Creative

nonfiction
Name: __________________
Grade & Section: __________
Teacher: _________________
 Second Semester
A.Y. 2021-2022
Chapter 1: Introduction to Literary Genre
Lesson 1: Themes and Techniques used in particular text
Literature may be classified into five categories or genres: (1) prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, (4)
nonfiction, and (5) creative nonfiction.
While all are art forms, each with its own requirements of structure and style, usually the first three
are classified as imaginative literature. The genres of imaginative literature have much in common, but they
have also distinguishing characteristics.
Prose Fiction imaginary story, usually written down, that someone tells in everyday, natural language.
It generally uses a variety of techniques such as narrative and has a wide range in terms of length. It deals, in
part or in whole, with information or events and that are not factual, but rather, imaginary or invented by the
author. Works of prose fiction meaning, usually focus on one or a few major characters and undergo some
kind of change as they interact with other characters and deal with problems. Examples of prose fiction include
novels, short stories, fables, fairy tales, legends but it now also encompasses films, comic books, and video
games.
Poetry is a literary art where the evocative and aesthetic qualities of language are brought out in lieu,
or together with the language's apparent meaning. It is writing that communicates economically, intensely,
and intimately through and beyond language, relying heavily on imagery, figurative language, and sound
effect devices. It consists largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by
its readers to differ from prose fiction.
Drama is a literary work which is designed to be acted out on a stage performed by actors before an
audience. Like prose fiction, drama may focus on a single character or a small number of characters, and it
presents imaginary events as if they were happening in the present, to be witnessed by an audience.
Imaginative literature differs from nonfiction prose, the fourth genre, which refers to any kind of prose
writing that is based on facts, well-written prose that deals with real people, things, events, and places. The
story must conform to what is true and cannot be manipulated by the writer's imagination. Major goals of
nonfiction prose are truth in reporting and logic in reasoning. It bears repeating that the truth in imaginative
literature, unlike that of nonfiction prose, is truth to life and human nature, not to the factual truth world of
news, science, and history.
Nonfiction is a wide kind of compositions that incorporates all books that are not
established in an anecdotal account. Creative nonfiction can be classified in history and
biography; it might be instructional; it can offer publication and humor; and it can mull over
philosophical requests. If a book is not delved in a made-up story, by then it is certified.
The essence of originality is well-used in evident occasions, numerous true to life
stories offer unequivocally obstinate editorial on those genuine occasions. In a short
concept, nonfiction deals with reality.
Moreover, nonfiction or literary narrative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses
creative ways on utilizing literary styles and techniques with the springboard of factual and
accurate narratives.

Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or

journalism, which is likewise established in exact certainty however is not essentially written
in support of its specialty. As a classification, imaginative true to life is still moderately
youthful, and is just starting to be investigated with the equivalent basic examination given
to fiction and verse.
When you are reading or encountering stories that are based from reality or sources
came from the truth, you can simply tell that it is creative nonfiction.
➢ Fact. The core of nonfiction is fact. Factual information shall be included in the
piece and not a made-up information.
➢ Extensive research. Conducting and gathering information through research
provide accurate and reliable information that you may use in writing your
nonfiction write-up.
➢ Reportage/reporting. Documenting the gathered information like interview and
reports helps you keep records and files for future usages.
➢ Personal experience and personal opinion. Since the main source of contents are
based from the personal experiences and personal insights of the writer, it makes
an easy way to write a piece.
➢ Explanation/Exposition. Explaining the story to the reader is expected to
attain the objectives of the piece.
➢ Essay format. The outputs in creative nonfiction are often in essay format. Examples:
Procedural Essay, Personal Essay, Literary essays, descriptive essay

