In this cross-post
between Christian Writers Downunder and Australasian Christian Writers, I’ve
been tasked with writing about the different types of nonfiction. This genre
covers a lot of ground, from biographies of famous people to new ways with tofu,
from annual reports and training manuals to news articles and blogs. First,
let’s get some definitions under our collective belts.
What is Nonfiction?
In the broadest sense,
nonfiction is anything based on factual information. This differs from fiction
built around true events or characters. Tracy Chevalier imagined a backstory
for the girl in Vermeer’s iconic painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. We
understand that she took some literary licence in doing that, but it doesn’t
matter. We’re happy to get swept up in the story. In contrast, readers expect
that nonfiction is true, or at least a well-argued and reasoned version of the
truth.
Reportage vs Creative Nonfiction
I also want to make a
distinction between straight reportage and creative nonfiction. In reportage,
you present the information as objectively as possible. For example,
journalists report the news using the 'who, what, when, where, why and how' questions.
An intoxicated Lithuanian clown was injured this morning when his skateboard collided with a penguin on the Gold Coast Highway. The penguin remains in a fishy condition at Sea World.
Other types of
nonfiction that might come under the reportage umbrella include dissertations, scientific
papers, and annual reports. These documents can include opinion, interpretation
and analysis, as long as such commentary is logical and consistent with the
available evidence.
In creative
nonfiction, you still deal with facts, but you use literary devices to convey
them in an engaging way (e.g. scenes, dialogue, imagery). For example, a
straight news article might report that missiles were fired over Tel Aviv,
while a piece of creative nonfiction might show events through the eyes of
someone holidaying in Israel at that time. (See Anna Elkins’ travel essay Of Danger and Beauty for an example).
If you would like to
find out more about writing creative nonfiction, I highly recommend Lee
Gutkind’s book You Can’t Make this Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing
Creative Nonfiction from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in
Between. If you would like a quicker introduction, I have a four-part series on
creative nonfiction on my website. Just go to my writing tips blog and see
Posts 33 to 36.
In the remainder of
this post, I’ll highlight some of the main types of creative nonfiction.
Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs
Biographies,
autobiographies and memoirs all tell about the life of someone, but they differ
in terms of the author and focus.
A biography is written
by someone other than the subject. For example, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr,
Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxis.
In contrast, autobiographies
and memoirs are written by the subject. It’s your story told in first-person. While
there is some overlap between the two, memoirs tend to cover a particular theme
or a shorter period in the person’s life rather than trying to include the whole
saga. Jo-Anne Berthelsen’s memoir Soul Friend tells the story of her special
relationship with her spiritual mentor, Joy. Other aspects of Jo-Anne’s life are
only mentioned insofar as they relate to that main theme. Memoirs also
typically involve more reflection, as authors look back on events and discuss
what it means to them now or what they might have done differently.
For some tips on
writing life stories, please see Posts 8 to 11 on my blog.
‘How-To’ Books
As the name suggests,
these types of books give readers practical instructions for accomplishing
certain tasks. Whether it’s upcycling or unicycling, preparing a sermon or
peppering a salmon, there’s bound to be a book or article to show what you need
to know.
Christine Dillon’s
book Telling the Gospel Through Story is a good example. Christine draws on her
experiences in cross-cultural mission work to show readers how they can use
stories to talk to people about their faith
There are also a
myriad of writing craft books that show you how to show, and tell you how to
tell. Some favourites of mine are Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell and
Story Genius by Lisa Cron. (Click here to see my post on how to use Cron’s
techniques to deepen character in fiction).
Self-Help Books
Self-help books are
like ‘how-to’ guides for your life. Some of these books help you deal with
challenging situations (e.g. abuse, addiction, depression, parenting,
singleness), while others help you to lead a more fulfilling life.
A number of Christian
living books fall within this category. In her book Beyond Betrayal: How God is
Healing Women (and Couples) From Infidelity, Lisa Taylor shares her own story,
but also discusses research, strategies and resources to help people who’ve been
through similar experiences.
Other examples include Bill Hybel’s Simplify: Ten
Practices to Declutter Your Soul and Cloud and Townsend’s Boundaries: When to
Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life.
Expository Books
I’m using this term in
a very broad sense to refer to books that describe or explain information
surrounding a particular topic. It could be a book about brain surgery, global
warming, literature, theology, politics, cricket, history, psychology, or the
companions of Dr Who. The main aim is to inform the reader about the topic. For
example, Mark Worthing combines literature and history in his book Narnia,
Middle-Earth and the Kingdom of God: A History of Fantasy Literature and the
Christian Tradition.
Most theological books
would come under the expository banner (e.g. God’s Priority: World-Mending and Generational Testing by Anne Hamilton). Devotional books or Bible studies
could also fall within this category, though the more applied devotionals may
fit better in the self-help category.Poetry and Song
Wrap Up
As I mentioned
earlier, there are dozens of sub-genres within nonfiction and I’ve only
scratched the surface. There is also a lot of overlap across categories. For
example, Ruth Bonetti combines family memoir with the political undercurrents
of the times in her award-winning book Burn my Letters: Tyranny to Refuge.
Even
if you mainly write fiction, you could make the odd foray into the nonfiction
world. Perhaps you could write a magazine article about the nineteenth century
fashions worn by your heroine or the science behind the gene therapy in your
young adult thriller.
What are your favourite nonfiction books and why? I’d love to hear your examples.
Nola Passmore is a
writer and editor who has had more than 150 short pieces published, including
fiction, poetry, devotions, magazine articles, academic papers and true
stories. She and her husband Tim own
their own freelance writing and editing business called The Write
Flourish. She is currently writing an
ever-changing novel and will have the draft finished by Christmas ... really!
Web site: http://www.thewriteflourish.com.au
