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 ItCheck 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
- Write creative nonfiction stories about real life, real people, real memories, and real experiences.
- Make sure you describe the setting, the characters, and the drama or conflict. These characteristics will set your article apart from other nonfiction articles.
- Write at least 350 words at a minimum. Optimal length is 750-1500 words.
- 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.)
- 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.
You can follow our curation trail by going to our hive.vote curation trail page and clicking the follow button.
We welcome delegations! These support our community in many ways, including helping us to provide support to quality content creators through curation and contests.
@jayna, @felt.buzz, @zeurich, @marcybetancourt, @agmoore, @marlyncabrera, @stormcharmer, @generikat, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @chocolatescorpi, @samsmith1971, @grindan, @jackdeathblack, @josemalavem, @riverflows, @itsostylish, @stuartcturnbull, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @popurri, and @mrenglish.
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Sometimes reality overcomes fiction. I look forward to writing and participating in this renowned community. Greetings and continued success, amigos.
Glad you're joining us, @nancybriti1!
Thank you the ink well for these tips. I enjoy participating in all the contest and my friend was really thrilled with the introduction of the nonfiction prompt because it gives her the opportunity to also participate in the contest.
Yes, it does open up the opportunities for those who don't see themselves as fiction writers, @amiableamara. We are happy to see some new faces as a result of adding creative nonfiction!
Congratulations @theinkwell! You received a personal badge!
Participate in the next Power Up Day and try to power-up more HIVE to get a bigger Power-Bee.
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Perfectly done! Thank you @jayna 💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️
You've outed me as the author! Ha ha. Happy to do it. I think our prompt posts are way too long. Time to make them more succinct and to the point!
Done, with benefits
These tips have helped me a lot to improve. Thank you very much and I hope to continue writing non-fiction, in real life there is a lot to tell.
Regards
I'm glad to hear that you benefit from our tips, @popurri!
Gracias @jayna
Thank you again for giving this information to all ink well writers.
We love to share knowledge and give our community the tools to grow their writing skills!
Thank you @theinkwell
Prior to now, I felt I could write and I mostly wrote anyhow but your untiring guidance has inspired and guided me in the right direction with unmatched motivation.
I always look up to innovative prompts from you.
Thank you once again
That's wonderful to hear, @jjmusa2004.
Thank you
Thank you for these CNF writing tips!
Here is my entry
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@mrenglish/how-could-i-be-the-best-man
Engaged on @tozill and @alexlight work.
Thank you so much the inkwell, for this tips as opportunity is given to many to write and learn.
Thank you for the guidance, would be more careful when I'm trying and be disciplined not to break the rules... happy Sunday 🦋🥰
Thanks for the guild lines, the write-up is amazing. It is a useful tool for writing stories on non-fiction and will also help to improve and develop good writing skills.
Gratitude! Gratitude!!
This was really helpful, now i understand how to make the next written blog better
Thanks a million,I appreciate so much for this piece of information,I'm glad to be here
I have engaged their work @wongi @balikis5
https://ecency.com/hive-170798/@hameedoo/the-queen-of-colors.
Here is the link to my work
Hi @hameedoo. Thank you for sharing your link, but you placed it on the wrong post. This is an instructional article, not a writing prompt. Please place your link in a comment under the crayon box writing prompt. Thank you.
Congratulations to all featured writers. 👍