The book is so helpful to the person who are struggling to write their first article even the first word.

After reading this book, you will find that there's so much thing to think and write.

Includes some great tips and important reminders. Unfortunately, you have sift through the middle hundred or so pages of overly repetitive "Intro to Writing" descriptions to find most of them.

Still, it's worth a read. Especially if you're a writer or a normal human being trying to become one.

Like all of Rand's writing, her treatment of "writing nonfiction" is logical and straightforward. I recommend this work for aspiring writers of nonfiction. It's not the definitive work on the subject, but Ayn Rand's experience and intellect add value to any writer's portfolio of ideas.

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Whatever people make of Ayn Rand's political and philosophical ideas, there's no denying the value and insight of this analysis of the writing craft. Her delivery is dry, straight to the point, and self-referential, but her systematized approach to both outlining and editing offers a safety net that aspiring writers can fall back on as they work on their skills. Her encouraging words on the importance of not forcing inspiration when none exists rung true and inspiring–probably because I did not expect them given Rand's reputation. 'The Art of Nonfiction' merits the attention of writers who want to indulge and take pleasure in their craft. It's worth setting aside any preconceived notions which one might hold against the author since there is a lot of practical advice for those interested in building an incredibly prolific and successful writing career.

This is an excellent book for writer's if you're looking for good advice on various things such as editing, creating an outline, writing a draft, etc. I read this book in college as I was learning to improve my writing. As is characteristic of Ayn Rand's writing, the book is well written and the presentation of concepts and advice is direct and to the point.

Collated from prior presentations that Ayn Rand undertook, The Art Of Nonfiction is a straight forward foray into Rand’s considerations, techniques and process of writing nonfiction.

Written in a cogent and methodical fashion, some of the main points Rand addresses are (1) subject and theme, (2) creating an outline, (3) writing the draft, (4) editing, (5) style, which is addressed at length, and even (6) writing books as well. The prior list is not exhaustive, but merely a sampling of the range of ideas Rand undertook.

While some of the rules Rand expounds upon could be seen as mechanical if acted upon rigidly, they need not be. Writing is as much an art as it is a science; using the rules she suggests as guidelines will certainly help one’s writing in a sound manner, as long as one doesn’t fuse themselves to a mechanistic process.

Be that as it may, two of the main points which Rand stressed considerably were that of clarity, and the importance of an outline. These are two parts of writing which all writers struggle with sooner or later, but they are also components that will net some of the greatest benefits if one executes them properly.

On the point of clarity, Rand elucidates:

“If you cannot write something down clearly and objectively, then you do not really know it. Any vagueness or indecision on any fundamental aspect of your article will be disastrous. That which you cannot name you know only approximately.”[2]

Translation: Know what you know, know what you don’t know, and be crystal clear and precise about it.

Along the same avenue, on the point of outlines, Rand states:

“The Outline’s level of detail depends on how clear the subject is in your mind, and how complex the article is. I suggest the following test. If in making an outline you feel vaguely that some point is difficult to formulate though you “kind of” know what you mean, then you need more detail. On the other hand, if you begin to feel bored – if all you need are a few lines on some point but you are writing a volume – then you are being too detailed. As in all mental activity, you are the only judge.”[2]

For a book whose information wasn’t meant to be part of a book at the outset, it flows seamlessly. Given that The Art Of Nonfiction was collated from a set of oral lectures, the editing done by Robert Mayhew is extremely precise, and Rand’s thoughts are easy to follow.

For good measure, the book even includes selected outlines used by Ayn Rand in some of her articles. This helps the reader view an outline through Rand’s eyes. Though this section isn’t lengthy, the precision in execution is flawless and aids in the reader setting their crosshairs on what a correctly created outline format will look like.

In light of the breadth and scope of information provided in such a small package, The Art Of Nonfiction would be a mainstay in any nonfiction writer’s arsenal. Incisive individuals who wish to apprise themselves of sound writing tips that will be guideposts for their writing endeavors would be wise learn the tenets in these books, for they are as important as they are timeless.

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Footnotes:

[1] Ayn Rand, The Art of Nonfiction, p. 17.
[2] Ibid., pp. 44-45.

There is some useful information for writers in this book although Rand's philosophical/political rants sometimes get in the way.

Surprisingly great. This is Ayn Rand at her best; talking about her craft—the thing she's good at—causes her to speak sense and be sympathetic to the real difficulties facing writers.

She takes seriously the role of the subconscious and is actually sympathetic to various writer's issues (such as writer's block, difficulty starting, and more). Goes into a lot of practical detail about how to solve these problems, with good solutions I haven't heard elsewhere.

Much more than just a book on writing. Many of the principles and lessons in this book are applicable to all areas of life, especially Rand's study of the proper relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind.

Set aside your feelings about Ayn Rand and her objectionable objectivism. If you can do so, you will benefit from an extremely useful book.

I particularly enjoyed the sections on subject and theme, showing not telling, creating an outline, editing, and abstractions vs concrete. As you'd expect, Rand attacks each element in a highly logical and rational manner, and she has clearly put an enormous amount of thought into this.

The Art of Nonfiction loses a star because of its structure (it's a compilation of lectures Rand gave, and wasn't written as a book). It's also unlikely to be of much interest to readers (as opposed to writers), so I don't think the subtitle is accurate.

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