Customer Reviews

The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers

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This book takes the aspiring writer step-by-step through the process showing him how to organize his thoughts and communicate them clearly.

It is loaded with practical advice on how to choose a subject and theme, judge one's audience, apply philosophy without preaching it, create an outline, write a draft, and edit. Ayn Rand is empathetic and reassuring to a writer having difficulties and she offers solutions for problems of self-doubt, writers block, transitions, style, how to get ideas for writing, and many more.

Editor Mayhew has done an excellent job of translating Ayn Rand from the spoken word to the written page and has brought her passion for ideas and for writing alive again.

"You are not writing for the cause, for humanity, for posterity. You are writing because you *want* to write; and if you do not want to, you do not have to, neither today not ever. Remind yourself that it is all for your own happiness, and if you truly dislike the activity, do not try it. Writing is too difficult to do with a half-intention." - Ayn Rand.

Books that purport to teach you how to write abound, so why pick Ayn Rand's?

First, she herself was a master of the art of writing. And just as the unequaled excellence of *The Fountainhead* and *Atlas Shrugged* should make anyone curious to read *The Art of Fiction*, her demonstrated ability to combine logic with emotional power in countless articles is the best recommendation one could find for the present volume. *The Art of Nonfiction* is a reliable guide for the same reasons that books on martingales written from a trailer are not.

Second, not only was Ayn Rand an experienced and highly talented non-fiction writer, but she also had the kind of mind that enabled her to make sense of her ability. Just because someone can do something does not mean he can explain how he does it. Dogs can catch balls, but they are poor teachers of ballistics, and many writers, when it comes to explaining their art, are no better.

What makes Rand a first-rate teacher of the art of non-fiction is first of all her epistemology. The author of *An Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology*, Rand developed a theory of concepts which she summarizes here in very simple terms: "only concretes exist... abstractions are merely a method of classifying concretes". Based on this theory, she formed her concepts deliberately and consciously, and she had an uncanny ability, best described by her student and heir Leonard Peikoff, to "oscillate" between various levels of abstractions, from simple percepts to the highest "abstractions from abstractions". Such a capacity she shows here to be essential to non-fiction writing.

Ayn Rand also laid the foundations for a science she called "psycho-epistemology", which she defined as "the study of man's cognitive processes from the aspect of the interaction between the conscious mind and the unconscious". This science is absolutely necessary to understand the process of non-fiction writing, which is essentially a collaboration between the conscious and the sub-conscious - the former dealing mostly with the outline and editing stages, and the latter, with the actual writing. The whole secret of Rand's writing technique is the skillful management of these co-workers in the writing process.

*The Art of Nonfiction* is a slim but dense and very well organized volume which will be of particular interest not only to professional writers, but to amateurs, from the student with a paper to draft to the techno-freak who wants his webpage actually to be, and not merely look, good. As for those whose opinion of Ayn Rand has been entirely shaped by about half a century of smears, they will be astounded by the clarity, the honesty and the benevolence of the woman they have been lied about for so long.

To me the interesting aspects of such books on writing is not the general how-to advice but rather the specifics of how different writers approach the craft. Rand certainly approaches writing far more systematically than any of the other writers I have read on this subject (Annie Dillard & Steven King in particular) but in part this may be because the subject of the book deals only with nonfiction writing-a field requiring more discipline than fiction writing.

While I think that any reader would be in trouble if they sought to follow Rand's methods too closely there is much good advice that can be taken and adapted to one's own style. But while some of her methodologies might be too specific for one to apply to there own writing they do highlight Rand's worth as an artist- she lets no word go to waste, each one is intentional and thought through.

This is the first book that I have read by Rand so I am not overly familiar with her philosophy but such foreknowledge is not necessary to understand and enjoy this book as her other works only come up as helpful examples used to illustrate style points.

Like I said before, there is much good advice to be had here but don't try to follow it all too closely or else you will make yourself crazy; the main worth of the book is in the inspiration one can get from finding out how a great writer works.

