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Five Nonfiction Picks

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William K. Zinsser - 2001
Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper column, William Zinsser's On Writing Well should be required reading. Simplicity is Zinsser's mantra: he preaches a stripped-down writing style, strong and clear. He has no patience for excess (most use of adjectives and adverbs, he writes, just adds clutter) or tired phraseology (for instance, he'd like to outlaw all leads involving those "future archaeologists" most often found "stumbl[ing] upon the remains of our civilization"). Excellent price for well-founded information.

Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by a Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner
by Jon Franklin - 1994
Instead of a focus on style, grammar, and word usage, as do many books on writing, Writing for Story provides a rigorous lesson in building a nonfiction story (short or long) that has structural integrity. Franklin advocates starting with an outline, writing the climax first, and engaging in other grueling tasks that seem like hard work (because they are!). When you want to put the facts out there, a formula sure helps overcome the need to fuss up the point.

The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers
by Ayn Rand, Robert Mayhew (Editor), Peter Schwartz (Introduction) - 2001
This book is a frank demystification of the writing process that originated as a series of lectures given in 1969 to friends and other potential contributors to Rand's magazine, The Objectivist. "Any person who can speak English grammatically can learn to write nonfiction," Rand declares. All you need "is what you need for life in general: an orderly method of thinking." Rand values clarity above all else in nonfiction writing, and it is her own clearheadedness that makes this book appealing. Within these pages, Rand discusses subject and theme, audience, philosophy, outlines, writing, and editing. This book is - and in our opinion - will always be a classic.

The Art of Creative Nonfiction
by Lee Gutkind - 1997
This book is for the beginning nonfiction writer. Perhaps the best tidbit here for any writer is Gutkind's emphasis on delving deeply into one's subject matter without inserting oneself into the situation. "While immersing myself in a writing project," he says, "I routinely like to compare myself to a rather undistinguished and utilitarian end table in a living room or office. It is a fixture. You walk in and out of your living room dozens of times a day. You see the table, you expect to see the table, but you do not say, 'Well, there is the table, hello table.'" Appendices include a sample book proposal and readings, which make this book more than worthwhile.

Writing a Book That Makes a Difference
by Philip Gerard - 2002
This book is for those writers who are ready to write the world's next great novel (or even a nonfiction essay or truth-seeking short story). In other words, you want to write a story that will be published, be sold, and - to top it off - that will alter people's lives. Gerard tackles a grandiose subject, but he does it well, as usual. After all, we all want to make a difference, don't we? And, what better way to do it by writing well? Gerard gives us a leg up on that goal.