Narrative Nonfiction: September 2012

Here: Avoid doing work by watching this video about procrastination.

Humans Want Stories

As a journalist, I'm interested in telling a story that's true, but in a way that makes it as compelling as fiction. As a person, I'm drawn to quirkiness, whether it's in the living, the dead, or the inanimate. In the mid-90s, I had a good career going as a freelance writer and editor, but I was getting restless in what I was writing. Out of nowhere, I got a flier for the first Mid-Atlantic Writers' Conference on Creative Nonfiction, featuring John McPhee. I went to see McPhee because I knew he was famous (I did manage to read something of his before the conference). And I learned about creative nonfiction (CNF), which is sometimes easier to define by listing what it's not: not poetry, not fiction, not pyramid-structured straight journalism. CNF tells stories that are true using the tools of fiction (dialogue, story arc, suspense, etc.). It's a type of writing that has been variously called literary journalism, feature writing, literary nonfiction, and nonfiction narrative. Next, I got a master of fine arts (Goucher, class of '99) in creative nonfiction. After the MFA, there's just a leap into more writing. I firmly--concretely, granitely, drought-hardened-mud firmly--believe that blogs ought to be more than navel gazing. In this blog, I'll post information pertinent to the craft of writing narratives that are true. Current arguments. New books. Resources. Notes from my MFA classes. Places online to poke around. Stick with me. Although I can't promise a tidy ending, we'll see where this goes.

Narrative Nonfiction

Thursday, September 27, 2012

That Old Devil Procrastination

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