Talking to writers The craft of fiction

Nelson, a journalist and the author of 15 books, has been in conversation with writers for three decades as founder and host of the annual Writer's Symposium By The Sea. He is also the founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. Nelson explains: "I started the Symposium to model, inspire, and celebrate great writing. Interviewing these writers was a way for me to say to our audience, and now to you,'aspire to this.'" Nelson's introductions to Talking to Writers: The Craft of Fiction and Talking to Writers: The Craft of Nonfiction combine folksy and anecdotal overall advice to writers as well as guidance pertaining to specific challenges associated with fiction or nonfiction. Then, instead of simply presenting collections of author interviews, he weaves thoughtfully selected excerpts from his conversations with authors into chapters addressing particular aspects of writing. The same chapter headings appear in both books and include these questions: "Why Do Stories Matter?" "Where Do Ideas Come From?" "How Does Your Mindset Affect Your Writing?" "How Does Faith Affect Your Writing?" "How Important is Discipline?" "How Do You Handle Rejection and Criticism?" The Craft of Fiction showcases Ray Bradbury, Chitra Divakaruni, Joyce Carol Oates, Chris Bohjalian, Jane Smiley, Anchee Min, Nnedi Okorafor, Alice Walker, Anthony Doerr, Amor Towles, Don Winslow, Nick Hornby, and Amy Tan. Poets are also present, such as Billy Collins, Nikki Giovanni, and Christian Wiman. The writers in The Craft of Nonfiction include Pico Iyer, Krista Tippett, Bill Moyers (to whom this book is dedicated), Michael Eric Dyson, Maria Hinojosa, Susan Orlean, and Cornel West. Some writers appear in both volumes, among them Anne Lamott, Luis Alberto Urrea, Elizabeth Gilbert, and M. Scott Momaday. Alas, the authors, some of whom won't be familiar to readers, are not introduced, nor are bios provided in the back matter. But Nelson's smart and lively commentary and the richly illuminating interview selections flow together smoothly, and aspiring writers will find genuinely useful advice and inspiration in these invaluable, enjoyable volumes.

Journalist Nelson (Talk to Me) compiles highlights from more than 30 years of interviews conducted at his Writer's Symposium by the Sea in this witty and invigorating window into the writing life. Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott, N. Scott Momaday, Don Winslow, and others share how they got their starts as writers, how they've endured rejection, what keeps them writing, and where they get ideas, along with a few less expected topics (e.g., how faith does or does not affect one's writing). The conversations mix levity with gravity: Momaday jokes that a writer's intent should be to write something that might astonish God or James Earl Jones, who are almost the same. Others paraphrase common but essential truths; in observing that specifics make the story, Anthony Doerr muses that "the great irony of fiction writing is that the path to the universal is through the individual... you can't lose yourself too often in the big ideas, but you also can't get so focused on the minutiae of your characters' lives that you forget that you're trying to tell something other people can relate to"). At its best, the collection captures the spark of a live conversation, balancing practical insight with moments of genuine delight. Less how-to manual than a mosaic of perspectives, this will be a boon to aspiring writers. (Nov.)