PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS,

TECHNIQUES, AND
DEVICES OF
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Creative Nonfiction is a literary
genre that is fast becoming popular
among writers today.
In the past, writers had published
books of poetry or fiction or
drama/plays before they ventured
into the realm of creative
nonfiction.
 For example, Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, one of the greatest Latin
American writers, had written a
number of critically-acclaimed novels
such as One Hundred Years of Solitude
and Love in the Time of Cholera and
many other works of fiction including
short story collections before he
wrote his memoir, Living to Tell the
Tale.
 But today, many writers begin
their careers by creative
nonfiction. The reason for its
popularity lies partly in the
immediate availability of topics or
subject matter that a writer may
choose from.
 Materials for creative nonfiction are
readily available since they come from
the writer’s real life experiences, as in
the case of the memoir and travel
essays, or they may come in the form
of observations or comments of the
writer about people, places, events;
Ideas as in the case of food writing, sports
narrative, personal essays, and biography.
In other words, it is the most personal
of literary genres. But what makes
creative nonfiction different from
nonfiction is that creative nonfiction uses
techniques found in fiction such as plot,
characters, setting, atmosphere, point-of-
view, insights, etc.
 It is nonfiction that emphasizes the
creative elements, particularly
fictional elements of the piece even
though the goal of the writer is to tell
the truth as it is, to relate events as
they happen, and describe people as
they appear and act.
Simply put creative nonfiction as the
“artistic” way of relating factual events
to the reader. Writers begin to look
back on their past experiences, engage
in introspection, address and reflect on
current issues and events, and guide
you to a realm that used to be solely
their own.
 ACTIVITY#5:
LOOKING BACK AND
MOVING FORWARD

Trace some of the most

memorable events in your
life and try charting your
future by providing the
personal information below.
THREE MOST IMPACT OR
MEMORABLE DATE PEOPLE CONTRIBUITON
EVENTS IN INVOLVED IN MY LIFE
MY LIFE
1

3
 THREE PEOPLE HOW THESE
WHOSE LIFE REASON PEOPLE CHANGED
STORIES INSPIRED MY LIFE
ME THE MOST
1

3
THREE IMMEDIATE
PLANS OR GOALS I STEPS TO TAKE TO TIME
HAVE FOR THE ACHIEVE THEM FRAME
NEAR FUTURE
1

3
 PLOT
or plot structure is inherent in fiction
patterns are exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action, resolution or
denouement
is a sequence of events that has a
beginning, middle and an end
plot in creative nonfiction is based on
actual people, experiences, and events as
they actually happened
Material for creative
nonfiction is everywhere.
Material for essays can come
from walking, talking,
listening, observing, doing,
believing, disagreeing,
dreaming, scheming , asking
and having an open mind.
As a beginning writer, you should
begin with something that you are
familiar with or interested in --- like
writing about people you know,
things you have personally
experienced, events that you
actually witnessed, something that
is close to home because you will
find it easy to acquire information
since you have easy access to them.
 You can explore other subjects and topics
and reach out to the rest of the world once
you are ready.
It means having more experiences as a
writer and testing you pieces on your friends
and teachers.
It is important to note that whatever
subject matter or topic you wish to write on,
you should make sure that it has some
appeal.
 Creative nonfiction writers must have
the skill of fictionists since they will be
telling a true story in the way fictionists
do. For example, using all the strategies
and techniques necessary for writing
fictions.
 Creative nonfiction writers must also have
the research ability of the reporter. He/She
begins with facts, elaborates on them,
interprets them, and more significantly,
presents them in an interesting and engaging
way.
In other words, it is a more
imaginative approach to reporting
“yet remains truthful and accurate.
 It is also important to note that
the writer of creative nonfiction is
not allowed in a way to alter facts in
the interest of improving his story.
Writers must not deliberately
misquote his sources , misconstrue
their statements, or mislead his
readers.
How to
begin
Writing
The Title
Catchy and clever titles have an advantage.
Titles which are too long are at a
disadvantage.
Titles should not also be misleading.
Titles should give the reader a quick idea of
what to expect, without giving away the
whole story.
The First Paragraph
The key to good creative
nonfiction is dramatic writing.
The key to dramatic writing is
action.
Ways to begin writing the First Paragraph
a passage of vivid description
a quotation > a list
a bit of dialogue > an anecdote
a little scene > a question
a striking statement
a reference to a current event which serves
as context, or, with what in fiction called in
medias res – a plunge right into the middle of
the action.
PASSAGE OF VIVID DESCRIPTION
For eight months in 1975, residents of the edge
of Green Swamp, Florida, had been reporting to
the police that they had seen a Wild man. When
they stepped toward him, he made strange
noises as in a foreign language and ran back
into the saw grass. At first, authorities said the
Wild man was a mass hallucination. Man-eating
animals lived in the swamp, and a human being
could hardly find a place to rest without sinking.
Perhaps it was some kind of a bear the children
had seen.
QUOTATION
“Thou shall not be dirty” and “Thou shall not be
impudent” were the two commandments of
Grandmother Henderson upon which hung our
total salvation. Each night in the bitterest winter
we were forced to wash faces, arms, necks, legs
and feet before going to bed. She used to add,
with a smirk that unprofane people can’t control
when venturing into profanity, “and wash as far
as possible, then wash possible.”
 LIST
“Keep his mom-in-law in chains, meet Kills son
and feeds corpse to pigs.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Teenager twist off corpse’s head...to get gold
teeth meet Strangles girlfriend, then chops her
to pieces.”
“How you doing?”
“Nurse’s aide sees fingers chopped off in meat
grinder, meet I left my babies in the deep
freeze. “It’s a pleasure.”