Tips for Nonfiction Writers

In this forum, Sol Stein answers questions of general relevance asked by visitors to this web site. He also provides tips and techniques that have been useful to him in his nonfiction books and to the nonfiction writers he works with. His nonfiction authors have been nominated for the National Book Award and have earned top positions on The New York Times bestseller lists.

Question: What's the best way to bring real people to life in a nonfiction article or book?

Answer: For a person who is not central to a book or an article, your best bet is to describe one characteristic that is not common. "The garage attendant's hat was parked perilously on an excessive amount of hair." Note that the description is visual. John Updike is expert at swift, visual characterizations: "His face is so clean and rosy it looks skinned."

An individual who is central to a story or a book can be described at greater length, but don't do it all in one place. You can also characterize by a person's clothing, but avoid lists of all of the things someone is wearing. When Orange County in California had its financial troubles, a front-page New York Times story about the hapless County Treasurer said, "He was the type to wear, along with patent leather shoes and belts, red polyester pants and a green blazer at Christmas, pastels at Easter, and orange and black on Halloween." He was elsewhere characterized as having a license plate that said LOV USC (USC stand for the University of Southern California, presumably his alma mater). The story noted that "until it broke, the horn was programmed to play the school's fight song."

We call these swift characterizations "Markers." You'll find lots of examples for both fiction and nonfiction as well as information on how markers are created in "Stein on Writing" (St. Martin's Press).

Question: For nonfiction descriptions of people, what should I keep in mind?

Answer: The way they use their eyes. The way they use (or hide) their hands. Their habits and tics, such as tapping a finger, pointing eyeglasses, laughing too loud. The special way they walk or sit. Also ask yourself, would the reader be able to identify the person you're writing about if he were seen in a group of ten people?

Question: Is suspense possible or desirable in nonfiction?

Answer: Yes, to both. Suspense is the arousal and sustaining of curiosity as long as possible. Raise a question and don't answer it immediately. Set up a description of a conflict but hold off to later saying how it was resolved. Converting a sentence to a question can arouse curiosity.

Question: Are there ways of creating tension in a news story?

Answer: Tension is created in those delicious moments of anxious uncertainty. Readers love it. Here's an example of a simple police traffic story. As first written, it read: "The suspect refused to obey the policeman's order to come out of his automobile." It was edited for tension:

The policeman ordered the suspect to come out of his automobile.

The suspect didn't move.

Simple paragraphing and breaking the sentence into two creates a moment of tension. The edited story continued:

Bystanders reported that the officer then drew his gun and in a loud voice said, "Get out, now!"

The suspect shook his head and stayed put.

I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The suspect in this story turned out to be a paraplegic who needed his crutches in the back seat to get out of the car.

Question: What's the best way of handling quotes without boring the reader?

Answer: The nonfiction writer has to be accurate, but he's not hogtied the way a court reporter is. Court transcripts of actual speech are boring. If you're quoting more than a sharp sentence or two, it's a good idea to break up the quote with something visual. "She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing," suggests that the person quoted is about to say something emotional. "He coughed into his closed fist," lets us see the speaker. (Use any action, however slight, for this purpose.) "He looked pointedly at the mayor before continuing," describes a visual action and introduces an element of conflict.

Send your questions to writeprony@aol.com. Reviews of Stein on Writing by Sol Stein are available on www.amazon.com on the Internet. A 30% discount is offered. Also available at barnesandnoble.com, and at many bookstores and libraries. The Table of Contents is available on this website, Stein on Writing.