Book Review

The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers

by Ayn Rand
Edited by Robert Mayhew
Penguin Putnam, Inc.
New York NY
CAN $20.00

Reviewed by Terry Walbert

Did you ever have a teacher who criticized your writing but couldn’t tell you how to fix it? Were you frustrated because you assumed that good writing was a matter of inspiration, sensibility, and inborn talent? If I were in that situation again, I would like to have Ayn Rand’s The Art of Nonfiction to fall back on.

The concept that animates Rand’s work is that writing is a logical, objective process. "Contrary to all schools of art and esthetics, writing is something one can learn," she maintains. "There is no mystery about it .... What you need for nonfiction writing is what you need for life in general: an orderly method of thinking."

Rand knew what she was talking about. Her three novels and numerous essays continue to sell in the hundreds of thousands 19 years after her death. And that she wrote in English, a foreign language that she learned as an adult, instead of in her native Russian adds to this accomplishment.

At her New York apartment in 1969, she held a series of informal classes on non-fiction writing for students of her philosophy. Although her examples pertain to "middle-range" philosophical articles, her advice applies to all expository prose. Robert Mayhew transcribed The Art of Nonfiction from tape recordings of these lectures and has preserved the conversational tone of these lectures in the written version.

Instead of postmodern clichés, Ayn Rand preaches "good old time religion" with relish, providing examples from her experience. According to Rand, clarity is the most important quality of good writing — use the short instead of the long word, the simple over the complex, and fewer rather than more words.

She advises writers, especially beginners, to limit their focus and avoid trying to cover all there is about a subject. She encourages writers to carefully delineate their subject in an outline: "No beginner should write without an outline. If I could enforce this as an absolute, I would." She explains that before an outline is created "what exists in your mind is a creative nebula, not a solar system. It is a chaos of matter which might be organized into a solar system."

When writing, assume that what you write is perfect and let it flow from your subconscious. She believes in inspiration but attributes it to earlier work in training the subconscious. Only after you have written your draft, should you edit with a critical, conscious eye.

Among her reasons for not trying to write and edit at the same time is one I had not heard before: no work exists until it is written. Instead of agonizing in your mind over the perfect word, sentence, or paragraph, put something less than perfect down on paper. Then edit, but not at the same session.

As for style, her advice is to forget about it. It is something that comes naturally when you are not consciously trying to effect it. She also suggests that writers treat their writing as a job, not confusing what they write with their egos. Study writing to learn why good writing works and why bad writing does not.

After nearly 20 years as a technical writer, I found much here to apply, savor, and reread in the future. I recommend it for your bookshelf, whether you are just beginning or have been writing for a while.

Terry Walbert is a senior technical writer with Teledyne Energy Systems of Hunt Valley, Maryland. He writes Civil War articles, speaks German and French, and has lived in Germany and Quebec.