Nonfiction Writing + Tricks for Your Noodle

Something about writing non-fiction has always felt a little icky to me. Whenever I start a prose piece that involves parts of my real life I tend to hide those bits with layers of fiction. It's not so much that I mind displaying my personal, uncomfortable moments (although that does play a role), but rather that it feels self-important to think that sharing my story would be interesting enough to captivate another human's attention, let alone mean something to them. 

And yet, so many non-fiction works have meant something to me. So when my writing class segued from fiction to non-fiction I sacked up and hit the keyboard. It wasn't easy. I should say it isn't easy...I'm still working to finish a piece I need to turn in on Monday. And I've probably started about six different stories. I thought about writing a braided essay about loss and the five steps of grief, but as I was putting important moments of my life into words it began to feel trite. I don't think it's that my stories lacked meaning, rather that my discomfort with writing about my own stories was coming through in my writing and mucking it all up. 

It happens. But after two weeks of self torture I've figured out a few tricks I thought I'd share that have helped me write personal non-fiction without gagging on my words:

1) I try to write without looking at the screen/page or paying attention to how and what exactly I'm writing. It may end up gobbly gook, but it's something to start with and then I can cut, cut, cut. I also try to do this with fiction as well but I find it's easier with non-fiction since I'm not creating the narrative or characters, just relating .

2) I try to picture the story in snapshots and write each part separately--whether it's atmosphere, character description, or dialogue--in whatever order they come out. Then I can rearrange them later so the narrative flows.

3) If I'm writing about something intensely personal, I sometimes write my first draft in third person. Distancing myself from the confessional "I" allows me to get out certain truths and opinions that I would otherwise choke back. Once I have the words down and I'm in revising mode it's easy to switch to first person and bring myself back into the story.

Wish me luck...time to get back to it!

Living in a Literary Mine Shaft

Yes, a mine shaft. Which is why I haven't posted in...oh...forever. Right now I'm interning both at a literary magazine and a non-profit dedicated to the literary arts (state book awards, literature fellowships, etc.). I say mine shaft because I'm so deeply entrenched that my vision's narrowed (quite literally--I read so much I need new glasses) and I rarely have time to come up for air and check out what else is going on. You'd think with this literary tunnel vision I'd be blogging about it more--sadly, I've neglected reporting from the front lines. I know it's not New Years yet, but I'm resolving to update here more with interesting insights from the inside (ohhhhh, way too much alliteration there). 

Until next time, here's a link to some From the Fishouse (an awesome resource) audio clips--both interviews and readings--by wonderful the Portland poet, Matthew Dickman, whose work I recently fell in love with. More on him soon!