Thanks for your submissions on the subjective/objective task. After a quick talk through we’re going to put these to one side. Here are a few thoughts.
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For narrative nonfiction essays, think about storytelling first and foremost. Ask yourself where is the story here? Give the story or stories space, and then let the other more “objective” information fall into place around it.
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Be specific. Specific locations and events are more engaging than general claims about what is “usually” the case.
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Think about voice first and foremost. The voice in a literary essay is more flexible, more lively, has more possibilities, than in an academic essay.
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Think about your own expertise. We all have expertise that we bring to the topics we are writing about. What expertise (and stories) can you bring to the topic? Why are you the one to tell these stories or write about this topic? ]
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Be curious. Get curious about exploring the topic, finding out more.
Our Expertise
Today, we’re going to look closely at expertise. You will remember that creative nonfiction is (as Lee Gutkind put it) about “true stories, well-told.” In creative nonfiction, you are writing things that are true, to the very best of your knowledge. You need to be meticulous about fact-checking, and about not making anything up! But at the same time, you are thinking about giving your readers stories: not just lists of facts, or reports, but tales that are woven as compellingly as the very best fiction.
In other words, tales that are well-told!
So where do you start? One of the best places to start is close to home, by asking what the things are that you are already knowledgeable about, or already interested in. Because the best narrative journalism often arises out of deep personal knowledge and equally deep personal curiosity.
There are two questions here:
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What do I know about?
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What am I interested in?
The words “expert” and “experience” have the same root. An expert is somebody who is practised, experienced or skilled. And because we all have a unique experience of the world, we all have our own unique expertise.
Think of all the everyday knowledge that you need to navigate your world. We are complex creatures, and the world we occupy is even more complex: both the social world, and the world of things. But somehow, drawing on years of accumulated experience and expertise, we manage to get by. One thing that we are unarguably good at is being who we are. And this takes a whole load of knowledge and understanding.
So we are all experts, and you shouldn’t let anybody tell you otherwise. This expertise may be in external things that other people recognise as valuable: skateboarding, playing the flute, cooking, hostage negotiation, solving quadratic equations. Or it may be a quieter, more subtle kind of expertise: the deep roots that we have in place, culture and language, the kind of everyday “know-how” that makes us successful navigators of the world we live in.
Something only I know
Think about something that only you know about, or know how to do.
It doesn’t have to be anything private or secret (although it can be) nor does it have to be something big (although, once again, it can be). It could be something from childhood (only you know who stole the snacks from your teacher’s desk). It could be something from your daily life (only you know exactly where and how your cat or dog likes to be scratched). There may be several ideas that come to you. But for this exercise, you only need to choose one. Now write for 15 minutes about this thing that only you know.
Going Deeper
Read what your notes. Now think about the following questions:
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What did you overlook when making these notes, because you didn’t think it was important?
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What did you not write down, because you found it uncomfortable?
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What did you take for granted in the writing?
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What questions might the piece you are planning raise in a curious reader’s mind? And how might you satisfy their curiosity?
Homework
For your homework, write a piece of creative nonfiction (remember: CNF is “true stories, well-told”) that draws on this expert knowledge you have of the world. Remember the following principles:
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Storytelling first: your job is to tell stories, not just to make arguments, or tell us facts.
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Be specific, always (if you can): it’s not “Magwe is rainy”, but “when it rains in Magway, the streets turn to mud, and the dampness seeps into everything. The relief when the rain starts turns rapidly to depression. I sit at my desk and gaze out of the window, and it feels like it will rain forever.”
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Think about voice, and use it flexibly: the vibe is more teashop than academic conference.
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You are experts in your own world. Recognise and use your expertise. Be generous and invite other people in.
You have 500-600 words. Upload to Canvas using the assignments tool. This is mini-assignment no. 3!