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CREATIVE

NONFICTION
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
G L A I Z A M A E G . PA L M E R O
OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify dominant literary conventions of fiction and drama
namely, character, plot, setting, and theme.
2. Compare and contrast how the conventions of fiction and drama
are used and utilized
3. Analyze and interpret the themes and techniques used in a
particular text
4. Peer-edit each other’s draft based on the clarity of idea, and choice
and use of elements
5. Revise written piece using literary conventions of fiction and
drama.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONVENTIONS OF FICTION AND
DRAMA
Exploratory Activity:
A MOVIE OR STORY IN MY MIND
Try to remember a book, s story, a play, or a film that you have read or seen that has had the most
impact on you. It may be something that you have recently read or seen, or something that you
have read or seen in a long time but you simply could not forget. Fill in the blanks with the
necessary details.

1. Title of the book/ story/ play/ film: _______________________.


2. What is the story about? ______________________________.
3. Who are the important characters in the story? Give a brief description of each character?
a. Character 1: ___________ Character 2 :___________
Description: _______ Description:_______
4. Where did the story take place? __________________
UNDERSTANDING THE CONVENTIONS OF FICTION AND
DRAMA
Explaining Key Concepts
FICTION: a series of imagined facts which illustrates truths about human life.
: it is commonly called “stories,” and can either be short or rather long.
DRAMA: also uses the traditional conventions of fiction but has an additional
distinctive characteristics of being performed and mounted on stage.
ELEMENTS OF FICTION AND DRAMA
PLOT- the sequence of events happening in a story.
SETTING-the place and time where and when an event happens
CHARACTERS-the person who inhabit a story.
THEME-the central idea, or thesis, or overall message that the story conveys.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONVENTIONS OF FICTION AND
DRAMA

Simply put, in all stories great and small, there


are people (characters) in a place (setting)
dealing with a problem or conflict (plot) that
leads to a new understanding about life (theme).
These elements are utilized both in fiction and
drama.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND
DEVICES BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
1. Fiction is generally classified as a short story or novel. A
short story is a brief artistic prose form that centers on a
single main event and intends to produce a single dominant
impression. A novel is an extensive prose narrative that
contains chapter and interludes.
Plays (drama) however, are generally classified into acts or
major divisions. The most common are one-act play, which has
one unit of time, one unit of place, and one unit of action play;
and three-act play, which showcases a longer exposition of the
theme and conflict.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND
DEVICES BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
2. All stories must have a point of view. The point of view is the vantage
or the angle from which the readers can see how the story unfolds. It can
be told from the perspective of the narrator, a main character, or an
observer. It can also come from an omniscient (all-knowing) being.
Drama also employs point of view but is not apparent and evident in
a play. What is visible is the interplay of dialogue between and among
the characters. This is the component that moves the action of the play.
A dialogue is what the viewers see and hear in a performance and these
are the words uttered by the characters in the dramatic play.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND
DEVICES BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
3. The development of plot in both fiction and drama has a pattern.
Generally, it contains the following:
EXPOSITION: introduces the character and dramatic situation of the story
or play.
RISING ACTION: introduces the conflict of the story or play.
CLIMAX: introduces the central moment of crisis that defines the conflict.
FALLING ACTION: introduces the aftermath of conflict (whether it was
resolved or not)
RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT: introduces the moment of insight,
discovery, or revelation of the character after the falling action.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND
DEVICES BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
In other more popular and modern types of fiction and drama, the
development of plot is simply divided into three general parts: the
beginning, the middle, and the end.
NARRATIVE DEVICES
1. FORESHADOWING is used in fiction and drama as a guide or hint
at what is to happen next in the story.
2. IRONY is also used both in fiction and drama when words that are
uttered, either by the author or the characters in the story, are the
opposites of what they actually mean. The intention here is to present
a difference between what is imagined will happen and what actually
happens.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND
DEVICES BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
3. FLASHBACK is employed by an author or playwright through the use of a
past event that will help the readers understand the present. This is generally
utilized to achieve dramatic effect or impact on the readers and audiences.
4. CONFLICT is both present in fiction and drama. It provides and
showcases the opposing objectives of the protagonist and the antagonist, or
inside the protagonist.
5. The use of DEUS EX MACHINA in both fiction and drama was once a
noble strategy. Today, it is a sign of weakness in the written work. Once
referring to the Greek practice of physically lowering a “god” to the stage at
the end of the play to solve all the problems, today it refers to a contrived
element in the plot used to solve a problem.
SALIENT FORMS OF FICTION
Fictional works can be determined based on the following features
enumerated here under.
1. Fiction is heavily drawn from one’s imagination.
2. It depicts the world and an experience that can be perceived to be
mainly contrived or created by the writer.
3. It involves people who do not truly exist. However, the literary
characters can be observed to be entirely real.
4. It recounts and describes circumstances when there is crisis.
5. It presents situations, conditions, and surroundings that are closely
similar to what is real.
SALIENT FORMS OF FICTION
Fictional works can be determined based on the following
features enumerated here under.
6. It presents human life by considering the world of
objective reality through the actions and experiences of man
and the world of subjective reality which centers on
comprehension and apprehension of man.
7. Fiction includes two important composites-characters and
plot; that should go in harmony and unity.
BASIC FORMS OF FICTION
Forms of fiction have similar conventions regarding the elements that
comprise it. However, they differ regarding the length and complexity.

1. Flash Fiction- an emerging form of fiction that is


best remembered because of its relative shortness.
Words used by the writer range from 100-150 but
still considered a complete story since the essential
elements of fiction can be observed.
Exact Change
He's not normal. He wears sweaters in summer, t-shirts in the briskness of fall. He always
wears white, as if he's some fallen angel averse to colors. Maybe he's just trying to disappear, to
not stand out.
He waits in line at the coffee shop for a single small black coffee. He comes in every
morning, makes the same order, counts out exact change. By now Kelly doesn't even tell him the
amount; he has it memorized, has his nickels and dimes and quarters and pennies ready for her
by the time she places the Styrofoam cup on the counter in front of him.
Today, though, he does something different: he smiles at her. He's never done that before,
never said a word beyond his request for coffee and his simple thank you. He smiles, looking at
her name tag, and says her name with his thanks. "I'm Will," he adds. "See you tomorrow."
The other server grimaces at Kelly as they stand at the cappuccino machine. "Creepy; he's
using your name now. Next thing you know he'll be bringing you flowers and telling people
you're his girlfriend."
She says nothing; she's not sure she'd mind.
Short Story/Short Fiction
- This form relatively can be done in one setting since it deals with a
single complication and limited in number of characters.
Novella
-This fiction form goes between a short fiction and a novel. This is
relatively long for a short story but is somewhat short to be classified as a
novel. Nick Joaquin’s “The Woman Who Had Two Navels” is one work of
fiction that best fits this type.
Novel
- This greatly convers several plot complications since it is composed of
several chapters. The number of characters is relatively bigger.
Analyze the statements hereunder and determine the veracity of each. Write ACCEPT
if the statement is true and REJECT if it tells otherwise.
1. Short stories, novellas, and novels are the best examples of
fictional works.
2. Fiction is any work that is drawn from the imaginative
reconstruction and creative recreation of life by the writer.
3. The elements of a short story and a novel differ since the latter
is more complex.
4. Traditional stories circulated through oral lore for centuries
5. Myths and legends are the first stories enjoyed by our
forebears.
Analyze the statements hereunder and determine the veracity of each. Write ACCEPT
if the statement is true and REJECT if it tells otherwise.
6. Length and complexity are the features that make short story,
and novel differs from each other.
7. The linear pattern for plot begins in the middle portion of the
action.
8. The villain is the character who mainly faces and revolves the
major conflicts in the story.
9. Denouement introduces the characters, the setting, and the
context of the story.
10. The point of view pertains to who narrates the story.
Task 3. ALL I KNOW
1. Assume that you are tasked to discuss the nature
of fiction to someone who seems interested to
learn about it. What would you give as definitions
or explanations? Note your definitions below.
2. Think of one memorable story that you have read
and watched. Tell something about it and cite
reasons why you like the story.
WRITING TIPS

