One of the things that struck me as being interesting is how nonfiction borrows some of the same techniques that we use in poetry and fiction. I never thought that about using imagery in nonfiction. I never knew that character would be so important in nonfiction. I always assumed that nonfiction was just straight forward information. I never thought about it as a story. " We expect dialogue in a play or a story , but dialogue in creative nonfiction stands out- in ways both good and bad." I never really realized how dialogue in creative nonfiction stand outs. As we read the stories in class I realized how little dialogue we actually see in some of the pieces. I realized that not all stories need dialogue to make them good. I was fascinated by how well Liferower used language so well. We get a better sense of her character by all the details that are given about her life as she works out.
I read the story called the Same Story by Suzanne Roberts. In this piece she is comparing herself to a story about two women who fall in love and get pregnant by the same guy. The only difference is that she did not let him get away free. She did not let him off the hook. The essay is about the tough decisions that she has made. She ended things with her on and off again. She even got a abortion. I noticed how honest she was with how she was feeling. She admitted that she had shame after she had the abortion. She also admits how she wanted to run it away her baby. Although I may not agree with what she did I get a better understanding of her though process as she was making the decisions that she faced.
https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/same-story
The essay you read sounds very interesting. I'll have to give it a read when I have a little more time to do so. ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the lack of dialogue in non-fiction. I didn't really notice the lack of until you mentioned it, but I went back and looked. It's interesting to see different techniques for different styles of writing, but still make them interesting to read. I really loved the Liferower short essay as well and I loved how she used language to convey what she was feeling.
When I think sbout nonfiction I think about facts. I never knew you could use imagery or even dialogue. It just doesn't come to mind when I think of nonfiction, so I can see why you say it stands out. That essay sounds like it's really good too, good choice!
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