WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION: HOW

Gives practical advice on writing more interesting prose, explains how to make use of dialogue, character development and point of view, and discusses research methods and ethical issues

Cheney's premise is that novelistic techniques can enliven nonfiction, and he has attempted to create a comprehensive manual instructing prospective writers how to do just that. He describes how to develop scenes, characters, and dialog and demonstrates these techniques with quotes from an assortment of eminent nonfiction authors. From standard strategies for developing a piece of writing to ethical considerations in writing, Cheney details the nonfiction process, but his own writing is uneven. His comments on authors' passages are often repetitive and trite, and his overuse of parenthetical re marks becomes intrusive. Furthermore, the section on research suffers from his own lack of updated research on online databases. Despite the book's flaws, novice writers could benefit from much of Cheney's advice and from the writing samples of the illustrative authors.
- Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Manassas
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.