Elements Of Creative Nonfiction 6f4e17

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Facts: What are facts? Facts are simply anything that isn’t completely made up. They’re true, accurate, and authentic. Exposition: Explaining your personal experience clearly and concisely is crucial. ing Details: Even if your Personal Essay or Memoir is rooted in personal experience, it is still necessary to expand your story beyond the main character, which is often going to be yourself. o Research - As I will mention in more detail below, a theme, focal point, or lesson is crucial for any piece of writing. Your reader will ask, “What am I gaining from reading this? What new information am I learning?” Your work will ultimately have a topic, and that topic will be relatable to others in some way or another. Further research this topic. o Reportage - Writing a story is often difficult without the ability to reference events. Photographs, journals, blogs and social media are great resources for this. Before you begin writing, outline your first draft and assure that it is in chronological order. You will also want to make sure all significant points or events are well organized within your story ahead of time. o Thoughts and Opinion - A Personal Essay requires a personal touch. Make sure you include thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Format: Creative Non-Fiction is often written in an Essay format. They include an introduction, ing paragraphs, and a conclusion at the end.

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Narrative: A narrative is simply a story. o Storytelling - A story requires several events (or scenes), goals, challenges or obstacles, a climax or turn of events, and of course, a resolution. o Character - Every story needs a central theme, which in most cases will be the main character. Although chances are, the main character will be you, the reader does not know you, but they desperately want to. Help them know you. o Imagery - Describe your surroundings. Describe your emotions with actions. Instead of saying, “I was angry”, you could say, “I stormed out of the room; I punched a hole in the wall.” You want your reader to see what you see. They want to be there and experience it for themselves. o Dialogue - Include vital conversations between the characters in your story. This is especially important for all Non-Fiction. Your readers will want to see an of what was said by whom and to whom. Theme: Although the main character and topic for the story will often be you, there still must be a theme - a lesson, something your reader can take away from your story. Setting: Where is this all taking place? Make sure you ground the story in a place and allow the reader to visually see what it is you see. You may know what your home looks like, or your city, but the reader probably does not. Plot / Structure: These are your scenes, chapters, and the order they go in.

Elements of Creative Nonfiction The creative nonfiction writer often incorporates several elements of nonfiction when writing a memoir, personal essay, travel writing, and so on. The following is a brief explanation of the most common elements of nonfiction:      

Fact. The writing must be based on fact, rather than fiction. It cannot be made up. Extensive research. The piece of writing is based on primary research, such as an interview or personal experience, and often secondary research, such as gathering information from books, magazines, and newspapers. Reportage/reporting. The writer must be able to document events or personal experiences. Personal experience and personal opinion. Often, the writer includes personal experience, feelings, thoughts, and opinions. For instance, when writing a personal essay or memoir. Explanation/Exposition. The writer is required to explain the personal experience or topic to the reader. Essay format. Creative nonfiction is often written in essay format. Example: Personal Essay, Literary Journalistic essay, brief essay.

Literary Elements Creative nonfiction is the literature of fact. Yet, the creative nonfiction writer utilizes many of the literary devices of fiction writing. The following is a list of the most common literary devices that writers incorporate into their nonfiction writing:         

Storytelling/narration. The writer needs to be able to tell his/her story. A good story includes an inciting incident, a goal, challenges and obstacles, a turning point, and resolution of the story. Character. The nonfiction piece often requires a main character. Example: If a writer is creating his/her memoir, then the writer is the central character. Setting and scene. The writer creates scenes that are action-oriented; include dialogue; and contain vivid descriptions. Plot and plot structure. These are the main events that make up the story. In a personal essay, there might be only one event. In a memoir, there are often several significant events. Figurative language. The writer often uses simile and metaphor to create an interesting piece of creative nonfiction. Imagery. The writer constructs “word pictures” using sensory language. Imagery can be figurative or literal. Point of view. Often the writer uses the first person “I.” Dialogue. These are the conversations spoken between people. It is an important component of creative nonfiction. Theme. There is a central idea that is weaved through the essay or work. Often, the theme reveals a universal truth.

