CREATIVE NON FICTION

Essay

• A short piece of prose that examines a single subject usually expressing a personal or limited view of the topic.

Urgency or timelessness

• “Great narrative essays straddle the paradox of being urgent and of the moment as well as being beyond the moment.”

• To be able to write things in such a way that the urgency is captured while also being able to have that moment transcend its immediate relevance.

• To write narrative in such a way that could have only come from the times and the world you were situated in when you wrote them.

• To write about your world and even your personal experience is to ultimately write a human story.

To Essay (the form as a verb)

• “Essay refers to those writing compositions that begin with a thesis statement and proceed with a series of supporting details that prove the validity of the thesis statement; the conclusion is usually a re-articulation of the thesis statement.”

• It is more about enacting a journey toward an understanding of something through writing.

The essayistic spirit takes length

• An essay necessarily unfolds over length.

• Consider how foregrounding storytelling takes more time, and leads to longer pieces that concerns more the illustration of a moral expressed clearly in the beginning.

The essayistic spirit is upfront with its subjectivity

• Writings that come from a specific point of view and being aware of the limitations of that vantage point are more essayistic in spirit.

• The sense of authority that surfaces in an essay is derived from having exhausted the possibilities and limitations of what one’s vantage point affording him or her.

The essayistic spiriti is generous to reader

• An essayistic spirit allows the readers not just an end product, but more so a human experience.

• It leaves the narrator vulnerable to being disagreed with, to have his or her flaws and inconsistencies revealed.

• Writing becomes a dialogue.

Expository

• Primary Purpose: To explain or inform the reader about a topic objectively.

Expository, persuasive, narrative, descriptive

What are the 4 main types of essay

Expository

• Key Features: Uses factual information, data, and logical explanation. It must be clear, concise, and non-opinionated.

Narrative

• Primary Purpose: To tell a story or recount a real event, often from the author’s personal experience.

Narrative

• Key Features: Focuses on a central plot, character development, setting, and dialogue. The goal is often to illustrate a lesson or insight.

Descriptive

• Primary Purpose: To “paint a picture” with words creating a sensory-rich experience for the reader.

Descriptive

• Key Features: Relies heavily on vivid language, sensory details, and figurative language.

Personal essay

• Focuses on the topic through the lens of the personal experience of the narrator.

Scope

Narrow; Focuses on one facet of life, one specific question, moment, and observation.

Goal

To arrive at a new insight or universal truth through the exploration of the personal experience.

Focus

The Thematic Question/Idea is the main point. The self is the lens.

Lyric essay

• Similar to personal essay however this essay relies heavily on descriptions and imagery.

Reflective essay

• An essay that allows the author to reflect on oneself looking at the experiences and how these changed and how your life is affected or impacted.

Literature, professional, educational, personal growth

What are the four types of reflective essay?

True narrative

• A true story, with plot, action, suspense characters and setting which delivers a theme.

Op-eds

 an opinion essay that appears at the opposite of the page of the “Letter to the Editor.”

Speech

• Is a communication through talking to an audience.

• In writing a speech, you have a well defined audience and clear focus.

Imagery

the speaker shows rather than tells their argument though vivid descriptions.

Imagery, storytelling, persona, dialogue

What are the elements of a compelling speech?

Informative

• Primary Goal: To share knowledge and enhance understanding.

Informative

• Focus/Content: Facts, data, definitions, processes, or explanations.

Informative, persuasive, demonstrative, entertaining

What are the type of speech by purpose

Persuasive

• Primary Goal: To convince the audience to adopt a viewpoint, belief, or take a specific action.

Persuasive

• Focus/Content: Arguments, evidence, appeals to emotion, logic, and credibility

Pathos

What is emotion

Logos

What is logic

Ethos

What is credibility

Demonstrative

• Primary Goal: To show the audience how to do something or how something work.

Demonstrative

• Focus/Content: Step-by-step processes, tutorials, use of visual aids, or live physical action.

Entertaining

• Primary Goal: To amuse, celebrate, or inspire the audience on a specific occasion.

Entertaining

• Focus/Content: Humorous stories, heartfelt anecdotes, toasts, praise, or motivational calls to actin.

Paralanguage

What is vocal elements

Volume

The relative loudness or softness of your voice.

Pitch

The highest or lowness of your voice.

Pauses

Strategic silences used to add emphasis, allow the audience to process information, or build suspense.

Articulation

The physical clarity or the sounds and words you produce (how clearly you pronounce individual syllables).

Pronunciation

Speaking words correctly, according to accepted standards.

Body language

What is the nonverbal elements

Eye contact

Connecting your eyes with various audience members across the room.

Facial expression

The movement of your face that conveys emotions and sincerity.

Gestures

Purposeful movements of the hands and arms to emphasize, illustrate, or count points.

Posture and stance

The way you hold your body.

Movement

How you use the speaking space.

Appearance

Your clothing and grooming.

Food writing

• The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary devices.

• It is a writing that focuses on the topic of food, both widely and narrowly defined, and includes work by food critics and food historians.

• A genre of creative nonfiction that blends storytelling with culinary experiences.

