Mark Kramer (2)

I’ve struggled with narrative writing since I became aware of the genre while working on my high school newspaper staff. I could handle news articles well enough, and opinion pieces came easily enough. But embedding the nuance of narrative was something I never mastered. Although I retain a personal interest in writing decades later, my career in technology and science veered in different directions. I picked this book up with hopes of getting better at telling stories – not just any show more story from my imagination, but stories from real life.

Short entries from journalists and journalists-turned-book-authors fill this book’s pages. The wide variety of professional experiences enlightens the topics as only a collection can. Each of the acclaimed journalists who submitted pieces bring a strong voice to the task. Nine big sections address areas like ethics, structure, quality, and career development.

I appreciate the new intellectual horizons that this book opens to me. I will never be an expert in journalism, but a lifelong interest will remain. It gave me new ways to think about structuring narratives and to focus my writing on the essential contributions. Although I suspect journalists in early career might benefit most from this work, hobbyists might also find benefit like I did. We’re all storytellers to some degree, and who better to refine the craft of storytelling than its most expert practitioners? show less

I've been sampling stuff from this book, TELLING TRUE STORIES, off and on for more than a year now. It makes a great "in-between-books" book, because the essays herein are all about writing - of all kinds: narrative reporting, researching, rewriting and editing, finding your own true voice, etc. The book would be an excellent textbook in any creative writing program. The contributing writers include famous writers and many not-so-famous, but still skilled professionals all. Some of the names show more you'll recognize are: Nora Ephron, Tom Wolfe, Susan Orlean, David Halberstam, Gay Talese, Tracy Kidder and Katherine Boo. Editors Wendy Call and Mark Kramer do a masterful job of categorizing and extrapolating the essays. A worthy collection of thoughts on writng and getting published from a wide spectrum of writers. Well done. show less

Whether you write non fiction or fiction, this book is quite useful in pointing out things about the industry, as well as giving helpful lessons in writing. It's a bit dry in some parts, which is to be expected. The best thing about this book is how the information is relayed to the reader. Creative non fiction is really what makes up the foundation of the lessons. Journalists writing about their experiences and adventures in a creative fashion, makes for good reading.

There are many parts show more that read like a textbook; again, not surprising since this book is a guide. I would recommend this book to those who want to improve their writing, whether it be creative fiction or non fiction. show less

Richard Preston on calculating pi, David Quammen on ice, Mark Singer on Errol Morris and The Thin Blue Line, Tim Conover on truck drivers and AIDS in Africa, and lots more of the best journalism writing around.