After all, revising is a lot of what writing is all about. I found the journal entries included by various writers to be a nice touch, and the discussions on development, revision, and workshop were all really useful. The book is peppered with (good!) writing prompts, and throughout there are readings in the various genres. Along with these subsections, there are also entire chapters on the “elements of craft,” all which are relevant to creative nonfiction. The chapter on creative nonfiction is particularly useful and covers the personal essay and memoir, gives helpful techniques, and has a section on “Fact and Truth” (a vital discussion in this genre!). This is a great place to start if you’re new to the personal essay, or even to writing in general.īurroway surveys four genres in separate chapters (fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction), and at the end of each provides readings in the discussed genre.
Janet Burroway – Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft.But all of them have helped in some way to shape my writing and understanding of personal essays. Some of the titles I encountered while doing my MFA others came in preparation for it and a couple came much, much earlier. I happened upon good resources, and was later accepted into an MFA program, after which I had a built-in network of resources, guidance, and lists. But even after this, I always wished there had been some place in which I could learn about essay writing, preferably online, and preferably free, when I was going it solo.Īnd so, with this in mind, I thought that I would share a list of books that I’ve found useful as I’ve learned to write personal essays. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I’d read one before (turns out I had.) Even though I had a BA in English literature, I could not remember ever hearing the term “personal essay.”Īnd while I didn’t know where to look for essays (good or otherwise), or where to find out how to write them, I knew I wanted to try it out desperately enough that I was seriously thinking about studying the personal essay in grad school. Without a good reading list as a guide, I approached my research of the essay with a kind of hit-and-miss tactic that was random at best, haphazard at worst.
When I first tried writing personal essays, I didn’t have a clue how to write one. And it works best if it’s given from the vantage point of experience, to point me in the right direction. I’ve found that as long as I have a good reading list on my current topic of interest, I can pretty much learn independently. Of course, it helps if it’s compiled by someone who has the big picture in mind.
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