Writing True Stories

Book excerpt: Patti Miller's best-selling Writing True Stories is the essential book for anyone who has ever wanted to write a memoir or explore the wider territory of creative nonfiction. It provides practical guidance and inspiration on a vast array of writing topics, including how to access memories, find a narrative voice, build a vivid world on the page, create structure, use research, and face the difficulties of truth-telling. It first develops a wide range of writing skills for beginners, and then challenges more experienced writers to extend their knowledge and practice of the genre into literary nonfiction, true crime, biography, the personal essay, the diary, and travel writing. It offers inspiration from other nonfiction writers, such as Joan Didion, Helen Garner, Robert Dessaix, and Zadie Smith. Whether you want to write your own memoir, investigate a wide-ranging political issue, explore an idea, or bring to life an intriguing history, this book will be your guide. Writing True Stories is practical and easy to use as well as an encouraging and insightful companion on the writing journey. Written in a warm, clear, and engaging style, it will get you started on the story you want to write – and keep you going until you get there.