Minds on.

You don’t actually have to write anything until you’ve thought it out. This is an enormous relief, and you can sit there searching for the point at which the story becomes a toboggan and starts to slide.

Marie de Nervaud

This is the did you know icon. Did You Know?

The questions ‘who am I?, ‘what do I want?’ ‘why am I here?’ and ‘where am I going?’ are questions that people ask themselves throughout their lives. Collectively, the answers (which can change over time and with experience) help form your self identity. However, these questions are not new. People have been wrestling with such questions since before the written word existed.

And, if such profound questions aren’t enough for you, why not take a moment to learn about what you can really know for sure by exploring René Descartes’ famous truism, cogito ergo sum, by watching the short video, Rene Descartes - “I think; therefore, I am”.

I think, therefore I am.

Tick, Tock

This is an image of a black and white photo of an opened pocket watch leaning against an opened book.

Time will tell what stories you write...

A single day is made up of 1440 minutes. While there’s no denying that how you use that time is important, how you remember, reflect, and reiterate those minutes also crafts your identity, both personal and shared. Every minute contains a story waiting to be told...

Writer’s Notebook

Take a moment to reflect on what occurred during your day yesterday. In your Writer’s Notebook, use stream of consciousness writing to list what comes to mind (full sentences or jot notes are fine). Feel free to use the timer if you’d like. Afterward, review your list and respond to the following questions. If you're working on a tablet, click here to open the following interactive in its own window instead of using the embedded version below.

  • In what order did you list items (sequential, importance, emotive) and what does that tell you about yourself?
  • Are the ideas related? If so, how?
  • Is there an idea that stands out as one that could be examined and explored further?
  • Did your stream of consciousness writing differ from how you’ve generated ideas in the past? What does that tell you about your writing process?

a literary style in which a writer’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions are recorded in a continuous flow.

This is the enrichment icon. Enrichment

Of course, our sense of self doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and, sometimes, it isn’t necessarily accurate, either. Learn more about humanity’s beautiful complexity by watching Angélica Dass’ inspiring TedTalk, The beauty of human skin in every color.

Action.

Personally Speaking

Regardless of the medium, creative non-fiction writers blend evidence and rhetoric in developing their ideas and presenting their polished pieces. You’ll be examining rhetoric in greater detail later in this unit, but for a quick refresher, you can refer to the ‘Don’t You Love Rhetoric?’ subsection from Layering Language. 

This is the dropbox icon. Evidence Types

Evidence is used to support an opinion or clarify a position. However, not all evidence is equal so it is up to the writer to ensure she/he has selected the best evidence possible (though ultimately the reader will make the final decision). To develop your understanding of diverse evidence types, in your Writer’s Notebook provide definitions and an example for each of the following. 

  1. Fact
  2. Definition
  3. Examples
  4. Lists
  5. Quotes
  6. Details
  7. Illustration Through Narration
  8. Illustration Through Description
  9. Questions
  10. Historical References
  11. Statements of Opinion
  12. Literary References
  13. Appeals to Authority Figures
  14. Statistics
  15. Anecdotes
  16. Allusions
This is an image of a close up of a fingerprint overlaid with five red boxes identifying different areas.

It’s only when the separate evidence
is combined that an accurate match can be made...

Personally Writing

While writers often invite us into their fictional worlds, many writers also invite us into their personal lives. There are many different methods for sharing stories, including personal essays, memoirs, humorous personal narratives, and travel writing. While each of these forms differ, they have many common elements, such as:

Additionally, in his engaging article, Three Keys To Telling Personal Stories That Move Hearts And Minds author Carmine Gallo notes that there are three key sequential, structural components to writing an effective personal story:

  1. Inciting Incident
  2. Personal Transformation
  3. Lesson Learned

Before you begin your own personal writing, take a moment to learn more about the art and craft of personal writing by reading Ruth Daly’s, Joining the Eh Team. Afterward, complete the related interactive activity, Essay Analysis of Joining the Eh Team.

If you're working on a tablet, click here to open the following interactive in its own window instead of using the embedded version below.

This is the discussion icon. Sharing Personally

Before you begin writing your own non-fiction personal narrative, it’s important to understand how to do so. Research how to write a personal narrative (there are resources below to assist you) and condense your findings into a list of five necessary elements. Make sure that at least one of your elements involves organization.

Resources

  1. 8 Tips for Dazzling an Editor With Your Personal Essay provides clear, effective strategies for how to develop a personal essay.
  2. From ‘Lives’ to ‘Modern Love’: Writing Personal Essays With Help From The New York Times provides both strategies and exemplars for personal essay writing.
  3. Picturing the Personal Essay: A Visual Guide explains different methods for organizing a personal essay using visual diagrams.
  4. What is a Personal Essay? briefly explains the history of personal essays before delivering suggestions for how and what to write one.
Consolidation

Me, Myself, and I

Now that you’ve had a chance to review some creative non-fiction personal narratives, it’s time to write your own. However, before beginning, it is important to understand the following key piece of advice.

It is always your decision what you choose to share in your non-fiction narratives. However, while writing and sharing can be cathartic, it is important to carefully consider what you want to relate.

providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions.

This is the dropbox icon. Me, Myself and I

To complete this assignment, you need to do the following:

  1. Select a topic. If you would like assistance in generating ideas you may want to check out This I Believe for ideas and examples. 
  2. Choose your form. You need to choose a relevant form (such as a personal essay, memoir, humorous personal narrative, or travel writing text).
  3. Embed your evidence. To make your piece as engaging as possible, you need to ensure you aptly and accurately utilize the evidence types learned throughout this activity.  
  4. Write your drafts. Use your topic and form to write your drafts. A Creative Non-Fiction checklist has been provided to guide you as you write. The criteria in this checklist have been drawn and synthesized from the resources provided in this lesson.
  5. Edit and revise your drafts. Make necessary revisions. You may want to refer to past supports, including success criteria in the assessment tool,  Assessing Editing Skills, Assessing Revising Skills, or your Writer’s Notebook.

This is the metacognitive icon. Metacognitive Moment

Now that you’ve researched and written a personal narrative, take a moment to reflect on your experiences of writing creative non-fiction. In your Writer’s Notebook, answer the following questions. 

  • Did you find generating ideas for personal narrative easy or difficult?  Why might that be the case?
  • Which form did you chose? Why?
  • Explain how your beliefs, values, and experiences are revealed in your writing, and how they influence your perspectives and biases.
  • After revising your feedback, identify two strengths and two areas for improvement.

test text.