Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

by Jack R. Hart

As Barbara Hardy, the English literary critic, put it, “We dream in narrative, daydream in narrative, remember, anticipate, hope, despair, believe, doubt, plan, revise, criticize, construct, gossip, learn, hate, and love by narrative.”3

We live in a world of scarce resources, whether they be caviar or companionship. So characters who want something usually have to overcome opposition to get it. Wants, in other words, create conflict. “A story is a war,” said Mel McKee. “It is sustained and immediate combat.”

Voice is the signature of a single human being, and that makes all the difference. “Voice that admits ‘self’ can be a great gift to readers,” Kramer says. “It allows warmth, concern, compassion, flattery, shared imperfection—all the real stuff that, when it’s missing, makes writing brittle and larger than life.”

Voice that admits self is a great human gift.