SUBJECT: CREATIVE NONFICTION: THE a.

Tragedy
LITERARY ESSAY b. Comedy
4. Nonfiction – based on facts that deals with real people,
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY GENRES things, events, and places
Literature – has five categories/genres: 5. Creative Nonfiction – is a form that utilizes memory,
experience, observation, opinion, and all kinds of
1. Prose Fiction – imaginary story research
2. Poetry – literary art where the evocative and aesthetic
qualities of language are brought out The Five Rs of Creative Nonfiction
3. Drama – literary work which is designed to be acted 1. Has a real life aspect.
out on a stage, performed by actors 2. Based on the writer engaging in personal reflection
4. Nonfiction Prose – any kind of writing that is based on about what he or she is writing about.
facts 3. Requires that the writers completes the research.
5. Creative Nonfiction – a genre of writing that uses 4. Creative nonfiction is about reading.
literary styles and techniques to create factually 5. Creative nonfiction is about writing.
accurate narratives; it deals with real people, things,
events, and places CHAPTER II PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES,
ELEMENTS, AND DEVICES
Creative Nonfiction should:
1. Fact – the writing must be based on fact, rather than
a. Include accurate and well-researched information fiction
b. Holds the interest of the reader 2. Extensive Research – the writing must be based on
Introduction to Literary Genres primary and secondary research
3. Reporting – the writer must be able to document
1. Fiction – is an imaginary story, usually written down, events and personal experiences
that someone tells in everyday, natural language 4. Personal Experience and Opinion – the writer is
2. Poetry – is a literary art where the evocative and required to explain the personal experience
aesthetic qualities of language are brought out 5. Explanation – the writer is required to explain the
3. Drama – is a literary work which is designed to be personal experience or topic
acted out on a stage performed by actors
 6. Essay Format – creative nonfiction is often written in  Comparison-Contrast – to show similarities or
essay format differences between two things
12. Plot – refers to the series of sequence of events that
Literary Elements used in Creative Nonfiction give a story its meaning and effect.
1. Characters – real people 13. Point-of-View – the perspective from which a story is
2. Detail – provides pieces of information that will help told
the writer communicate his or her own opinion  First Person – the character is telling the story
3. Dialogue – it is typically enclosed with quotation marks  Third Person – when the story is told by a
4. Diction – the writer’s use of words narrator outside the story
5. Figurative Language – “ornaments of language” a. Omniscient – the narrator knows what is
6. Flashback – earlier or past events is inserted into the going on in the minds of ALL the
narrative characters at all times.
7. Flashforward – the plot goes ahead of time b. Limited – the narrator is a “shadow” to
8. Foreshadowing – author give hints of what will come one of the characters
in the plot 14. Setting – the story’s time and place
9. Imagery – refers to the “pictures” which we perceive  Locale – country, region, province, city, town,
with our mind’s eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. or barangay
10. Narrative – uses techniques and style of fiction  Time of the Year – seasons, holidays
(character, plot, conflict) to tell a true story.  Time of the Day – day, night, dusk, or dawn
11. Order – the arrangement of events  Elapsed Time – minutes, hours, days, weeks,
 Importance – to rank details from least to most and months
 Chronological – to arrange details in a story  Mood or Atmosphere – temperature, lighting
process  Man-made Geography – dams, bridges, or
 Problem-Solution – to explain a problem or ports
solution, or argue for or against a solution  Population
 Plot – refers to the series of sequence of events 15. Tone – the writer’s attitude towards his or her subject
that give a story its meaning and effect. matter
 Cause-Effect – to show the relationship E.x. sarcastic tone, unhappy tone
between events or conditions
Figurative Language 9. Apostrophe – the addressing of a usually absent person
or usually personified thing.
1. Adage – a saying often in metaphorical form that E.x. Oh Freedom, if you only knew how much we
typically embodies a common observation desire your existence!
