved the final section on ethics.

I'm glad my library purchased it as it's now easily accessible to anyone curious about this type of writing. Check your local library and request it! show less

An excellent guide to the mechanics of good nonfiction story writing. Examples are from a newspaper journalism perspective, and something feels slightly dated but I can't put my finger on why, but the details are very helpful.