CREATIVE

NON-FICTION
 Metaphor
1. Metaphor is a figure of speech that
makes an implicit, implied, or hidden
comparison between two things that
are unrelated, but which share some
common characteristics.
2. In simple English, when you portray a
person, place, thing, or an action as
being something else, even though it is
not actually that “something else,” you
are speaking metaphorically.
For example, the phrase, “My brother is
the black sheep of the family,” is a
metaphor because he is not a sheep,
nor is he black.
Common Speech Examples of Metaphors:
1. My brother was boiling mad. (This implies
he was too angry.)
2. The assignment was a breeze. (This implies
that the assignment was not difficult.)
3. It is going to be clear skies from now on.
(This implies that clear skies are not a threat
and life is going to be without hardships)
4. The skies of his future began to darken.
(Darkness is a threat; therefore, this implies
that the coming times are going to be hard
for him.)
5. Her voice is music to his ears. (This implies
that her voice makes him feel happy)
 Elements of NonFiction
Nonfiction- writing based on real
people, places and events.
Two Broad Categories of Nonfiction:
1. Informative nonfiction
a. Written to provide factual information
b. Main purpose – to inform
c. Includes: science and history texts,
encyclopedias, pamphlets, brochures,
telephone books, maps, atlases and
most of the articles in magazines and
newspapers.
 2. Literary nonfiction
a. Written to be read and experienced in
much the same way you experience
fiction.
b. Different from fiction in that real
people take the place of fictional
characters and the settings and plots
are not imaginary.
c. Includes:
- Autobiography – the true story of a
person’s life, told by that person.
- almost always told in first-person
point of view.
 -usually book length because it covers a
long period of the writer’s life.
-short autobiographical writings include:
journal, diaries and memoirs.
- Biographies – the true story of a
person’s life told by someone else.
-the biographer interviews the subject if
possible and also researches the
subject’s life
-contains many of the same elements
as fiction (character, setting, plot,
conflict)
-Essays – a short piece of nonfiction writing
that deals with one subject.
-often found in newspapers and
magazines
-the writer might share an opinion, try to
entertain or persuade the reader, or
simply describe an incident that has
special significance.
-informal essays, or personal essays,
explain how the author feels about a
subject.
-formal essays are serious and scholarly
and are rarely found in literature
textbooks.
Types of Biography:
1. Autobiography
An autobiography tells the story of a person’s
own life. While that person writes his own
account, he or she may take guidance from a
ghost writer or collaborator.
2. Biography
A biography narrates the life story of a person,
as written by another person or writer. It is
further divided into five categories:
Popular biography
Historical biography
Literary biography
Reference biography
 Biography
1. A biography is simply an account or detailed
description about the life of a person. It entails
basic facts, such as childhood, education,
career, relationships, family, and death.
2. Biography is a literary genre that portrays
the experiences of all these events occurring
in the life of a person, mostly in a
chronological order.
3. Unlike a resume or profile, a biography
provides a life story of a subject, highlighting
different aspects of his of her life. A person
who writes biographies, is called as a
“biographer.”
3. Memoir
This is a more focused writing than an
autobiography or a biography. In a
memoir, a writer narrates the details of
a particular event or situation that
occurred in his or her lifetime.
Some useful keywords in
Learning CNF
Narrative: The "I" is telling a story;
he/she is reconstructing a significant
event; as this is a reconstruction
(emphasis on construction), the story is
submitted to the logic and rules of plot;
one important question: what is the
conflict of the story? (same fictional
rules apply here: when there is no
conflict, there is no story)
Language/Style: A good narrative may
not be delivered by bad language/style
usage; care for words is important
CONTENT IN WRITING
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Writers can craft stories of their own
or of others as long as they can
provide evidence of what really
happened.
• The writer can start from the
beginning to the end of a particular
situation or may write random of
events to create suspense at the end
of the story.
CONTENT IN WRITING
CREATIVE NONFICTION
For stories that are written by
another writer, an interview is
necessary.
Writers have a keen eye for details
and the moments that have been
extracted from memory must be
written down immediately.
PURPOSE OF WRITING
CREATIVE NONFICTION
To express your feelings and not to
impress, bring the readers in a world
of adventure, and make your target
audience agree what you are talking
about.
The first key element of nonfiction,
perhaps the most crucial thing is that
the genre relies on the author’s
ability to retell events that actually
happened. The talented CNF writer
will certainly use imagination and
craft to relay what has happened and
tell a story, but the story must be
true. You may have heard the idiom
that “truth is stranger than fiction”,
this is an essential part of the genre.
Events such as coincidences, love
stories, stories of loss that may be
WRITER-BASED PURPOSE
Writing helps you shape ideas calve
from real life experiences or from
merely observing the surrounding
events.
 The best writing exercise is to go
outdoor and observe what is
happening.
Remember: Writing is the highest
competencies such as listening,
speaking, and reading.
MODES OF WRITING
DEVELOPMENT
We see through the senses, either
subjectively (describing that is
shaped by feelings, thought, or
reactions) and an objective
(describing what is actually there)
way.
Descriptions basically tap the
possibilities of observation by:
(1) focusing on or framing what to see;
(2) defining that focus or frame by a
MODES OF WRITING
DEVELOPMENT
Narrative plays with time. When you
narrate, you actually capture time
through language.
from narratus, “to tell, relate,
recount.”
Narration reflects an idea of order:
what happened? how did it happen?
Narration is basically framed by:
(1) how you remember the event
(2) what details you include in
MODES OF WRITING
DEVELOPMENT
Narration as a consideration of two
things:
(1) plot and
(2) event.
DIMENSIONS OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
COLLECTING