Story writing begins with a question: What can I create out of this
image, this memory, or this feeling?
– The image of a river littered with plastic and empty tin cans can
grow into a story about protecting the environment.
– The memory of a former schoolmate can evolve into a story about
losing a friend.
– The feeling of gratitude can result in a story about parents
This images, memories, and feelings could be good starting points for
telling the stories you will write about, and they could spark ideas for
your story line or plot.
Excerpt from TUNGKUNG LANGIT and ALUNSINA

One day, Tungkung Langit told his wife that he would be


away from home for some time to put an end to the chaotic
disturbance in the flow of time and in the position of things.
However, despite this purpose, Alunsina sent the breeze to spy on
Tungkung Langit. This made the latter very angry upon knowing
about it.
Immediately after his return from the trip, he called his act to
her attention, saying it was ungodly of her to be jealous, there
being no other creature living in the world except the two of
them. This reproach was resented by Alunsina and a quarrel
between them followed.
Rewrite the excerpt by using dialogue. Tungkung Langit:____________
Imagine what Tungkung Langit would be Alunsina:_________________
saying to Alunsina, and how Alunsina
Tungkung Langit:____________
would respond to Tungkung Langit’s
accusations. Visualize the quarrel scene of Alunsina:__________________
the two gods and write imaginary dialogue Tungkung Langit:____________
below. Alunsina:__________________
Narrative detail:
______________________________ *Present your drama in the class.
Tungkung Langit:_________________ Criteria Score
Alunsina:_______________________ Content 10 pts.
Tungkung Langit:__________________ Presentation 10 pts.
Alunsina:________________________ Mastery/Acting Prowess 10 pts
Tungkung Langit:___________________ TOTAL 30 pts
Alunsina:_________________________
MIND CHALLENGE
FEATURES SHORT STORY NOVEL BOTH

1. Relatively economical and practical


2. Highlights a single moment of crisis
3. Involves numerous complications
4. the source of cultural information and idea
5. Includes numerous characters
6. has many flashbacks
7. reveal significant truths about life
8. change in point-of-view
9. Composed of sentences and paragraph
10. Unified mood and tone
THINKING OUT LOUD

Reflect on the following questions:


1. What factors do you think make fictional work interesting to
read?
2. How will you compare and contrast a short story and a novel?
3. Why are the elements of fiction necessary to be studied and
analyzed?
4. Why does a theme of a story need to be emphasized? What
does it provide to the reader?
5. What important piece of knowledge did you discover and
learn in this lesson?
POEM
Jose Garcia Villa

The meaning of poem is not the meaning of words


The meaning of poem is a symbol like the breathless of birds.
A poem cannot be repeated or paraphrase
A poem is not a thought but grace.
A poem has no meaning but loveliness.
A poem has no purpose but to caress.
UNDERSTANDING THE GENRE OF POETRY
The language of poetry is quite different from the language of prose (fiction or
drama). Poetry uses a more intensified, focused, and intricate language than prose.
Because we now live in modern society that prefers prose, we might find reading poetry
a sort of challenge. You must remember though that in ancient times and periods,poetry
was the language of the people. So poetry developed way before prose did.
Poetry is always characterized according to the following:
1. Poetry attempts to achieve beauty.
2. Poetry is imaginative, or makes us of the strength of imagination.
3. Poetry is musical, melodic, and rhythmical.
4. Poetry makes use of language that is metaphorical or symbolic, not direct.
5. Poetry is more concentrated than prose.
6. Poetry makes uses of brevity and conciseness.
MAJOR CATEGORIES OF POETRY
Narrative Poems tell stories. They may be short and simple. Others
are long and complex. Epics like Iliad, ballads like Lord Randall, and prose like the
metrical romance of King Arthur fall under this category.

Dramatic Poems employ dramatic form or elements of dramatic techniques


such as dialogue or characters, instead of just a single speaker or persona. Eliot’s The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock is a typical example of this.

Lyric Poems are brief in structure and subjective in expressing the thoughts
and emotions of the persona, the speaker of the poem. Originally written to be sung to
the accompaniment of a lyre (hence, the term), the words in these poems could be
lyrics which are strongly melodic. Songs, sonnets, haikus, odes and pastoral poems are
examples of this.
UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS AND CONVENTIONS OF POETRY
1. Imagery. The use of images is constant in poetry. It is the literal representation of an experience
or object that is perceived through the senses. It is presented in language in a way that we can see,
smell, hear, taste, touch, or feel it as our imagination allows.

2. Figurative language. Figures of speech are devices that help beautify or make the language
more poetic than is already is. The most commonly used figures of speech are simile, metaphor,
personification, and onomatopoeia.

3. Sound. Poetry is as much an oral as it is a visual form; therefore, it is meant to be recited and
read aloud. Poetry dates back to the ancient times when chants were ritualized. The epics of Homer
and ballads of the medieval period were either performed or sung. Today, poets give poetry readings
and even make recordings of their work. As a result, a poem should be read aloud to reveal its true
merit. The rhyme scheme and the meter that a poem employs add to the sound of the poem.

4. Persona. The speaker of the poem is not necessarily the poet. In many cases, poets create a
persona ( a word that comes from Latin which means “mask”) who speaks the poem in the first
person. Since a poem does not have characters, it is the persona and his or her perspective where we
are able to perceive his or her experience.
WRITING TIPS
Helpful tips in POETRY writing
– Think of a certain vivid experience or memory or feeling from you past. And
then relate this to a particular image that you can use. For example, a marble
can be a perfect image of the games you played while you were young. This
could serve as a starting point for a poem.
– Use specific sensory details. Remember, poems are made to be visualized, and
felt, and heard, and smelled. Use words that appeal to the senses.
– Read some of the lines that you have written aloud. You know it is good if is
sounds effective.
– Make sure that each word in the poem has its use. Poems, generally, are not
long. Make sure that all the words that you employed count and contribute to
the general impression of the poem.
WRITING EXERCISE
1. Write a four-line-stanza poem using this title, I Am. In this short poem,
write about your thoughts about yourself-your character, fears, and
virtues. You can also write about your dreams and aspirations.

2. Please observe the following:


a) Clear use of imagery and figurative language
b) Well-developed and creatively presented idea
c) The use of the persona that reflects the poem’s intent
d) Effective sounds when read aloud
e) Basic rules of spelling and grammar.
PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND DEVICES OF
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Creative Nonfiction (CNF) is a literary genre that is fast becoming popular
among writers today. In the past, writers had published books of poetry or fiction or
drama/plays before they ventured into the realm of creative nonfiction. For
example, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the greatest Latin American writers, had
written a number of critically-acclaimed novels such as One Hundred Years Of
Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera and many other works of fiction
including short story collections before he wrote his memoir, Living to Tell the
Tale.
Materials for creative nonfiction are readily available since they come from the
writer’s real life experiences, as in the case of the memoir and travel essays; or they
may come in the form of observations or comments of the writer about people,
places, events; or ideas such as the case of food writing, sports narrative, personal
essays, and biography. In other words, it is the most personal of the literary genres.
PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND DEVICES OF
CREATIVE NONFICTION

Creative nonfiction emphasizes creative elements,


particularly fictional elements of the piece even
though the goal of the writer is to tell the truth as it is,
to relate events as they happen, and describe people as
they appear and act.
Creative nonfiction is the “artistic” way of relating
factual events to the reader..
PLOT
Looking Back and Moving Forward
Trace some of the most memorable events in your life and try charting
your future by providing the personal information below:
Three Most Memorable Impact/ Contribution in
Events in My Life Date People Involved My Life

1.