The 5’Rs of Creative Nonfiction Lee Gutkind, who is a writer, professor, and expert on creative nonfiction, wrote an essay called “The Five R’s of Creative Nonfiction.” In this essay, he identified five essential elements of creative nonfiction. These include: 1. Creative nonfiction has a “real life” aspect. The writer constructs a personal essay, memoir, and so forth, that is based on personal experience. He also writes about real people and true events. 2. Creative nonfiction is based on the writer engaging in personal “reflection” about what he/she is writing about. After gathering information, the writer needs to analyze and assess what he/she has collected. He then must evaluate it and expression his thoughts, views, opinions. Personal opinion is permissible and encouraged. 3. Creative nonfiction requires that the writer complete research. The writer needs to conduct research to learn about the topic. The writer also needs to complete research to discover what has been written about the topic. Even if a writer is crafting a personal essay, he will need to complete secondary research, such as reviewing a personal journal, or primary research, such as interviewing a friend or family member, to ensure that the information is truthful and factual. 4. The fourth aspect of creative nonfiction is reading. Reading while conducting research is not sufficient. The writer must read the work of the masters of his profession. 5. The final element of creative nonfiction is writing. Writing creative nonfiction is both an art and craft. The art of creative nonfiction requires that the writer uses his talents, instincts, creative abilities, and imagination to write memorable creative nonfiction. The craft of creative nonfiction requires that the writer learn and deploy the style and techniques of creative nonfiction in his/her work.

Types of Creative Nonfiction Creative nonfiction is about fact and truth. The truth can be about a personal experience, event, or issue in the public eye. There are many categories or genres to choose from, such as the personal essay, memoir, and autobiography. The following is a list of the most popular types of creative nonfiction:  

Personal Essay. The writer crafts and essay that is based on personal experience or a single event, which results in significant personal meaning or a lesson learned. The writer uses the first person “I.” Memoir. The writer constructs a true story about a time or period in his/life, one that had significant personal meaning and a universal truth. The writer composes the story using the first person “I.”

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Literary journalism essay. The writer crafts an essay about an issue or topic using literary devices, such as the elements of fiction and figurative language. Autobiography. The writer composes his/her life story, from birth to the present, using the first person “I.” Travel Writing. The writer crafts articles or essays about travel using literary devices. Food writing. The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary devices. Profiles. The writer constructs biographies or essays on real people using literary devices.

Guidelines for Writing Creative Nonfiction Not only must the aspiring writer of creative nonfiction learn the techniques, but he/she also requires a good understanding of the guidelines. The following are 12 guidelines for writing any type of creative nonfiction: 1. Research the topic. Both primary (interview, personal experience, or participant observation) and secondary research (books, magazines, newspaper, Web) 2. Never invent or change facts. An invented story is fiction. 3. Provide accurate information. Write honestly and truthfully. Information should be verifiable. 4. Provide concrete evidence. Use facts, examples, and quotations. 5. Use humour to make an important point. 6. Show the reader what happened, don’t tell them what happened. To do this, dramatize the story. 7. Narrate the story. A story has an inciting incident, goal, conflict, challenges, obstacles, climax, and resolution. 8. Write about the interesting and extraordinary. Write about personal experiences, interesting people, extraordinary events, or provide a unique perspective on everyday life. 9. Organize the information. Two common techniques are chronological or logical order. 10. Use literary devices to tell the story. Choose language that stimulates and entertains the reader, such as simile, metaphor, imagery. 11. Introduce the essay or other work with a hook. Its purpose is to grab the readers’ attention and compel them to reader further. Popular hooks include a quotation, question, or thought-provoking fact. 12. End the creative nonfiction piece with a final, important point. Otherwise the reader will think, “So what!” “What was the point? It was an interesting story, but how does it apply to me or my life?”

Also Known As- literary nonfiction, literary journalism, literature of fact As an accomplished writer, professor, and renown expert in the genre of Creative Non-Fiction, there is no better mentor than Lee Gutkind to turn to when seeking writing advice. Regardless if you're just beginning or have a few good years under your belt, listen up! In his essay, titled, "The Five R’s of Creative Non-Fiction", he identifies 5 critical elements of Creative Non-Fiction. Below you will find a summary of these 5 elements.