a. Gather first-hand information

b. Use data
c. Experience or interview others
d. Collect facts, impressions, opinions,
and ideas that are relevant to the
subject, purposes, and audience.
e. Observe, remember, think, read,
listen, write, investigate, talk, take
notes, and experiment.
f. Think of the relationship of the
DIMENSIONS OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
SHAPING
a. A reflection can be taken from the
facts, ideas, circumstances that you
have collected
b. Chronological presentation
c. Weaves all events together to
present a meaningful end.
DIMENSIONS OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
DRAFTING

a. Writers usually make a rough version of

the essay they are crafting and along the
way change some parts of the narrative.
b. Other writers, prefer to reread their
collecting and shaping notes find a
starting point and where to end.
c. Whatever approach you use in your draft,
write down as much as possible.
d. Your overall shape expresses and clarifies
your purpose, and whether your content
and organization meet the needs and
DIMENSIONS OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
REVISING
a. Writers may revise their drafts
several times to achieve perfection.
b. A novice writer can add, delete, and
substitute words, sentences, and
paragraphs.
c. At times, writers act as audience,
critiquing their own work by
examining the manuscript over and
again
DIMENSIONS OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
d. The technique in writing is to write
crisp, each word should make sense
in every sentence.
e. You can let others read your work.
f. Editing allows you to eliminate the
repetition words, create eloquence,
and elegance in the write-up
THE SELF, REFLECTION AND
EXPRESSION
The personal essay is an ideal form
of self-representation: you are
creating a version of yourself in a
particular significant experience.
This self and the experience are re-
presented (returned to, recalled,
culled from the past) in
narrative, expository form.
THE SELF, REFLECTION AND
EXPRESSION
The re-presentation is re-viewed in
proper perspective. Writing about the
experience, is re-witnessing the self
as it goes through the transforming
process: this moment of re-
witnessing becomes the subject of
writing (not the story itself per se,
but the moment of deciding to write
about it).
REFLECTION:

