Writing About Nature: A Creative Guide, Revised Edition.Originally published by the Sierra Club in 1995, this handbook has already helped thousands of aspiring writers, scholars, and students share their experiences with nature and the outdoors. Using exercises and examples, John Murray covers genres, techniques, and publication issues. He uses examples from such masters as Barry Lopez, Annie Dillard, Larry McMurtry, Edward Abbey, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry David Thoreau. Also included are recommended readings, a directory of creative writing programs, professional organizations for writers, and a directory of environmental organizations. This revised edition includes a new chapter on nature writing and environmental activism. "Nature is our grandest and oldest home, older than language, grander than consciousness. John Murray knows that in his bones, and he shares his knowledge generously with anyone who opens this book. Whether you write about the earth for publication or only for deepening your perceptions, you will find keen-eyed guidance here." - Scott Russell Sanders, author of Staying Put |
From inside the book
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... mountain range on one side of which are talented people dreaming of writing and on the other side of which are those who have found a way to write . When David Spinner , my editor at Sierra , and I were chatting on the phone one day in ...
... Mountain , " Mary Austin's essay " The Land of Little Rain , " and Aldo Leopold's essay " Thinking Like a Mountain . " ) 2. Use a classic essay , such as Henry David Thoreau's " Wild Apples " as a paradigm for an essay of your own . For ...
... Mountain ) had sort of foundered and he was working as a school bus driv- er in Death Valley , California . As it turned out , Desert Solitaire came almost directly from the extensive journals he had kept at Arches : That night [ after ...
... the collection Wild to the Heart ) I am going to tell you about some mountains in northern Utah . ( " Magic at Ruth Lake , ” an essay from the collection Wild to the Heart ) There came a big wind the other day , the 38 Chapter Four.
... mountains in Utah , about grizzly bears , and about some " river people . " There is no uncertainty or ambigu- ity in the author's mind . Bass has clearly defined the limited terrain to be covered in his essay . He has also used such ...
Contents
23 | |
Figurative Language | 73 |
Character and Dialogue | 87 |
StoryTelling | 95 |
Style | 105 |
Fiction and Poetry | 115 |
Revision | 129 |
Research | 137 |
Workshopping | 149 |
Environmental Activism | 171 |