Are poets and novelists asked to define poetry and fiction? Then why must I define creative nonfiction? I will say how creative nonfiction differs from fiction and traditional journalism, however. Fiction, from a literal standpoint, is not true - or at least not totally true not so as the writer is willing to admit while creative nonfiction, if not completely true, is as true as the writer can make it. I am not unaware of the foggy gray line being drawn here, but one can't be easily literal about art and literature.
The creative nonfiction writer tries to be as truthful and factual as possible. Making things up to enhance the narrative is unacceptable. But creative nonfiction is very similar to fiction in technique. The creative nonfiction writer is permitted encouraged, in fact to take advantage of all of the literary techniques available to fiction writers and poets. By this I mean writing in scenes, using description, dialogue, specificity of detail, characterisation and point of view.
By 'point of view' I mean that the reader can be made to see the world through the eyes of the writer, the subject about whom the writer is writing - or through the invisible third person objective eye. Creative nonfiction is very story-oriented; it is narrative.
That's the 'style' part - the creative part. But then, what about the nonfiction part? We'll call that 'substance', the informational part - the teaching and learning part. Most of the best creative nonfiction has information embedded within story.
The stories these writers tell are compelling, but within the story is information that enlightens a reader. Even in the most compelling memoir look at Angela's Ashes there is a learning element. McCourt not only tells a moving story, but the reader learns first hand about poverty in a unique but universal way. That's a good phrase for the creative nonfiction writer to remember: Unique on a personal level and universal so that all readers can understand and relate.
That's how we make meaning - and meaning is what literature is all about. What we write must mean something to our readers. Otherwise, if we aren't saying anything, what's the point of writing? I want to say one more thing about creative nonfiction. You have to understand that it is not a genre like fiction and poetry. It is a literary, cultural and political movement.
The creative nonfiction writer is poised to present reality in such a way that it cannot be avoided. It is provocative and it has teeth because it is true, and because it is true it can change lives and shape opinion in ways that fiction has hardly ever been able to do. I believe that this is one reason that a number of academics and critics have attempted to discredit it: because it has the potential to be such a dominant, mind-breaking force. It was a title which seemed to have been employed defensively to distinguish between traditional journalism and the personal essay.
For a while, the NEA foolishly replaced creative nonfiction with something called 'belles lettres'. Ironically, under the NEA's guidelines five essays published over the previous five years in respected journals , writing by Talese, Wolfe, McPhee, et al would probably not have qualified in any category.
It is surprising to learn how many writers and readers don't understand, exactly, the elements of the form in which they are writing.
Some are attracted by the word 'creative' and think that because their prose is unusual or distinctive and because the stories they are telling are true that they are writing in the genre of creative nonfiction. Others, usually people with a journalistic background, are put off by the word 'creative,' maintaining that if it is creative, then it certainly can't be accurate, believable or ethical - the essences and anchors of nonfiction prose.
However, there is no conflict between being a good 'reporter' and a good writer, creative in technique and approach. The essays published in each issue of Creative Nonfiction , the journal I edit, are, I believe, models of the truest forms of creative nonfiction, in that they simultaneously 'showcase' or 'frame' fact in a creative context.
The 'truth' which should not be confused with the factual or informational aspects of the genre is another important element of the 'classic' creative nonfiction form - and often a more personal one.
A writer's concept of the truth may not be universally accepted and may even conflict with the facts as others understand or remember them. Good creative nonfiction does not deny personal opinion; on the contrary, it welcomes the subjective voice.
There is the danger that the first person subjective voice can easily become narcissistic or queasily egocentric in its self focus. Most creative nonfiction is written in the first person. The challenge in writing nonfiction in this way is to be intimate and revealing while reaching beyond the boundaries of self and embracing a universal audience or message.
You've mentioned truth, but you have also written about nonfiction creative writers having a permission to lie.
For a memoir about her family, a novelist and former journalist whom I know manipulated the transition from fiction to nonfiction in such a way.
