Problems with writing creative nonfiction arise because quite often, essays and memoirs discuss real people who are still living and may not appreciate having their lives opened on the page. Another problem is that the authors deliver more fiction than nonfiction, after billing their work as creative nonfiction. James Fry of A Million Little Pieces (2003) and Anthony Godby Johnson of A Rock and A Hard Place (1994) come to mind. Both authors fictionalized their experiences so that they could sell more books. Mary Karr, The Liar's Club (1998), who wrote about her dysfunctional family says, "My experience is there's no way you can manufacture events and find the truth. Great memoirs don't take bizarre experiences and make them more bizarre and outrageous. They take bizarre experiences and make them familiar. That's the power."
Writers of creative nonfiction make a tacit pact with their readers that their story is a true one, and readers often feel lied to if they learn that the story they spent time reading is fiction. The author promises to tell his or her version of the truth using details, facts, and experiences. This truth is, of course, filtered through the author and is subject to the author's worldview. When the reader reads an essay, he or she assumes that the work is true, while allowing for time and character compression and name changes, which allow more creativity for the writer.
Writers of creative nonfiction make a tacit pact with their readers that their story is a true one, and readers often feel lied to if they learn that the story they spent time reading is fiction. The author promises to tell his or her version of the truth using details, facts, and experiences. This truth is, of course, filtered through the author and is subject to the author's worldview. When the reader reads an essay, he or she assumes that the work is true, while allowing for time and character compression and name changes, which allow more creativity for the writer.
The following storytelling techniques are designed to help creative writers negotiate this creativity versus truth issue:
Compressing time
Sometimes compressing or collapsing time is necessary in order to keep the flow of the story and to ensure that the reader will not get lost in extra details. Changing the time of when events occurred is acceptable, as long as the truth of the story is not lost. For example, if a writer is describing her time in Seattle on a trip, she may want to combine details from her first and third day, for organizational purposes and to keep her reader involved in her story. However, if she made up what she did on her trip, then her essay would be fiction, not creative nonfiction.
Sometimes compressing or collapsing time is necessary in order to keep the flow of the story and to ensure that the reader will not get lost in extra details. Changing the time of when events occurred is acceptable, as long as the truth of the story is not lost. For example, if a writer is describing her time in Seattle on a trip, she may want to combine details from her first and third day, for organizational purposes and to keep her reader involved in her story. However, if she made up what she did on her trip, then her essay would be fiction, not creative nonfiction.
Compressing characters and changing characters' names
Compressing and changing characters' names is on the verge of turning an essay into a fictionalized account, but many authors believe that changing a character's name or consolidating characters does not distract from the verisimilitude of their story. When some readers do find out that an author has changed a name or two to protect a family member or friend, they may feel that the author was justified for doing so, while others may feel that the author has changed the nature of the story. I feel that changing a character's name from Sally to Jennifer should not take away from the author's narrative intentions. Furthermore, many authors address the composite character issue up front by letting readers know either in the preface or in the acknowledgements that they have changed their characters' names. In memoirs, authors generally acknowledge when they have changed names either in the preface or in a footnote, so that their credibility with the reader is not shattered and that they look like they are not hiding anything from the reader.
Compressing and changing characters' names is on the verge of turning an essay into a fictionalized account, but many authors believe that changing a character's name or consolidating characters does not distract from the verisimilitude of their story. When some readers do find out that an author has changed a name or two to protect a family member or friend, they may feel that the author was justified for doing so, while others may feel that the author has changed the nature of the story. I feel that changing a character's name from Sally to Jennifer should not take away from the author's narrative intentions. Furthermore, many authors address the composite character issue up front by letting readers know either in the preface or in the acknowledgements that they have changed their characters' names. In memoirs, authors generally acknowledge when they have changed names either in the preface or in a footnote, so that their credibility with the reader is not shattered and that they look like they are not hiding anything from the reader.
Disclaimers Using disclaimers and markers also adds to an author's credibility because the author is stating that she is not really sure something took place. For example, the author can write, "I imagine that my mother first felt scared when she came to America," or "I can't remember everything about that day, but here's what I do remember." In this case, the author chooses to acknowledge doubt and continue with her story. However, writers need to be careful to not show too much doubt before their reader, because the reader will not believe the writer as much. For example, if the student cannot remember if her family's car was a Mustang or a Charger, she should pick one of these models and keep this car's name consistent throughout the piece.
Creative nonfiction is not fiction and for this reason I believe it is unethical to construe a story to make your life more interesting so you can get published. The bottom line is that if you want to fictionalize your life, so be it, but please call your work fiction, not a memoir. As writers of creative nonfiction, we need to set the creative stage without making everything up, and it may take a few rehearsals for writers to achieve this balance.
AV Osborn is a poet, writing instructor, award-winning essayist, published web writer, and creative nonfiction workshop leader. She serves on the board of Carolina Wren Press in Durham, NC and a freelance PR/editor. In North Carolina State's MA English program, Alice is currently working on her master's thesis -- a hybrid first-year creative nonfiction curriculum combining rhetoric and cultural studies. AV not only writes poetry, but offers writing workshops in the community. In her free time she volunteers with the Raleigh Jaycees (she wrote the script for their annual Haunted House), Literacy Council of Wake Country, enjoys watching Carolina Hockey, screening good films, and hiking and traveling with her husband. She grew up in the Washington, DC area, lived several years in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and now lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and son.
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