The Creative Nonfiction (CNF) genre can be rather elusive.

It is focused on story, meaning it has a

narrative plot with an inciting moment, rising action, climax and denoument, just like fiction. However,
nonfiction only works if the story is based in truth, an accurate retelling of the author’s life experiences. The
pieces can vary greatly in length, just as fiction can; anything from a book-length autobiography to a 500-word
food blog post can fall within the genre.

Creative Nonfiction encompasses many different forms of prose. As an emerging form, CNF is closely
entwined with fiction. Many fiction writers make the cross-over to nonfiction occasionally, if only to write
essays on the craft of fiction. This can be done fairly easily, since the ability to write good prose—beautiful
description, realistic characters, musical sentences—is required in both genres.

Directions: Write FACTS about yourself. Give at least 10. Explain each.

The creative nonfiction writer often incorporates several elements of nonfiction when writing a memoir,
personal essay, travel writing, and so on. The following is a brief explanation of the most common elements of
nonfiction:

 Fact. The writing must be based on fact, rather than fiction. It cannot be made up.
 Extensive research. The piece of writing is based on primary research, such as an interview or personal
experience, and often secondary research, such as gathering information from books, magazines, and
newspapers.
 Reportage/reporting. The writer must be able to document events or  personal experiences.
 Personal experience and personal opinion. Often, the writer includes personal experience, feelings,
thoughts, and opinions. For instance, when writing a personal essay or memoir.
 Explanation/Exposition. The writer is required to explain the personal experience or topic to the reader.
 Essay format. Creative nonfiction is often written in essay format. Example: Personal Essay, Literary
Journalistic essay, brief essay.

Directions: Choose three (3) among the elements of Creative Nonfiction and write facts about it(5-10 sentences)
. You can choose your own topic.
 Creative nonfiction is about fact and truth.  The truth can be about a personal experience, event, or issue in
the public eye. There are many categories or genres to choose from, such as the personal essay, memoir, and
autobiography.  The following is a list of the most popular types of creative nonfiction:

 Personal Essay. The writer crafts and essay that is based on personal experience or a single event,
which results in significant personal meaning or a lesson learned. The writer uses the first person “I.”
 Memoir. The writer constructs a true story about a time or period in his/life, one that had significant
personal meaning and a universal truth. The writer composes the story using the first person “I.”
 Literary journalism essay. The writer crafts an essay about an issue or topic using literary devices,
such as the elements of fiction and figurative language.
 Autobiography. The writer composes his/her life story, from birth to the present, using the first person
“I.”
 Travel Writing. The writer crafts articles or essays about travel using literary devices.
 Food writing. The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary devices.
 Profiles. The writer constructs biographies or essays on real people using literary devices.

Directions: a. Write a travelogue and make documentation. Two ( 2) places will do --just around your area.

b. Make your own unique dessert recipe that something that you want to eat at this moment

A genre is a broad term that translates from the French to mean ‘kind’ or ‘type.’ In entertainment, this
can translate to horror, romance, science fiction, etc. In general, these types differ for all sorts of reasons, from
the actions in their plots to the feelings they elicit from the audience. However, in literature, there are some
more defined genres. It is important to know which genre a piece of work falls into because the reader will
already have certain expectations before he even begins to read.
Genre, in broad terms, refers to any works that share certain characteristics. If enough characteristics are in
common, then the pieces are said to be in the same genre. In literature, there are four main genres to help the
reader focus their expectations for the piece, though these genres can be broken down even further.

Types of Genre

Poetry
Poetry is the first major literary genre. All types of poetry share specific characteristics. In fact, poetry is a form
of text that follows a meter and rhythm, with each line and syllable. It is further subdivided into different
genres, such an epic poem, narrative, romantic, dramatic, and lyric. Dramatic poetry
includes melodrama, tragedy, and comedy, while other poems includes ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad, song, and
epic.

Drama

Drama is a form of text that is performed in front of an audience. It is also called a play. Its written text contains
dialogues, and stage directions. This genre has further categories such as comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy

Prose

This type of written text is different from poetry in that it has complete sentences organized into paragraphs.
Unlike poetry, prose focuses on characters and plot, rather than focusing on sounds. It includes short stories and
novels, while fiction and non-fiction are its sub genres. Prose is further categorized into essays, speeches,
sermons, and interpretations.

