Forum 2

My knowledge of creative nonfiction was always surface level. I heard the term, and immediately became conflicted with its true meaning. Was this genre of writing more fictional due to its creative elements? Or was it simply more factual with subtle hints of fiction to engage readers? My curiosity continued throughout my high school years where I was encouraged to explore genres of nonfiction, including biographies, factual books, as well as scholarly articles. Throughout my exploration of these different types of writings, I began to ponder whether some of these subgenres of nonfiction fell into other categories of literature. “Creative nonfiction can be an essay, journal article, or memoir.” (Creative Nonfiction.) I began examining memoirs with close attention, due not only to my fascination with this type of writing, but with my curiosity of the genre as well. Little did I know just how big of a role memoirs played in the world of creative nonfiction.

Memoirs are the guilty pleasure of creative nonfiction, and they allow celebrities, as well as the everyman to make their private lives public. “Memoirs are the personal side of creative nonfiction.” (Creative Nonfiction.) This was the culprit when pondering my fascination with memoirs. I found that reading about the lives of others was more compelling than I anticipated. The most popular memoirs usually tell about how certain individuals came to seek power, or how certain famous individuals met. (Creating Nonfiction, pg. 12.) However, I was unaware that this category of writing fell under creative nonfiction, up until reading the article What is Creative Nonfiction? Among my readings, I also found that different forms of essays fall under the category of creative nonfiction as well, expanding my knowledge of this genre.

From my high school years of studying many nonfiction books, came my first few college years, where I began expanding my knowledge of nonfiction. Here, I studied books such as The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brian, and Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle. I found these books to be much more enticing, due to the more creative form of writing. These two books weren’t dry with facts, they were enhanced with creative elements that made an enjoyable reading experience. “The goal of creative nonfiction is to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled by fact as they are fantasy.” (Creative Nonfiction.)

As my college experience continued, my knowledge of creative nonfiction became stronger, yet at times, it was complicated by new information. Why weren’t all journal articles a form of creative nonfiction? And why weren’t traditional newspaper articles considered a part of this genre as well? (Creating Nonfiction. pg.7) Didn’t newspaper articles give information in a more entertaining way? How can this not be a form of creative nonfiction? Divulging into the book Creating Nonfiction, I was able to answer some of these questions. By definition, creative nonfiction can be looked at as more fact-based writing with literary qualities. (Creating Nonfiction, pg. 3.) In conclusion, I determined that most journal articles, newspapers or blogs largely fall under the category of nonfiction. However, what can reclassify these forms of writing is whether they are more creative than factual. Taking this into consideration when looking at newspaper articles, it can be easily determined that some articles are creative, while others are more fact based. Journal articles can be analyzed in the same way, by focusing on the context and style of the writing itself.

Through many writing classes in high school as well as college, my passion for writing was slowly diminished. I was continually discouraged by the topics I was forced to write about, most of which being nonfiction, or factual essays. It was as though I became immune to creativity. I had lost my fascination with writing, along with my drive due to writing many basic essays. It was this way up until first writing class here at Oakland, where I was introduced to a style of writing that was more creative. Throughout this writing class I became reintroduced to the world of creative writing and it was exciting. I was able to explore a different way of writing fact by adding my own personal flare to each piece; this is where I became more familiar with writing creative nonfiction.

Throughout my years of writing and reading classes, I was able to explore the many genres of writing that fall between fiction and nonfiction. Overall, creative nonfiction is a genre that is compelling to read, gives a variance between fact and fiction without losing the integrity of the piece, and gives the reader a taste of the author’s true voice.