Creative nonfiction is the literature of fact. Yet, creative nonfiction writer utilizes
many of the literary devices of fiction writing. The following is a list of the most common
literary devices that writers incorporate into their nonfiction writing:
➢ Storytelling/narration. The goal, challenges and obstacles, a turning point, and
resolution of the story shall be delivered spontaneously to help the readers
understand the flow of the story.
➢ Character/Characterization. In a nonfiction story, characters are also important.
The main character serves as the core or central idea of the storyline. The story
revolves to the experiences of the main character with the help of the other
characters.
➢ Setting, atmosphere and scene. The writer creates scenes that are action-oriented;
include dialogue; and contain vivid descriptions.
➢ Plot and plot structure. These are the main events that make up the story. In a
personal essay, there might be only one event. In a memoir, there are often
several significant events.
➢ Figurative language. The use of figurative languages helps the writer to provide
aesthetics to the piece. It gives vibrant effect to the story.
➢ Imagery. The use of different sensory images helps also to add color in writing a nonfiction
piece.
➢ Angle/Point of view. Most of the time nonfiction adheres with the use of First Person Point
of View since the experiences are being told.
➢ Dialogue. This can help to make the story run within the characters.
➢ Theme. It is the central idea or universal truth presented in the work.
The 5’Rs of Creative Nonfiction
Lee Gutkind, who is a writer, professor, and expert on creative nonfiction, wrote an
essay called “The Five R’s of Creative Nonfiction.” In this essay, he identified five
essential elements of creative nonfiction. These include:
1. Creative nonfiction uses a real-life element. The writer creates concepts of a story
using the vital and real information about the subject which can be associated on
close attributes of the real experiences.
2. Creative nonfiction lets the writer to engage on his personal reflection about the
subject. After gathering information, the writer needs to scrutinize and analyze the
gathered information. Assessing and considering his ideologies and beliefs. Through
this, it will help the writer to be more factual based.
3. Creative nonfiction instructs the author to do a complete research. The author needs
to find out relevant and vital information about the subject. The writer needs to finish
investigating and weighing information that will be included in the story. Finishing
auxiliary examination will lead to create a complete and substantial contents. For an
instance, looking into an individual diary, or meeting a companion or relative, to
guarantee that the data is honest and genuine.
4. The fourth aspect of creative nonfiction is reading. Reading while conducting
research is not enough. The writer must recall the components through reading to
improve and make some modifications.
5. The final element of creative nonfiction is writing. Writing imaginative true to
life is both a workmanship and specialty. The craft of inventive true to life
necessitates that the essayist utilizes his gifts, senses, innovative capacities, and
creative mind to compose paramount imaginative true to life.
Types of Creative Nonfiction
Creative nonfiction always deals on reality. Reality can be about using the topics like the
use of individual encounter, occasion, or issue in the open eye. There are different classes or
categories to consider in creative nonfiction such as the individual article, journal, and life account.
➢ Personal Essay. The writer uses information that is based on personal experience or a
single event, which leads in significant personal meaning or a lesson learned that he
encountered. The writer uses the first person “I.”
➢ Memoir. The writer creates a real story within a time or period of life, one that
contributed a significant personal meaning and truth. The writer uses the first person “I”
in the story.
➢ Literary journalism essay. The writer creates an output on an issue or topic using the
understood literary devices, such as the elements of fiction and figurative languages.
➢ Autobiography. The writer writes his/her own life story, from birth to the present, using
the first person “I.”
➢ Travel Writing. The writer creates article narration about travel using literary devices and
figurative languages.
➢ Food writing. The writer crafts stories about food and cuisine using literary techniques that
mat lead to a review and recommendation.
➢ Profiles. The writer constructs life stories of people using literary devices.
 Green (2018) defined theme as a thread that runs throughout a whole book.
When done well, the theme relates to every subject and story and piece of advice. It
ties everything together.
Sometimes, themes are obvious. In Harry Potter, there are treats battling
baddies, and the primary subject is acceptable versus evil. It likewise has subjects of
bigotry and correspondence.
In a literary text, theme is the broader message of the story. In nonfiction
informational texts, the central ideas are the most essential ideas.
Central Ideas. These are the most essential ideas of a text; the key points the
author wants to make! The BIG idea.
Nonfiction works use supporting details to develop central ideas. Details
within the text support and develop the central idea in the following ways:

➢ Prove the concept since you must consider reality;

➢ Explain the central idea of the story;

➢ Define the concept;

➢ Show some examples and illustrations; and

➢ Give additional information.

Determining Central Ideas

Often, the central idea is directly stated near the beginning of the text.
However, readers may also have to infer the central idea by determining what point
(message/idea) all the details come together to support.
The main ideas of individual paragraphs will lead to the central idea of the
whole text.

