Writing Creative Nonfiction with Christopher Johnston, Journalist & Playwright

When you hear the term “creative writing,” what comes to mind?

If you’re like most people, you probably think of fiction-based writing like novels, screenplays, and short stories. But did you know that the concept of creative writing also applies to a wide array of nonfiction formats as well?

I’m very excited to have a guest on this episode who is here to help us improve our creative writing skills, particularly with nonfiction. His name is Christopher Johnston, and he has published more than 3,500 articles in publications including American Theatre, Christian Science Monitor, History Magazine and Scientific American.

His book, Shattering Silences: Strategies to Prevent Sexual Assault, Heal Survivors, and Bring Assailants to Justice was published in May 2018. Christopher also wrote The Way I Saw It, the memoirs of the late Marc Wyse, co-founder of Wyse Advertising, which was published in 2013.

Christopher is currently writing a biography of industrialist Frederick C. Crawford, founding chairman of TRW, Inc. He teaches playwriting and creative nonfiction workshop courses at Cleveland State University and writing workshops in a number of places. He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Christopher shares his background as a journalist, some phenomenal tips for opening and closing an article, and how to adapt your work in one format to another format.

Resources:

Chrisopher’s website

Christopher on Twitter

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