MWP Creative Nonfiction

MWP 2. CNF 1

MAJOR WRITING PROJECT 2. FLASH ESSAYS

CREATIVE NONFICTION (100 POINTS OR 2X 50 POINTS EACH)

INSTRUCTIONS

Develop two (2) pieces of flash nonfiction (450-650 words each) that are modeled after at least two of the

selected essays:

Each piece should demonstrate the keys to effective creative nonfiction from Tell It

Slant and the model essays you read from the homework (as well as the concepts of

poetic language from the previous project).

The main elements of style you should be trying to model are a). the types of images

the author uses and the word choice (especially the nouns and verbs); b). the way

the way the author constructs their sentences, paragraphs, uses punctuation, grammar,

and formatting; c). the way the author constructs their paragraphs/sections and

organizes them from the first line to the last, and d). the way the author slowly

reveals a subtle and nuanced point of view throughout (without superficially

explaining it to the reader or telling the reader how to feel about the subject

matter).

Note that modeling your piece after a selected essay does not mean that you are

writing line by line about the same subject, using the same words, etc.; it simply

means that you should be using a few elements of the style of the piece to develop

your own essay (i.e. to put your own spin on).

***Note that this piece must be written for this project (not from another class).

NOTES ON EVALUATION

As with your poetry project, your creative nonfiction project will not be evaluated on how “publishable”

your essay is, but rather how effectively you have applied the concepts from class readings to develop essays

that are driven by specific details, vivid imagery, concise language, white space, and lyricism.

- Please note that the following guidelines are not “rules for creative nonfiction”

(as there are no rules for “creative nonfiction”).

- These guidelines are here to help you focus your efforts on showing off how much you

have worked on the foundational building blocks of creative nonfiction and creative

writing in general that you will inevitably experiment with as you read more, write

more, and get more confident in your own voice, style, and lizard brain.

- Keep in mind that the objective of this project is to demonstrate how effective you

are at applying the concepts from the reading (i.e. if you aren’t willing to try to

learn and experiment with different styles of creative nonfiction, then you will not

be successful in this class no matter how “good” or “bad” a writer you might think

you are).

- Remember that creativity isn’t creating something from nothing; it’s taking little

pieces from a variety of places and putting them together with our own vision in a

way that’s never been done before.

MWP 2. CNF 2

- Along the same lines, “finding our voice” isn’t about trying to avoid outside

influence; it’s about taking little bits and pieces of all our influences and

combining them with our own unique spin/perspective.

PURPOSE & POINT OF VIEW

You will be evaluated on your ability to slowly reveal a subtle and nuanced point of view/perspective from

the first line of your essay to the last:

- Your essay should display a compelling progression of imagery and observations from

start to finish that reveals a subtle new perspective on a theme/conflict/question

about the human condition.

- The essay should demonstrate at least two or three subtle turns/shifts (i.e. little

moments where something new is revealed and/or there is a change in the length of

sentences, paragraphs, or sections; a shift in the imagery, tone, topic, etc.).

- However, the objective or your essay is not to develop a riddle or story problem for

the reader to solve (we are not trying to trick the reader or get the reader to

guess the true meaning; we are trying to explore an idea and recreate a shared

experience--a shared understanding--through imagery and observation).

ORGANIZATION & PROGRESSION

Do we have a compelling progression of scenes, details, anecdotes, and observations, questions, reflections

from start to finish that makes the reader want to simultaneously slow down and focus on the details while

also being pulled to the next line to see where you are taking them?

- Do we have at least two or three subtle turns/twists/shifts/jumps/”flashes” (i.e.

little “a ha”/”oh!?” moments--little mental/emotional “pings”--where something new

is subtly revealed that rewards a close reading)?

- Do we arrange every line, paragraph, or section in a way that slowly and subtly

reveals new meaning--the way living every moment of our lives reveals meaning? (i.e.

there are always clear and vivid experiences to live through, but we may not always

have the foresight, hindsight, or perspective to be able to know what

details/experiences will be important in the end?)

DEVELOPMENT & LANGUAGE

Are we getting out of our own way and letting our subconscious/lizard brain do the talking? (i.e. if the

image/detail/experience is compelling enough for you to remember, why not let the image/detail/

experience speak for itself; especially when we are writing about “flashes” of memories/experiences where

our subconscious is quite often a much better editor than that nagging little voice in our head telling us our

eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin are not good enough?)

MWP 2. CNF 3

- Are we letting our images/scenes/anecdotes become metaphors on their own? (i.e.

instead of explicitly comparing your “love” to a “summer’s day,” write about a day

in early June at the beach with you and your “love” lying face down on matching

“Gus” beach towels and reciting lines from Game of Thrones to each other with an

occasional breeze that blows the gnats away?).

- Are we creating a compelling “shared experience” with the reader? (i.e. are we

weaving together layers of vivid and nuanced memories/scenes/ observations that

allow the reader to go along for the “magic carpet” ride with you, instead of you

summing things up and telling us how you feel/felt about these things; are we

telling “jokes” that make the reader “laugh” or are we “explaining why the joke was

funny”?).

- Are we focused on concision & “density” of our language without “trying too hard,”

“piling on,” or “laying it on too thick”?

- Are we relying heavily on vivid nouns and verbs? (i.e. “vivid humans” doing “vivid

things” in “vivid places”; e.g. replace “ran quickly” with “sprinted” or replace “I

cried hard” with “I bawled”).

- Are we avoiding adjectives or adverbs that do not add compelling concrete sensory

details (especially intensifiers such as very, little, really, etc.)?

- Are we avoiding abstract and subjective modifiers such as beautiful, ugly, boring,

annoying, comfortable, good, bad, horrible, awesome, magnificent, etc.

- Are we avoiding abstract and subjective descriptions of emotions happy, sad, angry,

annoyed, confused, depressed, heartbroken, traumatized, etc.

- Are we writing lines that read well on the page and off the page? (i.e. are we

applying what we learned about the “music of the line” to our sentences and

paragraphs)?

FORMATTING & STYLE

Are you using the structure and style of the selected model essays to structure and style your own essays?

- Look at how the essay begins and ends.

- Look at how the paragraphs/sections within the essay begin and end.

- Look at how the author slows down in some moments and speeds up in others.

- Look at how much information is conveyed in each essay (versus what information is

left out).

- Look at when, where, and how the author reveals new/unexpected details about the

backstory of the author and other characters.

- Look at when, where, and how the author shifts subjects, changes pace, or shifts

tone.