2.

3.
PLOT
Looking Back and Moving Forward

Three People Whose Life How These People Changed


Stories Inspired Me the Most Reason My Life

1.

2.

3.
PLOT
Looking Back and Moving Forward

Three Immediate Plans/ Goals I


Steps to Take to Achieve Them Time Frame
Have for the Near Future

1.

2.

3.
EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS
PLOT- sequence of events that has a beginning, middle, and an end.
- a pattern of actions, events, and situations showing the development
of the narrative.
PLOT in Creative Nonfiction
- based on actual people, experiences, and events as they actually
happened while in fiction, the characters are a product of the fictionist’s
creative imagination or based on real experiences and events or on real
people who inhabit a fictional world created by the fiction writer.
EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS
Peter P. Jacobi
- author, The Magazine Article: How to Think It, Plan it, Write It
(Blooming.Indiana University Press as cited by Hidalgo, p.19), material for
essays can come “From walking. From talking. From listening. From
Observing. From doing. From believing. From disagreeing. From dreaming.
From scheming. From asking. From having an open mind.”
Alfred Q. Gonzales
- author, The Bamboo Flower, says that as a writer, you may discover a
lasting universal interest and significance in common people and common life.
(1947, 5-6). But you should not limit yourself to only these; you can explore
other subjects and topics and reach out to the rest of the world once you are
ready.
HOW TO BEGIN
The Title
– Catchy and clever titles have an advantage. Examples:
Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Wild Man of the Green
Swamp and Edward Hoagland’s The Courage of Turtles are
examples of catchy titles.
• Titles which are too long are at a disadvantage. Titles
should not also be misleading.
– Titles should give the reader a quick idea of what to expect,
without giving away the whole story (Hidalgo, 56-57)
THE FIRST PARAGRAPH
According to Hidalgo, the key to good creative nonfiction is
dramatic writing. And the key to dramatic writing is action.
There are many ways of beginning with a passage of vivid
description, with a quotation, with a bit of dialogue, with a
list, with a little scene, with an anecdote, with a question, with
a striking statement, with a reference to a current event which
serves as context, or with what in fiction is called in medias
res- a plunge right into the middle of action.
EXAMPLES
Passage of Vivid Description
For eight months in 1975, residents of the edge of Green Swamp,
Florida, had been reporting to the police that they had seen a Wild man.
When they stepped toward him, he made strange noises as in a foreign
language and ran back into the saw grass. At first, authorities said the
Wild man was a mass hallucination. Man-eating animals lived in swamp,
and human being could hardly find a place to rest without sinking.
Perhaps it was some kind of a bear the children had seen.

“ The Wild Man of the Green Swamp,” Maxine Hong Kingstone


QUOTATION
“ Thou shall not be dirty” and “Thou shall not be impudent”
were the two commandments of Grandmother Henderson upon
which hang our total salvation. Each night in the bitterest
winter we were forced to wash faces, arms, necks, legs and feet
before going to bed. She used to add, with a smirk that
unprofane people can’t control when venturing into profanity,
“and wash as far as possible, then wash possible.”

“Grandmother’s Victory,” Maya Angelou


LIST
“ Keeps his mon-in—law in chains, meet Kills son and feeds
corpse to pigs.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Teenager twists off corpse’s head… to get gold teeth meet
Strangles girlfriend, then chops her to pieces.”
“How you doing?”
“Nurse’s aide sees fingers chopped off in meat grinder, meet I
left my babies in the deep freeze.”
“It’s a pleasure.”
“Pornoviolence,” Tom Wolfe
DIALOGUE
“Kuya, favor. Can you help me edit these personal statements for my
applications? Think of it as your birthday gift to me.”
“I’m not an editor. I’m a writer.”
“You are a bum. And you fart too much.”
“29 eh? Nice. Saturn Returns.”
“Huh?”
“ The Saturn Return? See, Saturn takes about 29 years or do to complete one
orbit, so on your 29th year, Saturn will have returned to the exact same spot it
occupied when you were born.”
“And?”
“They say it’s a time of great upheaval in one’s life‒a right of passage of
sorts. If you fail, the consequences will haunt you in full force by the time
it returns again, when you’re 59 or 60.
DIALOGUE
“Kuya, favor. Can you help me edit these personal statements for my
applications? Think of it as your birthday gift to me.”
“I’m not an editor. I’m a writer.”
“You are a bum. And you fart too much.”
“29 eh? Nice. Saturn Returns.”
“Huh?”
“ The Saturn Return? See, Saturn takes about 29 years or do to complete one
orbit, so on your 29th year, Saturn will have returned to the exact same spot it
occupied when you were born.”
“And?”
“They say it’s a time of great upheaval in one’s life‒a right of passage of
sorts. If you fail, the consequences will haunt you in full force by the time
it returns again, when you’re 59 or 60. If you make a grade, then it
DIALOGUE
Becomes our path to wisdom in old age. You know in Van Gogh decided to be a painter
instead of a minister when he turned 30?”
“Yeah, then he chopped his ears off before killing himself.”
“That’s beside the point.”
“So, will you look at the statements? Sige na, I’ll buy you all those records when I get
there…”
“You know you lose 1 (one) db for every ten feet of wire?”
“Are you high or something?”
“Doctors earn a pretty decent living here.”
“My dear brother, you are a moron. It has never been about money. The only thing
your Saturn is asking is when should I give that letter to Mama and Papa…you know
the letter we always talked about? Maybe it’s time. I’m thinking. I should give it before
the wedding. What do you think?”
“Track 7 Saturn Return” from Analogue Souls, Doy Petralba
LITTLE SCENE
One summer, along about 1904, my father rented a
camp on a lake in Maine and took us all there for the
month of August. We all got ringworm from some kittens
and had to rub Pond’s Extract on our arms and legs
night and morning, and my father rolled over in a canoe
with all his clothes on; but outside of that the vacation
was a success and from then on none of us ever thought
there was any place in the world like that lake in Maine.
ANECDOTE
Perhaps my first formed sentence, my first whole memory was “Ewan
ko ba kung bakit type kita. Hindi ka naman guapo.” It came from a
woman’s voice from a transistor radio on a damp, idle afternoon. My
mother was washing clothes and I was sitting for the matinee shows on
TV. It was also my first wishful thought. I wanted the women in my life to
ignore my face and my frame, and like me for my mind.
Years later,I stirred and swooned as Dina Bonnevie soared through
her false notes into the desperate chorus of “Bakit Ba Ganyan?” I would
add my voice to Dina’s, in a duet that never hit the charts but gained
heavy airplay. Even before the song faded out I would scan the airwaves
and catch it again in fifteen seconds flat: the song was that popular.
“Popstream,” Sarge Lacuesta
QUESTION
I spy on my patients. Ought not a doctor to observe his patients by any
means and from any stance, that he might the more fully assemble
evidence?
“The Discus Thrower,” Richard Selzer

Striking Statement
I was saved form sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.
“Salvation,” Langston Hughes
Reference to a current event which serves as context on the
action
Reference to a current event which serves as context on the
action

