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Writers Retreat > Student Talk > Course Lessons > Assignment 8 > Assignment 8 nonfiction question
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orka81
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« on: February 01, 2009, 09:52:52 AM »
Hi all. I finally made it to Section 8 and am pondering incuding at least one nonfiction piece, perhaps two.

I've often wondered where people like Dave Barry, Erma Bombeck, Mary Roach and so on fit into nonfiction, and whether anyone has tried something like this in this writing course. I don't remember coming across any examples in the course guides – the sections on humor seem pretty non-specific to me

Of course, the piece would be written as viewed from a teen's POV (12-16 years-old), so as not to sound like an adult is putting words into a teen's mind.

And what about taking an experience that my daughter went through, a 3 year winning battle against epilepsy and recounting it from her viewpoint as culled from a journal she "stumbled across" that her parents kept?

Sure, it's nonfiction and will have relevant seizure disorder facts in it.

Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance

Orka81
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AlaskanRC
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« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2009, 03:05:47 PM »
Hi Okra,

The first think that popped into my mind when it comes to Dave Barry, Erma Bombeck and Mary Roach is a profile piece. Or you could always use them a starting point. What about an article based around the day in the life of a syndicated columnist? My brain isn't working that great but you could try doing some brain storming using one of them a starting point.


It might be hard to sell and article recounting her battle against epilepsy from her viewpoint though I could be wrong. The first thing that popped into my head though was doing an informational piece about epilepsy with quotes from your daughter relaying her experience. You could always do an interview with you daughter and form an article based off that interview, maybe? Just a thought.

I think you have alot of possibilities. Hopefully I was slightly helpful... Smiley Let us know how you lesson comes along!

Destiny
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jfields
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« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2009, 05:08:05 PM »
What Dave Berry and Erma Bomback write are essays -- which are popular in many adult magazines but generally won't be found in magazines for young people EXCEPT in the idea you have, the "as told to" piece. Now, that works as long as everything in the piece is 100% true. So that means your daughter really found the journals mentioned and these are her true own reactions to them -- otherwise you're writing fiction (although based on fact) and you're under the same obligation to have a solid plot as any other fiction piece.

Normally this kind of piece has the byline of the actual young person so the titling looks like this

I AM NOT A SPAZ
by Shelia Myers
(as told to Martha Myers)

And the magazine will probably want contact info for the young person so they can connect with her and make sure she verifies the story as true and an accurate reflextion of what she experiences, did, and said. And to make sure she's actually a young person.
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orka81
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« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2009, 05:43:56 PM »
Thanks for the replies.

That's more or less what I was thinking. Since my daughter was 6 when this all started, she has little recollection of a lot of what happened to her (on account of medications). Most of her memories she has learned from us (like shooting straw wrappers at the video camera while in the hospital for a video EEG); the idea of her finding journals is purely my invention, and that would make the story fiction.

Such is the art of fiction, I suppose.

Thanks again

Orka81
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