Creative Non-Fiction Notes

Creative Non-fiction

Creative non-fiction combines true accounts with fiction techniques.

  • Uses vivid language and emotions.

  • Stimulates imagination and uses rhetorical strategies.

  • Told in first person and based on facts.

  • Includes personal memory/reflection and story elements.

Literary Techniques

Techniques are deliberate use of language to convey meaning, often used indirectly in creative non-fiction for art and aesthetic.

Examples:

  • Figurative Language: Non-literal language.

  • Imagery: Descriptive language creating mental images.

  • Symbolism: Imbuing objects with hidden meaning.

  • Kenning: Combining words for poetic expression (e.g., whale-road = sea).

  • Parallelism: Similar language/structures in different text parts (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered.").

  • Foreshadowing: Suggesting future events.

  • Flashback: Interrupting the narrative with past events.

  • Sound Device: Using sounds to create musical effects.

  • Humor: Using literary tools that makes audiences laugh.

Theme

Central idea or message in a text, reflecting the author's outlook.

Common Themes:

  • Good vs. Evil

  • Power and Corruption

  • Love

  • Courage and Heroism

  • Coming of Age

  • Revenge

Creative Non-fiction Elements

Fact, extensive research, reportage/reporting, personal experience/opinion, explanation/exposition, essay format.

The 5'Rs of Creative Nonfiction (Lee Gutkind)

  1. Real life

  2. Reflection

  3. Research

  4. Reading

  5. Writing

Types of Creative Non-fiction

Personal essay, travel writing, memoir, food writing, literary journalism, profiles, autobiography.

Toolbox of Techniques

  • Topic and Question

  • Narrative Structure/Shape of Story

Narrative Structures:

  • Chronological

  • Braided

  • Collage

  • Frame

  • Narrative with Flashback

Other Techniques

Distinctive voice, style, intimate point of view, detail and description, scene and summary.

Techniques of Fiction:

  • Setting

  • Narrative Arc

  • Point of View

  • Character Development

  • Vivid Description

  • Use of Imagery

  • Theme

Poetic Devices:

Simile, Metaphor, Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Allusion, Assonance, Alliteration.

Personal Reflection:

Personal thoughts, perspectives, feelings, stream of consciousness, ruminations, meditations.

Word Choice/Diction:

Use fresh language, consider connotation.

Sentence Variety:

Use varied syntax, short/long sentences.

Sentence Variety Includes:

Intentional Fragment, Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex sentences, Parallel structure in sentences, declarative, interrogative, exclamatory sentences, Inverted sentence, Lose sentence and periodic sentences. When writing a periodic sentence, the main idea and clause are at the end of the sentence. For a lose sentence, the main idea and independent clause are at the

Lyrical Language:

Repetition, parallel structure, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, sensory imagery.