What are the types of nonfiction story?
Sage Kay
Writer, reader, outfit repeater.
When writing a fiction story, the world is your oyster. Want a building-eating monster to show up? Go for it. Talking animals? I wish my dog could talk, too. Those planted firmly in the world of fiction may cling to these fantasies and proclaim fiction as the superior genre of storytelling. But they’d be writing off an entire world of stories that still need to be told—real-world stories, that is.
Nonfiction may not contain as many world-eating monsters as fiction does, but this doesn’t detract from its importance. Nonfiction tells stories from the grounded perspective of real-life events. Because they’re based on real events, they’re more likely to be relatable to readers. And the best part is, you don’t have to do any world-building or imagining of the details yourself, as they’re all right in front of your eyes.
Isn’t it every writer’s dream to be given a world that’s already been built with characters that already exist? (Yes, I know $ fanfiction $ fulfills this dream, too.) If you’re intrigued by the possibilities of nonfiction, read ahead.
What is nonfiction?
Nonfiction is a literary genre that tells the stories of real-life events. Whether the story is one of your own personal experiences or someone else’s, it needs to have actually happened to be considered nonfiction. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re not allowed some creative liberties, but more on that later.
Think of the last personal experience you told your friend about. What kind of details did you include? There was likely some form of dialogue between two people or a description of what someone was wearing. Mybe you got soaked on your way to the store because it didn’t look like it was going to rain and suddenly, you were beneath a crying sky. Dialogue, a setting, some form of rising action—what is this starting to sound like? That’s right, even though nonfiction is based on real events, it still needs to have all the same elements of a story that fiction does. So, congrats, avid story writers, you’re not as lost as you thought you were.
Types of nonfiction
Now, I know I literally just said nonfiction has all the same elements of fiction, but nonfiction can still take many different formats. For example, a memoir will not look the same as a self-help book.
Here are several types of nonfiction to help you get an idea of how wide the genre is:
1. Biographies and autobiographies
This type of nonfiction covers the entirety of an individual’s life. If written by the individual themself, it is called an autobiography, but both feature personal details and possibly lessons learned by the subject.
An example of an autobiography is $ I'm Glad My Mom Died$ by Jennette McCurdy, where she reflects on her complicated relationship with her mother and childhood stardom.
2. Memoirs
A memoir is a collection of memories written from the perspective of the individual who experienced it, often with a close perspective to truly give a sense of the individual’s life. A key difference between memoirs and biographies is that memoirs do not cover the entirety of the individual’s life.
3. Self-help
Self-help books aim to give specific guidance. They may help you be more mindful in your very busy life or help you overcome social anxiety. Though most of the content revolves around direct speech to the reader, authors may include personal anecdotes and factual data to help illustrate their key points. $ Own It: Make Your Anxiety Work For You$ by Caroline Foran is an example of a self-help book.
4. Essays
While they certainly conjure visions (or nightmares) of academics, essays can be about any topic. Generally, they’re in a collection following a unified theme regarding the author’s thoughts, opinions, and personal experiences around a chosen topic.
5. Literary journalism
Literary journalism is what you may see on the news, but told in more of a narrative format. Through storytelling techniques, the author may report on newsworthy stories, like profiles, interviews, or research in a way that makes it more digestible than a mere list of facts.
$ Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America$ by Jill Leovy is an example of literary journalism.
6. Travel writing
Consider yourself an avid traveler? Try travel writing! Writers of this genre recount places they’ve visited and give all the juicy details about each location, often including tips and insider info for readers who may travel to that location.
You'll see travel writing most often in online format, since the topics fall into irrelevance relatively quickly, so something like a blog post is easier to keep updated with helpful information than a physical book would be.
Nonfiction comes in many styles and formats. A good way to choose which one is right for you is following your interests! The more excited you are about a subject, the longer you'll be able to focus on it.
How to write creative nonfiction
Though nonfiction is based on facts, it does not have to be a beat-for-beat factual retelling of a scenario. There’s still plenty of room for you to flex your creative writing muscles.
After you've gathered the facts of the story you’re writing—where it took place, who was there, what the surroundings look like, how the POV character acted—you can pick and choose what to include. You should include details to paint the entire picture for your readers, but adding and removing certain elements for storytelling purposes is a common practice in this genre.
Try asking yourself these questions to figure out what you should include:
1. Why am I telling this story?
2. Who is this story for?
3. Is this story meant to teach a lesson?
4. Is this story part of a broader theme or collection?
5. What do I want my readers to get from this story?
If you’re telling the story to give your readers a sense of what the country you just visited is like, you’re probably going to focus on the physical descriptions of the environment with some of your personal experiences sprinkled in. If the story is for someone looking to improve their social anxiety, you might focus on the psychological details of your story.
In the case of narrative forms of nonfiction, don’t be afraid to embellish a bit. Don’t worry, you can tell the nonfiction police I told you it was okay. Add in some pretty descriptions, spend more time in the head of your POV character. As long as you’re sticking to the wider facts of the story, a little embellishment never hurt anyone.
You're ultimately telling a story after all—real life doesn't always hit those perfect narrative beats, so we can polish it up and rearrange a few things.
Nonfiction is an entirely different beast of storytelling than fiction. You may have real-life events to base your story on, but you have more of an obligation to stick to factual details. Give nonfiction a try. I think you’ll find the real world has just as much to write about as fiction does!
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Further reading:
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