9 Questions
What does the term 'autobiography' mean?
A written account of the author or writer's life
Who is responsible for writing someone else's life story in the genre of biography?
Biographer
What is the main type of material used in reportage or literary journalism?
Direct observations, investigations, and documentation
Which method do writers typically use in reportage to provide depth and insight?
Interviews and reviews
What is the main purpose of a personal narrative?
To narrate a specific event or experience from the author's life
Which of the following statements about blogs is true?
Blogs are regularly updated with short written posts
What is the primary characteristic of a true narrative?
It is based on real-life experiences or events
What is the main purpose of a testimonio?
To narrate a first-person account of human rights abuses or experiences
What is the primary difference between creative nonfiction and a personal narrative?
Creative nonfiction covers a broader scope, while a personal narrative focuses on a specific event
Study Notes
Types of Creative Nonfiction
- Autobiography is a written account of a person's life written by themselves, or a written record of the author's life, or a narration that tells the life story of the author.
- The term autobiography comes from the Greek words "auto" meaning "self", "bio" meaning "life", and "gráphō" meaning "write".
- Autobiography is different from biography, which is a description or account of a person's life story written by another person.
Reportage/Literary Journalism
- Reportage, also known as literary journalism, reports on events, history, or actual cases based on direct observation, investigation, or thorough research and documentation.
- Writers use interviews and reviews to look beyond the objective world of journalism and capture the scene or setting of the assignment or the persona of the person being interviewed.
- Reportage can be narrative or heavily imagistic.
Personal Narratives
- Personal Narrative is a person's true story, where the author narrates what happened to them in a particular event.
- Personal narrative is close to an autobiography but differs in scope, as it focuses only on a specific event.
- An autobiography tells the author's life story, which is composed of several events.
True Narrative
- A true narrative is a story based on real-life experiences or events, but its form is still undefined.
- The narrative must clearly come from or be based on real-life situations and events to avoid being considered a fictional narrative.
Blog
- A blog is a website containing short articles called posts that are changed regularly.
- The person who writes blogs on a regular basis is called a blogger.
- Blogs are different from vlogs, which are video blogs or video logs.
- Blogs can be written by one person or many different people and may focus on specific topics, such as food, travel, or lifestyle.
Testimonio
- A testimonio is an oral or written autobiographical story, known as "testimonial literature".
- The word "testimonio" refers to a genre of writing that originated in Latin America, dealing with human rights abuse experiences.
- A testimonio is generally defined as a first-person narration of socially significant experiences.
Explore the various forms and definitions of autobiography in creative nonfiction. Learn about the writing style and elements that characterize autobiographical works.
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