January 26 seemed explosive enough-but it was a whimper


compared with the horrendous bang of January 30. The papers
called January 26 a riot. January 30 was something else. “This
is no longer a riot,” said a police officer. “This is an
insurrection.” And the President called it a revolt-” a revolt by
local Maoist Communists.”
HOW TO END
– It is expected that the ending of a creative nonfiction piece is the logical
conclusion of the flow of your narrative or of the development of your
ideas.
– You must constantly bear in mind that the reader should be left with a
sense of completion
– But a satisfying ending does not mean that you need to answer or resolve
the issues that you raised in the essay. You may even wish to end by
suggesting new problems or asking other questions (Hidalgo,109).
– In Richard Wright’s essay “My First Lesson in How to Live as a Negro,”
the ending provides the reader a clear idea about the harsh reality the
writer has learned about being black. It is a perfect ending for an essay
about fighting with white boys and how it could lead to death.
HOW TO END AN ESSAY
Another example is May Sarton’s essay “The Rewards of Living a Solitary
Life” which tells us how most of people experience emptiness when they
are alone. The essay explains how loneliness could be more felt when one is
tired being with people.
I am lonely when I am overtired, when I have worked too long without a
break, when for the time being I feel empty and need filling up. And I am
lonely sometimes when I come back home after a lecture trip, when I have
seen a lot of people and talked a lot, and am full to the brim with experience
that needs to be sorted out.
And Sarton’s essay ends beautifully by telling the reader that it is only in
solitariness, when we are alone, that we are able to see life’s gifts:
HOW TO END AN ESSAY

Then for a little while the house feels huge and empty, and I wonder where
my self is hiding. It has to be recaptured slowly by watering the plants,
perhaps, and looking again at each one as though it were a person, by
feeding the two cats, by cooking a meal.
It takes a while, as I watch the surf blowing up in fountains at the end of
the field, but the moment comes when the world falls away, and the self
emerges again from the deep unconscious, bringing back all I have recently
experienced to be explored and slowly understood, when I can converse
again with my hidden powers, and so grow, and so be renewed, till death
do us part.
WRITING TIPS
As a young writer, you are aware what people your age would love to read.
Subjects such as movies, music, young adult literature, television programs, sports,
school activities or even more personal topics like love, friendship, significant
occasions, or being a teenager maybe interesting to them. The best thing to do is
to determine whether your topic is interesting or not. . You can probably ask the
opinion of your friends and teachers. In her book Creative Nonfiction: A Manual
for Filipino Writers, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo writes:
An important thing to remember is: no matter how great your way with
words, or how engaging the personality you project, the bottom line is:
how much do you know about your subject? Before you begin gathering
your information, consider what kind of information you need, where is
the best place to get it. Your investigation will tell you what work has
already been done on your subject. This is very important (p. 21).
LESSON 2:
CHARACTERS OR
CHARACTERIZATION
LESSON 2: CHARACTERS OR CHARACTERIZATION
• Character, usually an imagined person who inhibits the
story, is an important element in fiction; but a character,
may also be based on real people.
• Character is an important element in creative nonfiction
as well which may refer to real people or the writer
himself.
• Dialogue or the actual conversation the writer has
remembered or recorded is an effective device for
revealing characters.
LESSON 2: CHARACTERS OR CHARACTERIZATION

• What characters say or how characters express


themselves provides readers ideas of the kind of
people they are- careful, temperamental, cautious,
dismissive, rude, straightforward, evasive, defiant,
etc.
• Revealing characters can be done through a
dialogue, monologue-along a speech of one person
in a conversation.
DIRECT DESCRIPTION
There are photographs of him. The largest is an officer in the
1914-1918 war. A new uniform-buttoned, badged, strapped,
tabbed-confines a handsome, dark young man who holds
himself stiffly to confront what he certainly thought of as his
duty. His eyes are steady serious, and responsible, and show no
signs of what he became later. A photograph at sixteen is of a
dark, introspective youth with the same intent eyes. But it is his
mouth you notice-a heavily jutting upper lip contradicts the rest
of the regular face. His moustache was to hide it; “Had to do
something-a damned fleshly mouth. Always made me
uncomfortable, that mouth of mine.”
ACTION AND REACTION
Action
I watched the train conductor appear at the head of the car. “Tickets, all tickets, please!”
In a more virile age, I thought, the passengers would seize the conductor and strap him
down on a seat over the radiator to share the fate of his patrons. He shuffled down the aisle,
picking up tickets, punching commutation cards. No one addressed a word to him. He
approached my seat, and I drew a deep breath of resolution. “ Conductor,” I began with a
considerable edge to my voice... Instantly the doleful eyes of my seatmate turned tiredly
from his newspaper to fix me with a resentful stare: what question could be so important as
to justify my sibilant intrusion into his stupor? I was shaken by those eyes. I am incapable of
making a discreet fuss, so I mumbled a question about what time we were due to Stanford (I
didn’t even ask whether it would be before or after dehydration could be expected to set in),
got my reply, and went back to my newspaper to wiping my brow.
The conductor had nonchalantly walked down the gauntlet of eighty sweating American
freemen, and not one of them had asked him to explain why the passengers in that car had
been consigned to suffer.
ACTION AND REACTION
Reaction

I myself can occasionally summon the courage to complain, but I


cannot, as I have intimidated, complain softly. My own instinct is so
strong to let the thing ride, to forget about it-to expect that someone will
take the matter up, when the grievance is collective, in my behalf-that is it
only when the provocation is a very special key, whose vibrations touch
simultaneously a complex of nerves, allergies, and passions, that I catch
fire and the reserves of courage and assertiveness to speak up. When that
happens, I get carried away. My blood gets hot, my brow wet. I become
unbearably and unconscionably sarcastic and bellicose; I am girded for a
total showdown.
“Why Don’t We Complain,” William F. Buckley, Jr.
OTHER CHARACTER’S OPINION
My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw
a light, and something happen to you inside! And
Jesus came into your life! And God was with you
from then on! She said you could see and hear and
feel Jesus in your soul.

“Salvation,” Langston Hughes


DIALOGUE
FOCUSING ON CHARACTER’S DISTINCT OR IDIOSYNCRATIC
BEHAVIOR
WRITING TIPS
Always remember that in creative nonfiction you are describing a
real person and not a character that is a product of your imagination.
Physical description and the person’s background must be accurate. It
is important that you pay particular attention to the minutest detail. The
same rule applies when you describe yourself.
Whatever tone is evident in your essay-humorous, sarcastic, biting-
make sure that it does not take over the content or the narrative, which
happens when your concern, for instance, is only to make the piece
humorous just for the sake of making it so. As a writer, you must
remain faithful to the description of your subject. The tone that you
choose should help emphasize important details about your subject.
WRITING EXERCISE
As a group, choose your most desired profession.
Interview 10 people or more on who ideally embodies this
profession in their field. Formulate your own questions which
has something to do with the person’s sought after character,
their influence on others (people, workmates, youth, family
or community in general). Consolidate the responses of the
pople you have interviewed and write a character sketch (10-
15 sentences) about this person based on what you have
gathered. Illustrate the character in a ½ illustration board.
POINT OF VIEW
• Use a first person point of view if you are relating an event that you
yourself witnessed or experienced.
• The second person point of view may be used when you decide to
write a piece and you want to sound as if you are actually talking or
addressing another person, yourself where “you” is actually a writer,
or something abstract like love, peace or justice or a place or location
like the city, the nation, etc.
• The third person point of view may be used when you quote what a
real person has said which results in a ‘he said/she said’ type of
narrative or when you are describing someone in your creative
nonfiction piece.
ACTIVITY
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK
Interview any of the following: a staff of the school, a sports personality in the
school, an honor student, an officer of the student council, a member of the janitorial
staff or a writer. Ask that person what he/she thinks of the following:
• Family ties
• The work that he/she does
• The TV program and movies he/she watches and likes and why he/she likes them
• What love means to him/her
• What is her/his biggest dream
• The current state of the country
Then write an essay with 8 to 10 sentences about your subject. You may use any
point of view.
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
My Daily Itinerary
• What is the first thing you see the moment you open your door? How does your neighbors house
look like? Is it a bungalow? A two- or three-story structure? An apartment? Is there a sari-sari-
store? Are there people making purchases? Do they seem to be in a hurry?
• Is it a sunny or rainy day? Describe what you see. What do you feel exactly on this particular
day? Are you happy, listless, excited, sleepy, sad?
• On your way to school, do you notice anything about the houses in your neighborhood? Are they
similar to your own or do they have a different architecture?
• What other things do you see in your street? Is there someone selling ice cream or other food
items? Are there people who seem to be on their way to work? Do they wear uniforms? Are there
children or other students like you who are on their way to school? Is there a basketball court?
• As you
• reach the highway, if you’re taking the jeepney or bus, can you describe some of the passengers?
If you’re inside a car or school bus, can you describe the scenery?
• Now that you have arrived in school, can you describe the school’s façade? What do you think
about it? How does it feel entering the school grounds?
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Setting (Creative Writing) refers to the place and time where and
when events happen. In fiction, you can have a very realistic
setting like a city or other places that readers are familiar with
such as a crowded shopping mall, an old mansion, a dirty
classroom, a dark forest, etc. But as a fictionist, you can also
settings that are not of this world like those found in science
fiction, horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction. The creative
nonfiction writer has no recourse but to stick to the places that
actually exist and in places where events actually happened.
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Atmosphere or mood in creative nonfiction is the element that


