Literary Nonfiction

1. What do you think these words mean? Branch off of each circle with definitions, examples, and ideas.

2. Literary Nonfiction Expressive and Reflective Writing

3. Literary Nonfiction • Literary Nonfiction (sometimes called “Creative Nonfiction”) is writing that uses literary techniques usually associated with fiction to tell a true story.

4. Literary Nonfiction • Some of these techniques include: • Imagery & Sensory Details • Figurative Language • Rising Action & Climax • Theme

5. Literary Nonfiction • Some of these techniques include: • Imagery & Sensory Details • Figurative Language • Rising Action & Climax • Theme • Literary Nonfiction is both expressive and reflective.

6. Compare & Contrast Make a Venn Diagram in your journal comparing and contrasting Expressive and Reflective writing.

7. Expressive Writing • Personal writing • Writer shares thoughts, feelings, and questions about his or her experience • Written in 1st person point of view • Reveals the author’s voice

8. Reflective Writing • Personal writing • Moves beyond describing an experience into exploring how that experience shaped the writer • Looks at the past as a means for looking at the future • Written in 1st person point of view • Reveals the author’s voice

9. Compare Expressive Writing Reflective Writing

10. Compare Expressive Writing Reflective Writing • What happened during the experience? • What did I think during the experience? • How did I feel during the experience?

11. Compare Expressive Writing Reflective Writing How do I feel about the experience now? What did I learn from the experience? How did the experience change me? How will my future be different because of the experience? • What happened during the experience? • What did I think during the experience? • How did I feel during the experience?

12. Examples Expressive Writing Reflective Writing He describes how becoming a big brother has impacted his life She writes what she has learned from going through this ordeal • A boy describes what it felt like when his family adopted a baby • A girl writes her feelings about her parents’ divorce

13. “The best writing comes when a student blends the two– when she expresses her thoughts about [an experience] and transitions into what this experience has taught her. Good reflective writing moves beyond recounting the past; it brings new insight to the writer.” -- Kelly Gallagher

14. Compare & Contrast Complete theVenn Diagram in your journal comparing and contrasting Expressive and Reflective writing. At the bottom of the page, write one complete sentence summing up what you have learned so far about this subject.

15. Memoir • A memoir is a type of literary nonfiction in which the author writes expressively and reflectively about a specific aspect of his or her life, such as: • Family • Career • Childhood trauma • Mental health • An important journey • A unique experience

16. Six-Word Memoirs • Smith Magazine (www.smithmag.net) challenges people to write a memoir in only six words. • Consider how much you can learn about the writer’s experience from the following six-word memoirs…

17. Time heals all wounds? Not quite. - Jonathan Miles

18. Escaped my mother. Trapped by girlfriend. -anonymous

19. Made a mess. Cleaned it up. - Amy Anderson

20. I still make coffee for two. - Zac Nelson

21. The past is forgiven, not forgotten. - anonymous

22. Didn’t quite work out. I’m glad. - anonymous

23. Write a few of your own 6-word memoirs. • Time heals all wounds? Not quite. - Jonathan Miles • Escaped my mother. Trapped by girlfriend. -anonymous • Made a mess. Cleaned it up. - Amy Anderson • I still make coffee for two. - Zac Nelson

24. --Linda Rief

25. --Linda Rief Now try writing your own rambling autobiography!