Creative writing - Mike Sanders 2014

Writing truth and fact
The realities of nonfiction and memoir
Long-form genres

When writing creative nonfiction, you must present facts accurately. You must be honest and truthful. Otherwise, you’re writing fiction, a story that’s made up. Creative nonfiction involves writing about facts using literary devices, your memories or recollections, and your imagination. You can write about any topic, such as birth, love, sex, death, sports, travel, science, nature, and so forth.

Often you need to remember or recollect the details of what happened, especially if the event or story took place many years ago. Questions will arise from readers about accuracy of your reporting, whether you’re telling the truth, and if you’re subjectively and objectively presenting the truth. In addition, sometimes you need to check your facts by interviewing friends or relatives who might not want you to write about them, the event, or the story. So you also might be faced with an ethical dilemma.

As noted, to write factually and accurately, you often need to conduct research. For instance, if you’re writing a personal essay, you might have to visit the place where the event took place or contact friends and relatives who remember the event.

Sometimes the line between fact and fiction is ambiguous, and in these times, you need to make a judgment call. Some people believe that once a fact is distorted or embellished, it’s fictional. Others believe that creative nonfiction that’s based on memories or recollections will be distorted, period.

Memories aren’t 100 percent accurate, so you’ll have to engage in a certain amount of fabrication to present the facts. There’s no objective record, only your memories and recollections about an event that happened in the past. So when using dialogue in a memoir, for example, you often have to “invent” the actual dialogue if you don’t remember every word that was spoken. The important point to remember is that you must do your best to remember accurately. To verify memories or recollections, check your facts to be sure your view is accurate—that your intention is the truth.

When you write creative nonfiction, you’re asking your readers to trust you, to believe you. But you must earn that trust. As the reader reads your personal essay, memoir, or travel piece, he or she might think: Do I trust this writer? Do I believe what this person is saying?

IDEAS AND INSPIRATION

When writing about past events, you might struggle with memory and accuracy. That’s okay. There are no rules here other than you must do your best to present the facts as you know them to be. You might not remember what your exact thoughts were on the day of the event, but you might remember the event, the date it took place, the consequences, and the significance for you. Write about the emotional truth that resulted from the event—what it meant to you, how you felt about the events that took place, your views, etc. To gain your reader’s trust, make your account as honest and interesting as you can without fabricating it.

When writing about real people and real events, you will sometimes need to consider ethics, such as the right to privacy and the betrayal of trust. There’s a need for full disclosure when interviewing and writing about real people and events. For instance, when interviewing a person, you must make it clear that you’re collecting information for a story you intend to write. If you don’t disclose your intention to the person you’re interviewing, you’re being unethical. When writing about events that happened in the past, you often need to obtain oral or written permission to avoid being unethical.

Sometimes a writer won’t want to write about a true story because it could hurt or offend people who were participants in the story. For instance, if you’re writing about child abuse, you might be reluctant to tell your story. Not only is it embarrassing, but it also could upset or anger others who were aware of the events. On the other hand, if the person is deceased or estranged from you, you might be more willing to disclose this information. Often, ethical decisions are based on your own point of view; to show and tell becomes a matter of considering the costs and benefits.

You might also need to make a decision about point of view (POV). Some writers believe you can write a personal essay or memoir in the first person point of view, using I. Obviously, if you’re writing a personal essay, you’ll write in the first person. It’s more intimate, more real, and natural. Moreover, you are the central character in the story.

But there will be times when you aren’t the central character. You might be just an observer of the story or events. The question is then whether to narrate your story in the first person or third person. For instance, if you want to tell the story as the events unfolded, you might want to write in the third person using he or she. It’s more objective. Clearly, the decision to place yourself in or out of the story is a personal one.

When writing creative nonfiction, such as a personal essay, memoir, or literary essay, you must remember that your writing needs to be accurate, and you must present the facts to the best of your ability. You also must also ethical in conducting research and revealing personal information about other people. To gain your reader’s trust, be honest with yourself and tell the truth. You can include your own perspective or point of view, but you must tell the truth.