Friday, January 25, 2013

I'm Not Sure What I'm Doing; or Working on Non-Fiction

I just like the picture... also,
used to be home.
From here, photo by Paul Bica.
Though I love fiction and I've been steadily writing short stories for a long time, I've decided to write something different.  I have a story I want to tell and it's about me.  Why am I writing a story about myself?  Well, after some stuff happened to me last year, and after discussing these events with my Hubby, I felt like I should share it.  I couldn't have made it up.  I thought about using it as inspiration for some fiction, but decided against it.  I might still change my mind once the piece is finished.  Getting to the point of this post... since I've never written non-fiction before, I decided I should look up some non-fiction rules.  After all, what I'm working on will be about my life, I've interacted with people, and I wanted to know what the rules were for writing about other people, as it affects me and my work.  I want to stay out of trouble.  But I also don't want my desire to stay our of trouble to affect the quality of the piece I'm creating.  I wanted to share some of the helpful links I found in my research.  

Six Guidelines for Writing Creative Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction: How to Stay Out of Trouble

Writing Creative NonFiction

In trying to classify my creative non-fiction work in progress, I would guess it to be most like a memoir.  So these are memoir specific links:

7 Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Your Memoir

Tips on Writing a Memoir

Can You Tell Your Own True Story Even If It Impinges on the Privacy of Your Lovers, Friends, and Family?

I found all of these links helpful and insightful.  They told me things I didn't know, which I suppose was the point of the research.  Any suggestions for writing non-fiction?  Rules I should know?

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