The Realm Of Creative Nonfiction: A Christian Blogger's Guide to Research

"Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long" (Psalm 25:5 NIV).

When you think of nonfiction, you probably would not think that it involves much creativity. I'm guilty of this belief. Yet, nonfiction is so much more than dull facts and statistics or historical and current biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. This blog post is creative nonfiction.

Just because I use an informal tone and contractions—big no-no's in academia—doesn't make this post creative nonfiction. The Roget's College Thesaurus refers to nonfiction as reality, history, autobiography, article, dissertation, journalism, and esposé. Essentially, nonfiction writers pursue the truth. So, does the creative part mean we can exaggerate the truth a little? Absolutely not!

"An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies" (Proverbs 12:17NIV).

Then, when and how does nonfiction become creative? If a piece is done well, always, and the how is found in the research and writing processes. What or whom you research, what kind of sources you find, and how you include those sources are crucial to writing the truth creatively, while remaining truthful. As a senior, majoring in English and Writing: Creative Writing, I've learned a few tips on what I need to research, how to find relevant and reliable sources, and how to include sources seamlessly into my work.

Limiting what you research, limiting where you look for sources, and information dumping are three common mistakes that you can avoid once you apply these tips to your creative nonfiction writing. The realm of nonfiction is creative, even while writers seek the truth. In whatever form a writer uses. And as a Christian, I'm called to give an honest testimony without expecting personal glory (John 7:18). The same goes for other Christian writers. But, whatever faith or spiritual background you come from, I believe that we all crave truth.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32 NIV).

Tip 1 - Find Your Passion, Find Your Subject

Whatever you write, you must begin somewhere. What are you passionate about? Seems like a straightforward question, but what if you're multi-passionate like I am? Ask yourself: what do I have a passion for that I don't really know much about?

"But, wait!" You say. "What about 'write what you know'?" It sounds counterintuitive to what we've always been told, but writing about what you don't know humbles you and puts you out of your comfort zone. Whether you're interested in knowing why people love sports so much, while you never understood the appeal, or you're curious to know more about your friend's culture, but you always felt awkward asking questions, you now have a general subject that you can seek to understand.

Before you create a plan, you need to learn some basic information. Philip Gerard says that you must locate yourself within the subject. Find your why and determine the scope and depth. If you choose the sports direction, discussing all sports may be daunting since each sport is popular for different reasons. For me, American football is the most confusing despite its popularity (it just seems like boys and men want an excuse to tackle each other, doesn't it?), so I may choose to focus on it.

Google explains that "American football, also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end." I didn't know about the gridiron part, or how many players were on a team, so that's a start, and I found out that it was invented in 1869. Fun fact: two colleges started it with twenty-five players, but they couldn't pick up or carry the ball! Now, you could pursue the evolution of this sport, or you could read a few more books or articles, seek out your local high school (or college) football coach or star quarterback, and/or look at pictures and videos to find a different angle.

"The task is to drill down through the various layers to locate the root of your passion" (Gerad 25).

Tip 2 - Create a Plan

Now, you know your passion, and you narrowed your subject. It's time to create a plan, but don't overwhelm yourself. Remember KISS—Keep It Simple [Smartie]. Ask yourself basic questions, which include:

• What more do I need to know?

• Why do I want to know this?

• Who knows what I don't know, and how can I find or contact them?

• Where is information located, and how can I access it?

• What obstacles are in my way?

• Who is my audience?

• How do I plan to use this information? What form will it take to fit my audience?

Once you've answered these questions, create a basic outline, which includes a realistic timeline, specific tasks, and a budget for anticipated costs (if any). Research is a journey, so always remain flexible.

Tip 3 - Find Sources

Growing up, I believed that sources were only supposed to be traditional ones. When I started college, I learned that sources can be found in an archive (traditional), first-hand experiences (empirical), or in blogs, magazines, interviews, etc. (non-traditional).

Depending on your subject, you may find yourself using a mix of the three types. If you're researching your friend's culture, you may want to search traditional databases. One helpful database is JSTOR, which focuses on the humanities and social sciences. If you're a student, your school may give you access to it, and if you're not a student, you can create a free login, which allows access to a hundred articles each month. Databases are excellent options because they're peer-reviewed, scholarly primary sources (discussed in tip 4).

Empirical research, or first-hand research, comes in handy for a variety of subjects. If you've ever been invited to your friend's house for dinner, a sleepover, or a special occasion, you've likely experienced his or her culture first-hand. That makes you an eyewitness to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels of your friend's culture. Remember your friend's quinceañera or Bar Mitzvah? That memory is a source.

