If you’re a writer yourself, or an avid reader, you may already know what literary types mean by “Creative Nonfiction.” Otherwise, maybe not.
“True stories well told” is how it’s described by the journal named after the genre, Creative Nonfiction. Or, you can say Creative Nonfiction consists of the taking an experience—your own or someone else’s—and writing about it in a way that reads like fiction, but isn’t.
That looks like a good definition to me.
Years ago, a friend of mine drove solo from Virginia to Vermont, straight through New York City — which she’d never before visited — without a map.
But she simply shrugged. She didn’t think any other details were important enough to tell. In someone else’s hands, the ordeal of getting lost in the largest city in the U.S., asking strangers for directions, and getting back on track would have made for a lengthy, and likely humorous, adventure.
Creative nonfiction turns ordinary — and extraordinary — experiences into stories that others will want to read. Enjoy.
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