Creative Nonfiction

As you readers can see my blog focuses on entertainment and sports. I get my topics from magazines, television, radio and the internet. Besides writing on just the facts I also give my opinion. I have recently been inspired to write in the style of creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction informs the reader on important issues, like journalism, but in a more imaginative and detailed way. Originality is an incredible aspect of writing, especially while reading about our history. I believe that creative nonfiction is an exceptional source of learning the truth of stories while still being entertained by the authors.

Creative nonfiction is when the author tells a story with actual events that happened in history, but adds a sense of wittiness to them. Creative nonfiction contains the story being told, the person telling it and the observer. It allows the author to use his own opinions and thoughts on true history as a way to entertain the reader. Creative nonfiction is the arrangement of experience mixed with historical facts.

Creative nonfiction is considered to be a genre as well as a method. Creative nonfiction combines nonfiction elements and literary elements. It includes the facts, explanations and research. Some methods that are used to make the events more realistic are characters, setting, language, narration and personal involvement. This allows information to come alive to the reader as well as making the main point more understandable. Creative nonfiction utilizes many different aspects of writing. Lee Gutkind, also known as the godfather behind creative nonfiction, states that creative nonfiction involves writing from personal experience or reporting on someone else’s experience and having the ability to shape it in a way that reads like fiction. This is a way of uniting storytelling with journalism. At one time creative nonfiction was referred to as “Literary Journalism,” however it is vastly different. Although journalism and creative nonfiction both report information discovered, creative nonfiction expresses it using literary or narrative techniques, while journalism uses basic facts. Journalism is also known to be read as a novel and creative nonfiction is not. Now don’t confuse creative nonfiction with creative writing. Creative writing can be entirely made up, whereas creative nonfiction contains accurate facts – nothing is made up.

All Around the Town and The Curve of Binding Energy are two books which contain excellent examples of how an author expresses the idea of “creative nonfiction.” All Around the Town is an interesting novel, where I was able to recognize creative nonfiction in the four stories I have read. For example, “The Rocking Chair Scandal” describes events that occurred in New York City, but contains many exaggerated details. However, the reader was still able to understand the controversy and riots that broke out in Central Park due to the citizens’ refusal of being charged to sit in a rocking chair. After reading the article in The New York Times, I noticed that Asbury did not write about the event in exact and that he expressed the ideas of “creative nonfiction.”

In The Curve of Binding Energy, John McPhee uses the same approach as Asbury while describing the actions and events that occurred in the life of Theodore B. Taylor. McPhee provides historical information regarding the dangers of nuclear energy and the use of safeguards. He blends life experiences and research with his own opinions and thoughts. With the use of creativity and literary styles and techniques, reading will be more appealing to its audience.

Creative nonfiction can be used to aid students when it comes to writing successful academic papers for college. It is a technique that is used to assist in writing in a creative way about factual and real life information . It involves research and the ability of describing the facts accurately, while making the story and people come alive. Creative nonfiction is an outstanding way to motivate the reader.