"Your first big tool is of course the habit of noticing, of paying attention" (Gerad 38).

Regarding non-traditional sources, some blogs may explain what a quinceañera or Bar Mitzvah is or a magazine article about a singer, actor, or dancer reveals how that culture influences his or her life and career. In fact, you could interview your friend, writing physical notes or using a recording device or app (with his or her permission). Or, if you're pursuing the football topic, the movies Remember the Titans (Yakin 2000) or Rudy (Anspaugh 1993) may give some light to the obsession with football.

Tip 4 - Determine Credibility and Appropriateness

Databases like JSTOR archive only peer-reviewed, scholarly articles, books, research reports, etc. To be considered peer-reviewed, one or more qualified professionals with similar knowledge and skills in relevant professions review the work to determine whether the work is scholarly and relevant. So, you don't necessarily need to worry too much about the credibility of these sources, but you need to determine the relevancy to your subject. One way you can determine appropriateness is to use keywords, and another is to narrow down the timeline of your research, which is dependent on what you're researching.

For first-hand experiences, how does your experience relate to your focus? Does it add to the work, or should you keep the focus on your subject? For non-traditional sources, specifically Internet searches, you must determine general credibility and appropriateness. Five basic questions include:

• Who is the author(s) and what are their credentials?

• Does the site include a list of its sources and where you can find them?

• Does the information align with other reputable sources?

• How close is the author to the material (i.e., eyewitness, victim, accused, disinterested observer, professional scholar studying this field, or amateur)?

• Is there a political agenda? If yes, is the information factual? Are the facts being manipulated or presented honestly?

Web addresses (i.e., .com, .edu, .gov, etc.) also help determine general credibility and appropriateness. Don't rule out .com URLs yet because several of these sites can be as credible and appropriate as database sources. But, several may discuss myths, stereotypes, and unproven theories, so you must read consciously. As a nonfiction writer, you need a healthy level of skepticism.

"Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good" (Job 34:4 NIV).

Tip 5 - Include Sources Seamlessly

Once you've collected your relevant sources, you must organize your sources according to the size of your project. If you're writing a brief, introductory article, you'd stick to the basics. If you're writing a long-form biography, you'd mix some of the basics with more thorough sources, keeping in mind your audience's level of knowledge. Your audience will dictate how much information you include.

After you've organized your information, write. And write with empathy. Even if you still don't understand the appeal of American football, or some of your friend's culture seems weird to you, writing with empathy allows nonfiction writers to explore the mind and soul of another, to seek meaning in the truth that you find.

Lastly, you have some flexibility with citations in creative writing. You could create an author's note of sorts as seen below or include citations like the quotes throughout this post. Citations also depend on different factors. If you're publishing your work, the citation style is determined by your publisher. Other factors include how generalized or specialized your audience is and how much close citation matters for credibility purposes. Therefore, it takes practice to hold an audience's attention while you share truth accurately.

"One of the great challenges of writing nonfiction from research is the tendency to want to anchor every detail in a source, as if to say, 'See? It's really true!'" (Gerad 178).

Where Can You Find More Information?

For further reading:

"Creative Nonfiction: An Overview." Purdue University, 2024. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/creative_writing/creative_nonfiction/index.html

Purdue University compares creative nonfiction to fiction and poetry, noting that creative nonfiction requires candor and empathy to retell events that already happened. The university states that reality and attention to detail are crucial and explains how reflection provides meaning to facts, allowing writers to help readers interpret the information.

Gerard, Philip. The Art of Creative Research: A Field Guide for Writers. The University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Gerad's book, which I used throughout this post, is a useful guide for every creative writer. He answers the question of whether creative writing and research relate by mapping out how to move from the comfort of what we know to knowing what we don't know. He also navigates all genres and tech levels.

Works Cited

New International Version. Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway / Biblica, Inc., 2011. Website. https://www.biblegateway.com

One Last Thing...

No one likes to be deceived. So, nonfiction writers carry a heavy burden of responsibility to present the facts and help readers understand the facts. When we are lied to, trust is broken. Skepticism creeps in and traps us, making it difficult to believe what we read. Truth sets us free. Therefore, creative nonfiction makes facts easy to digest and enjoyable to read. Learning is not just for the scholar!

Faithfully His and Fearlessly Me,

Danielle

xoxo