evokes certain feelings or emotions. It is conveyed by the words
used to describe the setting or reflected by the way your subject
speaks or in any way he or she acts.
Revealing a CHARACTER is necessary when you are writing an
interview story, character sketch or profile and this is done by
describing the subject’s physical appearance but also when he or
she is in action.
CHRISTINA PANTOJA-HIDALGO
“ The most successful pieces of creative nonfiction are rich in details.
Bare facts are never enough. They need to be fleshed out; they need
to be humanized. But besides giving information, details serve other
purposes. Details should be accurate and informative first. And then
must be suggestive or evocative. The right details arouse emotions,
evoke memories, help to produce the right response in your reader.
Details are extremely important in evoking a sense of time and place.
It must evoke a period as well as location. Descriptive details are of
particular importance for travel writing, the point of which is, to
begin with, to literally transport the reader to the places to which the
traveler has been.”
I think I liked Kuala Lumpur best. Because it’s a curious combination of
Baguio, Davao, and Zamboanga. Because its curving lanes, its hills, its old
trees. It is a small city, too. Not a busy, brawling metropolis at all. And, of
course, it is Moslem and modern at the same time. Which seems to me an
incongruity, though I’m not sure why it should be.
There are mosques standing right beside skyscrapers, and women wearing
the traditional sarong along with Christian Dior dark glasses. Some of the
government offices are old colonial mansions, complete with sweeping
driveways beneath a canopy of drooping branches of gnarled trees, massive
wooden doors, and great chandeliers dripping crystal tears.
But there is a building boom. So pretty soon, K.L.’s skyline will be vastly
different. I only hope they don’t tear down all the nostalgic landmarks.
“ Letters to Rita” from Sojourns, Christina Pantoja-Hidalgo
WRITING TIPS
When you right creative nonfiction, always remember that:
• Your readers would like to see the exact place that you are describing in
your memoir or travel essay. Make sure that you take them “there” by
providing a clear description of the place.
• Taking your readers “there” means you make them see everything through
your eyes. You are guiding them through visual, auditory, old factory,
gustatory, tactile, and thermal imagery.
• Avoid making very general statements like “I was in Boracay to celebrate
Christmas. I had a great time. I met a lot of people. It was truly memorable
week indeed!” Provide details such as your first impressions of the place,
why you had a wonderful time, the people you met and how they made your
stay in Boracay more exciting and memorable, and you insights about the
trip.
WRITING EXERCISE

“How I Spent My Summer Vacation”


First Paragraph: Where did you spend your vacation last summer? Who were you
with? Where did you stay? Was it your first time to visit the place? What do you
think of the place? What were the places you visited?
Second Paragraph: What were the good things you remember about the vacation? Did
you dislike anything about the trip and the vacation? What were day?
Third Paragraph: If you were to relieve your summer vacation, what changes would
you make?
Last Paragraph: What is your dream summer vacation? Where do you want to go?
Who do you want to take with you in this dream vacation?
What activities do you want to engage in which you haven’t done yet in your
previous vacation? Do you think this possible? What do your parents think about it?
BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES
• Can be classified according to their length, scope and
amplitude into the full length biography, the profile, the
character sketch, and the interview story.
• Can be divided into the following: Popular biography, literary
biography, and the historical biography
• Etymology
– Bios-life
– Graphein- writing
Biography- narrative of a person’s life written by someone else
TYPES OF BIOGRAPHY
Full-length biography
- typically covers the entirety of the feature person’s existence,
covering all the significant events surrounding his/her life from womb to
tomb, usually includes a family tree and a chronology of milestones in its
appendices to further guide potential readers of the group.
Popular biography
- refers to the life story of a famous and/or successful person- a show
business personality, professional athlete, a business tycoon, a political
leader, a fashion celebrity, reigning monarch, or even a serial killer-which
is meant for popular or mass consumption.
TYPES OF BIOGRAPHY
Literary biography & Historical biography
- are not necessarily intended for popular or mass consumption, so they
need not cater to the common people’s fondness for gossip, rumor, and
hearsay.
Literary biography means a narrative of the life of a literary writer
written by another writer.
Historical biography can be defined as a narrative of the existence of a
historical figure written by another writer, usually a historian, who is
interested not only in the personal circumstances and historic events that
have shaped his/her subject but also on how his/her subject has shaped
history in return.
Profile recreates the subject, makes it come alive on paper,
gives the subject shape and meaning, causes us readers to meet and
know that subject, that city, that institution, that person. Shorter
than a full-length biography, a profile is a kind of biographical
narrative that normally concentrates on a single aspect of the
featured person’s life.
Character sketch is a form of biographical narrative that is
shorter than a profile. Like a visual sketch or a pen-and-ink
drawing., the character sketch can be described as a cameo or
miniature life story.
Interview story is a kind of biographical narrative the length of
a typical newspaper or magazine article.
ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF YOUR CHOICE
1. What type of full length biography tends to sensationalize the details of the life of its
subject?
a. Historical biography c. popular biography e. non of the above
b. Literary biography d. all of the above
2. Which of the following type of full length biography focuses on the life of its
subject as a writer?
c. Historical biography c. popular biography e. non of the above
d. Literary biography d. all of the above
3.Which of the following types of full length biography focuses on the
significance of its subject vis-à-vis events of national or international importance?
e. Historical biography c. popular biography e. none of the above
f. Literary biography d. all of the above
ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF YOUR CHOICE
4. Which of the following types of biographical narrative requires thorough
research?
a. Biography c. profile e. none of the above
b. character sketch d. all of the above
5. Which of the following type of biographical narrative requires some research?
c. Biography c. profile e. none of the above
d. character sketch d. all of the above
6. Which of the following types of biographical narrative is intermediary in terms
of length?
e. Biography c. profile e. none of the above
f. character sketch d. all of the above
ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF YOUR CHOICE
8. Which of the following types of biographical narrative is the shortest?
a. Biography c. profile e. none of the above
b. character sketch d. all of the above
9. Which of the following types of biographical narrative can be the product of
just one interview?
c. Interview story c. profile e. none of the above
d. character sketch d. all of the above
10. Which of the following type of biographical narrative can be described as a
cameo or miniature life story?
e. Biography c. profile e. none of the above
f. character sketch d. all of the above
WRITING TIPS
To come up with a successful interview story, you may do the following:
• Research on the person you intend to write about to familiarize yourself with his or
her background information.
• Based on your research, prepare ten interesting questions that are not answerable by
yes or no, to encourage a free-flowing conversation between you and your
interviewee.
• Conduct the interview in an organized manner to maximize the time you spend with
your subject.
• Take down notes for quick reference, even if you are recording the conversation.
• Take down notes for quick reference, even if you are recording the conversation.
• Review the information you have gathered through your research and the interview
you have recently conducted with your subject.
• Write your interview story.
WRITTEN ACTIVITY

