First-Person Journalism A Guide to Writing Personal Nonfiction with Real Impact

A first-of-its-kind guide for new media times, this book provides practical, step-by-step instructions for writing first-person features, essays, and digital content.

Combining journalism techniques with self-exploration and personal storytelling, First-Person Journalism is designedto help writers to develop their personal voice and establish a narrative stance. The book introduces nine elements of first-person journalism?passion, self-reporting, stance, observation, attribution, counterpoints, time travel, the mix, and impact. Two introductory chapters define first-person journalism and its value in building trust with a public now skeptical of traditional news media. The nine practice chapters that follow each focus on one first-person element, presenting a sequence of "voice lessons" with a culminating writing assignment, such as a personal trend story or an open letter. Examples are drawn from diverse nonfiction writers and journalists, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Joan Didion, Helen Garner, Alex Tizon, and James Baldwin. Together, the book provides a fresh look at the craft of nonfiction, offering much-needed advice on writing with style, authority, and a unique point of view.

Written with a knowledge of the rapidly changing digital media environment, First-Person Journalism is a key text for journalism and media students interested in personal nonfiction, as well as for early-career nonfiction writers looking to develop this narrative form.

Contents

Preface: Personal Journalism for Challenging Times

PART ONE: What Is First-Person Journalism?

Chapter 1: How I Became a First-Person Journalist

• Defining first-person journalism
• Permission to say "I"
• Is it ever too personal?
• Self-reporting: "What do I know?"
• How to use this book
• Why gonzo got it wrong—and right

Chapter 2: The Ethics of Personal Reporting

• He said, she said
• The limits of objectivity
• Liars, thieves, and postmodernists
• Fictional selves versus true selves
• Embracing the active "I"

PART TWO: Developing an Active "I" Voice

Chapter 3: Locating Your Passion: What do I want to write about?

• Don’t bore yourself
• Don’t perform your emotions
• Don’t scream at readers
• Cultivating curiosity: passion for facts
• Responding to the world
• Personal story: write about a "wart"

Chapter 4: Investigating Yourself: How do I know my own story is true?

• Why memories are not facts
• Fact checking the basics
• Fact checking with family and friends
• Reporting on your "I"
• Reporting on what you haven’t said
• Admitting what you’ll never know
• Memory essay:write about an early memory
• Sample story: "Hurricane Warnings"

Chapter 5: Establishing Your Stance: How close am I to the story?

• From POV to first-person stance
• Determining your emotional distance
• Personal example: reining in myself
• Addressing readers: five stances
• Rethinking voice: active response
• Review:your personal take on a media work

PART THREE: Reporting Beyond the Self

Chapter 6: Observing Real Life: How do I describe people and places?

• Relevance versus vagueness
• Three kinds of details
• Conveying the feel of a place
• Reporting what people do and say
• Direct reporting of events
• The art of capsule description
• Local profile: write about a neighborhood place

Chapter 7: Attributing Sources: Where do my facts come from?

• What is attribution?
• Sources in first-person features
• Attribution tags and linking
• Danger! Avoid voice hijacks
• The curse of knowledge
• How-to piece: explain with three tips

Chapter 8: Convincing Readers: What’s my argument and who disagrees?

• The curse of unconscious feeling
• Point-counterpoint
• Not all experts are the same
• Establishing first-person authority
• Open letter: address a public figure or topic

PART FOUR: Storytelling to Make an Impact

Chapter 9: Moving Through Time: How have I and the world changed?

• Sequence: what comes first?
• Chronology: orienting readers in time
• Time machine: shifting between past and present selves
• Trends: personal and cultural
• Personal trend story: write about changes in food, music, or weather

Chapter 10: Organizing a Story: How do I mix everything together?

• What’s in the mix?
• Classic feature formula: lead + nut graf
• Scene breaks and dramatic tension
• Essays: emotional journeys
• New mix: feature or essay?
• Sample outline: "Why I’ll Never Surf Again"

Chapter 11: Revising for Impact: What do I really want to say?

• Test your idea: pitching
• Focus your idea: taglines
• Focus your voice: cutting and selecting
• Connect to the world: your impact
• Story revision: complete a feature or essay
• Impact Plan: how do you know?

End Note: Witnessing the World with Empathy

25 Rules for First-Person Journalism

Index

Martha Nichols cofounded Talking Writing, a nonprofit digital magazine. A longtime writer, journalist, and editor, she is a faculty instructor in journalism at the Harvard University Extension School. She is also the editor of and a contributor to Into Sanity: Essays About Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Living in Between.