Why is Creative Nonfiction Important?
By Mel Silberger, written March 2024
Creative nonfiction is my favorite genre to write! I love the opportunity to write about moments in my life with a creative lens, allowing me to combine my outward experiences with my inward thought processes and feelings. At times, creative nonfiction serves as an outlet to discuss the topics I am most passionate about and the interactions they have brought me, whereas in others, I can write about the vulnerable and life-changing moments I have undergone.
Difference Between Fiction and Creative Nonfiction
First, it is important to establish the differences between fiction and creative nonfiction. Fiction can be described as a story about (possibly) pretend characters in a (possibly) pretend setting with a (possibly) pretend plot; there can be elements of truth, such as the setting being a real place or characters being real people, but it overall does not fully reflect experiences as they factually happened.
Creative nonfiction, on the other hand, is about real people in a real setting with a plot that really happened. When writing creative nonfiction, the author has the creative freedom to combine events that have happened with their thought processes and emotions in those moments, but they must adhere to the accurate retelling of events as truthfully as possible.
Purpose of Creative Nonfiction
The purpose of creative nonfiction is to convey a story’s facts and information in a fiction-like manner, entertaining the reader and allowing them to understand their author’s perspective. In other words, creative nonfiction lets the reader get a firsthand account of what the author was thinking throughout the experience or moment they are writing about. The author becomes a character themselves and takes their reader through the events that unfold.
When writing creative nonfiction, the author has the obligation to tell the events as accurately as they happened, but the creative freedom to retell them with attention to specific details or thought processes. Through their description of these events, the author’s voice is able to shine through for the reader to understand.
Creative nonfiction encapsulates countless forms of writing, such as journalism, memoirs, personal essays, and biographies.
Importance of Creative Nonfiction
On a personal level, creative nonfiction is important because it allows an author to write about themselves and the experiences they have gone through; for some, it could be a way to write about a simple day in the life, whereas for others, it can be an outlet to tell a greater, life-changing story and the effects it had. Writing creative nonfiction can also serve to reflect; it can be as easy as a brief journal entry detailing the events of the day, or as complicated as retelling ongoing moments or events experienced or observed.
Creative nonfiction is also incredibly important on a community level, as writers are able to use their lived experiences and perspectives to impact larger communities and groups worldwide. By combining true events with creative language, these authors can elevate one seemingly small moment about a certain topic into a story with a larger purpose and potential for advocacy or change. They can write vulnerable stories grounded in facts to convey how others worldwide may be going through something similar and express this in an engaging way.
Additionally, creative nonfiction allows the audience to be educated about a topic, idea, or concept they might otherwise know little about. Many creative nonfiction authors combine true, personal events with facts, giving them the power to share knowledge about a specific subject matter with their readers. For example, if an author is passionate about science, they can write a firsthand account of a moment in a laboratory or class and partner it with facts about their field.
Current Creative Nonfiction Reads
My favorite creative nonfiction read (so far) of 2024 is T Kira Madden’s Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir (2019), a coming-of-age story centered around identity and sexuality, specifically displayed through emotional experiences with family and fellow classmates. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments (2020) by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, a series of essays combining inspirational features of the natural world with personal experiences.
There is so much creative nonfiction I am eager to read throughout the remainder of this year! Recent recommendations I’ve received include Here After (2024), a memoir by Amy Lin describing love after loss and the processes of grief and memory, and Everything I Know About Love (2018), a memoir by Dolly Alderton about the stages of early adulthood, such as finding a job and falling in love.
I don’t think there’s ever been a creative nonfiction piece I disliked, and because of this, I would not say I have an all-time favorite creative nonfiction story; the more I read, the more I enjoy and appreciate each individual work I come across. My favorite piece recently is “Anatomy of a Lumpia Girl,” a beautiful, vulnerable, and uplifting story by Angelica Terso, which can be found in Yellow Arrow Journal’s ELEVATE issue (Vol. IX, No. 1) (you should totally go check it out!).
Closing Thoughts
Overall, creative nonfiction gives an author the outlet to tell their story, no matter how big/small, by discussing true events in a creative, authentic, and engaging way. These stories have the potential to impact both the author and a greater community by showing that a moment one person experiences can be felt and understood by many.
This is my favorite genre to write in because I love how I can retell certain moments in my life and connect them to other experiences, facts, and/or ideas. For example, I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about rock climbing (one of my biggest passions) and combined a moment of me physically on the rock wall with factual information about the activity and safety systems.
So, my question to you is what topic do you enjoy writing about? What are you passionate about? Are there specific experiences that center around some of your greatest passions, and/or explore meaningful, impactful moments in your life?
Amelia (Mel) Silberger is a recent graduate of Loyola University Maryland who received her degree in psychology and writing with a minor in political science. She is an aspiring creative nonfiction writer and editor who is originally from Long Island, New York. Mel has spent the past two summers living in Orlando, Florida, while participating in the Disney College Program. She has loved creating stories since she was six years old and hopes to continue to grow and build with other writers in the future.
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