This is a much better book than I expected. Gone is the stern, hectoring martinet of rationality and free enterprise that one usually encounters in her articles. Instead, we have a conversation with a particularly astute and self-aware writer revealing how she goes about her business. In twelve chapters she covers the basic issues: choosing a subject, addressing one's audience, creating an outline, writing the first draft, editing, and so on. She has definite notions on the functioning of one's conscious and subconscious minds, which she delineates in detail. She even covers the issue of writer's block, which she calls "the squirms."

Overall, she endeavors to take the mystery out of writing, emphasizing that there is nothing mystical about it: If one can write grammatically one can eventually succeed at writing coherent articles through dint of practice and following certain basic principles, which she shares.

It's too soon to say just how useful I found this book, but it definitely has potential and is worth reading for its distinctive way of addressing writing.

I'll admit it-for a long time I lost my writing "mojo." I went from being founder and editor of a fortnightly student newspaper in my college days that could write in his sleep to, well, a non-writing mook.

Why? Basically I gave my brain an impossible order. I commanded it to write the definitive, great article that would answer all questions, assuage all doubts, conquer all foes, (and hell, shame all competition). Where others had failed, I would succeed. Sure, I knew better, but deep in the back of my mind, that's the order I gave myself. And now I have a great blank paper collection to commemorate that period.

"The Art of Nonfiction" has been key to helping me put an end to that self-imposed writer's block. Novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, in a series of informal lectures on non-fiction writing that have been adapted to make up this book, explains once and for all the thought that goes into good writing. With her trademark clarity, Rand covers all the bases, from choosing one's subject, to managing one's editing and style. She does this not in a way that reads like a "do this because" lecture that one would promptly ignore, but in a way that makes simple, no-nonsense sense. These are guides you'll follow.

If writing clear, persuasive essays is your aspiration, this book provides you with a practical blueprint. Happy writing!

As with so much of Ayn Rand's writing, she takes on an issue (in this case, nonfiction writing) that seems hopelessly complex, and then explains it with such clarity that you're left wondering what all the confusion was about in the first place. If you're stuck in your writing, even if you've never read anything by Rand before, this book is priceless.

The Art of Nonfiction is taken from a series of informal lectures that Ayn Rand gave to students in 1969 on the topic of the art of nonfiction writing. It was not prepared for publication by Rand, but the material in it was culled from these lectures, for which Rand had only an outline to prepare her. The Art of Nonfiction serves as a companion piece to The Art of Fiction, both from an author who wrote some of the Twentieth Century's most important and influential fiction and nonfiction works.

This work aims to teach the reader the principles behind the art of nonfiction writing. The chapters, which follow the order of the lectures given by Rand, cover such topics as how to get ideas for writing, the importance of and how to create an effective outline, the role of the conscious and subconscious in writing, editing, and how to prepare an article for publication. The book focuses on nonfiction article writing (all of Rand's published nonfiction works are compilations of her nonfiction essays), but also offers advice on nonfiction book writing. Rand was convinced of the omnipresence of one's philosophy in one's life and work, and this is evident in this book, which is replete with tie-ins to her philosophy and fascinating philosophical analysis of such topics as the nature of the subconscious mind and how to properly allow one's philosophical convictions influence one's writing.

Although the content is excellent and the progression is logical and persuasive, the reader should bear in mind that the material in it was neither prepared by nor intended for publication by Rand, who did not believe that the material as presented in these lectures would be good enough for publication. Still, it is remarkable how solid the material is, considering that it was done with little preparation on Rand's part.

One need not agree with Rand's philosophy to gain value from this book, so well reasoned and persuasive is her presentation. Both writers and readers have much to gain from this important addition to Ayn Rand's literature.

I was rather impressed with what Rand had to say about writing and style. As the authoress of the second-most influential book ("Atlas Shrugged"), she has a lot to say on the matter. And, as always, you cannot stop a bandersnatch.

