Creative Nonfiction Blog by Brenda Gaines Hunter

what waits to be saved

Her nothingness lingers
in the moonlight.

Who are you?
"Love me. I challenge you,"
she answers softly.
How does it feel?
"We had to meet here.
No one's to blame. Hell
is cool in the summer
breeze of the effluents
that blow off the Chicago
River, the flow
life tosses back
into the black waves
billowed from the smokestacks
of the past."

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.

Preparing the Synopsis

Hi Folks,

I know I've disappeared for quite some time. It was a rush! It's too long of a story to go into here, but essentially I moved from San Francisco to Chicago. San Francisco had become much too expensive for a new writer, and I needed to put myself in a position where I could concentrate on writing.

I decided that although the environment deserves our utmost respect, I am not a nature lover. I don't like many of the things the West Coast has to offer: hiking, camping, skiing, swimming... I like museums, plays, travel (archeology), and art. What I like is found in better shape in the big cities out east.

I haven't lived in Chicago since I was a child, so living here is an interesting experience, especially moving here so close to the winter season. I live across the street from Lake Michigan, so I'm looking forward to the spring and summer. I do miss San Francisco. I spent almost all of my adult life there. But it's not a place for a new writer.

Eureka! Plot & Structure & 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.

Magical Realism

I had wondered what to do about three of the passages in “This is How it Ends" since they feel too preachy for me. I thought they were important enough to keep, but could be a turn off also. What I’ve decided to do is use magical realism in those spots. The messages will be the same, but they will be delivered differently.

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.

Craftsmanship: Specificity, Passion, Practice

Works considered the best examples of a profession tend to show a high degree of craftsmanship. Writing isn’t an exception. Webster’s Dictionary defines craftsmanship as simply dexterity in a trade or handicraft. Dictionaries will often say a dog is a carnivorous four legged animal belonging to the Canidae family. However, anyone who owns a dog knows a dog is much more than that. So what is craftsmanship? To my experience craftsmanship is a combination of specificity, passion, practice.

What is New Journalism?

The other day, I was asked, “What is new journalism?” To many of us, who graduated from college before the mid-1990s, new journalism is as foreign a term as creative nonfiction. New journalism is a subtype of creative nonfiction. New journalists still answer the questions of “who,” “what, “where,” “when,” and “how.” However, new journalists also answer "why". They also tell their reactions to the events.