Constructing Paragraphs in Nonfiction Text

Each paragraph has its own main idea. The main idea of each paragraph is
used to support the central idea of the whole text.
The main idea of a paragraph must be associated with supporting
information and evidences to strengthen the main idea.
The details of the piece shall go along with the central idea to attain unity
and coherence.

Delivering paragraphs shall consider the strength and weakness of the

ideas being imparted in the story. Reviewing the central idea will lead you to
paragraphs that are substantial and purposive.
Ponder with Ideas

Writing creative nonfiction is tied in with recounting to genuine stories. You

can recount to an anecdote about yourself, making expositions about close to home
encounters. You can likewise expound on others, spots and occasions on the planet.

In nonfiction, you compose valid and verifiable stories, not fiction. You will need
to introduce reality and realities in a convincing, engaging, and noteworthy way with the
goal that others will be enlivened to peruse your story. To compose any of these types
of imaginative true to life, you have numerous procedures to look over, e.g. scene,
synopsis, individual reflection.

In a blog of Hood (2012), he identified the toolbox of techniques that writers are
expected to use when writing creative nonfiction.
• Topic and Question. In prewriting, you need to choose a topic and then try
to link possible questions to be answered. In doing this, it helps you to
focus on the areas that you intend to highlight. For instance, in choosing a
topic on a travelogue, you need to formulate questions like How to get
there? What are the amenities or activities that can be done? The
transportation fares and routes.
• Narrative Structure or Shape of a Story. Narrative structure lets you to discover
within the way on delivering the story through narration, meaning that you
discover the details of the story and its structure as you write. In creative
nonfiction, there are five popular narrative structures or shapes
Narrative structure: Telling the story chronologically, from beginning to
end.

• Braided Structure: Telling a story by weaving or combining two, sometimes

three, narratives or stories.
• Collage: Using a thematic and segmented approach that combines a
quotation or two, poem, scene, metaphor, simile, allusion, personification,
image, vignette, anecdote, a short, short, true story, with an epiphany.
• Frame: Telling a story by opening with a particular scene or reflecting
and closing with a particular scene or reflection.

• Narrative with Flashback: Telling a story using scene, summary,

reflection, and flashbacks.
As well, the you can experiment with the narrative structure, resulting in a
new structure or shape.
Distinctive Voice, Style, and Intimate Point of View. All good writers have a
distinctive voice, which is the persona of the writer expressed on the age.
Good writers also have a unique style. Additionally have a one of a kind
style. An author's style is his/her demeanor of persona on the page. It incorporates
decision of expression, sentence assortment, and tone, perspective, utilization of
illustration, and other abstract gadgets. The tone of the keeping in touch with itself
is in every case well disposed, conversational. Stories are regularly told utilizing
the main individual perspective.

Detail and Description. Creative writing is often a form of discovery. As you

compose, you review the subtleties, the recollections, the pictures, the felt feeling,
the more profound importance. You'll review from memory critical, specific
subtleties and afterward thinks of them down. You'll make distinctive depictions
with solid, explicit, and specific subtleties. You don't need to incorporate
everything about, those that are huge or significant. Frequently you'll utilize
tactile symbolism, language that conjures the feeling of sight, smell, taste, contact,
or hearing. The reason for including subtlety is to reproduce the involvement with
the psyche of the readers.

Scene and Summary. One of the most important techniques of creative nonfiction
is writing in scenes. A scene recreates the experience of the writer for the reader. A
scene evokes. To write a scene, you must show the reader what is happening. A
scene often includes:
Setting - time and place of the story
Action - something that happens
Dialogue - something being said
Vivid description - concrete and specific details
Imagery - language that invokes reader’s sense of sight, smell, taste, touch,
hearing
Point of View - first, second, third persons
Figurative language - simile, metaphor, etc.
Beginning, middle and ending - a scene has a beginning, middle and end
Summary involves telling the reader what happened. Telling means to
summarize and to compress, leaving out the details and descriptions. Telling
is explaining.
You should create scenes of important events, such as for a setback and
the turning point.
Scene and summary are used for all types of creative nonfiction.
Techniques of Fiction. You’ll also rely on the techniques of fiction to tell a true story, including:

• Setting-time and place and context, which provides the backdrop to the true story
• Narrative Arc (inciting incident, conflict and setback, climax, epiphany, resolution)
• Point of View- first person “I”, Second Person “You”, third person “He/
She”
• Character development- Developing character through action, dialogue, description
• Vivid Description-descriptions that are concrete and specific
• Use of imagery-literal imagery through description; figurative imagery with
simile or metaphor
• Theme-the meaning of the story
The narrative arc is used to write a personal narrative essay, sometimes a memoir.
The opinion essay, meditative essay, and collage essay don’t require a narrative. These
sorts of essays tend to be structured around a theme.