There are some preliminaries. First, as with all of her writings, this book's ideas are outgrowths of her philosophy of Objectivism. For Rand aficionados, you know that it keeps cropping up with everything that she writes. So if you either agree with her, or are willing to plow around it, then get this book.

Second, this book is really edited selections from a longer seminar she had on writing. If the discussion seems out of joint at times, it is due to the selecting/editing process. To help round out here ideas, I suggest reading "The Art of Writing Fiction" and "The Romanic Manifesto," all of which were extracted from this same meeting.

Rand is one of the finest systematic thinkers ever, and this book shows it. She is able to take something apart, separate, correlate, and analyze the parts, and then put it back together again.

By being so analytical, she gets the writing process right. The first five chapters are really the basting cap essential in explosive writing. Writing can be simplified by preparation, organization, and thinking, which is the message of these chapters.

Chapters 5 through 8 cover the more traditional nuts and bolts of writing. Chapter 5, on creating an outline, is the key link between thinking and writing. She is right when suggesting that everyone writing nonfiction should use an outline. It organizes both the mind and the writing. I was glad that the editors included some sample outlines of Rand's writing, to watch how the process proceeds from outline to full article.

I think out of all of the chapters, "Writing the Draft" was the most helpful. The editor subtitled it "The primacy of the subconscious." This highlights Rand's point that writing is really something that comes spontaneously form a disciplined mind. Furthermore, the chapter contains several subsections on "The Squirms," helpful mulling, euthanizing pet sentences, and handling interruptions.

This last point cannot be emphasized too much: writing is a job, and it takes concentration. Rand likens it to heating a blast furnace--you work up to a high temperature, and that temperature must be maintained for weeks to get the desired results. While writing "Atlas Shrugged," she had to sequester herself for thirteen years.

I have a similar experience while writing. People visibly see you clacking on the computer, but what they do not see is the amount of focus inside your head, invisible to your eyes. So they want you to answer the phone, run this errand, baby-sit, chat, paint a house, watch some idiotizing program on TV, or come in on your day off because so-and-so called in sick so they could stay home watching some idiotizing program on TV. You need to be as harsh with writing as you would with your bill-paying job. Indeed, a good writer sees writing AS A SECOND JOB!

The last chapters are a potpourri of topics that did not fit in either "The Romantic Manifesto" or "The Art of Fiction." They are helpful for what they are, but seem a bit out of place and curt. They serve as surveys to the topics.

The only critique I have would be rearranging the chapters. Move chapter 12 ("Acquiring Ideas For Writing") up between chapters 1 and 2, since the thinking process--the process of reverie and listening to the unconscious percolate--precedes the choice of a subject and theme. I would also move chapter 11 ("Selecting a title") to go after chapter 7 ("Editing"), and moved chapter 8 ("Style") between the chapters on writing the draft and editing. Since this book was edited posthumously, this organizational error is not hers.

Here is my ideal order:

1. Preliminary remarks
2. Acquiring Ideas for Writing
3. Choosing a Subject and Theme
4. Judging one's Audience
5. Applying Philosophy
6. Creating an Outline
7. Writing the Draft
8. Style
9. Editing
10. Selecting a Title
11. Book Reviews
12. Writing a Book
Appendix: Outlines

For a second or third reading, it may be helpful to use this order, since it follows the process of thinking-writing-rewriting.

*

I have put this book in my mix of style guides, and will read it along with Strunk and White, Trimble's "Writing With Style," The Chicago Manual, and "The Little, Brown Handbook."

(I would rate it five stars, but the disordered chapter organization talked me out of it.)

This book offers guidance on a variety of topics and problems that a writer of non-fiction, whether articles or books, might encounter. The advice is never formulaic, but rather gives the reader methods by which to improve his own writing process and style. Highly recommended.

It starts slow and plods along for a few chapters but eventually Rand strikes a resonant chord and the writing comes to life. Ayn Rand will get your mind 'right' about writing and get your mental tool-box organized, to handle odd-jobs or the magnum-opus.