Creative Nonfiction Resources

Subgenres

 

 

Memoir

 

A memoir is a lengthy piece of creative nonfiction that delves deep into a writer's personal experience. It typically uses multiple scenes/stories as a way of examining important moments in a writer's life. It is usually, but not necessarily, narrative. Memoir differs from autobiography in that an autobiography usually spans an entire lifetime, whereas a memoir usually focuses on a specific aspect of the writer's life.

 

 

Nature Essay

 

The nature essay is a personal essay that focuses on the writer's encounter with the natural environment. It sometimes includes a play-by-play description of an event that took place in the outdoors, but it almost always also includes deep philosophical reflection on that event and the role that the natural world played in what took place. Some nature essays are ponderings about conservation and include no retelling of a story.  

 

 

 

Personal Essay

 

The personal essay is usually written in the first person and focuses on a topic as it is viewed through the lens of the personal experience of the narrator. The personal essay can be narrative or non-narrative.  For example it might focus on fatherhood, or be an intimate assessment of the writer's own body. Some personal essays are so poetic that they are called lyrical essays.

 

 

Segmented Essay

 

The segmented essay is also known as a mosaic essay or braided essay. It is made up of different sections, or segments--separated by white space or some other graphic indicator--with no clearly written transitions between the sections. The sections do not have to appear in chronological order. In essence a segmented essay is comprised of several essays that are distinct, yet woven together.

 

 

Critical Essay

 

The critical essay brings the personal into the traditional academic paper. In a critial essay, a writer usually blends his or her own research findings, or those from academics in myriad disciplines, with personal insights and observations. 

 

 

Literary Journalism

 

Literary journalism weds traditional reporting with the personal essay. It employs literary practices to capture scenes and people that a journalist would strive to look at objectively. In contrast, literary journalism is openly subjective, so much so that the personal pronoun "I"is often employed. Literary journalists seek to find the story behind the story, what goes on behind the scenes of everyday news events, and to insert themselves into this realm.