Theme and Techniques

Nonfiction is a wide kind of compositions that incorporates all books that are not established in an anecdotal account. Creative
nonfiction can be classified in history and biography; it might be instructional; it can offer publication and humor; and it can mull
over philosophical requests. If a book is not delved in a made-up story, by then it is certified.
◦Fact. The core of nonfiction is fact. Factual information shall be included in the piece and not a made up information.
◦Extensive research. Conducting and gathering information through research provide accurate and reliable information that you
may use in writing your nonfiction write-up.
◦Reportage/reporting. Documenting the gathered information like interview and reports helps you keep records and files for future
usages.
◦Personal experience and personal opinion. Since the main source of contents are based from the personal experiences and
personal insights of the writer, it makes an easy way to write a piece.
◦Explanation/Exposition. Explaining the story to the reader is expected to attain the objectives of the piece.
◦Essay format. The outputs in creative nonfiction are often in essay format. Examples: Procedural Essay, Personal Essay, Literary
essays, descriptive essay
◦Storytelling/narration. The goal, challenges and obstacles, a turning point, and resolution of the story shall be delivered
spontaneously to help the readers understand the flow of the story.
◦Character/Characterization. In a nonfiction story, characters are also important. The main character serves as the core or central
idea of the storyline. The story revolves to the experiences of the main character with the help of the other characters.
◦Setting, atmosphere and scene. The writer creates scenes that are action -oriented; include dialogue; and contain vivid
descriptions.
◦Plot and plot structure. These are the main events that make up the story. In a personal essay, there might be only one event. In a
memoir, there are often several significant events.
◦Figurative language. The use of figurative languages helps the writer to provide aesthetics to the piece. It gives vibrant effect to
the story.
◦Imagery. The use of different sensory images helps also to add color in writing a nonfiction piece.
◦Angle/Point of view. Most of the time nonfiction adheres with the use of First Person Point of View since the experiences are being
told. ◦Dialogue. This can help to make the story run within the characters.
◦Theme. It is the central idea or universal truth presented in the work.
 Personal Essay. The writer uses information that is based on personal experience or a single event, which leads in significant
personal meaning or a lesson learned that he encountered. The writer uses the first person “I.”
 Memoir. The writer creates a real story within a time or period of life, one that contributed a significant personal meaning and
truth. The writer uses the first person “I” in the story.
 Literary journalism essay. The writer creates an output on an issue or topic using the understood literary devices, such as the
elements of fiction and figurative languages.
 Autobiography. The writer writes his/her own life story, from birth to the present, using the first person “I.”
 Travel Writing. The writer creates article narration about travel using literary devices and figurative languages.
 Food writing. The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary techniques that mat lead to a review and
recommendation.
 Profiles. The writer constructs life stories of people using literary devices.

In a blog of Hood (2012), he identified the toolbox of techniques that writers are expected to use when writing creative nonfiction.
 Topic and Question. In prewriting, you need to choose a topic and then try to link possible questions to be answered. In doing
this, it helps you to focus on the areas that you intend to highlight, For instance, in choosing a topic on a travelogue, you need to
formulate questions like How to get there? What are the amenities or activities that can be done? The transportation fares and
routes.
 Narrative Structure or Shape of a Story. Narrative structure lets you to discover within the way on delivering the story through
narration, meaning that you discover the details of the story and its structure as you write. In creative nonfiction, there are five
popular narrative structures or shapes
Narrative structure: Telling the story chronologically, from beginning to end.
 Braided Structure: Telling a story by weaving or combining two, sometimes three, narratives or stories.
 Collage: Using a thematic and segmented approach that combines a quotation or two, poem, scene, metaphor, simile, allusion,
personification, image, vignette, anecdote, a short, short, true story, with an epiphany.
 Frame: Telling a story by opening with a particular scene or reflecting and closing with a particular scene or reflection.
 Narrative with Flashback: Telling a story using scene, summary, reflection, and flashbacks.
Here are the main reasons to use literary devices in your writing:
1. Include special effects in writing. Some portion of appearing, and not telling, through your story includes the utilization of literary
devices and different strategies in your narration.
2. Establish connection with your audience. You can bring the reader into your story, and urge them to connect with the content.
Literary devices can stimulate the reader’s mind, and giving them a deeper reading experience.
3. Interests hooks the reader. Without literary devices, there is a huge possibility that the story will be dull and boring. By
incorporating literary techniques in your writing, you add vivid color and interests to your words, and avoid being a dull.
4. Use abstract information. More common in fiction stories, literary devices can help the author convey abstract concepts or
information to the reader. They can help communicate the work’s overall meaning or theme, without the writer having to directly
state the purpose.
5. Establish clear and vivid pictures with your words. Literary devices like imagery can help to create visual pictures or imageries in
the reader’s imagination.

