Say What? Creative Nonfiction -- is that an oxymoron?
Often times when we think of nonfiction, we automatically think of textbooks and writing that is dry, almost lifeless. Nonfiction does not have to be that way. In fact, good writing is always filled with a careful attention to language and audience. I wish more textbook writers understood that people comprehend more when they are engaged in a topic on two levels, the intellectual AND the emotional. Creative nonfiction, another name for literary nonfiction, always attends to both.
Crucial to this type of writing is attention to who you are writing for. The thrust of any creative nonfiction piece is to reveal to a certain group of people your opinions, your experiences, your ideas, or a combination of these. Your purpose then requires that you draw upon more than what you would in a typical exposition, such as an essay written in English 201 about the literary merits of J. Alfred's trousers. Thus, you will need to use some of the tools learned while studying fiction and poetry.
A emotional piece about the real meaning of your teddy bear will probably use
 | repetition of phrases learned with language use (see the Holmes' essay) |
| metaphors, analogies, images |
| a theme or moral |
| a splice of life |
| a conflict |
| attention to audience, including them in your piece in some way |
| etc. |
As you can see, the creative nonfiction essay contains all of the elements studied. The chapter in your text elaborates so well on other points, I would hope you study it carefully. What it doesn't delve into is a couple of situations to avoid.
| Avoid melodrama at all costs. Everybody knows babies are cute and sweet. Everybody knows that a person dying young is tragic. Everybody knows that getting AIDs through a transfusion is terrible. Stay away from what everybody knows. Your job as a writer is to reveal a small part of the world seen through your eyes. When you put pen to the page, try not to condemn, judge, or disdain. Instead show us why or how you felt inspired about your topic. Here is one that I'm working one right now. It's called Abortions Were Illegal Then. |
| Use what is authentic. Don't try to invent something from nothing. The basis of the literary nonfiction piece is reality. You must establish that in the beginning or the audience will have trouble believing the rest. |
Writing creative nonfiction is certainly fun. We have an opportunity to tell the world how we feel about the world, using all those wonderful tools provided to us by the experts who came before us. Are you ready? If so, exercise 8, is waiting for you.