Creative Nonfiction Blog by Brenda Gaines Hunter

On Leave

Since I've made moving and losing weight priorities right now, I'm going to take a good break away from here. It's just that right now a lot of my time is spent on recovery Web sites and discussion boards, etc.

I do intend to write this winter, and I will post this winter.

Bye Bye Frank McCourt

'Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood', so writes Frank McCourt in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Angela's Ashes." Perhaps McCourt's life showed, more than anyone elses, that the saying is true, When God neglects to give us one thing, he gives us another. Heaven just got richer.

My Poet: Reginald Shepherd (1963-2008)

I'm at a loss for words. Reginald Shepherd was MY poet. He was the only contemporary writer whose career I've followed. I first met Mr. Shepherd through his book of poetry "Some Are Drowning" in 1993, and also being black and gay, I identified with his writing very closely. I subsequently went on to purchase each of his books as soon as copies became available. And it was in the spring of 2003 that I got a chance to work with him on an interview about him and his work that was published in a 2003 edition of "Pleiades." That was my first publishing credit, and it couldn't have come as the result of a better subject.

Postmodernism and Creative Nonfiction: a Short Essay

Although the artist as subject is not a particularly new concept, i.e James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man," in postmodernism as well as in creative nonfiction how the subject is defined is a new concept. In postmodernism as well as in creative nonfiction, the subject is often marked by an self-consciousness that is pushed to the limits of absurdity. The self as subject, without the modern moral reference points, leads to a reality where all consciousness is subjective, and no particular attitude or way of viewing the self or others is more valid than any other perspective and, therefore, the self and it's choices lose meaning. A crises of consciousness is created--a phenomenon in which the self is, sometimes, frantically choosing, acting to define meaning.

Eureka! Plot & Structure and Greatness

A famous author said, “There are more great novelists than great short story writers.” I didn’t know if that was true or not, and that’s probably why that quote has stuck with me these years. I do know that it’s more difficult to publish a collection of short stories than it is to publish a novel. Amy Tan’s “Joy Luck Club” was originally conceived and marketed by her as a collection of short stories, although its success has been as a novel. Perhaps that is not by accident.

Time Out; Stop Writing

I've read lots of articles offering advice to the aspiring author, but I've read few articles on what a writer can do to become a good writer. I realize that there are no formulas when it comes to constructing a memoir, novel, or personal essay, but are there traits that successful authors have in common?

Love and Consequences: Margaret B. Jones

Margaret B. Jones' fake memoir “Love and Consequences” is a killer in more ways than one. As well as killing her own career and casting doubt on the entire publishing industry, it is also hurting memoirists who have legitimate stories to tell. What I don’t understand is why she cast the book as a memoir in the first place. It was good enough to be picked up by an agent and a major publisher. Perhaps it was good enough to be picked up by an agent and a publisher as fiction.

Creative Nonfiction: Memoir & Personal Essays

The one aspect of creative nonfiction that most writers agree upon is that it is personal. Creative nonfiction, whether it is a memoir, a personal essay, or new journalism, is told from the first person point of view. Traditional fiction writing techniques that emphasize voice, character, scene, dialogue, and narration are used in creative nonfiction.