Fiction

Fiction has three categories that are, realistic, non-realistic, and semi-fiction. Usually, fiction work is not real
and therefore, authors can use complex figurative language to touch readers’ imaginations. Unlike poetry, it is
more structured, follows proper grammatical pattern, and correct mechanics. A fictional work may incorporate
fantastical and imaginary ideas from everyday life. It comprises some important elements such as
plot, exposition, foreshadowing, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Non-Fiction

Non-fiction is a vast category that also has sub-genres; it could be creative like a personal essay, or factual, like
a scientific paper. It may also use figurative language, however, not unlike poetry, or fiction has. Sometimes,
non-fiction may tell a story, like an autobiography, or sometimes it may convey information to readers.

Other examples of non-fiction include biographies, diaries, memoirs, journals, fantasies, mysteries, and
romances.

Function of Genre

Different genres have different roles. For example, fiction and dramatic genres help students and writers learn
and improve their communication skills. A poetic genre, on the other hand, enhances imaginative and
emotional power of the readers. Non-fictional texts and essays help readers develop analytical and persuasive
capabilities. However, the major function of genre is to establish a code of behavior between the writers and
audience, and keep the readers informed about the topics discussed or the themes presented.

Directions: a. Write a poetry about success ( 2 stanzas)

b. Write a love drama script consisting of 5 characters.

 Students are asked to write literary analysis essays because this type of assignment encourages you to
think about how and why a poem, short story, novel, or play was written.  To successfully analyze literature,
you’ll need to remember that authors make specific choices for particular reasons.  Your essay should point out
the author’s choices and attempt to explain their significance. 

Another way to look at a literary analysis is to consider a piece of literature from your own perspective.  Rather
than thinking about the author’s intentions, you can develop an argument based on any single term (or
combination of terms) listed below.  You’ll just need to use the original text to defend and explain your
argument to the reader.

Allegory – narrative form in which the characters are representative of some larger humanistic trait (i.e. greed,
vanity, or bravery) and attempt to convey some larger lesson or meaning to life. Although allegory was
originally and traditionally character based, modern allegories tend to parallel story and theme.

 William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily- the decline of the Old South
 Robert Louis Stevenson’s  Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- man’s struggle to contain his inner
primal instincts
 District 9- South African Apartheid
 X Men- the evils of prejudice
 Harry Potter- the dangers of seeking “racial purity”

Character – representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities or functions in
a work of fiction

 Protagonist – The character the story revolves around.

 Antagonist – A character or force that opposes the protagonist.
 Minor character – Often provides support and illuminates the protagonist.
 Static character – A character that remains the same.
 Dynamic character – A character that changes in some important way.
 Characterization – The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as
appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations.  

Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself what the function and
significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon the character’s history, what the reader
is told (and not told), and what other characters say about themselves and others.

Connotation – implied meaning of word. BEWARE! Connotations can change over time.

 confidence/ arrogance
 mouse/ rat
 cautious/ scared
  curious/ nosey
 frugal/ cheap

Denotation – dictionary definition of a word

Diction – word choice that both conveys and emphasizes the meaning or theme of a poem through distinctions
in sound, look, rhythm, syllable, letters, and definition  

Figurative language – the use of words to express meaning beyond the literal meaning of the words themselves

 Metaphor – contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme
without using like or as  
o You are the sunshine of my life.
 Simile – contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme
using like or as  
o What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun
 Hyperbole – exaggeration
o I have a million things to do today.
 Personification – giving non-human objects human characteristics
o America has thrown her hat into the ring, and will be joining forces with the British.

Foot – grouping of stressed and unstressed syllables used in line or poem

 Iamb – unstressed syllable followed by stressed

o Made famous by the Shakespearian sonnet, closest to the natural rhythm of human speech
 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
 Spondee – stressed stressed
o Used to add emphasis and break up monotonous rhythm
 Blood boil, mind-meld, well- loved
 Trochee – stressed unstressed
o Often used in children’s rhymes and to help with memorization, gives poem a hurried feeling
 While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
 Anapest – unstressed unstressed stressed
o Often used in longer poems or “rhymed stories”
 Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
 Dactyls – stressed unstressed unstressed
o Often used in classical Greek or Latin text, later revived by the Romantics, then again by the
Beatles, often thought to create a heartbeat or pulse in a poem
 Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.

The iamb stumbles through my books; trochees rush and tumble; while anapest runs like a hurrying brook;
dactyls are stately and classical.

Imagery – the author’s attempt to create a mental picture (or reference point) in the mind of the reader.
Remember, though the most immediate forms of imagery are visual, strong and effective imagery can be used
to invoke an emotional, sensational (taste, touch, smell etc) or even physical response.

Meter – measure or structuring of rhythm in a poem

Plot – the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story

  Foreshadowing – When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the
story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised).
 Suspense – The tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown
 Conflict – Struggle between opposing forces.
 Exposition – Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot.
 Rising Action – The process the story follows as it builds to its main conflict
 Crisis – A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end
 Resolution/Denouement – The way the story turns out.

