THE 5R'S OF CREATIVE NONFICTION

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The 5R's of Creative Nonfiction 

    Lee Gutkind, who is a writer, professor, and expert on creative nonfiction, wrote an essay called “The Five R’s of Creative Nonfiction.” In this essay, he identified five essential elements of creative nonfiction. These include: 


1. Creative nonfiction has a “real life” aspect. The writer constructs a personal essay, memoir, and so forth, that is based on personal experience.  He also writes about real people and true events. 

2. Creative nonfiction is based on the writer engaging in personal “reflection” about what he/she is writing about. After gathering information, the writer needs to analyze and assess what he/she has collected. He then must evaluate it and expression his thoughts, views, opinions. Personal opinion is permissible and encouraged. 

3. Creative nonfiction requires that the writer complete “research”. The writer needs to conduct research to learn about the topic. The writer also needs to complete research to discover what has been written about the topic. Even if a writer is crafting a personal essay, he will need to complete secondary research, such as reviewing a personal journal, or primary research, such as interviewing a friend or family member, to ensure that the information is truthful and factual. 

4. The fourth aspect of creative nonfiction is “reading”. Reading while conducting research is not sufficient. The writer must read the work of the masters of his profession. 

5. The final element of creative nonfiction is “writing”. Writing creative nonfiction is both an art and craft. The art of creative nonfiction requires that the writer uses his talents, instincts, creative abilities, and imagination to write memorable creative nonfiction. The craft of creative nonfiction requires that the writer learn and deploy the style and techniques of creative nonfiction in his/her work.


Types of Creative Nonfiction

    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: 

1. 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.” 

2. 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.” 

3. 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. 

4. Autobiography. The writer composes his/her life story, from birth to the present, using the first person “I.” 

5. Travel Writing. The writer crafts articles or essays about travel using literary devices. 

6. Food writing. The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary devices. 

7. Profiles. The writer constructs biographies or essays on real people using literary devices.


(Click ME!) GUIDELINES For Writing Creative Nonfiction 



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