A Primer on Creative Nonfiction Terms and Genres
Creative nonfiction is a relatively young genre. People have been writing true stories in a fun way for a while, as noted in an article on Creative Nonfiction that traces the genre's origins through Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, and the New Journalism movement, all the way back to classical writers like Herodotus and Plutarch. But as far as the genre as it's understood and defined today, that really started in 1969, when editor Norman Podhoretz was said to have coined the term. That's not very long in literary movement terms, so it's understandable that a lot of people still seem to be a bit fuzzy on exactly what creative nonfiction is.
Partly this is because there are several types of writing included under the broader umbrella of creative nonfiction—and, making things more complicated, not everybody agrees exactly which should belong to the club. Most definitions exclude criticism and scholarly writings but there are gray areas when these are paired with a narrative, and there's an even blurrier line separating creative nonfiction from journalism.
I've done posts before on the different genres and subgenres of fiction. I thought a similar post on the flavors of creative nonfiction might be helpful, especially for folks who don't have a lot of experience with creative nonfiction and might not be aware of the many different types of writing that are out there. So here are some of the most common terms you’ll see in this genre with a brief explanation of what each means.
Autobiography - A story about an individual told in their own words. It's mainly different from a memoir in that it puts more emphasis on facts and events rather than the emotional impact or personal reflection. Autobiographies also typically cover the individual's entire life to that point rather than just focusing in on a specific time period like a memoir does.
Autotheory - A piece that blends autobiography with philosophy and theory. Similar to personal criticism, it abandons the detatched tone typical in more critical work and instead centers lived experiences, self-reflection, and emotions. It is heavily inspired by feminist, queer, and decolonial scholarship and theory.
Biography - A story about an individual told by someone else. Straight biographies are fairly rare in short creative nonfiction. They're more often presented as literary journalism or a braided essay, where another individual's story is woven with that of the author.
Braided essay – An essay that weaves two or more narratives or topics together into one piece. For example, it might tell the story of a modern person and their distant ancestor side by side, or weave research-based information on a subject in between a scene of someone experiencing that thing first-hand.
Fragmented essay - An essay that is broken into smaller self-contained parts that may not be obviously connected at first, but that eventually come together to form a unified whole. Often, this structure is used to tell a narrative in a non-linear chronology.
Hermit crab essay - An essay that takes on a non-literary form, for example an instruction manual or a recipe, and tells a narrative in that format.
Literary journalism – Fact-based writing that makes use of techniques like plot movement and vivid descriptive language to tell a more immersive story about the topic. It is near-synonymous with narrative nonfiction, and some would say they're the same thing. If there's a difference, literary journalism is more likely to use techniques like interviews and direct quotes from sources, and often uses the structure and pacing of a journalism article rather than a creative nonfiction essay.
Lyric essay – A form that blends the conventions of nonfiction prose with poetic techniques. They typically make extensive use of figurative language, metaphor, and imagery, and though they also have a narrative or character arc driving them, this is often secondary to the language.
Memoir - A narrative that focuses on a specific time period or series of events in the life of the author. These are usually longer works, and the argument could be made that short-form memoir is just a personal essay.
Narrative nonfiction - A blend of journalism and creative nonfiction. These pieces generally use factual reporting, but have a story with characters, settings, and a clear arc. Unlike personal essays, the focus of the piece does not need to be on the narrator.
Nature writing - Writing that focuses on the natural environment. It usually integrates both personal observation and scientific information or details, while also aiming to use reflection on nature as a lens for exploring the human condition and connection with the natural world.
Personal criticism - Also called narrative scholarship or critical memoir. A piece that blends a writer's lived autobiographical experience with a critical analysis of a text or creative work. This differs from other forms of criticism in that it doesn't aim to maintain an objective tone, but instead integrates the memory and emotions of the author with critical analysis and interpretation.
Personal essay – A short, focused piece that explores a single moment or topic from the personal perspective of the author. These are usually told in the 1st person and, though they may feature other characters prominently, the primary focus is on the experience of the narrator.
Travelogue - An account of someone's experiences and the places they've visited. These are typically told in the 1st person and the past tense, and often include the personal reflections of the author along with information on the locations and events experienced.
Not every market that is open to creative nonfiction will be looking for work from all of those categories. For most places, when they say “creative nonfiction”, what they mean are things in the lyric essay or personal essay category. Things like braided essays and hermit crab essays are also likely to have a pretty good shot with places that publish experimental literary fiction, especially. On the other side, the more your piece reads like journalism or something that's being reported—rather than your personal experiences and memories that you're sharing—the less likely it will be to find a home in your typical literary journal. That's what I would say is the main “genre divide” in the creative nonfiction world, as opposed to the split between realism and “the genres” that exists in the fiction realm.
As you can see, there aren't quite as many subgenres and types of form in creative nonfiction as there are in fiction (at least, not yet). I’m sure I’ve missed a few, too, because genres and forms proliferate like rabbits, but this at least gives you an overview of the many different ways there are to write creative nonfiction.
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