Forms and Types of Creative Non-Fiction
It helps the audience to
Forms of Creative Nonfiction
 Does not need to follow the “standard”
thesis-conclusion format of an essay
 Can borrow from any form you choose:
story, monologue, lesson, list, collage, etc.
 Find the right shape for the idea you wish to
present.
Techniques…………………………………
Simplicity
 “Clutter is the disease of American writing.”
 -William Zinsser
 Americans have short attention spans.
 Strip sentences to their cleanest
components.
 Clear thinking becomes clear writing.
 Ask yourself: What am I trying to say?
Research
 Internet, books
 People
 Interviews
 Observation
 Detective work
My biggest point
 You never want your reader to ask
“SoWhat?”
 Write creative nonfiction with a purpose.
DIFFERENT “TYPES” OF CREATIVE
NON-FICTION WRITING:
1. Autobiography - Tells the story of the
writer’s own life. Authors of autobiographies
often want to make sense of events in their lives
and to communicate an important personal
statement about life. They may also want to give
credit to people who influence them.
Controversial individuals often write
autobiographies to explain or justify their
actions.
The Basics
 Create a time line of your life events
 Identify the people who made an impact
in your life
 Select the best stories of your life
 Write it in your own voice.
2. Biography - Provides details regarding the
life of a person or a thing in an entertaining but
informative manner. By the end of a biography,
the readers fell like they are well-acquainted
with the subject.
 Story of a person’s life told by someone
else
 In 3rd person point of view (he/she/they)
 The writer is called the biographer
 Same elements as fiction (conflict,
setting, etc.)
The Basics
 Select a person you are interested in and
find out basic facts about him or her.
 Do additional research about the person
3.Memoir - Focuses on an event or series of
events that evoke a change of view or feelings in
an entertaining way.
understand one single person, the author.
The Basics
 Choose a topic you care about, a
“snapshot” of your life
 Seek a deeper theme within the simple
description of an event a reader can
connect to.
 Use your own unique voice in writing
4. Literary Journalism -- Uses the
techniques of journalism such as interviews and
reviews in order to look outside of the
straightforward, objective world that journalism
creates. It uses literary practices to capture the
scene/setting of the assignment or the persona of
the person being interviewed. It can
often be narrative or heavily imagistic.
The Basics
Get the facts straight by researching
Conduct interviews when necessary
Outline the story
Use literary devices in writing
Write dramatic scenes – dialogue, details, action
5. Personal Essay - focuses on a topic through
the lens of the personal experience of the
narrator. It can be narrative or nonnarrative –
it can tell a story in a traditional way or
improvise a new way for doing so.Ultimately, it
should always be based on true, personal
experience.
The Basics
 Focus on one specific topic
 Organize your ideas
 Use language in expressing what you
really mean to say, show rather than tell
by using imagery.
6. Tavelouge/Travel Writing -Records
the experiences of travelers in some interesting
places and circumstances. It includes vivid
descriptions, illustrations, historical background,
and possibly maps and diagrams.
The Basics
 Go on adventure.
 Start with a clear story line
 Describe the place in great detail and
use imagery.
 Get the facts straight about the place,
people, events, culture, etc.
7. True Narratives
 A true narrative essay, is a story, based
on actual events. The form of the true
narrative is undefined; the purpose in
telling the story is to express a point or
observation.
 The typical prompt or assignment for
the narrative essay will ask you to
describe an event thataffected or
changed your life. In other words, in the
narrative essay prompt, you are being
asked to tell a story.
8. Food Writing - Focuses on
communicating information about food. It
let’s readers experience the relationship of food
to man, to agriculture, nature, climate, nation-
building, culture, tradition, and even religion.
The Basics
 Use your five senses in describing.
 Research the background or history of
the topic.
 Include recipes to follow.
 Use your own style or writing.
9. Profile - Takes us behind the scenes of  State the audience’s and the critic’s
familiar places and gives a glimpse of the inner perception. Express your personal
workings of a person. The writer conveys an opinion and either
interpretation or perspective. It introduces  recommend or not the film.
unusual professions, hobbies, and
personalities.
The Basics
 Know the subject – their personality and
interests
 Research other information about the
person
 Choose a theme that suits your subject
 Interview the person and the people
surrounding him or her
10. Movie Review - Provides a short
description of a film and includes the reviewer’s
opinion about it. It assesses the movie’s overall
quality and determines whether or not the film is
worth recommending. A film review can be
formal or informal. When talking about an
academic writing assignment, a scholarly film
review should definitely use formal language.
The Basics
 Select a film and watch the film at least
twice.
 Read about the story behind the film.
Include interesting and peculiar facts
about the production process, the basis
of the story, the cast and the crew, the
budget, and location.
 Take note of critical scenes of the
characters.
 Introduction includes the basic
information of the film.
 Main body includes the analyses of the
story as a whole. Include scenes from
your notes.