In a one whole sheet of paper, narrate the


life story of one of your parents or their love
story. Remember details you think are most
significant-courtship and marriage.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MEMOIR, DIARY,
JOURNAL
There is a wide variety of autobiographical narratives, ranging “from the intimate
writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication
(including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal
autobiography.”
Autobiography is an account of one’s own life, generally a continuous narrative of
major events. It can also be defined as a biography of oneself narrated by oneself.
Although it has no prescribed pattern or structure, “there are roughly four different
kinds of autobiography: thematic, religious, intellectual, and fictionalized.” Shari
Benstock states that the autobiographical act is an attempt by the author “to recapture
the self” through consciousness , and that “this coming-to-knowledge of the self
constitutes both the desire that initiates the autobiographical act and the goal toward
which autobiography directs itself.” Autobiography in this sense, is the most self-
reflective form of creative writing.
MEMOIR
-a form of autobiographical writing dealing usually with the recollections
of one who has been part of or has witnessed significant events.
DIARIES
- A form of creative nonfiction that is quotidian or day-to-day record of the
specific events that have transpired in the life of its author and is ideally kept on
daily basis.
AND JOURNALS
- A form of autobiographical writing that is more generally more intimate
than a diary; and even if it includes daily activities, it also contains personal
details regarding the impressions and opinions of the journal writer
concerning certain intriguing incidents or issues that have come up and how
specific persons have affective him or her during the course of the day.
DIARY
Friday, November 24, 1967
So now I am twenty years old and three days to be exact. In a few months I’ll be graduating and
after that-who knows, maybe I’ll get married, although most probably I’ll be going to UCLA for my
M.A. in Communication Arts.
I had lunch with Yolee yesterday and she mentioned the fact that I have changed a lot since senior
high school. She said before I was so bubbly but with few friends; now I’m mysterious but friendly to
many.
I wonder if I have changed that much. When I was in high school, I was young and fresh and eager
about life. Life was so simple, so beautiful. Come to think of it, I hardly understand life then.
In U.P., I realized that I wasn’t really so special, that I was just like the other girls. Then I went to
Maryknoll College and there were all those boy problems-Bert, Greg, Lauren, and now Ben.
This Sunday, we will have our barrio fiesta and I’m going with Ben. Bert and I are just friends. I
told him he was taking me for granted.
What should I do to improve myself?
1. Be religious
DIARY
2.Be nice to people
3. Be nice to family
4. Improve physically.
What do I want in life? Most important is to love, to be myself, to help
people, to have a nice family of my own with a wonderful husband. I also
want to help my country. It’s sort of scary to make plans for the future
because plans never turn our the way one wants them to. Now I complain
about life but 20-30 years from now, I will know more about life, and boy,
I think I’ll be such a grouch then.
I know what I’ll do. I’ll take life in a stride-Cebuano style, worry only
about immediate problems, just day to day.
JOURNAL
October 11th
The joke is on me. I filled this weekend with friends so that I would not go down
into depression, not knowing that I should have turned the corner and be writing
poems. It is the climactic moment of autumn, but already I feel like Sleeping Beauty
as the carpet of leaves on the front lawn gets thicker and thicker. I avenue of beeches
as I drive up the winding road along the brook is a glorious beyond words, wall on
wall of transparent gold. Laure Armstrong came for roast beef Sunday dinner. Then I
went out for two hours late in the afternoon and put it a hundred tulips. In itself that
would not be a big job, but everywhere I have to clear space for them, weed, divide
perennials, rescue iris that is being choked by violets. I really get to weeding only in
spring and autumn, so I am working through a jungle now. Doing it feel strenuously
happy and at peace. At the end of the afternoon on a gray day, the light is sad and one
feels the chill, but the bitter smell of earth is a tonic.
JOURNAL
October 11th
I can hardly believe that relief from the anguish of these past months is here to stay,
but so far, it does feel like a true change of mood- or rather, a change of being where I
can stand alone. So much of my life here is precarious. I cannot always believe even in
my work. But I have come in these last days to feel again the validity of my struggle
here, that it is meaningful whether I ever “succeed” as a writer or not, and that even its
failures, failures of nerve, failures due to a difficult temperament, can be meaningful. It is
an age where more and more human beings are caught up in lives where fewer and fewer
inward decisions can be made, where fewer and fewer real choices exist. The fact that a
middle-aged, single woman, without any vestige of family left, lives in this house in a
silent village and its responsible only to her own soul means something. The fact that she
is a writer, and can tell where she is and what it is like in the pilgrimage inward can be of
comfort. It is comforting to know there are lighthouse keepers on rocky islands along the
coast. Sometimes, when I have been for a walk after dark and see my house lighted up,
looking so alive, I feel that my presence here is worth all the Hell.
JOURNAL
October 11th
I have to think. That is the great, the greatest luxury. I have time to be. Therefore my
responsibility is huge. To use time well and to be all that I can in whatever years are left to
me. This does not dismay. The dismay comes when I lose the sense of my life as
connected (as if by an aerial) to many, many other lives whom I do not even know and
cannot ever know. The signals go out and in all the time.
Why is it that poetry always seems to me so much more a true work of the soul than
prose? I never feel elated after writing a page of prose, though I have written good things
on concentrated will, and at least in a novel the imagination is fully engaged. Perhaps it is
that prose is earned and poetry given. Both can be revised almost indefinitely. I do not
mean to say that I do not work at poetry. When I am really inspired I can put a poem
through a hundred drafts and keep my excitement. But this sustained battle is possible
only when I am in a state of grace, when the deep channels are open, and when they, when
I am both profoundly stirred and balanced, then poetry comes as a gift from powers
beyond my will.
JOURNAL
October 11th

I have often imagined that if I were in solitary


confinement for an indefinite time and knew that no one
would ever read what I wrote, I would still write poetry,
but I would not write novels. Why? Perhaps because the
poem is primarily a dialogue with the self and the novel a
dialogue with others. They come from entirely different
modes of being. I suppose I have written novels to find
out what I thought about something and poems to find
out what I felt about something.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF
YOUR CHOICE.
1. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative
attempts to follow the full trajectory of the life of its subject “
in a dutiful line from birth to fame, omitting nothing?”
a. Autobiography b. journal c. memoir d. all of the
above e. none of the above.
2. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative is
fragmentary compared to a formal autobiography?
a. Diary b. journal c. memoir d. all of the above e.
none of the above.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF
YOUR CHOICE.

3.Which of the following types of autobiographical


narrative is supposed to be a quotidian or daily
account of what transpired in the life of its author?
a. Diary b. journal c. memoir d. all of the
above e. none of the above
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF
YOUR CHOICE.
4. Which of the following types of autobiographical
narrative is the most intimate, expressive, and confidential?
a. Diary b. journal c. memoir d. all of the above e.
none of the above
5. Which of the following types of autobiographical
narrative etymologically means “self+life+to write?”
a. Diary b. journal c. memoir d. all of the above e.
none of the above
A N SWER T HE FO L L OW ING QUES TI ONS . ENC IR C L E TH E L ETT ER O F Y O UR CH OI C E.

6. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative


etymologically means “memory or reminiscence?”
a. Autobiography b. diary c. memoir d. all of the above e.
none of the above
7. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative
usually deals with the “the recollections of one who has been
part of or has witnessed significant events?”
b. Autobiography b. diary c. memoir d. all of the above e.
none of the above
A N SWER T HE FO L L OW ING QUES TI ONS . ENC IR C L E TH E L ETT ER O F Y O UR CH OI C E.

8. Which of the following types of autobiographical


narrative in its rawest and unedited form seems to
be the most honest attempt of an author to capture
day-to-day reality as he or she perceives it to be.
a. Journal b. diary c. memoir d. all of the
above e. none of the above
A N SWER T HE FO L L OW ING QUES TI ONS . ENC IR C L E TH E L ETT ER O F Y O UR CH OI C E.