When she began her book, she felt blocked by the perceived conflict between the two, unable to comfortably employ the novelistic techniques of scene, dialog and description. And so, in order to get started, she granted herself permission to lie.
The author did not intend to make up facts or tell stories that weren't true, a violation of the promise inherent in all nonfiction. But the narrow range of creative options traditionally granted to a journalist inhibited her. Giving herself 'permission to lie' allowed three-dimensional thought and scenic expression in a novelistic context.
She did not permit her writing momentum to be interrupted by the literal truth. After her first draft was completed and the revision and rewriting process was launched, she removed or repaired the 'lies' she had inserted.
At that point, the book was as true and honest as she could make it. She then submitted complete drafts to the people most involved in her story over the years. They returned the manuscripts without any significant changes or suggestions. Giving herself permission to lie led to as true a document as possible - from all characters' points-of-view. It is important to point out that this author was working from memory; during the year of crisis about which she had been writing she had been unable to keep a journal with regularity or take all the necessary notes.
It's not certain that the people who 'fact-checked' her manuscript actually said exactly what she remembered that they said and whether the conversations, scenes and surroundings were exactly as she had recreated them.
But according to the characters involved in the experience, her version or 'reconstruction' was as correct an approximation as possible. Would you always advocate giving work for subjects to check?
Couldn't this also be fraught with problems? Sending a draft of an essay or article to people about whom you have written and asking them to review it for factual discrepancies is touchy. A writer never really knows what aspects of conversations, ideas or incidents will touch a nerve. I am often amazed at what people actually complain about.
I was once telephoned by a heart transplant surgeon about whom I had written. I was wary when he identified himself on the telephone and I heard the serious tone of his voice. I had previously passed along to him sections of my book in which he appeared. As it turned out, of the many scenes I had recreated - dozens of pages - he objected to only one expletive, which he used quite frequently.
He asked if I would delete that word or substitute it with a more benign alternative because his mother would read the book, and he did not want her to know that he swore. I complied. The fact that my observations of the heart transplant world resonated with the surgeon doesn't mean that we concurred about every single detail along the way. We saw the plight of his patients and the motivations behind his actions somewhat differently.
This difference in perception is expected in literature, however; the absolute essence of truth is always debatable. Imagine putting a video camera on the shoulders of each participant of a dispute, game or debate.
Even though experience and location are shared, each interpretation will be skewed. This divergence of opinion and perception is what makes memoir so special. We all view the past through translucent layers of resentment, anger, love, misunderstanding, stubbornness, respect - and a multitude of other emotions and beliefs.
Writing a memoir is the most personal and frightening of all forms of literature because it reveals layers of memory and reflection so biting and painful that the writing of it can radically change the entire reality - past, present and future - of a writer's life.
On the writer's life you often mention the authors you admire and whose work has influenced you - Tom Wolfe, Jack Kerouac, Annie Dillard, Ernest Hemingway.
Most of my contemporaries have been inspired by books and writers when they were young. This makes sense. Obviously, if you want to be a writer then, first, you will have no doubt been a reader.
Even Beethoven, who achieved his best work after he became deaf, was inspired to compose and conduct music by the real thing. The books which have had a strong influence on me and my writing are all of Hemingway's, but most especially his short stories. Literature Resource Center One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read and study great writing.
Literature Resource Center. Searchable by century: 22nd century B. ISBN: Report a problem. Subjects: Composition and Creative Writing , Humanities. In Fact Books is an independent book imprint specializing in high-quality, nuanced nonfiction narratives on a wide variety of topics and real-life experiences.
What Is Creative Nonfiction? Simply put: Creative nonfiction is true stories, well told. The cardinal rule is clear—and cannot be violated.
Brenda Miller Regeneration How to regenerate a human heart. They wait for the sun to warm them. Their advice was not casual, because almost everyone I know is an attorney.
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