Sensory writing, personal stories, narrative style, connection to places and people

What are the characteristics of food writing?

Sensory writing

Focuses on taste, smell, texture, and appearance to evoke emotions and memories.

Personal stories

Integrate personal experiences, family traditions, or cultural backgrounds related to food.

Narrative style

Often written in a storytelling format, combining facts with creative narrative.

Connection to places and people

 

1. Food writing often explores the connection between food, culture, and identity.

 

Food memoirs, food criticism, travel writing, recipe writing

What are the types of food writing

Food memoirs

Personal account of food experience and their significance.

Food criticism

Objective analysis of food, trends, or restaurant openings.

Travel writing

Descriptions of culinary experiences from different locations around the country or the world.

Recipe writing

Sharing detailed recipe with context and stories about the dish.

Find a focus, engage the senses, tell a story, research

What are the tips in food writing

Find a focus

Whether it’s a dish, an ingredient, or a culinary experience, choose a specific topic.

Engage the sense

Describes how the food looks, smells, tastes, and feels to immerse the reader.

Tell a story

Share the context or personal experiences—how it made you feel and why it is significant.

Research

Ensure accuracy, especially if you are discussing about cuisine from different cultures.

Travel writing

• The writer crafts stories about traveling using literary devices.

• It is a narrative account of traveler’s journey, often mixing factual details about the place with personal impressions and experiences.

• A also known as “Travelogues”, it is a major form of travel literature.

First person point of view

The author uses “I”and “me,” making the account deeply personal and subjective. The reader follows the author’s steps and thoughts.

Sensory details

It is not enough to list what was seen. The writing must appeal to all five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to transport the reader to the location.

Facts and feelings

A good travelogue alternate useful, objective facts (history, culture, logistics) with subjective emotional descriptions and personal reflections.

Narrative Arc

Unlike a simple itinerary, a travelogue has a story. It often involves a conflict, a challenge, a realization, or a moment of personal transformation.

Focuses on culture/places

The central subject is the destination, its people, and its unique atmosphere, not just the author. The author serves as the lens through which the places is experienced.

Authenticity and honesty

The author is honest about the highs, the lows, the frustrations, and the moments of profound insight. This makes the story relatable.

Structure

A typical structure includes a captivating introduction (hook), a main body, detailing experiences chronologically or thematically, and a reflective conclusion (resolution or lesson learned).

Literary or narrative travelogue

Tells a deeply personal story about a journey, often seeking philosophical or cultural insight. It is highly descriptive, introspective, with en emphasis on the author’s changing perceptions.

Blog post

it provides actionable, useful information to a potential traveler. It is direct, practical, and ofter uses lists. It still uses a personal voice but is more fact-driven.

Instructional or pratical travel writing

Other term for blog post

Immersive travel writing

it explores the history, politics, and social life of a specific place by engaging with locals and diving deep into customs and traditions.

Cultural travel writing

Other term for immersive trvel writing

Adventure travel writing

Narrating a physically challenging or high-risk journey such as mountaineering, remote trekking, etc. It is high-stakes storytelling with a focus on overcoming obstacles and the relationship between the traveler and the wild.

Testimonio

• It is a powerful way to bridge the gap between literature and social justice.

• Since it’s a genre deeply rooted in Latin American history and human rights, it offers a unique look at how personal storytelling can become a political act. 

The collective I

The narrator doesn’t speak just for themselves, but as a witness to the struggles of their people (e.g., indigenous groups, the working class, or survivors of war). 

Urgency

written to expose injustice, human rights violations, or social inequality. 

The interlocutor

Some witnesses may be illiterate or speak a marginalized language, they often tell their story to an activist, journalist or scholar who records and edits it which makes the testimonio "mediated.”

Testimoniante

Other term for witness

Subjective truth

 "Truth" is often viewed through the lens of the collective experience rather than literal, journalistic accuracy.

Witnessing

The authority of the text comes from the phrase “I was there” or “I was this.” 

Plain language

The style is usually direct and unadorned to maintain a sense of raw authenticity. 

Call to Action

The text often ends with a direct or implied plea for the reader to take a stand or recognize a hidden reality.

Letters

• A communication in writing to another person or a group of persons; correspondence.

Epistle

A specialized form of letter that is more formal document prepared for public reading

Addressee

What is the most important part of testimonio

Internal audience

The person the letter is actually written.

External audience

The reader who “overheard” the conversation.

Direct letter

• Real letters intended for a person (e.g., Jose Rizal's Letter to the Women of Malolos).

The public open letter

• A letter addressed to a specific person but intended for public consumption to raise awareness (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail).

The hermatic letter

A letter written to someone who cannot read it (e.g., a letter to a deceased relative, an unborn child, or a personified concept like "Fear").

The vulnerability gap

• Letters often confess things that wouldn't be said in a formal essay.

 

Atmospheric details

• Letters often include where the writer is sitting, what the weather is like, or the physical act of writing to give the reader the "feel" when the author have written the letter.

The second person

• This is the engine of the letter. The word "You" creates an immediate emotional connection for the reader.