CREATIVE NONFICTION

Just what is CREATIVE NONFICTION?

CREATIVE
USES THE TECHNIQUES OF LITERATURE
Narrative
Plot
Characterization
Imagery
Dramatization

NONFICTION
FACTUAL
Not made up
Accurate
Interviews
Research
Immersion

Personal Essays
Memoir
Travel Writing
Biography
Food Writing
Literary Journalism

Creative Nonfiction
Tells a true story in an engaging manner; retains author's personality and biases

Technical Writing
Conveys information efficiently and objectively

"Creative Nonfiction heightens the whole concept of essay writing. It allows a writer to employ the diligence of
reported, the shifting voices and viewpoints of a novelist, the refined wordplay of a poet and the analytical modes of an
essayist,"

Literary Genres
Definition: categories used to group different types of literary work, such as non- fiction, fiction and poetry.

What are some other types of genres?

OUR GENRE LIST
We will be learning about several different types of literary genres.

NON-FICTION
This can also be called "informational" material. These types of books provide information that is factual.
BIOGRAPHIES: A true account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another.
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: The biography of a person written by that person.

FICTION
In this type of work, the author can make up the whole entire story. Authors can also choose to include
factual information in a made-up story.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FICTION
HISTORICAL FICTION: The story takes the reader back to a particular time period where they learn about
the everyday life of a person.
REALISTIC FICTION: The story usually presents a problem to be examined that could be from anybody's
life.
SCIENCE FICTION: This is a type of modern fantasy. It explores scientific fact and can pose ethical
questions about current scientific trends and predictions.

MYSTERY: There are different types of mystery stories, but usually a crime has been committed and the
reader wants to try to figure out "whodunit". There is usually a great deal of suspense and intrigue abounds.

FANTASY
In this type of story, the author has created a magical world where anything is possible.
TRADITIONAL FANTASY: When we think of this type of fantasy story, we often consider stories such as
Cinderella. This genre includes folk tales, tail tales, fables, and myths.
FAIRY TALES: We often know we are reading or hearing a fairy tale with the words, "once upon a time..
Fairy tales often feature a fight between good and evil. Evil always loses to a triumphant hero or heroine.

FABLES AND MYTHS:

•FABLES: These stories usually have a moral that is being taught. It often uses animals that speak and act
like humans.
MYTHS: a story or group of stories that form part of the traditional knowledge of a society. Myths often use
imaginative plots and characters to explain how the world began and why nature and people behave the
way they do.
MODERN FANTASY: The events in modern fantasy are outside the realm of possibility. These stories
cannot happen in real life but even though we know the events can't happen, they are very believable.

INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY GENRES

Defined simply as the "art of words," literature comes in various meanings.
Rexroth (2020) defines literature as "those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the
intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution."
Genre refers to a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a distinct form, content, and style. In
literature, there are four literary genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

FICTION
Fiction refers to a literary work which comes from the author's imagination. Through the fictional narrative,
a writer may inform, entertain, inspire, or even persuade (Littlehale, 2020).
Fiction has three categories: realistic, non-realistic, and semi-fiction. MasterClass (2019) classifies fiction
into 14 different forms including the following:
1. LITERARY FICTION. It refers to literary works with artistic value and literary merit. Political criticism,
social commentary, and reflections on humanity are most often the content of literary fiction.
2. MYSTERY. Also known as detective fiction, mystery often follows a plot with a detective as character or
someone playing detective and tries to solve a case
3. THRILLER. This fiction type is characterized by dark, mysterious, and suspenseful plots. It rarely utilizes
humor but highlights techniques like plot twists.
4. HORROR. Written to shock, startle, scare, and even repulse the readers, horror fiction creates a
horrifying sense of dread and may include characters like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and
monsters.
5. HISTORICAL. This type of fiction involves the creative use of research to be able to transport readers to
another time and place. This time and place may be real, imagined, or a combination of both.
6. ROMANCE. Created with a light-hearted, oftentimes optimistic tone, and most often a satisfying
conclusion, romantic fiction highlights love stories between people.
7. WESTERN. Stories of this type often portray characters and setting of the western frontier like cowboys,
outlaws, and settlers of the American Old West.
8. BILDUNGSROMAN. Literally translated as "a novel of education" or "a novel of formation," this form
highlights the transition or metamorphosis of a character from youth into adulthood.
9. SPECULATIVE FICTION. This type may be a combination of different fiction forms like dystopian,
science fiction, and fantasy, or any other combination. The setting may be in a world so unlike the world we
live in.
10. SCIENCE FICTION. Classified under speculative fiction, sci-fi uses elements that do not exist in the
real world. Inspired by both natural science (physics, chemistry, and astronomy) and social sciences
(psychology, anthropology, and sociology), sci-fi stories may focus on time travel, space exploration, and
societies of the future.
11. FANTASY. Another type of speculative fiction, fantasy has imaginary characters and worlds and may
have influences of mythology and folklore which can be appealing to both children and adults alike.
12. DYSTOPIAN. In contrast to utopian fiction which portrays a world better than the one we have,
dystopian fiction depicts a society that is worse than ours. Dystopian fiction is also another type of science
fiction.
13. MAGICAL REALISM. The world portrayed in magical realism is like our real world but with added
magical elements which are considered "natural" in which the story takes place.
14. REALIST LITERATURE. This type of fiction portrays a world very much like ours, with all the elements
created as truthful as it can be as it happens in our world.