Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process - John McPhee
Category: Misc. Non-fiction
Tags: Misc. Non-fiction, Adults
The long-awaited guide to writing long-form nonfiction by the legendary author and teacher, Draft No. 4 is a master class on the writers craft. In a series of playful, expertly wrought essays, John McPhee shares insights he has gathered over his career and has refined while teaching at Princeton University, where he has nurtured some of the most esteemed writers of recent decades. McPhee offers definitive guidance in the decisions regarding arrangement, diction, and tone that shape nonfiction pieces, and he presents extracts from his work, subjecting them to wry scrutiny. In one essay, he considers the delicate art of getting sources to tell you what they might not otherwise reveal. In another, he discusses how to use flashback to place a bear encounter in a travel narrative while observing that readers are not supposed to notice the structure. It is meant to be about as visible as someones bones. The result is a vivid depiction of the writing process, from reporting to drafting to rev
