Writing To Persuade by Trish Hall

WRITING TO PERSUADE by Trish Hall, former editor of the New York Times Op-Ed page, explores “How to Bring People Over to Your Side.” In doing so, she shares anecdotes from her career and specific recommendations, especially about building empathy. Noting her desire to pass on what she has learned about writing and editing, Hall says, “be assured that using these methods, which require artistry, technique, and an understanding of human psychology, will increase your odds of success [in persuading someone to see your point of view].” Hall dedicated this work to her teachers and I believe that our teachers and students will benefit from reading this book and the other writing texts she mentions: Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, Zinsser’s On Writing Well, McPhee’s Draft No. 4, and Lamott’s Bird by Bird.  

WRITING TO PERSUADE is meant to be consulted frequently: it includes bolded sub-points and a helpful index. Plus, Hall uses the graphic of a conversation bubble to highlight key points (like lists of publications that liberals or conservatives should read/watch to better understand the other viewpoint). Even a short excerpt like the Preface, which lists and briefly explains Fifteen Principles of Persuasive Writing, will be valuable. One point I wish more students appreciated? “To write well, read omnivorously.” WRITING TO PERSUADE received a starred review from Library Journal.

Anatomy of Curiosity by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff

Anatomy of Curiosity has one of the most beautiful covers I have seen in a while.  In addition, it is a beautifully written explanation of the writing process. Once again, Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff have collaborated on a book about writing work methods and priorities. Here, each focuses on an aspect like ideas, characters, and world settings, explaining how the writing of accompanying stories developed. Reading their comments is like having a very personal conversation with each author.  Exploration of questions like “Where do you get your ideas?” or “How do you write description or invent a new world?” will be of interest to students in Senior English electives such as Creative Writing and Senior Writers’ Seminar. 

In 2012, these three authors created The Curiosities, another collection of stories with comments about their writing styles.  Our copy of that title is available to multiple readers in digital format on our Follett Shelf.  Please see a librarian if you need help to access it on your iPad.

For another perspective on writing, check out 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories which is edited by Lorrie Moore and Heidi Pitlor. Arranged chronologically, it contains works beginning with Edna Ferber, featuring authors like Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Baldwin and then ending with Lauren Groff.  The 600+ page collection has close to 40 stories, or roughly one per week for an entire school year!

The publisher describes how these writers and stories explore the different ways it means to be American and this collection, spanning the 20^th century and beyond, will be of interest to both Social Studies and English teachers. So, too, O. Henry Prize Stories 2015 by Laura Furman which contains stories by Russell Banks, Elizabeth Strout and others. Twenty titles are selected for this prize each year and this volume could easily serve as a discussion starter and basis for analysis. We are updating our short story collection and if you have anthologies or writers to suggest, please let us know.