9. Which of the following types of


autobiographical narrative requires a good
memory on the part of the author for it to be
successfully written?
a. Autobiography b. journal c. memoir d.
all of the above e. none of the above
A N SWER T HE FO L L OW ING QUES TI ONS . ENC IR C L E TH E L ETT ER O F Y O UR CH OI C E.

10. Which of the following types of


autobiographical narrative can be roughly classified
into four types: thematic, religious, intellectual, and
factionalized?
a. Autobiography b. journal c. diary d. all of
the above e. none of the above
LITERARY, FAMILIAR, PERSONAL OR INFORMAL ESSAYS: LITERARY
REPORTAGE, DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY, AND REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Essay
- an analytic, interpretative, or critical literary composition usually much shorter
and less systematic and formal than a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its
subject from a limited and often personal point of view.
- derived from the French work essayer, which means to attempt or to try and its
primary meaning is still used in certain instances in English.
Two main categories
• the literary, personal, familiar or informal essay; and the non-literary, documented or
formal essay. The literary reportage, on the other hand, is a special kind of creative
nonfiction essay that has emerged in the West in conjunction with the rise of the so-
called New Journalism in the 1960s.
LITERARY, FAMILIAR, PERSONAL OR INFORMAL ESSAYS: LITERARY
REPORTAGE, DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY, AND REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Main Components
• Introduction- usually contains the thesis statement or the controlling
idea that the writer wants to share with his/her readers.
• Supporting paragraphs- or body of essay, offer pieces of evidence and
logical arguments that enhance the thesis statement.
• Transitional paragraphs- short paragraphs that indicate the divisions of
the essay, especially in essays that are quite substantial in length.
• Conclusion- provides a fitting ending to the essay, oftentimes by
restating the controlling idea or reflecting on the thesis statement.
LITERARY REPORTAGE
-is a form of creative nonfiction that presents verifiable data and well-
researched information, like a film or TV documentary. As a written
genre, it is a hybrid between responsible journalism and imaginative
literature. On the other, literary reportage shares with responsible
journalism in the way it pays close attention to sociocultural reality, past
events and current affairs. Responsible journalism attempts to analyze the
collected data accurately by contextualizing its facts and figures such as
historical antecedents and causation, presenting readers with discerningly
processed information for a more enlightened interpretation of world
affairs.
LITERARY REPORTAGE

-also known as literary journalism and new


journalism, literary reportage, according to Tom
Wolfe is a combination of in-depth reporting
and literary ambition, and that new journalists
“wanted to make the nonfiction story shimmer
‘like a novel’ with the pleasures of detailed
realism.”
A CARAVAN OF TRUNKS
All night these tens of thousands fled before the flames. Many of them, the poor people from
the labor ghetto, had fled all day as well. They had left their homes burdened with possessions.
Now and again they lightened up, flinging out upon the street clothing and treasures they had
dragged for miles.
They held on longest to their trunks, and over theses trunks many a strong man broke his heart
that night. The hills of San Francisco are steep, and up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks
dragged. Everywhere were trunks with across them lying their exhausted owners, men and
women. Before the march of the flames were flung picket lines of soldiers. And a block at time, as
the flames advanced, these pickets retreated. One of their task was to keep the trunk pullers
moving. The exhausted creatures, stirred on by the menace of bayonets, would rise and struggle
up the steep pavements, pausing for weakness every five or ten feet.
Often, after surmounting a heartbreaking hill, they would find another wall of flame advancing
upon them at right angles and be compelled to change anew the line of their retreat. In the end,
completely played out, after toiling for a dozen hours like giants, thousands of them were
compelled to abandon their trunks. Here the shopkeepers and soft members of the middle class
were at a disadvantage. But the working-men dug holes in vacant lots and backyards and buried
their trunks.
THE DOOMED CITY

At nine o’clock Wednesday evening I walked down through the very heart of the
city. I walked through miles and miles of magnificent buildings and towering
skyscrapers. Here was no fire. All was in perfect order. The police patrolled the streets.
Every building had its watchman at the door. And yet it was doomed, all of it. There
was no water. The dynamite was giving out. And at right angles two different
conflagrations were sweeping down upon it.
At one o’clock in the morning I walked down through the same section. Everything
still stood intact. There was no fire. And yet there was a change. A rain of ashes was
falling. The watchmen at the doors were gone. The police had been absolutely
abandoned. I stood at the corner of Kearney and Market, in the very innermost heart of
San Francisco. Kearny Street was deserted. Half a dozen blocks away it was burning
on both sides. The street was a wall of flame. And against calmly watching. That was
all. Not another person was in sight. In the intact heart of the city two troopers sat their
horses and watched.
1 whole sheet of paper
Compose a personal or informal essay (five to seven
paragraphs) that describes your home town or home. If you
write about your home town, you may start by describing its
downtown area before proceeding to describe its suburbs or
outskirts. If you are writing about your home, you may start by
describing the façade or frontage of your house before
proceeding to describe its interior spaces. Combine objective
descriptions and subjective description to make your essay more
vivid and remarkable.
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
• A kind of creative nonfiction whose main intention is to represent the
appearance or essence of something.
• The main strategy used is description-the used of sensory details to portray a
person, a place, or thing.
Two types of Description
• Objective Description
- portrays the subject matter in a clear and direct manner as it exists in
reality beyond the realm personal feelings and emotions.
Example:
Articles about science and technology
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
Two types of Description
• Subjective Description
-expresses the writer’s personal feeling and impression about the
subject matter, creating certain tone, mode or atmosphere while
emphasizing a certain point. “Because most expression involves personal
views, even when it explains by analysis, subjective description (often
call emotional description) has a broader sense of uses that objective
description.”
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
- a kind of personal narrative essay whose main intention is to analyze the
significance of past events through serious thought or consideration from the vantage
point of the present. The writer of the reflexive essay combines his/her own subjective
experiences and observation with careful assessment and analysis from an objective
perspective. The major source of when writing a reflexive essay is memory, the
repository of sensory information, facts and figures that have been accumulated since
infancy through personal experiences.
- But reflection as a human endeavor is a dying art form, since most people are busy
doing other things which they consider more worthwhile than mere musing, even if men
and women are supposed to be contemplative by nature and in constant search for the
meaning of life.
Importance of reflective essay: “ In an essay based on your personal experiences, you
have an opportunity to review your past, to evaluate it in order to discover its
significance to you, and in doing so to make your past interesting to your readers.”
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction can be described
as “an analytic, interpretative, or critical composition…usually dealing
with its subject from a limited and often personal point of view?”
a. biography b. diary c. essay d. all of the above e.
none of the above
2. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction requires both
journalistic and literary skills?
a. descriptive essay b. literary reportage c. reflective essay
d. all of the above e. none of the above
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
3. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction requires
retrospection or a looking back at past events to determine their
significance in the present.
a. descriptive essay b. literary reportage c. reflective essay
d. all of the above e. none of the above

4. Which of the following form of creative nonfiction has for its main
intention the presentation of the appearance or essence of something?
a. descriptive essay b. literary reportage c. reflective essay
d. all of the above e. none of the above
5. In its original French context, what does the word essay mean?
a. to attempt b. to describe c. to explain
d. all of the above e. none of the above
6. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction emerged in
conjunction with the rise of the so-called New Journalism in the
1960s? a. descriptive essay b. literary reportage c. reflective essay
d. all of the above e. none of the above.
7. Which of the following terms is synonymous to “familiar essay”?
a. informal essay b. literary essay c. personal essay
d. none of the above e. all of the above
8. Which of the following terms is not synonymous to “formal essay”?
a. documented essay b. descriptive essay c. non-literary essay
d. all of the above e. none of the above
9. Which of the following terms is synonymous to “emotional
description”?
a. objective description b. simple description
c. subjective description d. all of the above e. none of the above
10. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction is a hybrid of
responsive journalism and imaginative literature?
a. Descriptive essay b. literary reportage c. reflective essay d.
all of the above e. none of the above.
TRAVEL WRITING
SPECIAL TYPES OF CREATIVE NONFICTION: TRAVEL, FOOD,
AND NATURE WRITING