Point of View – pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. The point of view of a story can sometimes
indirectly establish the author’s intentions.

 Narrator – The person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the story.
 First-person – Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision.
 Second person – Narrator addresses the reader directly as though she is part of the story. (i.e. “You
walk into your bedroom.  You see clutter everywhere and…”)
 Third Person (Objective) – Narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer). Does not assume
character’s perspective and is not a character in the story. The narrator reports on events and lets the
reader supply the meaning.
 Omniscient – All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator knows what each character is
thinking and feeling, not just what they are doing throughout the story.  This type of narrator usually
jumps around within the text, following one character for a few pages or chapters, and then switching to
another character for a few pages, chapters, etc. Omniscient narrators also sometimes step out of a
particular character’s mind to evaluate him or her in some meaningful way.

Rhythm – often thought of as a poem’s timing. Rhythm is the juxtaposition of stressed and unstressed beats in a
poem, and is often used to give the reader a lens through which to move through the work. (See meter and foot)

Setting – the place or location of the action.  The setting provides the historical and cultural context for
characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state of characters. Example – In Poe’s The Fall of the House
of Usher, the crumbling old mansion reflects the decaying state of both the family and the narrator’s mind. We
also see this type of emphasis on setting in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice.

Speaker – the person delivering the poem. Remember, a poem does not have to have a speaker, and the speaker
and the poet are not necessarily one in the same.

Structure (fiction) – The way that the writer arranges the plot of a story.

Look for: Repeated elements in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, time,
place, etc.

Structure (poetry) – The pattern of organization of a poem. For example, a Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line
poem written in iambic pentameter. Because the sonnet is strictly constrained, it is considered a closed or fixed
form. An open or free form poem has looser form, or perhaps one of the author’s invention, but it is important
to remember that these poems  are not necessarily formless.

Symbolism – when an object is meant to be representative of something or an idea greater than the object itself.

 Cross – representative of Christ or Christianity

 Bald Eagle – America or Patriotism
 Owl – wisdom or knowledge
 Yellow – implies cowardice or rot
Tone – the implied attitude towards the subject of the poem. Is it hopeful, pessimistic, dreary, worried? A poet
conveys tone by combining all of the elements listed above to create a precise impression on the reader.

Directions: a. Write a tragic drama that complies protagonist, antagonist, minor character, static Character, and
dynamic Character.

b. Memorize figures of Speeches and give 2 examples each

Fiction is fabricated and

based on the author’s
imagination. Short stories,
novels, myths, legends, and
fairy tales are all considered
fiction. While settings, plot
points, and characters in fiction
are sometimes based  on real-
life events or people, writers use
such things as jumping off
points for their stories.

Nonfiction, by contrast, is
factual and reports on true
events. Histories, biographies,
journalism, and essays are all considered nonfiction. Usually, nonfiction has a higher standard to uphold than
fiction. A few smatterings of fact in a work of fiction does not make it true, while a few fabrications in a
nonfiction work can force that story to lose all credibility.

The following is a list of the most popular types of creative nonfiction:

o Personal Essay. ...

o Memoir. ...
o Literary journalism essay. ...
o Autobiography. ...
o Travel Writing. ...
o Food writing. ...
o Profiles
Directions: Make2 fictional and 2 non -fictional stories.

1. Writing is reading
The most obvious, and least sexy, tip is that to engage deeply with creative non-fiction you have to read
as many books in this genre as you can. Of course every writer knows, or at least so I hope, that reading for
writers is as important as the writing itself. Yet, in creative non-fiction, reading may play even a more
significant role, because – as mentioned last month – works published in this genre are so diverse, playful,
surprising and elusive to definition, that the best way to understand creative non-fiction is by experiencing it.
I suggest starting with creative non-fiction classics – the likes of Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’,
Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Moveable Feast’ and Joan Didion’s ‘Slouching Towards Bethlehem’. It is also not a
bad idea to read some popular creative non-fiction – Gretchen Rubin’s ‘The Happiness Project’, for example.
Finally, read the most adventurous current practitioners, such as Geoff Dyer, Maggie Nelson and David Shields.
If you haven’t read these writers yet, I’m really jealous of you. Reading them is a sort of revelation.

