When truth is better than fiction 

As an editor and avid reader, I love a good story, especially creative nonfiction. If you’re unfamiliar with that term, I mean a true tale that reads like fiction. But unlike traditional nonfiction, creative nonfiction contains many of the literary devices found in a great novel. You’ll not only find a compelling plot, but there will also be fleshed-out characters with personal details of their lives, descriptive and sometimes poetic prose, dialogue between characters, rich scene setting, and often suspense. Sometimes the writer plays a large and visible part in the story, other times they are an invisible observer.

Although writer David Madden used the term “creative nonfiction” in an article in the 1960s, Professor Lee Gutkind shone the spotlight on it a decade later when he created a course bearing that name at the University of Pittsburgh. He followed that up by starting the magazine Creative Nonfiction in 1991. The term was needed in the giant nonfiction genre that encompasses everything from academic textbooks and travelogues to cookbooks and biographies. Authors were still writing in a literary way, but there wasn’t a defined term to separate creative factual pieces that draw in and captivate the reader in a way that journalism usually doesn’t. In his 1997 book The Art of Creative Nonfiction, Gutkind makes this important distinction between creative nonfiction and traditional reportage: “balance is unnecessary and subjectivity is not only permitted but encouraged.”

When the writer and narrator are the same, their distinct voice and unique point of view are usually front and center in their story. It’s the intimate details they share about their life that adds to the book’s impact (Maya Angelou’s poignant I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings). True crimes, however, can be more objective when the writer is presenting the story in a factual yet still gripping and suspenseful way (Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood).

For all editors, a detailed style sheet is essential to maintain consistency and correctness throughout the manuscript. As with fiction editing, a creative nonfiction editor must track all characters (names, physical descriptions, and defining aspects such as age, accent, education, etc.), settings, structure of story (ensuring the flow and order make sense, even in flashbacks), while also researching that everything is factually correct. In fiction, the main character’s hair and eye color can be anything the author chooses, but in creative nonfiction, every detail that can be verified needs to be double-checked. With autobiographies and memoirs, the author may opt to change some names to protect others, but they will alert the reader of any changes and the reasons, while still staying true to the story. Citations and author notes are often included. Establishing trust and believability is essential in crafting a credible story, which is something all authors must grapple with, whether they are inventing worlds, sharing their personal story, or writing a historic fiction that blends real-life events with original characters.

Two of my favorite reads showcase creative nonfiction at its finest. In his 2003 book, The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson writes a colorful, suspenseful, and meticulously detailed account of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and the serial killer who uses the fair to distract his victims. This one offers crossover appeal for both fiction and nonfiction lovers.

On the other end of the spectrum is Educated, the remarkable 2018 memoir by Cambridge-educated Tara Westover about growing up in a secluded and religiously strict family in the rural mountains of Idaho where school and social interaction were forbidden. She discovers books and secretly begins teaching herself enough to eventually be accepted to college. As with many other memoirs, she includes an acknowledgment that her childhood memories may differ from her siblings, but as Gutkind reminds us about this genre, subjectivity is encouraged.

I’m constantly inspired by the authenticity and honesty of so many authors, whether I’m approaching their work as an editor or a reader. The next time you’re after an engrossing story to read, why not go with something that rings true. By choosing a creative nonfiction book, you’ll likely find the best of both worlds.