Nonfiction vs Fiction – Squaw Valley

This year, I re-visioned Squaw as my own writing retreat, where I wrote in the morning, attended panels and readings in the afternoon and evening and then returned to the laptop until I fell asleep.

And this time, I also broadened my genre perspective to incorporate nonfiction, because I want to expand my creative potential by telling the truth.

Then came the breaking news from Squaw’s “Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Narrative Strategies” panel: There’s no difference between fiction and nonfiction! Who knew?

Perhaps I’m oversimplifying. Perhaps I’m showing my Jekyll and Hyde tendencies, a symptom of those who write in both genres.

So I must share a few notes from the panel to give my schizophrenic self a chance for integration.

Both fiction and nonfiction require:

• a story arc
• a sense of tension to drive the narrative forward
• sensory details to keep the reader anchored in the world
• words that convince readers of the specifics of the moment, not of its meaning (i.e. toss the didactic prose)
• strong, well-defined characters
• a writer who feels the weight of responsibility for telling the story

I could go on ad infinitum, but I think the point is this: writers use the same narrative techniques to write stories whether they are fictional or not. We’ve all grown old reading the work of nonfiction writers who forget this. As a child, I called them textbooks, and they left me feeling dessicated.

The panel, moderated by Jason Roberts, appeared to be in agreement:

• Steve Almond – Fiction is jury-rigged for maximum psychological effect while nonfiction is research-based then given an author’s spin
• Michelle Latiolais – Facts are chosen to fit the purpose of the piece
• Al Young – Poetry, fiction, nonfiction—it’s all fiction, because writers select details to fashion the story they want to tell

Echoes of Mark Twain? There are three kinds of lies whose purpose is to disclose the truth: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Would you agree?

Apparently, the real difference between the two genres has nothing to do with how they’re written. To paraphrase John Glusman (VP and Editor-in-chief at Norton) from the Book Editors Panel: With literary fiction, editors tend to fall in love with a manuscript and hope there’s a market for it. With nonfiction, editors expect the manuscript to reach a known market.

So there you have it. The difference between fiction and nonfiction lies in the selling, not in the telling.

Jilanne Hoffmann is a freelance writer who loves the heady altitude of Squaw Valley. She blogs at Jilanne Hoffmann and Dogpatch Writers Collective.