Real Life When constructing your personal essay or memoir, whatever your piece of Creative Non-Fiction may be, the absolute most vital component, and it's most critical rule, is regarding factual content. It must be based on personal experience, real people, and real events. Write honestly. At no point will it be acceptable to invent or change the facts of your story to improve or increase the drama within. In short, the events of what happened must be true, and even more importantly, verifiable. If you're writing a story about the events of your childhood, a vital character should not be able to petition your claim as incorrect or inauthentic.

Reflection Taking the time to thoroughly reflect on the events in your story is very important. In fact, this is why it is recommended to outline your work before you begin writing. Sit down, reflect, and take notes on each event - it will make the writing process that much smoother! As I will mention in the next paragraph, research is vital to the writing process, and you will be spending a great deal of time analyzing the information gathered, as well as assessing your thoughts on what you've collected. Your reader wants to hear your personal thoughts, they want to learn more about your life - they're interested in your perspective, but that doesn't mean these opinions should not be well-researched and well-developed.

Research What sets Creative Non-Fiction apart from other forms of Creative Writing is the journalistic component of the genre. This is why research is imperative. Your story must have a topic or central theme, and you must become an expert on this topic or theme. Use facts to your claims. It is also acceptable to complete secondary research by interviewing a friend or family member present in your story. This is a fantastic idea because it gives the author a chance to dialogue taken place between family . Another great suggestion is to review social media s, as well as personal journals or blog entries.

Reading A good writer reads. A lot. They read, write, then read again. Similarly to any other field, it is without question that continuous training and retraining is required in order to stay ahead of the game. This is how we continue to move forward and ensure our writing is always improving. What does this entail for a Creative Non-Fiction writer? Perhaps we tirelessly engage in every guide published about our genre. That is, of course, not before we raid the new releases display at our local Barns & Noble! We owe it to the personal stories brewing in our hearts and minds - so, yes, please, read like their lives depend on it.

Writing The only thing you'll do more than reading is, of course, writing. Mastering your craft requires practice. You need to be neck-deep in your drafts. Can you put in the work? Can you be consistent? Can you build a habit?

What I'm trying to say is: Write. Each day, religiously. Make writing a form of worship. This is how you find your voice. Creative Non-Fiction often starts with a journal entry. The best way to start your memoir or personal essay is to simply start. Just write. Write your story, raw and uninhibited.

The best writing you will ever produce is what was written without restraint. This is why I suggest starting in a place without rules. Heck, the actual writing part should be fun - an adventure. You should be having a ball. There should be fireworks, frankly. It's the editing that's work. It's coming back later to make sense of it all - when you need to start considering the reader, that's when you actually clock-in. Still, the beauty of writing is you get to become better by simply doing what you love. , you can always go back, with a red pen, and make it better. Each word you put to paper is a step in the right direction. Creative nonfiction offers the unique challenge of molding your real life experiences into essays where the language reflects the content. Just as fiction writers use scenes and detail to create immediacy in their stories, nonfiction writers have the ability to bring their subject matter to life through these same strategies. A strong sense of the author's presence, unique structures and vivid description are a few stylistic elements that make creative nonfiction a compelling genre. Structure

Michael Steinberg, author of the creative writing textbook "The Fourth Genre," says that the freedom to be creative with structure is one of the most exciting things about creative nonfiction. Nonfiction writers often weave together multiple ideas, memories and events, gradually developing a single theme throughout the essay. For example, Emily Watson's essay "Still, Sky, Girl and Marriage" is written in four sections, each describing a different painting that has personally affected Watson, an art history scholar. Together, the sections reveal powerful themes about relationships, fear and identity. Author's Presence

Unlike fiction, where the author steps out of the way and allows the story to take center stage, creative nonfiction usually features a strong sense of the author's presence. Doing this requires you to craft a unique voice that reveals your personality and attitudes. For example, nonfiction writer Anne Lamott writes about a variety of topics, including the craft of writing, religion and her life experiences, but manages to maintain the quirky, satirical voice that endears her to readers. Similarly, David Foster Wallace is known for using footnotes and endnotes to visually illustrate his web-like thought processes on paper. Descriptive Language

