Chapter 1 Telling True Stories: Creative Approaches to Bringing Non-fiction to Life
In: Storytelling: Global Reflections on NarrativeSearch for other papers by Dean Jobb in
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Abstract
Character. Scene. Dialogue. Setting. The novelist’s tools are the building-blocks of vivid storytelling; the essential ingredients of the best nonfiction narratives, bringing true stories to life in the same way that fiction writers draw readers into a world of make-believe. This chapter identifies and explores techniques that historians, social scientists and other scholars can use to improve their storytelling skills, offering nonfiction writers innovative ways to engage readers, expanding the audience for their work. Excerpts from the bestselling books of writers such as Erik Larson (The devil in the white city); David McCullough (The Wright brothers); Kate Colquhoun (Did she kill him?); and Simon Winchester (The professor and the madman) are used to demonstrate how these storytellers breathe life into events, past and present. I also draw on my own experience as a writing instructor and as the author of six books of creative nonfiction; my latest, Empire of deception, recreates the exploits of a master swindler in 1920s Chicago. The best nonfiction reads like fiction while remaining true to the factual record, without embellishment or distortion. Writers of all disciplines can emulate the way these writers create memorable characters, employ dialogue, describe scenes and recreate a time and place.