Creative Writing Support Handouts: Creative Nonfiction

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CREATIVE NONFICTION

Angela Finn

“All writing is autobiography; everything that you write, including criticism and fiction,

nonfiction.

Here, we are going to look at four creative nonfiction subgenres: short memoir, the personal

essay, narrative journalism, and a hybrid form that blends prose and poetry.

A good literary memoir should bring the reader into your world. A short memoir, much like a

short story will make an incision in time. Consider a pivotal moment in your own existence

that changed you or your view of the world. The change may have been subtle but perhaps it

was important and life-changing for you.

Take some time out to reflect on that incident in your life. Consider the world as you knew it

remembering your own past.

After listening, take ten minutes out to write your own series of sentences, starting with “I

remember”. Do not overthink or worry about chronology – just write. Be as specific as you

possibly can. Try to remember objects, music, people, room interiors, streets, buildings,

seasons, weather, brand names, food, etc., that you associate with that time. Engage all five

senses. Concrete detail is critical if you want to convince the reader of your experience. The

universal appeal is always in the fine detail.

Listen to and read “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. Technically, “Girl” is a single sentence short

story (650 words), but it blurs the lines between fact and fiction as it is based on Kincaid’s

fraught relationship with her mother. Listen here. Read here.

Creative Writing Support Handouts: Creative Nonfiction

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After listening to “Girl”, write a list of instructions or sayings you recall from someone in your

concrete and sensory detail in this piece and how this brings you into her world.

A personal essay can be written on any subject or theme – lobsters, the body, parenting, the

mating habits of butterflies, public transport, ice cream – nothing is off limits. But no matter

what the subject, do keep it personal if you want to connect with the reader on an emotional

level. The reader is not just interested in mere facts but will want to know your unique spin on

the matter.

In his essay, written soon after 9/11, and published weeks after the event in Rolling Stone

magazine, David Foster Wallace gives a personal account of how he reacted as he watched

Think about how you reacted in the past, when faced with a big life event. The event may have

been something that impacted you personally, or it may have been an external occurrence that

indirectly affected you.

As in the Foster Wallace essay, consider time and sketch an outline. Think about setting. Think

about sensory detail. Do you remember what you saw, heard, tasted, smelled, or any tactile

detail? Use your own voice. The good personal essay relies on self-examination. While it isn’t

always easy to expose our vulnerabilities, it is important to acknowledge them. Experiment

with chronology. Link events in a way that gives your story strongest impact.

In this beautifully-crafted personal essay, “I Hoped To God That I’d Just Die In The Night And

Get It Over With”, Caragh Maxwell discusses her relationship with her own body. Note the

Creative Writing Support Handouts: Creative Nonfiction

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As with the personal essay, narrative journalism is a way of immersing the reader in hard, cold

journalist might be. As a narrative journalist, you will make room for your feelings, along with

the details of your life.

On the birth of his son Daniel, Fergal Keane the BBC’s then South African correspondent

wrote “Letter to Daniel”. This moving event in Keane’s life threw new light on his world view

as a journalist, and here he reflects on memories of children he encountered in war-torn Eritrea,

Angola, Afghanistan and Rwanda. He also reflects on his own lineage.

When writing a narrative journalism piece, consider your place in the wider world. Place

Barbara went undercover as a low wage worker, recording her personal perspective on issues

that affected a variety of people.

What makes this story engaging and entertaining is Ehrenreich’s honesty, acerbic wit and astute

observations of her co-workers. When reading, note how Ehrenreich lays bare her feelings,

especially her fears – “I am terrified, at the beginning, of being unmasked, for what I am: a

middle-class journalist…” – and how the use of the present tense gives her narrative a sense of

immediacy. If your investigative story takes shape over time, keep a journal. Write regularly

as the narrative unfolds. Your phone is a handy way to record thoughts and feelings.

In a letter to Sylvia Beach outlining his intentions for Finnegan’s Wake, James Joyce

structure.

Your story may be layered with many parallel threads that don’t logically connect to one other,

as in Anne Carson’s prose poetry essay “The Glass Essay”. In this soulful essay in the form of

a poem, Carson weaves a visit to her mother, a failed love affair, her passion for Emily Brontë

and her father’s dementia into a work of art. Note how she skilfully and playfully controls all

of these aspects without resorting to melodrama. Consider how the recurring glass motif binds

the separate strands. Is there an object or motif that you could weave through your story?

Creative Writing Support Handouts: Creative Nonfiction

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Carson, in an interview with Publisher Weekly (March, 2010), claimed:

If you are experimenting with a complex narrative, you might consider a more artful approach;

think in terms of composition and form. If you are dealing with multiple characters or a braided

narrative (with more than one narrative thread), as Carson is, ask yourself if a fragmented

structure might better suit the narrative? Let the form arise from the content.

The Divine Ordinary Detail

Whatever the subgenre, don’t discount the divine ordinary detail of your existence. Often this

is where the truth and beauty of your life can be located.

And later in the chapter:

Be open to letting the ordinary everyday sensations stimulate your senses: the smell of a flower

or perfume; the taste of an orange or a biscuit; the sound of a lawnmower or an airplane; the

sensation of sun on your skin; the sight of moon or stars on a clear night.

Finally, when you have a draft of your work, you might ask yourself:

Whether you are a participant or an observer in your creative nonfiction writing, your presence

is what will ultimately illuminate the facts. Let the reader know what it feels like to be alive

and find gold in the smallest detail.

Creative Writing Support Handouts: Creative Nonfiction

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Works Cited