2. Shape yourself into a character

Craft your ‘I’ with great care, as if you were a fictional character. Be creative and don’t be too earnest. It
is commonly understood among creative non-fiction writers, and also dedicated readers, that the ‘I’ in the work
doesn’t equal the author, that it is a version of her, shaped to fit the story. For example, my memoir ‘The
Dangerous Bride’, was set during a troubled time in my life when my marriage was unravelling. To fit the
narrative’s drama I underplayed the more organised aspects of myself and emphasised my confusions and
inconsistencies. I even portrayed myself with constantly dishevelled hair even though in reality I sometimes do
brush it. I wasn’t faking, but rather working along the lines of advice from Robin Hemley who in his book about
creative non-fiction, ‘Immersion’, wrote: “It’s possible to be completely honest about yourself and at the same
time selective and manipulative in the details you choose, for the sake of keeping the prose focused.” To reveal
the emotional truth of our stories without boring our readers silly we are ‘allowed’ to reveal about ourselves just
the stuff that is relevant to the particular story we are telling.

3. Be honest about the limits of your memory, but not too honest
In writing creative non-fiction we often engage with our past. Yet memory, as we all know, is a fickle,
capricious princess. Sometimes it’s worth admitting that our memory is more a suspect than a trustworthy
assistant and to write this tension between truth and fiction into the work. Here is a warning, though –
discoursing on memory has become somewhat of a cliché in creative non-fiction and it is all too easy to slip into
self-indulgence here. I have little patience for memoirs and personal essays where every second sentence
contains qualifications, such as “but maybe the wallpaper was yellow, not brown” or “I don’t remember why I
decided to slap my sister”. My suggestion is to tread lightly in this territory and discuss memory’s puzzling
workings only where it is crucial to the narrative and/or when you can say something fresh on the topic. After
all, what your readers are really after is a good story and thoughtful reflection, not tedious mumbling.

4. Your ethical concerns are often your story

Ethical concerns, such as this question of memory’s accuracy, proliferate in creative non-fiction, which
is what makes this genre so risky to work in and therefore exciting too. It may ease the pressure a bit if we, as
writers, admit that such concerns are actually a part of the story we are writing, rather than something to deal
with on our own, in guilty secrecy. In fact, sometimes, when written into the story, our dilemmas can
become the most interesting part of the work, deepening it greatly. Helen Garner’s investigative journalism is a
fine example of such writing. In her true crime book, ‘Joe Cinque’s Consolation’, for example, some of my
favourite parts are where Garner questions her own motives for following the murder story and her biases in
how she interprets the case, because these passages illuminate the complexity of human psyche and make us,
the readers, question ourselves too.

5. Don’t force your endings

Make your work reflect life’s complexity; don’t look for neat resolutions where there are none. One of
the things that can kill a work of creative non-fiction is an imposed simplification of the reality being explored.
Such simplification is particularly common with bad memoirs where authors often rush to offer redemptive
endings to their sometimes harrowing life dramas as if every difficulty can be ‘fixed’. Instead, I suggest, stay
with the ambivalence and uncertainty if this is what’s true to our experiences.

6. Beware of fiction writers

The following advice may sound arrogant but I think it’s just practical, and may even make the
difference between your finishing your project or losing confidence in it: Don’t show your works-in-progress to
fiction writers! The parameters and conventions of creative non-fiction differ significantly from fictional ones,
despite the many overlaps, and are often quite alien to fiction writers, particularly those who focus on the
storytelling aspects of writing and are less interested in ideas. Showing your personal essay to a novelist would
be like asking a news reporter for advice on a poem.

7. You don’t actually have to write creative non-fiction

Finally, I think it’s important to be vigilant about how emotionally honest you are prepared to be in your
creative non-fiction project. If there are many things you feel you cannot say because you are not prepared to
offend people, or because you don’t want to expose yourself and make yourself vulnerable, then in my view it is
not worth writing this particular work. It is better to focus on writing something else, maybe fiction, than to end
up with a falsely ringing, sentimental piece of writing. 

Directions: Write a creative non-fiction story and follow the tips given.

Writing commentary means giving your opinion, interpretation, insight, analysis, explication, personal
reaction, evaluation or reflection about a concrete detail in an essay. You are "commenting on" a point you have
made. Writing commentary is higher level thinking. Commentary is what makes an essay interesting to read.
Writing commentary requires extra effort. It requires you to think! Commentary requires you to think of some
original things (from your brain) to say about your concrete detail. Literature commentary has some rules: • do
not use I, me, my, we, us, • avoid using would, should, could, mayor might Literature commentary discusses
what the concrete detail shows about a character or event in a story. If you get stuck writing commentary, start
your commentary sentences with this shows that _ The result will almost always be commentary. You can
change the phrase "this shows that" in revising your essay.
 Directions: Write a commentary, interpretation and analysis in the poem given.

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

References:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12744/trees