Synopses & Reviews
An indispensable guide to nonfiction writing from the Columbia Journalism School professor and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist behind the bestsellers
Blind Eye,
Blood Sport, and
Den of Thieves.
In Follow the Story, bestselling author and journalist James B. Stewart teaches you the techniques of compelling narrative writing, from nonfiction books to articles, feature stories, or memoirs. Stewart provides concrete directions for conceiving, reporting, structuring, and writing nonfiction—techniques that he has used in his own successful books and stories. By using examples from his own work, Stewart illustrates systematically a way of thinking about and executing stories, a method that has helped numerous reporters and Columbia students become better writers.
Follow the Story examines in detail:
- How an idea is conceived
- How to “sell” ideas to editors and publishers
- How to report the nonfiction story
- Six models that can be used for any nonfiction story
- How to structure the narrative story
- How to write introductions, endings, dialogue, and description
- How to introduce and develop characters
- How to use literary devices
- Pitfalls to avoid
Learn from this book a clear way of looking at the world with the alert curiosity that is the first indispensable step toward good writing.
Review
James Stewart is the journalist every journalist would like to be.
About the Author
James B. Stewart is the author of Heart of a Soldier, the bestselling Blind Eye and Blood Sport, and the blockbuster Den of Thieves. A former Page-One editor at The Wall Street Journal, Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. He lives in New York.
Table of Contents
ContentsIntroduction
1 Curiosity
2 Ideas
3 Proposals
4 Gathering Information
5 Leads
6 Transitions
7 Structure
8 Description
9 Dialogue
10 Anecdotes
11 Humor and Pathos
12 Endings
13 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Appendixes
Index