Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction

By Suzanne Paola and Brenda Miller

Book Overview

Creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing segment in the writing market. Yet, the majority of writing guides are geared toward poetry and fiction writers.Tell It Slantfills the gap. Designed for aspiring nonfiction writers, this much-needed reference provides practical guidance, writing exercises, and a detailed discussion of the range of subcategories that make up the genre, including memoir, travel writing, investigative reporting, and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071444947
• ISBN13: 9780071444941
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Tell It Slant

Outstanding book for any one serious about learning the craft of creative non-fiction writing (memoirs, personal essays, nature essays, etc.). A large anthology section of successful writer essays and short stories further illustrates (by example) the various proven style formats, use of sensory descriptions, character development, effective use of dialog, and the like, covered within each easy to read chapter. Highly recommended.

Tell it Slant

I was very happy with our transaction. The book was here quickly and it was in good condition. I keep all my books so condition is important. I saved a few dollars by not purchasing my book at my college bookstore and that is a big plus too. Being able to pay by debit card is also convenient. An over all pleasant experience. Thank you Teri Shaffer

Good Buy

This book was received in the condition as described by the seller. I was completely satisfied with this purchase.

It's a great book! See also The Tao of Writing (by me)

I've gone round and round trying to find a reasonably good text for a creative nonfiction course I'm teaching in the spring. Tell It Slant was sitting on my bookshelf, so I picked it up one day. It gets to the point, offers excellent, accessible advice, and allows me to teach writing. For a complete novice, it might be too little, but for an experienced writer and teacher, it's an excellent introduction to creative nonfiction. My sole complaint is that it's overpriced. I suspect that's a result of it's textbook classification, a pet-peeve of mine. Students shouldn't have to pay $40 for a paperback, or for any textbook for that matter. Even so, that's not the authors' fault, and I highly recommend this book. Ralph Wahlstrom

Worth Every Penny

I'm surprised I'm the first person to review this book! Having recently read a half-dozen other titles on the subject, I find myself coming back to this one again and again. If you want to start writing creative nonfiction RIGHT NOW, this is the book for you. It's extremely well-written and accessible. Each chapter offers plenty of exercises for the individual writer and variations on the exercises for writing groups. All of the various forms of creative nonfiction are explained, as well as the challenges they entail. The authors divide the book into three major parts focusing on "unearthing" the material, the forms of creative nonfiction, and "honing your craft." They discuss such topics as sentence rhythm, exposition versus scene, the pitfalls of "revenge prose," basics of good writing, mining your memory, and writing groups. There is a very good bibliography and plenty of brief examples of other writers' work. In short, a wealth of information can be found between the covers of this slim 185-page book. Buy this book before you buy any other book on writing creative nonfiction.