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Why shouldn’t nonfiction writing be as well-crafted, interesting, even exciting as fiction? Indeed, Hart draws on fiction-writing techniques to answer this implied question.
While the writer may not have control over the facts themselves, she does have a say in how she conveys them. Aspects such as painting the scene, characterisation, dialogue, even point of view, all have an important part to play.
An especially useful idea is the ladder of abstraction, which is equivalent, in cinematic terminology, to the level of detail in a scene, from close-up to long shot.
Assisted by diagrams illustrating “plot points”, “story arcs” and other concepts, and real-life examples, the author illustrates how a factual account can be transformed from a boring recitation of facts to a page-turner.
While this book is aimed at professional writers, teachers will find it a very useful repository of tools and techniques from the world of prize-winning journalism.
This review first appeared in Teach Secondary magazine.
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