What do you think are

people genuinely
interested about when
they read about the
lives of other people?
 A STORY BEHIND THE
PICTURE
Write a two-
paragraph of your
own personal essay
about the picture.
You can use your
own experiences in
your written output.
Rubrics:
Content – 30points
Organization and
Transition –
10points
A STORY BEHIND THE
PICTURE
Travelogue
A travelogue is a person’s account of a
journey to another country or place. It
can either be a written report with
many factual details or a narrative story
about personal impressions and
experiences supported by images.
Steps in Writing a Travelogue
1. Decide on the purpose of your
travelogue. Whether it is for a
magazine, for friends, or for yourself—
determine your writing style.
2. While traveling, take notes about what
you see, places you visit, and people
you get acquainted with.
3. Take as many pictures as possible. A
photograph doesn’t necessarily need to
capture an historic or famous place.
4. When you return home, take time to
review your recordings. Sort them out
by date, personal importance, or based
on any other criteria. Choose
photographs which best illustrate the
brightest moments of your journey.
5. Create an outline of your travelogue.
This must not be a detailed report yet.
The outline is necessary for you to
structure your thoughts and to see if
the story flows logically and is easy to
understand.
6. After you’ve completed the outline,
write the full travelogue. Try to make it
as interesting as you can. Add vivid
descriptions, historic and factual
information, and educate your readers
on the customs and traditions of the
country you’ve visited.
Topic Selection
Since a travelogue is written after your trip to
another country or place, the main topic of
this type of writing is a description of your
experience there. Though your travelogue
can contain may areas of focus, when writing
a travelogue, you can concentrate on:
local customs and traditions
cuisine
depictions of places of interest, local
history, and culture
your adventures
prices and transportation
entertainment
 Web Log (Blog)
1. A weblog (blog) is a website that
contains a log or diary of information,
specific topics or opinions. A blog
author (blogger) links to stories or
other websites with relevant and
interesting information.
2. These links are typically segregated
according to the blog's topic or
subtopic and written in reverse
chronological order, meaning that
the most current links display at the
top of the blog's home page.
3. Another major characteristic of blogs
is the ease of use to post.
4. The terms web log (or weblog) and
blog are not necessarily synonymous.
Bloggers post fresh content related to
their thoughts or opinions about specific
or various topics, while Web loggers
refer to information they find relevant
and useful.
NonFiction Critique
Guidelines
What is the main idea the writer is trying
to get across?
Is the writer trying to be humorous,
serious, straightforward, etc? Does this
emotion/tone work for the piece?
Who does the piece seem to be written
for? Who is the audience?
Does the writer give enough details and
examples to illustrate what he/she is
trying to get across? Where are there
good details? Where could more be
given? Are there any places where the
details slowed your reading or bogged
Does the piece follow a logical order? Are
there any places where you got lost? Are
there details that should be given earlier or
later in the piece?
What type of piece does the writing seem to
be - an article, an essay, a column, a book
or book chapter?
Overall, what did you like or not like about
the piece?
Keep in mind that nonfiction writers write for
a variety of publications including
magazines for articles, online columns,
newspaper editorials, etc. Try to put yourself
into the mind of the audience to make the
Properties of a Well-Written Text
The following are the properties
of a well-written text:
1. Text Organization
2. Coherence and cohesion
3. Language use
4. Mechanics
Properties of a Well-Written Text
1. Text organization is the way a text
is organized that helps to guide the
reader logically through it. This
property makes a text readable and its
message clear.
It is said that ideas are well-developed
when there is a clear statement of
purpose, position, facts, examples,
specific details, definitions,
explanation, justifications, or opposing
viewpoints.
Organization is achieved when ideas
are logically and accurately arranged.
Properties of a Well-Written Text
Techniques to achieve organization:
Physical format, Signal devices,
Structure
Physical format includes headings
and subheadings, bullet points, or
font emphasis.
Signal devices indicate the
transition from one point to
another, the ordering of events and
concepts, or the writer’s chosen
text type. Words give the readers
an idea of how points in the
Properties of a Well-Written Text
Structure consists beginning, middle, and
end.
Ideas can be organized using any of the
following patterns of organization:
a. Chronological – details are arranged in
order in which they happened
b. Spatial – sentences of the paragraphs are
arranged according to geographical
location, such as left to right, up to down,
etc.
c. Emphatic – is when information are
arranged to emphasize certain points such
as from most important to the least or vice-
versa depending on the writer’s purpose
Properties of a Well-Written Text
2. Coherence and Cohesion
Coherence is the relationship or
connection of ideas between and
among words, sentences and
paragraphs in the text.
Cohesion is the connection of ideas
to the central concept of a text.
Properties of a Well-Written Text
3. Language use
This refers to appropriateness of
words / vocabulary usage.
4. Mechanics
This refers to the writing
conventions such as spelling,
punctuation, grammar,
capitalization, etc. that have to be
considered in writing.
Connecting with the Text
Connecting with the text is:
 relating the text content to your
own experience to understand it
better
 when you ask yourself, “What
does this text remind me of?”
 bringing your personality, present
mood, and memories in reading
Connecting with the Text

