Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction

by James B. Stewart

Book Overview

An indispensable guide to nonfiction writing from the Columbia Journalism School professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist behind the bestsellers Blind Eye, Blood Sport, and Den of Thieves.

In Follow the Story, bestselling author and journalist James B. Stewart teaches you the techniques of compelling narrative writing, from nonfiction books to articles, feature stories, or memoirs. Stewart provides...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684850672
• ISBN13: 9780684850672
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Recommended Reading for Nonfiction Narrative Writers

FOLLOW THE STORY is a joy to read. Any experienced nonfiction writer of features or narrative books will appreciate Stewart's personal stories because we are reassured that our ups-and-downs have been shared by a Pulitzer Prize recipient and Wall Street Journal editor. I re-read FOLLOW THE STORY while I was writing NIGHTMARE IN WICHITA: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler. Stewart's book helped keep me going in the right direction. In addition to James B. Stewart's FOLLOW THE STORY, I recommend Jon Franklin's WRITING FOR STORY and Tom Wolfe's THE NEW JOURNALISM. For top examples of the advice given in these books read Stewart's DEN OF THIEVES, Franklin's SHOCK-TRAUMA, and Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF. Thank you, James B. Stewart. Well done. Robert Beattie Wichita, Kansas

I've been waiting for this book!

At last. This is a book I can show to my creative nonfiction writing students and say: "Go ahead. Think like a writer.... here's a guide."

Will change your life

Anyone newspaper or magazine writer who has thought about the craft will be fascinated and, I hope, ultimately convinced by Stewart's arguments. This is not a book for beginners -- no advice on grammar -- but it is perfect for those who have been in the business awhile and miss the days when they got feedback from teachers and actually talked about issues deeper than deadlines and story lengths. There is deep thought here -- but it's not just philosophy; Stewart shows you how to make concrete improvements in your own writing.

This book is so good it feels like cheating.

First, this is an exceedingly enjoyable and engaging book. Reading it makes you feel like you know the author personally, and like him. His comments on the Wall Street Journal, where he used to be Page-1 editor, are especially fascinating. One wonders what his former colleagues think. But most of all, this book is extraordinarily helpful to anyone who wants to write narrative nonfiction---more so than I thought a book could be. Particularly useful is the discussion of how to structure stories to create tension and build suspense, to captivate and persuade. The illustrations using Stewart's own stories prove his methods work. And, of course, the stories are fun to read.

sheer distilled genius

I've not seen a better book that explains the craft of newspaper/magazine feature writing. Stewart's previous books were wonderful and he well deserved his Pulitzer Prize. Now he's distilled that knowledge for others. This is the book I use in the classes I teach on magazine/newspaper feature writing.