Crafting The Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Non-Fiction

Walking into a dinner of venison leaves one suspicious that you are too late for the hunt. An essay is more about the hunt and less about the dinner, according to Dinty Moore. It is the tension of the hunt that draws the reader in.In his book, Crafting the Personal Essay, Moore both describes the genre of an essay and how it is constructed. There are, of course, numerous types of essays, each with its own particular interests and contributions to the genre. Moore writes:“The personal essayist (that would be you) takes a topic—virtually any topic under the big yellow sun—and holds it up the big bright light, turning it this way and that, upside and down, studying every perspective, fault, and reflection, in an artful attempt to perceive something fresh and significant. But it is always an effort, a trial, not a lecture or diatribe.” (5)The interest here in exploring and describing the world (a protestant or reformation idea[1]) and the focus on the essayist’s particular voice (or insights) suggests that the essay is a product of the romantic era of the nineteenth century.[2] In fact, Moore dates the earliest essay to a Frenchman, Michel de Montaigne, circa 1571 (39)—an antecedent to romanticism. Consequently, the work of the Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans would not qualify as a personal essay, even though there is tension between nature and nurture in his arguments, because he looks for the voice of God rather than trying to develop his own voice as a writer.[3]Dinty Moore teaches writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and is the author of many books and articles.[4] In Crafting the Personal Essay, Moore divides his advice to the writer breaks into two parts: “writing the essay” and “reaching readers” (vii—viii). Eighteen of his 23 chapters focus on the writing the essay.Moore’s advice takes the form of description, story-telling, examples, writing assignments, and handicapping his own and other people essays. Many of his chapters, for example, end with a short-list of tips for writers. In chapter 14, Writing the Humorous Essay, Moore offers these three tips:“You need a story, not just jokes. If your goal is to write compelling nonfiction, the story must always come first…The humorous essay is no place to be mean or spiteful…The funniest people don’t guffaw at their own jokes.” (162)The different kinds of essays that outlines might make distinct genre in their own right, but add color to as segments of other essays. Much like I might not see myself writing a stand-alone humorous or a gastronomical essay, knowing the basic premise of each helps in throwing a bit of spice into any meal, err—essay!Although a slow read is appropriate, I found myself anxiously turning the pages to see what would come next. This was especially true in chapter 10 (A Closer Look: Ah Wilderness) where Moore writes about a canoe trip that he took down the Rio Grande River. Moore starts this chapter with a question:“You can steer, can’t you?” (114)What an introduction! Can you image being stuck in a canoe for several days with a hyper-active, know-it-all canoe partner? (At this point, I was having flashbacks to my days as a canoeing instructor in a scout camp). The point is that Moore doesn’t just tell you how to write, he shows you—that is, in fact, one of his tips.As a lifelong writer, I found his advice on rewriting most convicting. He writes:“What is required, if your essay and writing skills are going to improve by leaps and bounds, is a total reconsideration of each every element of yours essay.” (220)It’s like starting a remodeling project by moving absolutely all your furniture and furnishings into the front yard and only bringing back to room items that fit your new concept for the room (220-221). Ouch! That sounds like real work—like typing your dissertation on a manual typewriter before the invention of whiteout type work…Dinty Moore’s Crafting the Personal Essay is an interesting and helpful read. Writers of all genre and skill levels will want to take a look.ReferencesDyrness, William A. 2001. Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic.McGrath, Alister. 2004. The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World. New York: DoubleDay.[1] Calivin, for example, writes: “let us not be ashamed to take pious delight in the works of God open and manifest in the most beautiful theatre.” (Dyness 2001, 53).[2]“For some, the intellectual leaders of society were poets—the ‘unacknowledged legislators of mankind,’ as Percy Bysshe Shelley called them. The poet bore the heavy weight of articulating a moral vision for humanity, grounded in reason and nature, and inspiring a community to yearn for a new and better order…” (McGrath 2004, 50). Instead, what they got were the French and Russian revolutions.[3] See: Romans: Faith Seeking Understanding [...].[4] [...]

We all have a story. Some are more adventurous, exciting, or glamorous, but all are interesting to someone. We all like to think our lives are more than a footnote in the passing of time and indeed they are for the people who know us. After all, even the worst life can be useful as a bad example. How then do we preserve the important events of our lives and communicate the things we want to say in a way that others will want to read? Dinty Moore is both author and teacher who has been recognized for his work and this book puts in one resource his approach to the various forms of the personal essay. He offers help for the comtemplative essay, the humorous essay, the spiritual essay, and the memoir among others. For anyone who has something to say, whether it's passing on your favorite family recipes, or passing on the wisdom you have learned, if you would like to improve the chances of someone actually reading it, this book will prove a helpful tool.

I like Dinty W. Moore’s Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction because Moore does a masterful job of showing the apprentice how it’s done. Other how-to writers on the topic do, but Moore uses more stick-to-itiveness in his approach. A goodly number of similar titles are on the market, and all those I have read stress advice that has become particular to the author's experience and expertise. Of course, all stress an approach to the writing process that has served them best. But when I finish reading their advice, I feel as if these writers are not quite in my corner.Moore’s approach sounds more like that of the bricklayer than that of the academic, although he is that, too.

I had hoped for more than an essay about essays. By trying to cover too much Moore covered little well. At least for me I buy books to gain focused knowledge quickly. The general knowledge Moore offered did not meet this criteria. This said, I did enjoy the chapters on writing the memoir and spiritual essays. Unfortunately most of Moore’s book is so basic it is not useful. I hoped for more. I got less.An alternative I might suggest is Phillip Lopate's excellent "The Art of Personal Essay". In his Introduction he provides an excellent tutorial on personal essay. It is very, very good!

I like to check a few things initially when getting a reference/idea book. 1) If I open it to any page, will I get something from it useful and want to keep reading. Check+, 2) Are there samples, references, and source material...i.e. url's to use. Check+, and 3) Clarity and common sense language indicating they have the "chops" and have been in our moccasins. Check+ Add this author is the synapses behind Brevity Online Magazine, it is a book with lots of info for a myriad of newbie and experienced author types out there, and I'd give it 8-10 stars if needed. Sure beats a "webinar" or one-day class that leaves the bank account tapped and that 30-hours-later angst of "whiskey-tango-foxtrot" did I spend my money on. Just my opinion. This is a keeper for sure.

The most helpful part of this book is how it orients you to the myriad of different types of essays. Each area includes helpful tips and even creative writing prompts that got my head whirling with ideas. In terms of fulfilling it's promise on "crafting" the personal there are books that go far deeper like Story Craft and You Cant Make This Stuff Up. The real value in Dinty's book is in helping budding essayist understand what they're getting into, and to "assay" if creative non-fiction is for them. On that front, it does it's job brilliantly.

Looking for some writing topics, this text offers a great way to focus on writing your own story. The book focuses on the personal reasons for writing and then also how to reach others with what you write. It is a personal course on writing, allowing the writer to review the contents at their own pace. I would recommend it for anyone looking at memoir or personal reflective writing.

This volume provided much-needed insight and information as I prepared to co-lead a continuing class at a writers' conference.

Not to my liking, and it didn't help me one darn.

Takes the reader through the various types of essays and explains the differences between then, their function and purpose. Fairly essential for anyone studying arts.