Another nugget from the MediaBistro Toolbox, this time a basic explanation of creative nonfiction courtesy of Lee Gutkind.
My favorite part of his statement is this:
"And there are two types of stories. One type is one's own story. The other type is telling the stories of others."
Got that? Sometimes it seems to me that some writers believe "creative nonfiction" is synonymous with (and limited to) "memoir." It isn't! Back in the day some of us learned about "creative nonfiction" as "literary journalism." Sure, there are plenty of wonderful memoirs/first-person essays out there, and I certainly enjoy reading them. But please, let's not forget that there's more to creative nonfiction than memoir.
Look to hear more about nonfiction (specifically, "narrative nonfiction") from me in a few days. I'm volunteering at the 2005 Nieman Narrative Conference in Boston. I spent four hours last night preparing folders, and there's another folder-preparation session in store for me before I get to the actual event on Friday. But it's all going to be worth it--what a line-up they've got....
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