E.x. A penny saved is a penny earned. 10. Assonance – relatively close juxtaposition of similar
2. Allegory – expression by means of symbolic fictional sounds especially of vowels
figures and actions of truths or generalization E.x. Move your feet to the sound of the beat.
E.x. The novel was an allegory of betrayal and mistrust. 11. Asyndeton – omission of the conjunctions that
3. Alliteration – the repetition of usually initial consonant ordinarily join coordinate words or clauses.
sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables E.x. I came, I saw, I conquered.
E.x. The box office Bird Box bested all other films of 12. Cacophony – harsh or jarring sound
late 2018. E.x The banging sound of the marching band was a
4. Allusion – an implied or indirect reference especially in cacophony to the diligent students in the library.
literature 13. Chiasmus – an inverted relationship between the
E.x. The lines in the poem were allusions to syntactic elements of parallel phrases.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. E.x. To stay too foolish, too weak to leave.
5. Anaphora – repetition of a word or expression at the 14. Cliches and idioms – a trite phrase or expression
beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences E.x. The story “First Day High” became a flop because
E.x. We must end aggression. We must end the killings. of its cliché plot.
We must end the injustices of our society. - an expression in the usage of a language that is
6. Antimetabole – is the repetition of words in successive peculiar to itself
clauses, but in transposed order E.x. He would return home once in a blue moon.
E.x. I said what I meant, I meant what I said. 15. Colloquialism – a local or regional dialect.
7. Antithesis – the direct opposite E.x. Keep calm. Don’t chicken out.
E.x. She promised she would stay, but she left me 16. Consonance – correspondence or recurrence of sounds
alone. especially in words.
8. Aphorism – a concise statement of a principle E.x. He told me to groove, so I gave him the look.
E.x. Less is more. 17. Euphemism – the substitution of an agreeable or
inoffensive expression, for one that may offend.
 E.x. The term to put down was a euphemism to “kill” E.x. Peaceful war; hateful love; beautiful ugliness;
dogs in the shelter. successful disaster
18. Hyperbole – extravagant exaggeration 25. Parallelism – the quality of being parallel
E.x. I’ve waited a million years for you to arrive. E.x. It was shown that there was parallelism between
19. Irony – the use of words to express something other high blood pressure and high sugar level.
than and especially the opposite of the literal one. 26. Paradox – a tenet contrary to received opinion;
E.x. “I’m so happy.” Jane said in a sad tone as she statement that is seemingly contradictory
scanned the pile of paperworks on her desk. E.x. It’s paradoxical how when people are dead, we
20. Litotes – understatement in which the affirmative is give them flowers and presents. But, while they are stil
expressed by the negative of the contrary. alive, we do not show our affection.
E.x. “It’s not the worse.” May remarked after tasting 27. Personification – attribution of personal qualities
her friend’s dish. E.x. The clouds cried out loud today.
21. Metaphor – a word or phrase literally denoting one 28. Pun – the usual humorous use of a word.
kind of object or idea is used in place of another to E.x. : “Knock knock!”
suggest likeness : “Who is there?”
E.x. Mark was showered with blessings last year. : “Interrupting cow.”
22. Metonymy – the use of the name of one thing for that : “Interupting cow w—“
of another for which it is an attribute : “Moooo!!”
E.x. The throne was given back to the Philippines when 29. Repetition – a word or a phrase is repeated two or
Miss Philippines Catriona M. Gray won the Miss more times.
Universe title. E.x. “Live, laugh, love, repeat.”
23. Onomatopoeia – naming of a thing or action by a vocal 30. Rhetorical Question – is a figure of speech in the form
limitation of the sound associated with it. of a question that is asked to make a point rather than
E.x. When the clock ticks, the birds chirp, and the elicit an answer.
rooster cuckoos, the dark villains shall disappear in the E.x. “Did I really matter to you?”
nothingness. “Aren’t you ashamed of what you’ve done?”