Because creative nonfiction often requires you to share your personal memories, language plays a vital role in recreating them for readers who don't know you. One tool is visual imagery, which lets you directly illustrate a memory's sights, sounds and smells instead of merely summarizing it. You can also use figurative language devices like similes, comparisons that use the words "like" and "as," and metaphors, which directly compare two unlike things. Jeannette Walls uses these techniques in her memoir "The Glass Castle" when she describes living in an uninsulated, unheated house in rural West Virginia during the brutal winters. Scenes

In fiction, a scene is the basic unit of dramatic action in a story. Rather than just telling the reader what happened, the author uses dialogue, action verbs and descriptions of the characters' interactions. You can use scenes in your creative nonfiction pieces to dramatize your reflections and memories. Jo Ann Beard's "The Boys of My Youth," an essay about her best friend from junior high, opens with a scene of the two girls prank calling a boy they have a crush on. Beard's crafting of their actions and lighthearted dialogue clearly establish their relationship for readers.

How to & Requirements Topic Choose a topic that you know something about, a lot about, in fact. The topic should be relevant to everyone, and not simply to you. Topics are wide ranging, but , your audience is your class. Choose a topic that is appropriate for school and your audience. Theme Think about your topic. Why are you really writing about it? What do you want your readers to know about life, about people, about relationships, about love, death, joy, sorrow, humor, or anything else? These themes are only a few. Your revelation about life can be small and simple or big and profound. Either way, what you reveal should be universally true. That is, what you reveal about life is probably true for all people. Introduction/Lead Begin your essay in a way that gets your readers wanting more. Write a good lead. Leads that feature description, an event/conflict, imagery, or even an engaging dialog are interesting. Body No matter what type of essay you write, you will be telling some kind of story. While you are not writing a five paragraph essay, you should be writing in paragraphs. Some may be long; some may be short. Avoid digression. You may have characters in action (something is happening). Always keep your purpose in mind. Conclusion/Ending You won't be writing a standard summary conclusion. The purpose of your conclusion or ending is to make your essay feel finished.

But even more than that, it should create a lasting impression on the reader. Look at the models of the essays we read in class. How did those authors conclude their stories? Voice   

Voice is an important aspect of creative nonfiction. The ethos of the writer is important. You may use a mixture of first and third person, or either. The combination is a common narrative technique. Look for it in the works we read. What style and tone are you using? Personal essays have an informal style. It could be so informal as to use slang here and there, especially in dialog. Will the narrative voice be casual and easy-going, humorous, or more serious.

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Organize the details in a logical order to keep your readers' attention and to best tell the story. Use paragraphs! Use transitions, but not formal transitions that sound stuffy, like "therefore," "whereas," or "on the other hand."

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Dialog should be natural and should advance the story. Don't use it if you don't need it. Use inventive metaphors to get readers to see ideas in a new way.

Since creative nonfiction should read like fiction, then let’s ask ourselves what techniques fiction writers use in creating their scenes and little stories which require dialogue and description. In creative nonfiction people talk to one another. Dialogue represents people expressing themselves and communicating information in an easy-tounderstand, realistic manner. Discovering realistic dialogue is one of the reasons why immerse ourselves for long periods of time with their subjects: To discover what people say to one another and about one another—and not in response to prepared questions. To capture people as they are, spontaneously and sometimes unaware, real and authentic. Specific and new or “intimate” details are helpful. By intimate we mean ideas and images readers can’t easily visualize on their own—ideas and images that symbolize a memorable truth about the characters or the situations you’re writing about. In short: Creative nonfiction is an amalgam of style and substance, information and story. Whether it’s personal information about your own work, or public information about the work of others, you’re using the building blocks, scenes, and/or little stories to communicate ideas and information in as compelling a way as possible. Use concrete details and descriptions of people, places and things

When writing creative nonfiction, it does not mean using creative styles to fabricate the truth, it means using these styles to help describe true facts to more deeply engage the reader. Creative nonfiction can be used when writing a memoir, personal essay, literary journalism, or biography