CNF as a story?

The author has a direct effect on every piece of his or her writing. Even stories written from the third person, or set in a world unlike our own, or those that do not mention the author at all; these still take direct influence from their creator. The concepts of voice, perspective, point of view, and context, are all wrapped up in the author’s world. Essentially, you cannot take something from someone else’s mind and expect it not to have any traces of that mind on it.

When considering the definition of creative nonfiction then, it is important to note that to remove the author’s influence from the piece is impossible. As Kidder suggests, all writing is subjective. For many nonfiction writers, however, this is a rather difficult concept to accept. The traditional definition of nonfiction is a story based in truth. Just how much of this subjectivity can we allow to affect our creative nonfiction?

This question is something that affects me as a writer. My personal definition of creative nonfiction is a good story based on the truth. The term “nonfiction” suggests a certain level of responsibility to present the truth to the reader. From what I have understood from other readers, it is expected that if the story presented is not strictly true, there should at least be a disclaimer of sorts, explaining what parts were invented and why.

As I have read the example pieces from our text, I am beginning to see that the definition of creative nonfiction may be broader than I thought. Pieces like Grealy’s “Mirrorings” and Danticutt’s “Wesbury Court” fit my previous description of creative nonfiction. They are stories from someone’s past that are used to communicate, directly or indirectly, an idea for consideration.

However, more recently I have noticed other things that define creative nonfiction. One thing is that the progression of the story does not need to be chronological or even linear. “The Necessity of Poetry” by Simic, for example, relates a variety of the author’s experiences with no direct connection between them.

Also, my definition of creative nonfiction as a story has been challenged by Atwood’s “The Female Body.” This piece reads nothing like a story. It is divided into seven sections of varying lengths. Some of these relate brief instances, and others expand on the topic of the female body. I’m not sure how exactly this rambling, segmented piece can be considered a “story”. I expect that as the course continues my definition of creative nonfiction will continue to grow.