Travel Writing
- a form of creative nonfiction that describes the narrator’s experiences in
foreign places. This type of writing usually includes a narration of a
journey undertaken by the narrator from his or her point of origin to the
eventual destination, with all the hazards and inconveniences
encountered along the way.
- it also entails detailed descriptions of the local customs and traditions,
the landscape of cityscape, the native cuisine, the historical and cultural
landmarks, and the sights and sounds the visited place has to offer.
TRAVEL WRITING DEFINED
-William Zinsser – “what raises travel writing to literature is not what the
writer brings to the place, but what the place draws out of the writer.”
-Cristina Hidalgo Pantoja, travel literature “depends largely on the wit,
powers of observation, and character of the traveler for its success. In past
centuries the traveler tended to be an adventurer or a connoisseur of art,
landscapes, or strange customs who may also have been a writer of merit.”
-Paul Theroux claims that “ when something human is recorded, good
travel writing happens.”
-Laurence Durrell avers that to capture the spirit of the place the travel
writer must keep “the eyes of the spirit wide open, and not too much
factual information.
• http://flyingbaguette.com/2018/12/malaga-coming-of-age.html
• http://flyingbaguette.com/2018/06/split-personality.html
Food Writing
FOOD WRITING
- A direct offshoot to travel writing that has evolved into a
literary subgenre of its own
- It is a type of creative nonfiction that focuses on gustatory
delights or disasters while simultaneously narrating an
interesting story, as well as sharing an insight or two about
the human condition.
- To be a successful food writer, an author must think of eating
as a gustatory adventure, which means that he should not be
afraid to visit new restaurants and try exotic dishes and
drinks.
FOOD WRITING
- The food writer must train his tongue and nose
to distinguish a wide variety of flavor and
aromas, as well as find the precise words to
describe how they taste and smell, so that he can
accurately recreate for his readers the experience
of eating the delicacies and drinking the
concoctions he is partaking.
FOOD WRITING
• Voice, rhythm and content are the ingredients that make a good read.
The same loose rules apply in food writing, from drafting the simplest
of recipes, to eulogizing about a supper, to penning a gastronomic
scholarly tome. Find out how to breathe life on to the page and how
to craft a winning recipe. Learn how to lead readers through a market
or souk, in the kitchen or out in the field; to write creatively and
inform around food from life’s experience. Then armed with the
literary tricks of the trade, win your way into magazines and with
book publishers and, even, go on to create your very own bestseller.
FOOD WRITING
- https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-21-best-dishes-in-the-philippines/
- http://www.rjdexplorer.com/take-it-from-the-experts-its-more-food-in-the/
- https://everything-filipino.com/filipino-food-get-into-the-streets-a-filipino-street-food-adventure/
NATURE WRITING
• An offshoot of travel writing, unlike food writing that
focuses on gustatory delights, it highlights the beauty and
majesty of the natural world as well as humanity’s special
relationship with Mother Earth.
• Some forms of nature writing, instead of celebrating
landscapes and exotic plants and animals, zero in on the
abuses committed by mankind on the natural environment
and its dire consequences to future generation.
NATURE WRITING
• As a literary genre, it is highly dependent on scientific
facts and figures about the natural world, while
integrating private observations of and philosophical
contemplations on the natural environment.
• Michael P. Branch the term is ecocriticism as reserve
for “ a brand of nature representation that is deemed
literary, written in the speculative personal voice and
presented in the form of the nonfiction essay.
EXERCISE 1
Answer the following questions. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction requires an
adventurous spirit?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above

2. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction has the


longest history in terms of antecedents or precursors?

a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing


d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXERCISE 1
Answer the following questions. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
3. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction requires
some knowledge of flora and fauna, as well as basic scientific facts?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
4. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction celebrates
gustatory delights and consider them as manifestations of culture?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXERCISE 1
Answer the following questions. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
5. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction can be
considered as part of the ecological literature?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
6. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction in past
centuries has for its narrator “ an adventurer or a connoisseur of art,
Landscapes, or strange customs who may also have been a writer of
merit?”
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXERCISE 1
Answer the following questions. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
7. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction is highly
dependent for its prevalence and popularity on the rise and fall of the
tourism industry?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
8. Which of the following special types of creative nonfiction requires
the author to have good skills in the art of description?
a. food writing b. nature writing c. travel writing
d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXERCISE 1
Answer the following questions. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
9. Which of the following travel writers believes in capturing “the spirit
of the place” by actually residing for a long period of time in a
particular area, rather than rushing through it like a typical tourist?
a. Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo b. John Updike c. Laurence Durrell
d. Paul Therouxe. none of the above
10. In the evolution of nature writing as literary subgenre, which of the
following terms was variously used to refer to it in its long history?
a. Environmental literature d. all of the above
b. Natural history e. none of the above
c. Natural philosophy
THE EMERGENCE OF BLOGGING
Task 1:
Recall three social media posts (textual, narrative) you or other
individuals had made that caught most of your friend’s and
other people’s attention and reaction.

My Previous Social Media How my friends/followers


Posts reacted
Task 2: Prepare a long bond paper and marker, then, do the specific instructions
indicated below:
• The paper orientation is PORTRAIT
• Fold the paper horizontally to create two equal sections (upper and lower sections)
• On the upper left-hand portion of the paper, write your personal Facebook/Twitter
account name.
• Use the remaining part of the paper section for your message/post/ shout out. Leave
the lower portion vacant. This will be for the reactions of your classmates.
• For your shout-out, think of any topic that is relevant and exciting. Write something
about it. Make sure to make your work readable.
• Then, have your work posted on the walls/chalkboard
• After posting, read the shout-out posts of your classmates and give them your
reactions as regards to post. Use the lower section of the paper for your comments.
Do not forget to write your name..
EMPOWERING THE MIND
• Blogging involves the frequent updating of a personal online account carrying a
journal or diary.
• It is a technological medium used to express and to reveal one’s self to the world in
the course sharing his/her thoughts, interest, passions, and encounters.
• A blog is a shortened form of weblog and these are used interchangeably
“..the first journalistic model that harnesses rather than merely exploits the true
democratic nature of the web.. It is a new medium finally finding a unique voice”-
Andrew Sullivan
• “ a collection of posts..short, informal, sometimes controversial, and sometimes
deeply personal with the freshest information at the top.”- Meg Hourihan
• “ A blog is a means of communication used to examine a topic that often consists of
written text, video, audio, or other ways to exchange information.” blogbasic.com
Familiarizing terms
• Blog- a journal or diary that I posted o the internet
• Blogger- anyone who creates and keeps a blog.
• Blogging- the action of creating and writing a blog; a way of sharing something
with the world
Characteristics of Blogging
-Salient Characteristics
• Blogging is dynamic; it revolutionizes and is based on the writer’s
personal style and approach to writing .
• Blogging allows discourse and interaction
Features of a Blog
A. Blog has
• Some form of navigation or menus
• A layout that contains a header, footer, and content
• Categories of posts
• The capacity to allow readers to access the archives or previous posts.
• Tools to include audio, picture, and video files as well as other media
• Links to other posts, both within the blog and to the entire web
• A contact page and form
• An about page
Sections and Parts of Blog
1. Header – consists of an image including the name of
the blog
2. Content area- where the content or full blogs posts
that are mostly text based displayed in reverse,
chronological order
3. Footer- highlights a closing summary for the post
4. sidebar

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