Draft of a Short Piece Using Literary Conventions

In writing your draft, you may consider the following:

1. Identify your topic. In choosing your topic, you need to consider the possibilities of gathering the contents. Remember that
nonfiction deals with factual information and should be based on reality. Topic shall also be interesting with your target audience.
Just tell something about your story in just one to three sentences. You can also make a list of possible theme, tone and motif of
your piece depending on its applicability.
2. Outline your story/output. Considering the writing format per type of nonfiction, start creating your outline. The outline will help
you organize you thoughts. You do not need to write the entire paragraphs. Just write on your outline the topic or concerns for each
paragraph. Consider from the introduction part to the body to the concluding part of your piece. Aside from the parts of the piece,
you also need to consider other elements that are applicable to your genre such as the characters and characterization, setting and
atmosphere, conflicts, point of view and other possible elements.
3. Use the learned styles, elements and techniques. Now that you have learned the various styles, genre, formats, elements and
techniques in writing a nonfiction story, start writing on a freehand move. Just write everything that comes out to your mind. Since
you have the outline, this will guide you to adhere to the aim of your writings. The use of these elements and techniques provide
vivid impact to the readers once you are done writing it. Keep on writing until you jived your writing to your outline. If there is a plot,
see to it that you have attained to write the complete five parts of the plot. If you are struggling to your ending, do not worry, you
can work on with that later.
4. Impart Dialogues and other conventions if necessary. Using the dialogues depending on the genre or type of nonfiction that you
chose to use makes the piece more interesting and appealing to the readers. The diction plays also important thing in your writing.
Remember your target audience. The scene and sequence are also important for you to attain the chronology of the piece that you
are writing.
5. Think of possible titles of your piece. Make at least three possible titles of your piece. Consider the content and see to it that the
title is interesting and catchy to the target audience.
6. Read your draft. Read your draft aloud. This will help you to review and comprehend the things and information that you have
written. You may also let other people to read your draft for them to suggest for possible adjustments for improvement.

Here are some of the considered areas or aspects that should be evaluated for the improvement of the piece. Try to understand
each of the facet for you to be equipped with the learning tasks later.

1. Clarity of the Idea Presented - When you start evaluating the piece, clarity of the ideas shall be considered first. It is hard for
readers if ideas are not clearly presented. There should be no vague ideas to prevent dissatisfaction among readers. Focusing on
content, organization of ideas shall be things to be weighed in determining the ideas. Consistency of these is merely important to
avoid confusion. Readers want messages that clearly and quickly convey important content. Ensuring that all of these are
accurate, relevant and complete for the audience.
2. Appropriate Choice of Literary Elements - In evaluating a piece considering the appropriateness of the literary elements used in
the piece is a must. You cannot provide evaluation on the literary elements appropriateness if you don’t have the background
information about the elements. It is easy to say and appreciate a literary piece as a good piece but saying if the literary elements
are appropriate is a different thing. Mastery is needed. You have learned in the previous lessons and subjects on literature about
different literary elements. This will serve as your foundation to do the evaluation in this aspect.
3. Appropriate Use of Element - Considering the literary elements and device independently like structure (plot), imagery,
perspective, setting, subject, etc. In general, it is frequently insightful to consolidate these components in an explanatory
exposition. You may likewise expound on character as long as you are joining it with an examination of at least one of the above
components. In this manner, you can decide to concentrate on one of these components, or you can compose an exposition which
thinks about at least two of these components.
4. Effective Combination of Ideas and the Chosen Element - Since you have known the ideas presented and how did the author
choose and use literary elements, the last facet that can be evaluated is the impact of these to the readers and audience. Will there
be an effect once you have clear presentation of idea? Will there be an effect if you have selected appropriate literary elements?
These are some of the questions to be pondered to evaluate one’s draft.

Revising a Draft

Revising literally means “to see again” not just once but multiple times. Revision has two types of processes where the larger
problems such as content and organization and the smaller problems such as sentence structure, word choice, and formatting shall
both be considered in revising your output. Revising will help you to notice the other elements of your write-up from the mechanics,
structure, coherence of the paragraphs and its core. Some portion of updating may incorporate requesting that others read drafts
and make modification proposals. Eventually, it's consistently up to the author whether those update suggestions will be actualized
into the last draft. Revising your first draft is really a challenging task. You are stood up to with your mistakes; you will discover
helpless exchanges and shallow characters, you will find plot openings, lost backstories, etc. Regularly, this encounter will make
you need to stop, to toss the many pages and give up. In any case, as writers, we should not stop writing.

Publishing involves submitting final manuscripts to editors of print and online journals and magazines, newspapers, or publishing
companies.In proofreading or checking the mechanics, the draft should focus on formatting and accuracy of the grammatical
functions. In doing this, hard-copy instead of just reading from your computer screen will be more effective. In doing proofreading,
you need to read it aloud and check it intensively.
Let us try to remember the actions and decisions below in doing a revision of a piece. This would help us to attain the improvement
of our text. Just remember the word DRAFT and you will be guided properly in revising your piece.

DELETE unnecessary and repeated words, parts or sequences. Are there words or parts that are needless or unnecessary which
can be deleted and will not affect the content or flow of the piece? If there are, delete them.

REARRANGE the paragraphs, sentences, clauses or words. Are there words or sentences that need to be rearranged to attain the
chronological arrangement of the piece? If there are, rearrange them.

ADD some connectors, transitional devices or even information. If there are still information that need to be included, add them.
The use of connectors and transitional devices will help to attain the smooth flow of the piece.

FORM each of the parts that are needed in the piece. Recalling the nonfiction type, there are certain parts that should be present.
Even the elements needed in a type of nonfiction shall be formed and formulated.

TALK it aloud. Reading the text aloud surely reveals the errors of the write-up. Various versions and modification can be made if we
keep on reading it before publishing. Does it sound right? Sound smooth? Better to read it aloud.