[stylist] Creative nonfiction is not made-up material

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

So this therefore implies that nonfiction writing is about experiences
and events that never happened. I do understand what Eve and Lynda are
trying to say, but lie is the wrong word. "Lie" is not exactly a word
you can use on a philosophical level; a lie is a false, untrue thing
that does not exist, never happened, and this is not what creative
nonfiction is in any way shape or form.

And perhaps some are misunderstanding the "creative" part of creative
nonfiction; based on many post, creative is being equated to untrue,
lies, stuff that never happened and is included to provide
entertainment. Creative only means a writer is using literary techniques
to bring into a three-dimensional realm as opposed to a flat story on
the page. Using creative means does not mean a writer is pulling in
imagined elements, making up people, places and things just for the sake
of telling a story. This is what Frey did in A Million Little Pieces,
which has been established as not, N O T, being a memoir or any type of
creative nonfiction. You are not "creating" information but just using
creative ways in which to relay true information.

The reason nonfiction and fiction have specific names is because one is
imagined, made-up while the other is about real-life. We all hold
thoughts and opinions based on our interpretation of life, and this may
differ from person to person, but this is not the same as a lie. I've
yet to hear from anyone here how a memoir is about events that never
happened, which again, is what a lie is. We are not talking about
historical fiction, fictionalized accounts of one's life or any other
type of fiction; we are discussing a form of nonfiction that often
employs literary techniques to bring in the "creative" part of creative
nonfiction. It's not drawing upon made-up info. It's the difference
between a one-dimensional painting and a three-dimensional painting with
layers of shading giving an audience a fuller view of the picture.

I can write that Ross and I sit on the couch with our niece watching TV.
I feel like Penny is our daughter, but she is not. I feel like a mother,
and it's difficult to reconcile my feelings with reality.

Or I can write:

We sit on the couch, worn and dirty from life, with Ross slumbering next
to us as a black-and-white movie hums softly in the background. Hands
folded as if praying, your tiny bulk nestled against me; we are like a
family. Mother, father, baby, but you are not mine. We are connected
biologically, but you are not my daughter. Niece by birth, you are so
much more to us. My heart dissolves with yours, longing to know this
feeling always. Breathing steady, slowly, surely, and for a moment, I am
a mother.

I imagine us part of a holiday snow globe as the three of us lounge on
the couch at two o' clock in the morning. The mist of this fantasy
shimmers around us, engulfing us in warmth. The rhythm of your whispered
snoring strides along with the beating of my heart. Sleeping in my lap,
I try to draw you into me. How can this be? I am not a mother, but I
bear the heart of a mother like a badge.

Did I make anything up? Is this a lie? Please explain to me how
nonfiction writing such as memoir and personal essay can be equated to
containing lies. Again, on a philosophical level, I get where you ladies
are going, but you are using the wrong word, and there has yet to be any
explanation in your favor of how this type of writing contains lies. In
the paras above, are you telling me this did not happen, these are not
my thoughts and feelings? It makes no sense.

I respect the intelligence, knowledge, wisdom and experience those
posting on this topic bring to Stylist, but, though I'm only 30, I know
creative nonfiction even if I know nothing else. There are different
schools of thought on what constitutes memoir and personal essay
writing, and what is permissible and how certain information should be
presented, but across the board, no one would agree that creative
nonfiction writing contains lies, big or little. Try making that
statement to some of the big creative nonfiction writers of our time--
Annie Dillard, Joan Didion, Scot Russel Sanders, David Sedaris, Maxine
Hong Kingston-- and see what they say. Different interpretations,
different views-- this is not the same as a lie. My perspective is
different than yours, it does not render one of our perspectives as
being untrue and made-up.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 18:42:16 -0700
From: Eve Sanchez <3rdeyeonly at gmail.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Creative nonfiction is not made-up material
Message-ID:
	
<CACdbYKVYK3ivUDm6ixtKHsEPrg3psghnE+h4vXcMWW_qwW5TRg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Sure there is. Even using the word 'tinkering' shows this. Tinkering is
creating, being creative is creating. Creating is not solely done with
the truth or it would not need creating. Hence the lies appear.. It is a
lie spoken when one says he never lies. Diolch, Eve:)