By Ruth P. Saunders
Creative nonfiction is factually based, and in contrast to other styles of nonfiction, should engage the reader through description of the setting and use of a literary tone. “Pure” nonfiction, if it exists, presents only facts in a scholarly manner. Both entail research and do not invent, add, or deceive.
To make the distinction more concrete, below is an excerpt from one of my creative nonfiction stories, “Driven to Distraction.” It is about a family driving lesson I had in my teens.
Creative Nonfiction:
On that warm Sunday morning, I sat self-consciously behind the wheel. Daddy was in the passenger seat, and Momma was in the back with my brother and sister. Before the car was in motion, Daddy and Momma braced their bod ies as though they were preparing for the impact of an imminent crash. My sis ter and brother were more relaxed and looking forward to some entertainment at the expense of their older sister on the way to church. I took a deep breath.
…
With rising pitch and sense of annoyance Daddy exclaimed, “Turn if you are going to turn. Get on the road!” A sibling echoed, “Yeah, don’t go so slow!”
I speeded up.
Momma pleaded, “Not so fast. Slow down!” A sibling repeated, “Yeah, slow down!”
I slowed down.
Momma: “Not that slow—you have to drive.” A sibling restated, “Yeah, go faster!”
Below the same information is written in an academic nonfiction form for this blog.
Nonfiction:
I sat in the driver’s seat, Daddy sat in the passenger seat, and Momma and my siblings were in the back. My parents, but not my siblings, appeared to be tense at the outset of the journey to church.
…
With obvious emotion in their voices, each member of the family provided often contradictory instructions for how I should drive.
The original is told in the tone of a story, includes contextual details revealing the perspective of the writer, and is designed to engage the reader. The second version uses an academic style, removes most contextual information, and is more likely to be described as “objective.” Both versions portray the same event. Facts were recalled from my memory, which is fallible, but were verified with my sister and brother, who shared the experience. So far, the first version follows creative nonfiction “rules.”
But what about “do not invent, add, or deceive?” There was no deception, and nothing was added to my recollection of the event, but the story dialog was invented because details of the conversation were lost from memory over time.
The standard guiding my writing was “to stay true to my authentic self and experiences.” I believe this story meets that standard. But, having only fragments of memory to work with, I created the dialogue presented in this story. Does this invention violate a tenet of creative nonfiction? Or it a justifiable use of literary style to enhance readability?
Sources comparing nonfiction and creative nonfiction:
https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/line-between-fact-and-fiction
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