What The Hell Was That About!?!?

The other day I was asked to share my work with the class. Normally I would be absolutely fine with doing this. However this time, this time was different. I don't know why I felt like I did, red faced, sweat beading on my forehead. I could feel the heat radiating off of my face. "Oh god I think I am ... nervous." "Why though?"  I felt like I was in middle school again. My heads clenched my notebook and my eyes locked on my paper, refusing to look up. I was somewhat reserved as a middle school student, but ever since high school I’ve been rather care free, easy going, not overly caring about any one thing in particular. I especially didn’t mind talking in front of people.

 My left leg began to quiver. "What the hell!" "Knock it off" I thought to myself. With this it became increasingly harder to follow my poorly written and scribbled work. As I became increasingly focused on my body my pauses between sentences became longer, awarder and the more I lost what little concentration I had left. "Uggh" this was a feeling all too familiar, I do not know what spurred it. Perhaps it has been awhile since I have done anything of the sort?  Or perhaps an ill-timed anxiety attack? At this point it seems I am just making excuses to myself. As I returned to my seat I reflected on my "performance" and the overwhelming urge to smack forehead into my palm came over me. "God I am dumb" I said to myself while shacking my head. 

Looking back I find the event to be quite humorous on a personal level. However, I wouldn’t mind it if such "humorous" events didn’t occur again. One is enough for now I think. Either way I realize that it’s time to get back to being a big boy and not fret over such trivial things as talking in front of your class mates or have a borderline nervous breakdown in front of them. I can only look forward to my next opportunity to share my work with them... With fingers crossed of course.

Creative Nonfiction!?!?!

What the hell is creative nonfiction? "Isn't that a contradiction?" I thought to myself. To say the least, I was confused when my advanced comp professor first motioned the term, it was the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. I sat through my first class and wondered what the hell was going on for three straight hours. In hindsight I probably should have asked for clarification on the topic, but that is in the past now. Only upon reading one of the after class assignments for my second class something clicked. After a thorough reading and some reflection, I sat in my desk chair and wondered what it all meant. Then in a moment of enlightenment it came to me. "Oh I get it now, I said allowed. Immediately followed by a "Wow I feel dumb."

Creative nonfiction is a unique blending of fiction and nonfiction. It reads like fiction, it has a plot, dialogue and descriptive details and along with other creative techniques. However at the same time it is based on a foundation of research and truth. While it must captivate the reader, it is important that it adheres to the truth. As the author of creative nonfiction you are taking many legal risks if you stray too far from the truth. That’s why in my opinion it is best to write about personal events. Creative nonfiction doesn’t have to be based on a major historical event or widely publicized issues, but rather one could write a beautiful piece on their own personal experiences. As long as you keep it true there are no worries of landing in hot water. 

Once I was able to really wrap my head around the nature of creative nonfiction I quickly became enamored with it. I’ve personally always preferred to read nonfiction over fiction, but I have always found it a bit dry. That is wear the beauty of creative nonfiction comes in. It is an incredibly rich text that drawls the reader in and makes nonfiction fun. I am very much looking forward to trying my hand at creating this true work of literary art.