How to Write Creative NonFiction

Stop thinking you need to be a "real writer" to create compelling creative nonfiction.
How to Write Creative NonFiction

You enroll in every writing course thinking, "Who am I to write? My life is pretty ordinary, and there are already experts covering my field." But what if your biggest perceived weakness—your "boring" professional life—is actually your greatest writing asset?

Drawing from years of teaching creative nonfiction seminars, this video reveals why ordinary experience trumps expert credentials when it comes to connecting with readers. Through a close reading of David Gessner's creative nonfiction essay "Learning to Surf," you'll discover how to transform everyday moments into stories that matter.

You'll learn to:

  • Navigate the four-quadrant grid that separates journaling from creative nonfiction
  • Turn your professional experience into content that stands apart from online navel-gazing
  • Provide genuine value to readers without sacrificing personal authenticity
  • Overcome the fear that your story isn't worth telling

Whether you're a young professional, knowledge worker, or anyone who thinks their life lacks dramatic material, this video proves that the most powerful nonfiction comes not from extraordinary circumstances, but from ordinary people who know how to make their experience serve others.

Your "boring" life is exactly what readers are desperately waiting for—you just need to learn how to write about it.

More posts in show

Feb 09
Writing that Works: Longer Sentences, the Passive Voice, and Two Dangers of Mindless Writing Rules
Feb 01
Strategic Repetition: Improve the Clarity of Your Writing by Repeating Key Terms (without sounding repetitive)
Jan 29
How Modern Schools Make Terrible Writers (deliberately)
Jan 25
Autistic Writing: 3 Writing Exercises to Connect with Readers (and how 'Write the Way You Speak' misses the point)
Jan 19
How to Articulate Your Thoughts More Clearly than 99% of Writers