Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
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IN
Activity
Group Activity
Creative
Nonfiction
Analysis
Abstraction/Generalization
The text you just read is an example of creative biography. The actions “eyes
flashing and fists clenched” were imagined by the author for the sake of
imaginative reconstruction of the event.
CREATIVE NONFICTION
This type of writing begins with the facts, elaborates on the facts, interprets
them, and more importantly, presents them in an interesting and engaging way.
In other words, it is a “more imaginative approach to reporting”.
The key word is “personal”. The writer of creative nonfiction presents the
world- or the slice of it that he wishes to focus on- through the prism of her own
personality.
Creative nonfiction is a nonfiction prose which utilizes the techniques and
strategies of a fiction. It combines the authority of literature and authority of fact
(Gutkind 1997).
In her book A Manual for Filipino Writers, Chistina Pantoja Hidalgo writes:
The writer of creative nonfiction may not alter facts in the interest of improving
his story. He must not deliberately misquote his sources, misconstrue his
statements, or mislead his readers. He is expected to write compelling stories
about real life, and in doing so, he must employ all the devices and strategies
available to the fictionist. Sometimes, this involves the imagining of scenes or
even conversations that never actually happen.
Application
Separate the attributes of the text below based on the advance organizers
presented.
Eyes flashing and fists clenched, Luna entered the house and ran
upstairs, after sleeping a sentry who had been too unnerved to
salute. Upstairs, Luna was met by his mortal foe, Felipe
Buencamino, who told him that Aguinaldo had gone to San Isidro.
(Nick Joaquin, 1997, 178)
Share your answers with your group and answer the following follow-up
questions:
Writing Exercise
From the Overview of Creative Nonfiction, I learned that …
Module 2 Types of Creative Nonfiction
Introduction
Creative nonfiction covers a very broad field in the writing discipline;
however, at the end of it is the term literary journalism or new journalism- writing
in a personal way about the facts in a news event, and on the other end is the
literary memoir, what Annie Dillard referred to when she said “works of
nonfiction can be coherent and crafted work of Literature” (1995).
The earlier statement which is “a writer of creative nonfiction may not alter
the facts in the interest of improving his story (Hidalgo)”, may not necessarily be
applied in literary memoir or a travel essay where it may be useful to say or
invent a travelling companion who would serve as a foil to the narrator by
presenting entirely different expressions of the place described.
Advance Organizer
Creative Nonfiction
Group Activity
The security guard pushed Endriga and company out the door. The
French representatives took hold to Endriga and attempted to push their way in.
The security guard tried to push them out.. People started cussing. Soon
everyone was yelling, and the jostling match erupted into full-blown melee. The
commotion was such that a group of performers rehearsing on an upper floor
heard the noise, ran downstairs, and beheld the chaos.
With the various characteristics present in the text, compare your essay
with the text above. Use an advance organizer to show their relationship.
Abstraction/ Generalization
Due to the extensive range it covers, creative nonfiction, aside from being
classified as a literary memoir and literary journalism mentioned earlier in this
module, there are still some terms to be considered in identifying the types and
classifications of writing under the mentioned two types, which may be under
literary memoir or literary journalism depending upon their manners of
construction and the information they ought to provide.
1. Profile- an in-depth article or essay that concentrates on one
person or a place.
2. Literary journalism or new journalism- writing in a personal way
about the facts in a news event.
3. Personal narratives or “life stories”- may be divided into
autobiographical narratives (e.g., journals, memoirs, travel
narratives, etc.); and biographical narratives (e.g., character
sketches, interview stories, etc.)
Application
Reconstruct the advance organizer presented on this unit incorporating
the classifications of creative nonfiction according to the manner of text
construction and the information various texts provide. Write a short explanation
of the advance organizer you shall construct.
Writing Exercise
From the Types of Creative Nonfiction, I learned that …
Advance Organizer
Gathering Information/Doing
Research
Before you read the processes, explain in your own words how you deal
with them.
Selecting Topic
Determining
Audience
Gathering
Data
Abstraction/ Generalization
1. Selecting a topic
The beginning writer often complains that he has nothing to write
about, yet, as Jacobi said: “From walking. From talking. From listening.
From observing. From doing. From reading. From believing. From
disagreeing. From dreaming. From asking. From having an open mind,”
subjects or topics for writing are everywhere.
You should begin with something close to home or close to you,
something you are interested in or curious about, but it shouldn’t stop you
from reaching the world. However modest it may be, a work that pretends
to be literature should be both local and universal, both timely and
enduring. Alfred Gonzales (1947)
2. Determining the audience
All the facts in the world would be wasted on readers who are
unable to appreciate them.
Thus, it is necessary to handle and organize your essay depending
upon who the target audience is. Your choice of language is also a
necessary factor to consider- i.e., the choice of words, the length of
sentences, the images, the allusions. Your approach would also vary upon
the audience- i.e., personal narrative would not be so effective to
children, yet, it may be effective to adult people.
The amount and type of information that the essay or article should
contain would also depend on the audience’s capacity to absorb it.
3. Gathering Data
An important thing to remember is: no matter how great your way
with words, or how engaging the personality you project, the bottom line
is: how much do you know about your subject?
In gathering information, you have to consider the following factors:
What kind of information
Where to get it
Keep current information
It is also immensely important to develop in yourself the art of
listening.
Application
Select five topics, think of the target audience, and gather information
about your topic. Then fill up the table below.
INFORMATION
TOPIC TARGET AUDIENCE GATHERED ABOUT
THE TOPIC
Writing Exercise
Scene Approach
Point of View
Rhetorical
Techniques
Tone
Strategies
Strong
Voice
Beginning
Concrete Convincing
Structure
Evocative Ending
Character Details
Activity
How do you identify a creative nonfiction text? Explain your answer or
give examples.
Abstraction/ Generalization
1. Approach
It has something to do with how the writer handles hi subject. It may also
be the angle on how the story is viewed.
Subjective Approach- the writer himself is the narrator and his personal
emotions towards the subject would reflect on the text
2. Point of View
Creative nonfiction however, generally use the first and third persons or
they use the indefinite pronoun “one”.
3. Tone
NOTE: Approach, tone, and point-of-view are very important strategies in writing
your essay. Handling these three correctly and wisely on your text will effectively
convey your meaning.
4. Voice
Voice is related to tone and style . It refers to the choice of word, length of
sentences, use of certain images, metaphors, allusions, etc.- which reveal a
particular personality, and a particular attitude.
5. Structure
Your topic will itself suggest the structure of your text. Structure is the
arrangement or organization of the text.
a. Title- it is not necessarily written before the piece is written, but it is good
to have a working title to help you focus.
First paragraphs lead the reader to reading the whole text. Thus, it must
catch attention, give the reader a hint of what the subject is, set the tone, and
guide the reader to what comes next.
The key to good creative nonfiction is dramatic writing and the key to
good dramatic writing is action.
Ways of beginning:
7. Character
Types of Characters
The most successful pieces of creative nonfiction are rich in details. Bare
facts are never enough. They need to be fleshed out; they need to be
humanized.
Ways of ending:
a. Dramatic denoument
c. Moral lesson
d. Anecdote
Application
Choose one topic from the following and write an essay incorporating the
strategies you learned from this module. Write a catchy title for your text.
a. My unforgettable travel
b. My best friend
c. My favorite pet
d. My greatest learning
e. My college life
e. Environmental issues
f. Animals or insects
Writing Exercise
1. Rhetorical Devices
2. Character
3. Convincing Ending