Narrative Nonfiction
As you were reading Chapter 15 of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, were you reminded of someone important in your life who served as a mentor to you or in some way had a positive influence on your life? Perhaps by reading Angelou's autobiography of her childhood experiences, you were able to connect to some of her feelings and thoughts as a young person growing up in a confusing world. Did her style of narrative nonfiction help you to appreciate what life was like through her eyes? Did it remind you of poignant moments you experienced in your own life?
Now that you have learned about characteristics of narrative nonfiction and examined how Angelou used narrative nonfiction to craft her writing, you will have a chance to apply what you have learned to create your very own narrative nonfiction piece. You can approach your writing piece as a work of biography, autobiography, memoir, or a personal essay. Alternatively, you may even write a literary journalism article about a real event, or your writing piece may be a combination of these narrative nonfiction types. Whatever the topic of your writing is, your narrative nonfiction can focus on your life, on someone else's life, or on an important event, as long as it is a story based on reality.
Although you will not be able to develop your writing piece into a full-length book as Angelou did, your composition should still encompass the most important elements of narrative nonfiction. Focus the scope of your writing to a single event, a defined time period, or a specific topic. Make sure that your narrative nonfiction piece includes the following literary elements.
- Plot: Your narrative nonfiction piece should have a beginning, middle, and end. Think about what the main events of your narrative piece are, and then decide in what order you want to present them to your readers.
- Setting: You will have to convey the setting of your story to your readers. Describe what the setting looks like, how it feels, and at what time it takes place. The more imagery and sensory details you include, the easier it will be for you readers to understand your story through your eyes.
- Dialogue: What conversations in your story can be summarized or paraphrased, and what conversations do you want to quote word for word? When you present conversation as dialogue, your readers will more likely be able to imagine how your story unfolded as if they had been there when it happened.
- Characterization: The characters in your story are important. Decide how you will reveal to your readers the personalities and traits of the people who play pivotal roles in your story. Think about how you can show what your characters look like, what they do, or what they say.
Before you begin, review the Narrative Nonfiction Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.
Once you have completed your narrative nonfiction piece, please submit your work to the dropbox.