Creative Nonfiction: Friend or Foe

            Taking Creative Nonfiction this semester has been an enormous eye-opener for me as a writer. There have been many works that we read that have shown me how to use strategies that I have never thought of using before. When trying to apply these new strategies, I discovered that my work has more potential than I originally thought at the beginning of the course. 

            I had a few concerns at the beginning of the course. Up until now, I had only taken fiction writing classes. In those, I chose to either create new fictional stories and characters or try to loosely base my work on real events with changes that disguised it enough that hopefully nobody would notice. Now, I feel more comfortable in my writing because I know that there is a genre in which I can tell my story without having to change any details if I do not want to just fit the genre. A concern that I would not be able to create enough emotional distance between myself and my readers was one that stressed me out immediately. I eventually realized that a little vulnerability is a good thing; I don’t always have to hide the truth of the story.

            Now that I have a few new skills that I can put into practice, writing creative nonfiction has come a bit more easily to me. When it comes to the work I need to continue to put in, I know one area for sure that needs improvement. I am working on not revising as I write a first draft. I put that into practice in one of our recent assignments and realized that revising as I go has hindered some of my creativity in my works. When I think of myself as a writer in general, I think trying to not edit on the spot will help me see my thought processes more clearly than before.

            A strength that I did not realize I had was the ability to try new strategies and writing styles. Over the length of the course, I have tried to experiment with new writing styles and strategies that we have seen in the works we read. One of my favorite new skills is writing flash fiction. I have thoroughly enjoyed trying new strategies in this course because it has helped me develop as a writer in all different kinds of writing.

This class has inspired me to try to cross certain boundaries that I had previously set for myself regarding how much information and emotion I put into my pieces. I believe that as a writer, I should try to be more vulnerable. As a reader, I appreciate the hard topics in works that I read, and I want to be able to influence others just as I have been influenced by authors and their works. This course is one that will forever remain in my memory because it showed me how to try new things as a writer instead of sticking to one style and never experimenting.

Revision Session

 

            Revision can be a hard process to endure. It is especially difficult if you are attached to the work right off the bat. I have found that I am usually extremely satisfied with a first draft, making it hard for me to make any changes at all even if I know they are beneficial to the work as a whole. When I do finally force myself to revise something I worked so hard on, I have a kind of strange process.

            The first thing I do when preparing to revise is send out the work. I share it with people who will tell me only good things, people who will tell me only bad things, and people who will do both. This usually builds up my confidence in my work while forcing me to see the flaws as I take into consideration all of their comments. I like to sit with their words for a few days and mull over them, making choices, then changing my mind again and again. I do all of this without looking at the work because I do not want to make any changes right then that I have not fully considered that I might regret later.

            When I finally sit down to revise on the page, I stare at the work for a while. I do not immediately start changing things because I like to sit with the original work for a bit longer before I alter anything. At this point, it would probably be beneficial to me to create a new document for me to revise so that I will always have the original, but I have realized that I usually forget that step unless I am actively reminded.

            Even though I took days to consider all of the comments that I received, I start by looking at the diction of the piece. Where can I use fewer common words? Where can I describe something a bit more or better? This usually makes me feel a little bit better about my work because it feels more cohesive after more description. It is at this point that I will finally take the comments of my peers and apply them to my work.

            Most of the time, the comments that I receive are related to a scene that needs to be fleshed out more or moments that they get lost in the action. I take a considerable amount of time reworking these parts because I want to be precise in creating the storyline and the action of the characters. As I go about making these changes, I remember the skills that I have learned in class and try to apply them as best as I can. One technique that I have never used but want to try is starting at a different place in the story. What will that really do to the work? What will the reader miss out on, or what will they gain? These are questions that I have to ask myself before I make any sizeable changes.

            My revision process takes days, sometimes weeks. By the end of the first time revising a work, I wonder if it is truly worth it because I wonder who is even going to read it later on? Nonetheless, I continue to revise my work, always trying to make it better than it was before.

Transformation and Healing

         A few semesters ago, I wrote a short story that was loosely based on real events. When I did so, I changed many of the details to fit the assignment of writing a fiction piece. Recently I have been considering rewriting the piece into creative nonfiction. It has not been easy; however, I have still made an attempt.

...

August 24, 2017

Age 14

            “You know, Irelyn. There are plenty of reasons to try this year. You’re a sophomore this year which means you can start joining all the clubs, and you have more authority in the band, don’t you?” Melissa’s therapist's voice is soft, but it penetrates my thoughts. I don’t want her to think that she has swayed me, so I keep a straight face and force myself to look through her. She sighs and writes something on her clipboard.

            “One day you are going to have to talk to me. That’s the only way that your father will let you stop coming to see me.” She leans forward, and my eyes refocus. “I know you’re in there and you’re listening. There are going to be days that are harder than others. You may think that nobody believes in you, but I do. I believe that you can fight the battles inside yourself and overcome. I’m not the only one either. Your teachers have told me that you show real promise and that you don’t give up on trying. You are different than other kids in your position. You haven’t given up or accepted the idea of becoming another statistic. But you will become one if you give up. You just have to try.”

           

April 19, 2018

Age 14

            I stand in the bathroom mirror, examining the ends of my hair. It’s all brown, but I think a different color could be a nice change. I rummage through the cabinet under the sink and pull out an old box of blue hair dye. I skim the directions and get to work. Blue can’t be that bad on me. It was her favorite color on me, so it must look good.

…

            While many details in this section are exact, I had to change a few of them to create emotional distance. The scene involving my therapist did not happen exactly the way it appears on the page in the original text. I felt the need to change it because I did not want my readers to know how deeply therapy influenced me. In the section above, the details are more exact as to how the conversation happened.      

            I have not gotten around to dying my hair just yet, but when I do, an additional character is to make an appearance. My best friend at the time actually dyed my hair blue and purple in the middle of my kitchen. Working her character into the story may not sound difficult, but, again, there is emotional distance to be considered. As I continue to transform the original piece into creative nonfiction, more and more healing will occur. This process has been a journey that I hope will be worthwhile.