Imagine yourself in a huge mall. There are many types of stores (clothes, shoes, food, gadgets, etc.), competing based on what the customer wants. A genre would be the information guide that leads you to the store you want. That’s how big the world of writing is. Books come in categories, too. They are shelved according to the genre. It is important that you know the difference between nonfiction and fiction.
Nonfiction books explain, instruct and provide facts that can be proven. They include books on how to do or be something. They would also include your memoir because this is information the author writes about themselves as factual. Examples are:
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (Empowerment)
Becoming by Michelle Obama (Memoir)
Almanacs, Dictionaries, etc. (Data)
Fiction books are called novels and they read like real-life events even though parts of it are made up. Works of fiction are usually called blockbusters, beach reads or epics. There is no confinement of fact-checking. Examples are:
How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan (Women’s Fiction)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (Horror)
The Scarpetta Factor-Patricia Cornwell (Crime)
This will be your world. Writing creative nonfiction is where you can take something true and alter and embellish it to create the story you want to tell. This is where the saying, “The names have been changed to protect the innocent” comes from. With fiction, you have the authority to say this story is based on actual events. The word “based” allows the author creative liberty. Nonfiction is mostly telling. Creative nonfiction is showing AND telling based on true events.
What is your genre?