In this presentation, we’ll look at all the elements of creative nonfiction storytelling so you can create the most compelling content for your blog, one 400-600 word post at a time. Using examples from published blog posts, you’ll learn to:
• Identify the Central Conflict in each post: What is your one reason for writing this piece?
• Use Narrative Structure: Begin like a boss, stick a fork in it when it’s over, and conquer the muddle in the middle.
• Make it interesting: Employ the storyteller’s toolkit: Develop setting, character, plot, and dialogue. Use literary devices to make your true stories as readable as fiction.
• Show, Don’t Tell: Avoid telling your readers what to think and feel and illustrating instead, using sensory descriptions and imagery.
• Hone Your Authentic Voice: Discover and trust who you are as a writer.
18. Break it down.
Wool
• Visited farm to
shear sheep
• Grandma taught to
card wool
Dyes
• Learned which
berries to use
• Harvested berries
on hike
Knitting
• Chooses patterns
from art.
• Knits as mindful
meditation
36. Example: The Accident
Too much:
“Should I have done more?
Aren’t we defined by the
choices we make, in the blink
of an eye?”
Just right:
“When the local news called
today, I declined to be
interviewed on camera.”
42. Informal Voice | The Reedster Speaks
“We stood in line behind all of America. A woman
dripping with perspiration and toddlers learned the hard
way that the orchard only took cash. A man towed a
Radio Flyer wagon overflowing with apples. The Duggars
couldn’t have eaten that many apples in a lifetime.”
Cindy Reed, “Apple Hell: A Fun Fall Family Tradition”
(The Reedster Speaks Sept. 10, 2014)
43. Lyrical Voice | Bill Dameron
“When we drive along the
rocky coast of Maine and
watch the green ocean
swell like it is a living
being larger than eternity
I do not say it.”
Bill Dameron, “Don’t Say It”
(The Authentic Life Jan. 5, 2014)
44. Minimalist Voice | Michelle Longo
My mother would twist her hair at the nape,
secure it with one barrette, and walk around
with a wet washcloth around her neck.
If I aggravated her, she’d simply say,
‘Michelle, it’s hot.’
~ Michelle Longo, “I Am Not Safe”
(The Journey, Sept. 26, 2013)