24. Oxymoron – combination of contradictory or 31. Rhyme – a composition in a verse that rhymes.
incongrous words E.x. I called your name, but you were not around. I
 searched for your trace, but you were nowhere to be  Words like just, quite, very, really, and
found. generally can often be removed.
32. Simile – comparing two unlike things that is often  Keep a careful look out for problems like
introduced by like or as. subject-verb agreement and staying consistent in
E.x. He was as swift as a cheetah. your use of the past, present, and future tense
33. Synecdoche – a part is put for the whole.  Remember, commas often cause difficulties.
E.x. The waves of the sea
34. Synesthesia – a condition marked by the experience of The Revision Stage
such sensations. 1. Adding – this is a good point to go back to your pre-
E.x. The food was palatable to the taste, pleasing for the writing notes. Look for ideas which you did not use.
sight, and heartmwarming to the smell. 2. Rearranging – even when you’ve planned your piece,
35. Understatement or Meiosis – intentionally make a sections may need rearranging so that the argument
situation less important than it really is. would flow better
E.x. “You did a pretty decent job.” She told the student 3. Removing – sometimes, one of your ideas does not
who messed up his arts project. work out. Perhaps, you’ve gone over the word count.
CHAPTER 3 FORMS AND TYPES OF CREATIVE 4. Replacing – if a particular paragraph is not working,
NONFICTION try re-writing it.

The Six Guidelines

1. Pre-writing – building on ideas, planning the structure, 1. Get your facts straight.
2. Issue a disclaimer.
brainstorming, and other activities
2. Actual Writing – at this stage, writers do not think 3. Consider repercussions.
about word-count, grammar, spelling, and punctuation 4. Be objective.
5. Pay attention to language.
3. Re-writing – proofreading, editing, and revising the
draft 6. Know your audience.
 Use thesaurus to find alternatives
 Re-write sentences to make your thoughts clear.
Types of Nonfiction c. Personal Essay – focuses on a topic through the
lens of the personal experience of the narrator;
1. Biography – the story of someone’s life written by can be narrative or non-narrative; should always
another person be based on true, personal experience
- world leader, scientists, movie stars, and athletes d. Reflective Essay – you reflect on how you’ve
- biographer – a person who writes a biography changed your mind or how an event changed
a. Critical Biography – analyzes his or her you; purpose is to engage your reader with more
subject, the tone is detached. The writer seeks to than just telling of a story
create a critical discussion. Literature Reflective Essay – asks you
b. Scholarly Biography – straight-forward to summarize and then respond to a
compilation of facts. These bios offer piles of piece of literature in order to understand
information about their subjects. it better and relate it to your life and
c. Profiles – using literary devices. experiences
2. Auto-biography – the writer constructs his or her life Professional Reflective Essay – to
story from birth to present, using the first person “I”. analyze the behavior so that they can
3. Memoir – specified and focuses on an important event understand clearly how to better do their
occurred on a specific time and place. jobs
4. Essays – short piece of prose that examines a single Educational Reflective Essay – respond
subject, usually expressing a personal or limited view to a lecture or other school assignments
of the topic so that students can better understand
a. Formal Essay – serious in tone and subject, and share their learnings.
more objective POV, unbiased and intends to Personal Growth Reflective Essay –
inform the reader often used in writing classes as a way of
b. Informal Essay – informal in tone, purposes are helping students to learn how to
to entertain, inform, explain, and persuade understand and analyze their own life
Narrative experiences.
Expository
Persuasive
Descriptive
 Two Other Types of Essays
a. Longer Essay – literary magazines
(2,500-3,000 words)
b. Shorter Essay – blogs, Sunday news
(600-800 words)
5. Speeches – communication through talking to an
audience
6. Letter – a communication in writing to another person
or group of persons
7. Food Writing – the writer crafts stories about food and
cuisine.
8. Travelogue – the writer crafts articles or essays about
traveling
9. Blogs – frequently updated online personal journal or
diary