Hi, today I want to actually start a conversation as well as give you some

information about creative non-fiction. I want to start a conversation because

there's a lot that we could, we could, talk about concerning this genre and has

it, as it relates to the other kinds of writing that you've been doing in this

class. the question that, that I have been

asking myself in my own writing is creative non fiction, does that count as

academic writing? Is there something subtle that's

different between the two? And I hope to talk more about this with

you over the next couple of weeks. So as I've mentioned in my previous

videos, there are many ways that we communicate science.

either the primary vehicle that we com, communicate with other scientists, and

with the, the larger scientific community is through peer reviewed articles.

sometimes we give papers at conferences that then become published papers, but

this the primary way that we communicate information to each other.

We've also talked about blogs and op-eds as ways to communicate to a broader

audience about the important findings of our own research.

Certainly there are some amazing environmental and science journalists who

are writing in various outlets in, in various print out, outlets and online.

reporting on that sort of scientific news and serving the role of, of

investigation, right? Sort of telling the story of a particular

scientific finding, but bring in experts from the field to give different

perspectives on, on that finding. Increasingly people are accessing

scientific information by watching videos on YouTube.

TED Talks are a great source for this. scientists also give talks at all sorts

of events outside of their little sort of communities at universities and other

places. So you will, will find scientists

speaking at nature centers, for example. at other kinds of retreats for businesses

and things like that. some of the writing that we do in science

communication is very site specific, and this can be con, can be considered

interpretation work. so for example, if you did go to a nature

center, you would pick up a brochure or read some signs that, that communicate

science in, in various ways. But there are all these other forms of

writing that can conserve to educate the reader and invite the reader into the

conversation. And these forms of writing can be both

fiction and non fiction. And today I want to talk a little bit

about non fiction. So when I talk about creative non

fiction, I'm thinking about that as a very large genre.

So in my particular field of environmental science there's some sort

of sub genres of creative non fiction. One is sort of your classic nature

writing, and this is writing done by people like, Aldo Leopold, Annie Dillard,

Barry Lopez. These are, are writers who do an

incredible job of educating us about, about their, about their particular form

of nature. There are also writers that talk about,

or write about, [LAUGH] and probably talk about environmental issues.

So, Rachel Carson, Silent Spring is, is sort of the, the golden standard for, for

environmental issue writing. But more contemporary writers like Bill

McKibben and Carl Safina are also writing about issues.

Climate change being the primary issue. in this creative narrative form, there

some other genres or sub genres that are particularly important for developing an

emotional connection between the writer and the content.

These included lyric essays, poet, poetry, and other types of narratives.

And some of the voices today that I think are doing a pretty incredible job are

people like Mary Oliver, Gary Snyder, and Brian Doyle.

And I'll, I'll talk a little bit about Brian Doyle in a minute.

But these are people who are using unconventional sort of writing to, to

sort of teach us about may, maybe it's about nature, maybe it's about science,

maybe it's about, about an issue. When thinking about creative non fiction,

how does that differ from academic writing or from non fiction?

The most important question that we ask ourselves, is what is our aim?

What is the writers aim in, in writing this piece?

So as a writer of creative non fiction, I'm thinking what are the questions that

I have about this topic? What are some things that I still need to

find out and discover along the way of my research and my writing?

And then I'm trying to also balance that research, all that dense information with

some kind of story. It might be a, a personal story about me,

or about somebody else, or about a place. So that the reader again is invited in

and is not overwhelmed by the, the facts of, of the piece.

something that I'm working on in my own writing which is tricky for me is

involving the senses. So describing not just the sights of a

place, but also the, the sounds and the smells and those kinds of things.

And that starts to take us from mere description to sort of imagination and

imagery. And then I'm constantly asking myself,

what do I want the reader to walk away from thinking about, wondering about,

wanting to know more about? I have an aim, not just of educating, of

telling the reader about my important scientific finding, but inviting them to

reflect on, on some type of issue or or place more deeply.

