Essential Readings on Writing a Creative Non-Fiction

This is the list of resources for effective creative non-fiction writing. I will continue to update this page regularly. Although I have not yet read all the books and articles, I hope to keep this list as a reference to guide my reading.

Books to read on writing a creative non-fiction:

1. On Writing Well: The Classical Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
2. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
3. The Elements of Style by William Strunk
4. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
5. Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola
6. The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life by Dinty W. Moore

Articles to read on creative writing:

1. ‘How to become a writer or, have you earned this cliché?’ by Lorrie Moore
2. ‘Art and Artifact of Creative Nonfiction’ by Dinty W. Moore
3. ‘Notes on Writing Nonfiction Stories’ by Beth Taylor
4. ‘On Brown University’s New Nonfiction Writing Program—A focus within the English Concentration’ by Beth Taylor

My blog articles on writing well:

1. ‘George Orwell and the Rules for Writing Well’ by Adarsh Badri
2. ‘How to Read a Book like Virginia Woolf’ by Adarsh Badri
3. ‘To Write Like Orhan Pamuk is to Struggle Through Writing’ by Adarsh Badri
4. ‘Notes: Paul Graham’s Tips About Writing’ by Adarsh Badri
5. ’10 Practical Tips for Writing an Excellent Book Review’ by Adarsh Badri

Interviews and YouTube:

1. “A writer is a writer is a writer”: Q/A with Dinty Moore
2. A Masterclass in Narrative Nonfiction with Ben Rawlence
3. Great Brown Nonfiction Writers’ Lecture Series: Rachel Aviv
4. “The Making of Narrative Non-fiction: From Idea to Bestseller” featuring Isabel Wilkerson
5. Steven Pinker on Good Writing, with Ian McEwan

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