 sticking new information in your

short and long term memory by
hooking old information with the
new
 relating to characters, visualizing –
having a clear picture in your head,
and asking yourself questions
about the text
Connecting with the Text
When and how do you use the
strategy of making connections?
1. Before reading
• You can make connections with the
text before reading by:
 activating your background
knowledge
 asking yourself: What do I already
know about the subject?
 thinking about what you already know
about the type of text you’ll be
reading
Connecting with the Text
2. While reading – stop isolating information
by approaching the text as a whole and
connecting it with your experiences. You
can also copy quotes and make notes while
reading.
3. After reading – ask yourself the following
questions:
 What does this text remind me of?
 Did I have a similar experience in any way?
 What did I see and hear?
 How did I feel?
 Am I bringing meaning to the words to help
me read better?
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
Outlining is one of the pre-writing
activities that allows the writer to
categorize the main points, to
organize the paragraphs into an
order that makes sense, and to
make sure that each
paragraph/idea can be fully
developed.
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
Two basic outline formats are
alphanumeric outline and
decimal outline.
Alphanumeric outline uses both
letters and numbers as labels.
Decimal outline uses numbers as
labels.
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
Two types of outline are topic
outline and sentence outline.
Topic outline uses key words or
phrases in giving the details.
Sentence outline uses full
sentences in giving the details.
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
There are four principles that we should
observe in outlining.
1. Coordination – requires ideas of the same
relevance to be labelled in the same way
2. Subordination – shows that minor details
have to be placed under their respective
major details
3. Division – requires that details should be
clustered properly
4. Parallel construction – requires all entries
in each cluster to use the same structure
and format
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
The example above uses coordination
because the labels for both major
ideas which are the positive and the
negative effects of uniform policy
labelled with Roman numeral and all
minor ideas under them are using
capital letters as label.
The outline also shows subordination
as it has minor details under the major
ideas which are the positive and the
negative effects of uniform policy.
Outlining Memorable Life
Experiences
The outline has proper division of
the details since it has equal
number of minor details under the
major details.
The example outline observes
parallel construction as it is using
alphanumeric decimal as its format
and topic outline as its structure all
throughout.
Peer Editing
Peer editing means working with
someone your own age – usually
someone in your class – to help
improve, revise, and edit the
written output.
Three Steps to Peer Editing
1. Compliments
The first rule of peer editing is to
stay positive. Remember, you are
helping to change someone else’s
work. Think about how you would
feel if someone were telling you
what needed to be improved in
your own writing.
Three Steps to Peer Editing
Always start your peer editing with
compliments. Tell the writer what
he/she did well. You may start with
the following statements:
I really loved your topic.
I think you used a lot of good details, I
liked when you used the word ______
My favourite part was ________
because _____
This was really fun to read because
_________
I liked the way you ______________.
Three Steps to Peer Editing
2. Suggestions
Making suggestions means giving
the author some specific ideas
about how to make his or her
writing better. Remember to stay
positive and specific.
Three Steps to Peer Editing
Some areas that you may want to make
suggestions about are:
Word choice – Did the author choose
interesting words?
Using details – (for example, seeing,
hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling)
Organization – Can you understand what
the author is trying to say? Is it in the
correct sequence?
Sentences – Are the sentences too long or
too short?
Topic – Does the author stick to the topic or
talk about other things that don’t really fit?
Three Steps to Peer Editing
3. Corrections
Corrections means checking your
peer’s paper for the following:
 Spelling mistakes
 Grammar mistakes
 Punctuation errors
 Incomplete or run-on sentences
Writing the Final Draft of your
Creative Nonfiction Piece
In writing your final creative nonfiction
output, consider the following details:
1. Make sure that the story involved in
your output is true but creatively
told/given.
2. The story has a specific plot that holds
a reader’s attention.
3. The characters are fleshed-out which
means their personalities, motivations,
and other significant ideas about them
that are important to the development
of the piece are all shown.
Writing the Final Draft of your
Creative Nonfiction Piece
In writing your final creative nonfiction
output, consider the following details:
1. Make sure that the story involved in
your output is true but creatively
told/given.
2. The story has a specific plot that holds
a reader’s attention.
3. The characters are fleshed-out which
means their personalities, motivations,
and other significant ideas about them
that are important to the development of
the piece are all shown.
Writing the Final Draft of your
Creative Nonfiction Piece
4. The setting is descriptively given
and is really existing in real-life
situation.
5. The point of view is clearly and
effectively managed all throughout
the piece.
6. Literary techniques and devices are
effectively used in the entire piece.
7. There is an outstanding
closure/conclusion part of the piece
which will satisfy the reader.