So the question is, are you making an argument in creative nonfiction?

And I think in the, in, in most cases you are making an argument.

You are inviting the reader to, to ask a question, or to think about something in

a different way. And I actually want to read a little

piece if I can find it here on my screen. Whoops.

here we go. From a, a piece by Brian Doyle.

And Brian Doyle is a reader, is a writer and a reader and editor of a magazine in

Portland. And he writes these beautiful lyric

essays that can be sometimes over the top, but he communicates something very

powerful by doing that. So, let me just read a, a section and of

course I, I should mention that this is actually one sentence of his writing so

I'm just going to look at my screen here for a second.

Of, he's writing about a newt. Of course the newt, rattled at the

attention, peed on the kid who held it. And of course that led to screeching and

hilarity. And of course on the way home we saw

damsel flies mating, which also led to screeching and hilarity.

But the point of this story isn't pee or lust.

However excellent a story about pee or lust would be, it's that one day when my

kids and I were shuffling through the vast wet moist forest, we saw so many

wonders and miracles that not one of us ever forgot any of the wonders and

miracles we saw. Even though we saw only tiny shreds and

shards of the ones that are there. And then he goes on to talk about why we

should really be protecting these particular places.

So he's doing it in this, and I just read a snippet of it, a very humorous way and

in a, in a very lyrical way. so that by the end of your essay, a, as a

reader you're thinking, yeah, these are pretty magical places, we need to protect

them. And the newt is a pretty cool thing even

though it does end up peeing on your, on your hands.

So I'm not sure that you can write creative nonfiction without making an

argument, however subtle that argument may be.

you're introducing the reader to a place or to a particular finding that that you

want to, that you want them to think more about.

So, is creative non fiction academic writing?

Well, I think, yes, it is academic writing.

It requires you to do your research. It requires you to put your ideas in the

context of a larger conversation. In some cases, it looks very different

from academic writing. For example, citations, which we spent a

lot of time on in this class, you do very differently in creative pieces and may

not actually do it, do it at all. So, in that case, it does differ from

academic writing. And I think some creative non fiction

that uses image and story really well to make an argument, could be considered

some of the finest forms of academic writing.

At least that's the argument I am making for myself as I embark on,on creative non

fiction writing. So some people on the forum have been

talking about their interest in doing more creative forms and I think I have

mentioned in previous videos, or at least have responded on the forum, that I think

if you want to do creative writing, any kind of writing that you do, whether it

be commenting on Coyle's piece or writing a poem about your favorite tree, is good

practice. And in order to be, I think a successful

writer both measured in, however you want to measure that, you just need to be

doing it a lot. It takes a lot of practice.

So some of the things that I have found really useful are participating in

writing workshops and writing groups, getting my work out there in front of

readers. I'm trying to read the kind of stuff that

I want to write, and to read a lot of it. And as I'm reading it, I'm thinking about

the audience and the aim of the writer. So definitely, definitely practice and I

can say as, as a, I was changed as an academic writer, and I'm trying to do

this very new thing for me, of creative non fiction, that it's taking a whole lot

of practice to be able to do it. But I feel like my skills as a strong

academic writer are serving me well in my creative non fiction quest.

I want to leave you with a few sources for great creative non fiction.

Orion Magazine is a sort of is, is a very beautiful example of, of good writing

coupled with good images. there are many online literary journals.

Flycatcher Journal is a relatively new one.

you can go and read all sorts of things from your more standard essay, to lyric

essays, to poetry. And one of my favorite books, it's a

collection of essays, of non-fiction essays, Brian Doyle's A Newt Note that I

read from, is in the book. It's called Moral Ground, and on the

website you can read a few examples of those essays.

So, I invite you to this conservation, look forward to talking more about

creative non fiction with you over in the forum.

Have a good day.

Special Topics_Creative Non-fiction

English Composition I

Meet the Instructors