Poetic Devices-Figurative Language. You’ll often use one or more of the following poetic
devices to write creative nonfiction:

• Simile
• Metaphor
• Symbolism
• Personification
• Imagery
• Assonance and alliteration
• Allusion
Experienced Writers often use any of the above to write creative nonfiction.
Simile and metaphor are the tools of choice.

Personal Reflection. In most types of creative nonfiction, you’ll share personal reflection with
the reader. These can include:

• Personal thoughts and feelings

• Opinions
• Ruminations
• Personal perspective
• stream of consciousness
• Mediations

Personal refection is required to write a memoir. It is also used to write a personal narrative,
opinion, meditative, and lyrical essay. Personal reflection can also be incorporated into
literary journalism.

Word Choice/Diction. Check to see that you use language in a fresh and original
way, making note of connotation, the implied meaning of the word. As well, selecting words
with the best meaning. Meaning refers to diction. Avoid using clichés and jargon.
 Sentence Variety (Length and structure). Use short and long, and a variety of syntax
to create a personal essay, memoir, or literary journalism. Sentence variety includes:

• Intentional Fragment. e.g. A pen. Pad of paper. Time, lots of time. Experimentation.
A creative mind. These are the requirements of creative writing.
• Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex sentences
• Parallel structure in sentences, e.g. I require a pen, pad of paper, spare time,
experimentation, and a creative mind, to write creatively, to write poetry, to write
fiction, to write a personal essay, to write anything.
• Declarative (statement of fact), Interrogative (ask a question), exclamatory (emphatic)
sentences
• Inverted sentence. E.g. The book of poetry he wrote…The film, the script, the special
effects, the story, I enjoyed.
• Lose sentence and periodic sentences. When writing a periodic sentence, the main
idea and clause are at the end of the sentence. For a lose sentence, the main idea and
independent clause are at the beginning of the sentence.

Lyrical Language. Sometimes, a writer will use a lyrical style to express emotion and
evoke emotion in the reader. This is often the case when writing a lyrical essay. The
writing style is based on the following:

• repetition of words, phrases, clauses;

• parallel structure;
• rhyme, both rhyme and internal rhyme;
• alliteration and assonance; and
• sensory imagery.
Name: __________________________ Date: _______________________

Grade & Section: __________________ Teacher: ____________________

Activity 1

Direction: Write your understanding on the elements below. Tell if you think that the
elements are still part of creative nonfiction. Do this in your notebook. (10 points)

Element Your Definition Is it still present in

of Fiction Creative Nonfiction?
Characters

Setting

Theme

Point of View

Plot
Activity 2

Direction: Using the template given below, give your comments and observations on the 5Rs
of creative nonfiction incorporated in the text below. (20 points)
Festive colors everywhere, people who confidently sing despite of being out of
tune of their rented karaoke, mouth-watering delicacies, busy streets and entertaining
contests. These reflect on how Filipinos celebrate their Fiesta.
Aside from being hospitable, Filipinos are also known because of their culture and
traditions especially when it comes to Fiesta celebration. There are various reasons why
they have their festivals. One of the common reasons for the extravagant kinds of
celebrations is to give tribute to their patron saints or any god or deity they believe in.
Another is the way of gratitude for a bountiful harvest. There are also provinces which
perform rituals in festivals to ask for something like rain.
Festivals are not only for delight nor for gratitude; it is also an avenue to practice
unity within the community. It cans also serve as reunion for the families who have not
seen their relatives for a long time.
The various ways of celebrations have a great role in the lives of the Filipinos for it
sparks creativity, reflects the values and cultures. Preservation of the traditions like Fiesta
shall be manifested in every generation for it is indeed beautiful scenery to see.

5 Rs of Creative Nonfiction Comments and Observations

Real Life

Reflection

Research

Reading

Writing