Crafting the Personal Essay

By Dinty W. Moore

Format: Paperback

SKU# Z5927

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Award winning essayist Scott Russell Sanders once compared the art of essay writing to "the pursuit of mental rabbits"—a rambling through thickets of thought in search of some brief glimmer of fuzzy truth. While some people persist in the belief that essays are stuffy and antiquated, the truth is that the personal essay is an ever-changing creative medium that provides an ideal vehicle for satisfying the human urge to document truths as we experience them and share them with others—to capture a bit of life on paper.

Crafting the Personal Essay is designed to help you explore the flexibility and power of the personal essay in your own writing. This hands-on, creativity-expanding guide will help you infuse your nonfiction with honesty, personality, and energy. You'll discover:

An exploration of the basics of essay writing

Ways to step back and scrutinize your experiences in order to separate out what may be fresh, powerful, surprising or fascinating to a reader

How to move past private "journaling" and write for an audience

How to write eight different types of essays including memoir, travel, humor, and nature essays among others

Instruction for revision and strategies for getting published

Brimming with helpful examples, exercises, and sample essays, this indispensable guide will help your personal essays transcend the merely private to become powerfully universal.

About the Author

Dinty W. Moore's essays and stories have appeared in numerous publications including The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harpers, and Utne Reader. His books include Between Panic & Desire, The Accidental Buddhist, Toothpick Men, The Emperor's Virtual Clothes, and The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction.

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Online Exclusive: Q&A with author Dinty W. Moore

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