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Style and Story: Literary Methods for Writing Nonfiction
There are two basic rules for writing nonfiction, says historian and award-winning author Stephen J. Pyne. Rule 1: You can’t make stuff up. Rule 2: You can’t leave out known stuff that affects our understanding. Follow these rules, and you are writing nonfiction. Writing for different audiences and genres will require further guidelines. But all readers expect that style and story (or more broadly, theme) will complement one another.
Style and Story is for those who wish to craft nonfiction texts that do more than simply relay facts and arguments. Pyne explains how writers can employ literary tools and strategies to have art and craft add value to their theme. With advice gleaned from nearly a dozen years of teaching writing to graduate students, Pyne offers pragmatic guidance on how to create powerful nonfiction, whether for an academic or popular audience.
Each chapter offers samples that span genres, showcasing the best kinds of nonfiction writing. Pyne analyzes these examples that will help writers understand how they can improve their nonfiction through their choice of voice, words, structure, metaphors, and narrative. Pyne builds on his previous guide, Voice and Vision , expanding the range of topics to include openings and closings, humor and satire, historical writing, setting scenes, writing about technical matters and deep details, long and short narration, reading for craft, and thoughts on writing generally. He also includes in this volume a set of exercises to practice writing techniques.
Style and Story will be treasured by anyone, whether novice or expert, who seeks guidance to improve the power of their nonfiction writing.
Style and Story is for those who wish to craft nonfiction texts that do more than simply relay facts and arguments. Pyne explains how writers can employ literary tools and strategies to have art and craft add value to their theme. With advice gleaned from nearly a dozen years of teaching writing to graduate students, Pyne offers pragmatic guidance on how to create powerful nonfiction, whether for an academic or popular audience.
Each chapter offers samples that span genres, showcasing the best kinds of nonfiction writing. Pyne analyzes these examples that will help writers understand how they can improve their nonfiction through their choice of voice, words, structure, metaphors, and narrative. Pyne builds on his previous guide, Voice and Vision , expanding the range of topics to include openings and closings, humor and satire, historical writing, setting scenes, writing about technical matters and deep details, long and short narration, reading for craft, and thoughts on writing generally. He also includes in this volume a set of exercises to practice writing techniques.
Style and Story will be treasured by anyone, whether novice or expert, who seeks guidance to improve the power of their nonfiction writing.
- GenresWriting
216 pages, Paperback
Published October 2, 2018
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November 25, 2020
Stephen Pyne comes off as pompous and pedantic in this book. For all that he implores readers to write in an understandable way, his vocabulary is VERY advanced. I think I have an advanced vocabulary, but I kept reaching for the dictionary while reading this book.
That said, I learned a lot from Pyne and this book will stay on my shelf as a solid reference. I need to read more academic and classic literature. Pyne gave me some great tools for analyzing the moves writers make when they build plotlines and arguments.
That said, I learned a lot from Pyne and this book will stay on my shelf as a solid reference. I need to read more academic and classic literature. Pyne gave me some great tools for analyzing the moves writers make when they build plotlines and arguments.
Displaying 1 of 1 review