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CN - Lesson 3

The document discusses different types of creative non-fiction writing such as autobiography, memoir, biography, literary journalism, personal narratives, travelogues, reflection essays, true narratives, vlogs, blogs, and testimonio. It provides examples and descriptions of each type.

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69 views19 pages

CN - Lesson 3

The document discusses different types of creative non-fiction writing such as autobiography, memoir, biography, literary journalism, personal narratives, travelogues, reflection essays, true narratives, vlogs, blogs, and testimonio. It provides examples and descriptions of each type.

Uploaded by

marygracecuasaybsed
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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4 QUARTER

th

CREATIVE NON-FICTION
Autobiography/Biography
• An AUTOBIOGRAPHY is a self-authored story of a person’s
life. It is an account of one’s life written or recorded in some
way by that person.
• MEMOIR typically records one area of the author’s life –
such as his or her career – and usually only describes
events that the author has directly witnessed.
• Both BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY tell the story of
an individual person’s life.
EXAMPLES

• AUTHOBIOGRAHICAL MEMOIR
• A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby. Chacaby’s remarkable
life — from growing up abused in a remote Ojibwa community to
overcoming alcoholism and coming out as a lesbian as an adult —
is captured in this must-read autobiography.

• this type of memoir shines based on three things: the strength of the author’s story, the
strength of the story’s structure, and the strength of the author’s voice.
EXAMPLES

• EXPERIENCE MEMOIR
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Faced with the prognosis of
terminal cancer at the age of thirty-six, Paul Kalanithi wrote an unforgettable
memoir that tackles an impossible question: what makes life worth living?

In an "experience" memoir, you can generally expect to learn about:


 How the author found themselves facing said experience;
 The obstacles they needed to overcome; and
 What they discovered during (and after) the experience.
EXAMPLES

• EVENT MEMOIR
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau. In July of 1845, Henry David Thoreau
walked into the woods and didn’t come out for two years, two months,
and two days. This is the seminal memoir that resulted.

a clearly defined period of time


EXAMPLES

• THEMED MEMOIR
• Educated by Tara Westover. If there’s one lesson that we can learn from
this remarkable memoir, it’s the importance of education. About a family
of religious survivalists in rural Idaho, this memoir relates how the author
overcame her upbringing and moved mountains in pursuit of learning.
EXAMPLES

• TRAVEL MEMOIR
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Proof that memoirs don’t have to
tell catastrophic stories to succeed, this book chronicles Gilbert’s post-
divorce travels, inspiring a generation of self-care enthusiasts, and was
adapted into a film starring Julia Roberts.
Literary Journalism/Reportage
• A creative nonfiction form that comes closest to newspaper and magazine
writing. It is fact-driven and requires research and, often, interviews.
• called “immersion journalism” because it requires a closer, more active
relationship to the subject and to the people the literary journalist is
exploring. Like journalistic writing, the literary journalism piece should be
well-researched, focus on a brief period of time, and concentrate on what
is happening outside of the writer’s small circle of personal experience and
feelings.
• also known as docufiction, immersion journalism, new journalism,
narrative journalism or creative non-fiction.
EXAMPLE
• “In Cold Blood” (1965) by Truman Capote

Truman Capote turned to journalism as a young writer looking for a new form of self-
expression. He read an article about the murder of the family of a farmer Herbert Clutter in
Holcomb City (Kansas) in the newspaper and went there to collect the material. His original
idea was to write about how a brutal murder influenced the life of the quiet backwoods. The
killers were caught, and Capote decided to use their confessions in his book. He finished it only
after the killers were hanged. This way, the six-year story got the finale.
In Cold Blood was published in “The New Yorker” in 1965. Next year it was released as a book
that became the benchmark of true crime and a super bestseller. “In Cold Blood” includes:
• A stylistic brilliance.
• Inexorable footsteps of doom destroying both innocent and guilty.
• The horror hidden in a person and waiting for a chance to break out.
Personal narratives

• NARRATIVE ESSAYS tell instances in your life, these


instances are meant to deliver an impactful point or two

• PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAYS can be written as a


means to point out the activities in our mundane life and
painting them in another light.
A. Travelogue
• A travelogue is a person’s account of a journey to another country
or place. It can either be a written report with many factual details
or a narrative story about personal impressions and experiences
supported by images.
• Travel writing generally gives detailed information about the
attractions of a place so that people get tempted to go there on
their vacations. Hence, writers involved in travel writing should
follow some specific rules to make their travelogues more
appealing and interesting to the readers.
B. Reflection essay

• Reflective writing helps us to think more about


ourselves, who we are, and how we have changed.
• A reflective essay is an essay in which the writer
examines his or her experiences in life. The writer then
writes about those experiences, exploring how he or
she has changed, developed or grown from those
experiences.
Example

• My Little Brother
- This essay example is written at a middle or high school
level, reflecting on the arrival of a younger sibling
• Reading My Favorite Book
- This reflective essay example about a favorite book is
something you might find
B. Reflection essay
• Half the battle in creating a great reflective paper is finding the perfect topic to write about. Your
topic should be something that you experienced, learned, or grew from. It could also be a topic that
requires you to think more deeply about a place or book.
Some fun, creative topics for self-reflection include:
• A fight with a family member - Why did it impact you? What did it change about you?
• The moment you feel in love - Explore the feelings and emotions that come with love
and how it changes you.
• A sunset - What is it about the beauty of a sunset that impacts you?
• Your secret spot in your house - What about that spot is so important?
• Your first job - What was the experience like? Why was it meaningful?
• Your first date - Examine your emotions on the first date. Did it live up to the hype or
fall short?
C. True narratives

• In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life


experience. Everyone enjoys a good story—especially one
that captures the imagination. However, the narrative essay
goes further. In it, the writer places a personal experience
within the context of a larger theme, such as a lesson learned.
When writing a narrative essay, the writer wants not only to
tell a good story, but also convey why the story has meaning.
Example

“Goodbye to All That” by Joan Didion


• Included in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, a collection of Didion’s
essays, this piece delves into the emotions evoked by Didion’s leaving
New York City, and her journey of self-awareness.
• “I was in love with New York. I do not mean ‘love’ in any colloquial
way, I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first
person who ever touches you and never love anyone quite that way
again.”
D. Vlogs
• A typical vlog combines text, images, videos and
links to relevant pages and media on the Web.

E. Blogs
• A blog (shortened from the phrase “weblog”) is known as many things
—a digital magazine, diary, newscast, collector’s meeting place, a
showcase for your art, information sharing, teaching hub, place to learn
F. Testimonio

• an authentic narrative, told by a witness who is moved to


narrate by the urgency of a situation (e.g., war,
oppression, revolution, etc.)
• Spanish term means to “witness account”

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