We were at a Writer’s Conference last weekend in New Jersey. I signed up for a workshop called Creative Non-Fiction. There, I felt a good deal of confirmation that my book “On the Edge” is truly on track. Creative Non-Fiction actually is a very freeing genre of writing that allows the author to escape the journalistic “who, what, when, why, and how” trap. Instead, the writer tells a story using a narrative of a story’s elements that most appeal to him/her.
Ironically, I learned, traditional fictional writing is even more limiting than non-fiction writing because there is a lot of pressure on the writer to create an alternate world from the ground up. Doing so requires a great deal of infrastructure in order to be compelling and persuasive.
I have never found fictional writing to interest me as a rule, either as a reader or a writer. Deep within me is the question that thinks, “Fiction is ultimately not real.” If it didn’t actually happen to real people in real time, I disengage. But, I find expressing the telling of actual events in a creative fashion very appealing. I think my book has the elements to be a very real story yet it is told in an innovative manner.
There will be some major changes coming to the blog soon. I am excited that we are in a new phase with the College Transition Group and I will need to take a break from writing this blog until the changes happen. It will be real l. Until, then, take this as an appetizer for much more to come.