130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Writing True Stories

The complete guide to writing autobiography, memoir, personal essay, biography, travel and creative nonfiction
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Writing True Stories by Patti Miller is a comprehensive guide for aspiring memoirists and creative nonfiction writers. The book offers practical advice on accessing memories, developing a narrative voice, creating vivid scenes, structuring stories, and conducting research while addressing the challenges of truth-telling. It covers a range of nonfiction genres from autobiography and personal essay to true crime and biography, making it a versatile companion for writers at different stages of their journey.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5499
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for anyone interested in writing memoirs or creative nonfiction, whether they are beginners looking for guidance or experienced writers seeking to expand into literary nonfiction genres. It suits writers wanting to explore personal stories, investigative topics, or historical narratives.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Clear, engaging and practical advice from Australia's foremost teacher and practitioner of memoir and life writing.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Writing True Stories is the essential book for anyone who has ever wanted to write a memoir or explore the wider territory of creative nonfiction. It provides practical guidance and inspiration on a vast array of writing topics, including how to access memories, find a narrative voice, build a vivid world on the page, create structure, use researchβ€”and face the difficulties of truth-telling.

This book introduces and develops key writing skills, and then challenges more experienced writers to extend their knowledge and practice of the genre into literary nonfiction, true crime, biography, the personal essay, and travel and sojourn writing. Whether you want to write your own autobiography, investigate a wide-ranging political issue, or bring to life an intriguing history, this book will be your guide.

Writing True Stories is practical and easy to use as well as an encouraging and insightful companion on the writing journey. Written in a warm, clear and engaging style, it will get you started on the story you want to writeβ€”and keep you going until you reach the end.

'A rich, practical and accessible source of wisdom ... the complete tool kit.' β€” Caroline Baum

'Patti is the writing whisperer! She taught me how to stop daydreaming and to get writing. I couldn't have written my memoir without her!' β€” Jessica Rowe

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781760293086

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 June 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: Allen & Unwin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 432g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Patti Miller is an award-winning memoirist and nonfiction writer, whose 2012 book, The Mind of a Thief, was longlisted for the Stella Prize and the Nita Kibble Prize, shortlisted for the WA Premier's Prize for Non-Fiction, winner of the NSW Premier's Prize for History and on the syllabus for English for the VCE in Victoria. Her most recent memoir, Ransacking Paris, was released in April 2015 to critical acclaim. Her two previous writing books, Writing Your Life and The Memoir Book, have been continually in print since publication. Patti is a highly successful life-writing teacher and mentor who offers courses at the Faber Academy, as well as many other writing centres around Australia and in Paris.

Also by Patti Miller

View all
  • The Mind of a Thief
    For 40,000 years, the Central NSW area of Wellington was Aboriginal - Wiradjuri - land. Following the arrival of white men, it became a penal settlement, mission station, gold-mining town, and farming centre with a history of white comfort and black marginalisation. In the late 20th century, it was also the subject of the first post-Mabo Native Title claim, bringing...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3700
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • True Friends
    A revealing and powerful memoir about the making and unmaking of friendships. It's hard to know exactly when the friendship with Gina ended. It could have been when the sudden text message from her arrived, or it could have been a slow slide out of favour that I willed myself not to see. What matters is that it did end,...
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Joy of High Places
    Longlisted for the 2020 Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award A soaring memoir of longing, resilience, and delight in the natural world. In this extraordinary and unexpected book, Patti tells the story of her own long-distance walking over hundreds of kilometres in Europe and of her brother's obsession with paragliding. As adults, a tragic accident changes their relationship. One...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Ransacking Paris
    What does it mean to fulfil a dream long after it seems possible? When Patti Miller arrives to write in Paris for a year, the world glows 'as if the light that comes after the sun has set had spilled gold on everything'. But wasn't that just romantic illusion? Miller grew up on Wiradjuri land in country Australia where her...
    Paperback
    $3700
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Education & Reference

View all
  • Revenge of the Tipping Point
    Twenty-five years after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light. What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do elite universities care so much about sports? What is...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Body Keeps the Score
    The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a compelling and compassionate exploration of the deep-seated impact of trauma on the human body and mind. This groundbreaking work delves into the complex causes of trauma and paints a vivid picture of the revolutionary treatments that are enabling countless individuals to reclaim their lives filled with purpose...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Song of the Birds
    A stunning and panoramic history of native birds in Aotearoa, from the bestselling author of The Meaning of Trees For millions of years, the song of the birds echoed throughout Aotearoa, with no one around to hear it. While the arrival of humans would transform their story forever - birds may have changed us even more. In this beautiful and...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lucky You're Tough
    New Release
    Lucky You're Tough
    Lucky You're Tough chronicles the early life of helicopter pilot and NZSAS soldier Mark Law, from growing up in the rural wilds of Whangamōmona through to surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career. After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Age Code
    What if the food you eat could rewind your biological clock? 'Clear and compelling' β€” Chris van Tulleken 'Really interesting and insightful' β€” Joe Wicks 'Fascinating' β€” Tim Spector From the rising incidence of cancer in the under-50s to increased infertility rates, there are signs everywhere that growing numbers of us are ageing too quickly. Why? Many believe there’s one...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fungi of Aotearoa
    The complete introduction to finding, identifying and using mushrooms and other fungi in New Zealand. Enter and explore the fascinating world of fungi. In this practical and up-to-date guide, forager and fungus enthusiast Liv Sisson shares her top tips and takes the reader on a journey to discover the unique and diverse fungi Aotearoa has to offer. Discover how to...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One Last Question, Prime Minister
    From Muldoon to Luxon, untold stories from the House of Parliament Barry Soper has spent close to five decades questioning New Zealand's prime ministers.From the imposing, larger-than-life characters of Rob Muldoon and David Lange, to the golden age of Helen Clark and John Key, and the post-Covid era of Jacinda Ardern and the 'Chrises', Soper's insight and nose for a...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Maori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1
    Maori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison is the ultimate companion for anyone eager to learn the beautiful and complex Maori language. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to brush up on your skills, this workbook offers a structured and engaging way to immerse yourself in te reo Maori. Designed to be accessible regardless of your starting...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Hormone Health is Mental Health
    New Release
    Hormone Health is Mental Health
    Hormone Health is Mental Health is a lifechanging guide to understanding perimenopause and midlife women's mental health - and how understanding your hormones is the first step to feeling like yourself again. This book is for women in their thirties, forties, and fifties who feel like they're falling apart. Women who feel like their brains and bodies are betraying them,...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. β€˜Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ β€” A.A. Gill β€˜Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ β€” Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Aroha
    Aroha by Dr Hinemoa Elder is an enlightening exploration of timeless Maori wisdom, intricately woven into a contemporary context. This top-selling non-fiction title from New Zealand in 2021 introduces readers to 52 traditional Maori proverbs, known as whakataukΔ«, each offering a profound lesson for every week of the year. Dr Elder, a respected Maori psychiatrist, delves into these powerful sayings...
    Hardback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.