Creative Nonfiction: What It Is, and Tips for Success

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Hello friends of The Ink Well! As you know, we have an article collection to help our fiction writers develop their craft. Well, these articles also apply to creative nonfiction. They are about the craft of storytelling, which includes scene setting, character development, action, dialogue, a conflict and its resolution.

Let's take a look at what we are looking for in creative nonfiction stories. As you will see, it is a respected and important genre for writers.

What Is Creative Nonfiction?

There are many guides and resources online for getting to know this wonderful genre. It is truly about storytelling. The simple difference between creative nonfiction and fictional stories is that the story is not made up. Additionally, creative nonfiction stories are your life experiences.

We like this definition from an article on creativenonfiction.org:

Simply put: Creative nonfiction is true stories, well told.

With creative nonfiction, you are using the literary and storytelling tools of a fiction writer to craft stories from real life experiences. Set the scene. Give the details. Profile the characters. Give us the dialog, as best you can remember it. And of course describe the conflict or challenge at the center of this story, and how it was overcome.

Ideas and inspiration:

• Creative nonfiction stories can be snippets from your life autobiography — moments in time you want to capture in words, whether they were frightening, enlightening, bittersweet, or life-altering. They can be observations about life, about a time you connected at a profound level with a perfect stranger, or something you have learned along the way that made you a better person. Consider telling the story about those moments the way you would tell a bedtime story to a child. There must be people, dialogue, emotions, difficulties and triumph.

• Do you love podcasts? One of the greatest sources of creative nonfiction is The Moth Radio Hour. Listen to a few of the stories from The Moth, and we guarantee you will be inspired.

• Here are some additional resources for learning more about the creative nonfiction genre:
  -- Reedsy blog: What is Creative Nonfiction? The Unputdownable Truth
  -- Writers.com: Understanding Creating Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write It

• Check out this list of creative nonfiction stories. For example, one of the stories is about a funeral for a lizard named Rango.

We hope you are inspired!

Tips for Writing Successful Creative Nonfiction Articles in The Ink Well

If you're new to creative nonfiction, it might be confusing at first. You might think that writing about any real life topic will do. But there is a very distinct difference between most nonfiction articles and creative nonfiction articles.

• Do NOT write this type of article for creative nonfiction:
  Regular nonfiction articles typically don't have character development, a story line, or dialogue. For example, a regular nonfiction article could be about a news event or the suffering on the streets of a war-torn city. It could be an article about the mating habits of eagles, or the best flowers to plant to attract butterflies. Or it might be an advice column about how to be more successful in crypto trading. These are not the types of articles we are looking for, because there are no characters, and there is no story.
• Write this type of article for creative nonfiction:
  Creative nonfiction has characters and their habits, attitudes, expressions and idiosyncrasies. It might describe pathos — sentiments around the human condition, based on a particular life event. It should include sights and sounds and aromas, to help the reader experience the drama of your story more fully. Most of all, it should have the storytelling qualities of fiction, with dialogue, action, drama, conflict, and a resolution.

Checklist for Creative Nonfiction Stories in The Ink Well

1. Write creative nonfiction stories about real life, real people, real memories, and real experiences.
2. Make sure you describe the setting, the characters, and the drama or conflict. These characteristics will set your article apart from other nonfiction articles.
3. Write at least 350 words at a minimum. Optimal length is 750-1500 words.
4. Please read and edit your content before posting. It makes a big difference in how we reward work published in The Ink Well. (And we have some great guidelines for improving your grammar and fixing errors before you post in this article.)
5. Please use the tag #creativenonfiction on these posts.

Here are some examples of what we are looking for:

• Explore an idea that interests you, such as how childhood experiences shape us as adults.
• Write about the study of dreams and what they mean, along with your own experience.
• Tell about an experience from your life that profoundly changed you.
• Write about a teacher who inspired you.

In other words, tell a story from real life. And illustrate the ideas you share with real world experiences, memories and observations.

Here’s what we are NOT looking for:

• A picture of a flower or other posts focused on photography
• A few paragraphs about something that made you sad
• Guides to crypto trading
• Articles designed to inspire others to achieve more in life
• Recipes and how-to articles
• Life lessons or advice
• Essays about religion or politics
• Poetry

What will be muted:

• Articles written by AI
• Spam posts or plagiarism
• Graphic violence
• Lectures or proselytizing about religion, politics or morality

We invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @gracielaacevedo, @yaziris, @itsostylish, @millycf1976 and @grindan.

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