The 5 Types of Nonfiction Genres
There is so much more to nonfiction writing than may you think!
There is so much more to nonfiction writing than may you think!
Usually, when you tell someone you are a writer, the first thing that comes to mind is that you are a novelist; that you write fiction. Fiction literature, including short stories and novels, includes imaginary events, people, and characters. However a great portion of published writing is nonfiction, that is, writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people. Just as there are several genres in fiction: mystery, historical, fantasy, romance, suspense, and so on, there are also several genres of nonfiction. If you are a writer deciding what type of nonfiction book to write, other than what best matches your passion, training, and experience, it is good to know which genres are the top choices for readers.
1. Research Nonfiction (Straight Fact-based Nonfiction)
There are two broad categories of nonfiction writing. Research nonfiction, such as straight journalism, relies on the gathering of the facts and the relevant information on a particular topic. The research is used to bring context to the topic and is used when preparing for interviews and helping with the understanding of the topic for the article or news story. Often a journalist is under a tight deadline, but other times research can take months of work. Ensuring that the facts are true and verifiable is of the utmost importance.
The second category of nonfiction writing is called creative nonfiction, and also includes actual facts, but embellishes them with storytelling. There are four different types of creative nonfiction that make up the five types of nonfiction genres.
2. Narrative Nonfiction (Creative Nonfiction)
Narrative or creative nonfiction is factual writing that tells a story. An example of narrative nonfiction is telling the story of how someone invented a product, including everything the person went through to get the product to market.
3. Expository Nonfiction (Informational Nonfiction)
The purpose of expository nonfiction is to explain or inform the reader about a certain topic. With expository writing, the reader may or may not have prior knowledge about the topic being discussed, so the facts help to set the context of the article or essay. Technical writing is a type of expository nonfiction because it gives the reader the information they are seeking.
4. Persuasive Nonfiction (Argumentative Nonfiction)
Writers of persuasive nonfiction try to convince the readers to either believe in an idea or an option or to perform a preferred action. Copywriters use persuasive nonfiction to write advertisements and proposals. Newspaper editorials and political essays are examples of persuasive nonfiction. Persuasive nonfiction writers use carefully chosen words and the development of logical arguments to influence their readers.
5. Descriptive Nonfiction (Illustrative Nonfiction)
Descriptive nonfiction is also known as illustrative nonfiction because that is exactly what this type of writing does: uses descriptions of all five senses to help the reader get a visual of what the writer is describing. While still using facts, the writer employs sensory language, very rich details, and figurative language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
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Just as many fiction writers stick to one or two genres for their novels, many nonfiction writers specialize in one or two genres for their writing. When mentioning “fact-based” writing, journalism and investigative reporting are usually the first types of nonfiction people think of. Freelance “writers for hire” usually limit their service offerings to a particular genre of nonfiction in order to become experts in that area. Professional copywriters are specialists in persuasive nonfiction.
People who write nonfiction books for profit often write in the expository nonfiction genre. Memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies are examples of the descriptive nonfiction genre. Biographies (a story about a person’s life written by a third party) and autobiographies (a story about a person’s life written by that person) are still based on facts while telling the story, almost always chronologically. If the account is fictionalized, then the book should be considered historical fiction.
Memoirs generally tell the story of a particular period of time, the arc of a particular event, or specific important moments or turning points in the subject’s life. While memoirs can be even more creative than biographies or autobiographies, they are still based on actual facts. Credited authors of autobiographies and memoirs often hire ghostwriters or collaborators to help them write their books.
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