Want to craft great nonfiction? Here’s how.

In a time where anything seems possible, infinite stories are waiting to be told…

As a book coach, I’ve heard some doozies!!!
Who needs fiction when the world we live in is so fascinating?

Creative nonfiction is different from straight journalism because creative nonfiction writers employ techniques used in fiction to create more engaging and memorable stories…while sticking to the facts. When you write nonfiction, you are teaching and showing your readers something. But if you make the writing colorful, vivid, and emotionally compelling, you will deliver an educational and entertaining experience that your readers will be more likely to remember.

Made popular in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s by writers who broke away from straight reportage to create a more imaginative approach, creative nonfiction has sometimes been referred to as “new journalism”. Creative nonfiction employs the skill of a good storyteller and the research and interview skills of a reporter. By using the facts, but dramatizing stories in an intriguing, informative way, writers can keep readers engaged in the same ways that a good speaker or teacher does.

You may have heard the advice given to writers to “show, don’t tell.” But a good nonfiction writer needs both “showing” and “telling”. In his book, Writing Creative Nonfiction, author Theodore Cheney explains the two techniques called the dramatic (or scenic) method and the summary (or narrative) method. These methods make up the fundamentals of most storytelling.

Many writers think of their stories as a series of scenes connecting by summaries. You can plan a book around a series of scenes by selecting only the most compelling dramatic moments and organizing them in a sequence (not always chronological). The writer can then begin to craft around these scenes using summaries – the typical narrative a journalist might write (ie: telling the reader what happened, distinct from describing action that is happening now).

Most creative nonfiction today blends both methods, but probably utilizes more scenes than traditional journalism. Writing scenes is one of the many techniques borrowed by nonfiction writers from the fiction genre.

People do things! People say things! Scenes give action, movement, and life to your story. Even when writing about the past, writers can write scenes in the present to give them more vitality and to engage their readers as if they are witnessing the action.

Think of it this way: the dramatic method is a “close-up and personal shot”, while the summary method is a “longer shot”. The dramatic method is show, the summary method is tell. Yet a single paragraph may use the techniques of both. For instance, a scene may have a short narrative summary running through it. And even a summary passage may have one or two lines of quoted conversation in it. There are no hard and fast rules, only that the techniques that you select should serve your purpose.

One of the most important places to use good, dramatic scenes is in your opening. If your story doesn’t go somewhere in the opening lines, your readers must sense some movement or momentum —or you’ll lose them. In the not-so-distant past, the pace of life moved more slowly. Readers might have dallied along with a slow warm-up pitch. Now, they are more likely to pitch your book and turn to another, more-compelling story. If you want more readers, you’ve got to grab ‘em in your opening.

If you want to write successful nonfiction, turn to the techniques that fiction writers use to make your work come alive for your readers. Look for instruction from experienced writers, books, and coaches who can teach you how to write exciting openings, how to use dialogue to flesh out your characters, and how to incorporate research and interviews to add depth and breadth to your stories.

Who needs fiction when the world we live in is so fascinating?