CREATIVE NON-FICTION

• Nonfiction


  Literature based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography, history, autobiography, literary journalism/reportage, personal narratives, travelogue, reflection essay, true narratives, blogs, testimonies, and other forms
• Creative nonfiction


  • Use of literary techniques to create a sense of artfulness in the language, character development, and story, all of which tend to drive the narrative "inward"
  • Focus on transformational events in the narrator's or central character's life
  • Revealing the narrator's experience / emotional consequence of the experience often seems the implicit "goal" of the work
• Creative nonfiction writers write about themselves and/or capture real people and real life in ways that can and have changed the world
• What is most important and enjoyable about creative nonfiction is that it not only allows, but encourages the writer to become a part of the story or essay being written
• The personal involvement creates a special magic that alleviates the suffering and anxiety of the writing experience it provides many outlets for satisfaction and self-discovery, flexibility and freedom
• Elements, Techniques and Literary Devices of CNF

  • Plot
  • Character and Characterization
  • Point of View
  • Angle
  • Setting and Atmosphere
  • Symbols and Symbolism
  • Irony
  • Figures of Speech
  • Dialogue
  • Scene
• Plot


  A primary subject of a descriptive personal narrative
• Three Related Elements of Plot

  • Scope - boundaries of a plot
  • Sequence - the order of events
  • Pacing - the speed and fluidity with which the reader moves through the story
• Sequence


  • Chronological (Freytag's Pyramid)
  • In medias res (in the middle of things)
  • Non-linear narrative (series of flashbacks or vignettes, jumping back and forth in time)
• Characterization


  The development of characters through actions, descriptions, and dialogue
• Characterization


  • Direct Characterization
  • Indirect Characterization
• Point of View


  • Tone - emotional register of the story's language
  • Mood - emotional register a reader experiences
• Angle


  Specific or particular standpoint from which the narrative is told
• Other Elements/Techniques and Devices

  • Imagery
  • Diction
  • Language Style
• Forms and Types of Nonfiction

  • Autobiography
  • Biography
  • Literary Journalism
  • Personal Narrative
  • Reflection Essay
  • Testimonio
  • Memoirs
  • Travelogue
  • Blog
  • Letters, textbooks, diaries/journal
• Biography


  A life story that is written by another person
• Autobiography


  An account of the writer's life he/she HIMSELF/HERSELF wrote
• Literary Journalism or Reportage


  Magazine or newspaper writing with a touch of an artistic value of literature
• Personal Narrative


  Concerns a particularly happy, sad, humorous or outrageous episode in one's life
• Testimonio


  The personal experience of an author or the author who witnesses an abuse and oppression in a workplace
• Memoir


  A personal account of a person which teaches them something, a memory that cannot be easily forgotten
• Travelogue


  A written account of a person during his/her travel, focusing on the scenery, people and the warmness of the place and the people
• Reflection essay


  The narrator's personal view and experiences, more on thoughts and feeling of the author
• The writer's goal is to inspire the readers because they could learn something from it
• Elements of Fiction


  • Characters
  • Setting
  • Storytelling/narration
  • Plot and plot structure
  • Figurative Language
  • Imagery
  • Point of View
  • Dialogue
  • Theme
• Flat character


  Not sufficiently developed, described very little, and plays a very minor role in the narrative
• Round character


  Has a leading role in the narrative, complex, multi-dimensional, and well-developed
• Static character


  Remains the same throughout the narrative
• Dynamic character


  Undergoes change
• Setting


  The writer creates scenes that are action-oriented which include dialogue and contain vivid descriptions
• Elements of Setting


  • Physical setting-place
  • Chronological setting
  • Immediate surroundings of the characters
  • Weather
  • Geographical location
• Storytelling/narration


  The writer needs to be able to tell his/her story, including an inciting incident, a goal, challenges and obstacles, a turning point, and the resolution of the story
• Plot and plot structure

  The main events that make up the story, often following Freytag's Pyramid (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement/resolution)