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Summary: Making Non-Fiction Fictional
Review: As a two-time pulitzer winner, Jon Franklin tries to elaborate how he was able to convert a newspaper story into a fiction and win a pulitzer for it. This sounding pretty interesting, I started this book and learnt something indeed. The author presents two characteristic stories, explains in detail the methodology he takes in writing stories and applies them perfectly to make us understand. The methods and the dissection of a story are wise and stories are interesting. Well Worth a read if you intend to make your write up interesting.
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Summary: One of the best: for fiction writers too!
Review: Franklin does what may be the best job anywhere of inviting a reader to "get inside a writer's mind." And if you're going to get so intimate with the mental gyrations of an author, why not a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner? Here you will find both award-winning stories, in their "natural state" as well as heavily annotated versions as appendices. But you will also find page after page of sound advice on how to structure, pace, and otherwise "craft" a piece of non-fiction so it has dramatic appeal. While it may seem a bit of a formulaic approach, Franklin offers persuasive rationale for every writing step he outlines. I would highly recommend this book for fiction writers as well as those who are interested in journalistic challenges. While the "inspiration" books, such as Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" and Lamotte's "Bird by Bird" are certainly vital for fueling imagination and motivation, Franklin's "Writing for Story" is the necessary complimentary work for putting all those creative forces into an effective structure. Should be a standard reference book for every aspiring (and experienced) author!
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Summary: How Did This Hack EVER Win the Pulitzer Prize?
Review: I've read this book twice through. It is a dreadful piece of hack work. The stories Franklin presents as exemplary (his!) are awful. And the last chapter, "The Nature of Art and Artists" is frankly bizarre.
Avoid this one like the plague. Pick up Zinsser, Tarsis, Joseph Williams, or any of a number of others.
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Summary: More better elsewhere ...
Review: In lieu of Franklin's captivating metaphorical style, before sculpting a masterpiece, one must start by working with a hunk of clay. The humble and perhaps unattractive beginning serves as the solid base for all that follows, which will be molded from the inspiration of the artist. Writing for Story is the clay for any aspiring writer.
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Summary: A Difficult Read
Review: Jon Franklin's book was a disappointment. There were a few good tips in the book, but they were nothing new to anyone who is studying how to write good non-fiction. These same pieces of advice could be found in any high school text book. The only difference is that the structure of this book makes it hard to find a specific piece of information. There is no index or glossary to make this book a useful reference book. I found the book difficult to read because he devoted much of the book to describing what a wonderful writer he thinks he is. I would have found the book more useful if he included examples of works written by other authors along with an analysis of why he liked their work. One last complaint about this book: Jon refers to a story written about a mother having trouble loving her mongoloid child. As a special educator, I find it very offensive that he did not correct this outdated term and replace it with the term Down syndrome.
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Summary: A Happy Little Secret
Review: Lay people often suggest that journalists are bums, that writers get paid to watch a ball game or a movie or whatever their beats may entail. They fail to realize that the crux of the job lays with the writing. This book makes the observations of those lay people a bit more applicable -- writing a great story and seeing its components are fundamental skills that aren't difficult to learn. Read "Writing for Story," and you'll be that much closer to living the life of a writer with few worries. (Thanks to Dr. Dennis Jackson of the University of Delaware's journalism department for leading years of students to this wonderful book.)
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Summary: Opened my eyes
Review: Look: This is a damn good book. It's a fantastic primer on Structure and Style. I've read it three times.
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Summary: Good writing is no accident
Review: This book makes it very clear that good writing is no accident. Now I understand the difference between writing that is clear and readable and writing that is not. Too much work? I think not. I like to read writing I don't have to decipher to try to figure out what the writer meant, and I would rather not have my own writing misinterpreted. Jon Franklin makes it very clear how a writer can make that difference with a little bit...okay, a lot...of effort. Effort that can only pay off in true communication between the author and his/her reader...and isn't that what it's all about?
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Summary: More than a "how-to" book
Review: This is the best book I've ever read on the subject of structure and craft. I read it several years ago and am still using ideas I gained from it. I don't really think that anybody can learn to write from reading a book on writing, but I do believe that those, like me, who write for a living day after day need the wisdom and inspiration of really fine writers like Jon Franklin. The annotated text for his feature story on brain surgery is worth a college course.
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