Is Writing Non-Fiction Boring? Part 3 of 15

So take a dash of fiction, add about a million hours of research, a few drafts, some good sense, and what do you get? Creative non-fiction. Now before you go and leave let me explain. As Carrie in her comment yesterday so aptly put it, there is such a thing as creative non-fiction.

A interesting name I know.

So, do you write creative non-fiction or non-fiction? For myself, I think of them as being one in the same, except for academia. I’ve done both and for some reason writing a creative non-fiction is both fun and harder. I’ll ask you to sit back and let me explain:

I would say that creative non-fiction is designed for a public that needs, is driven to be entertained. Our reading public often needs to remember things by, people place and things. But they also want action and adventure. This is the way they love to read, which is possibly why fiction is popular.

Best put, in my view is this: One of my friends was talking about Canadian history, which she does at length, and normally I assume the half smile, please I’ve heard this a million and a half times type position. Then she said, did you know why John A. MacDonald used to sit in the cow pusher when going on the train? No, never. Then this animated story about how he couldn’t drink inside the train or outside on the caboose. His wife wouldn’t allow it… so not in the train not in the back, she never said the front correct?

So to make a long story short to “view” Canada, and to drink, he sat on the cow pusher at the front of the train. I loved it, it was true, or at least partly true, but it was entertaining. She now knows how to instill pride in my nation. Or, get me to sit with a less zombie like look on my face.

This little story show the value of creative non-fiction. People who aren’t interested in that aspect of history will always remember a short anecdote. Dates no really, but a story that has a bit of sights, smells and people they will.

If of course the reader is interested in the subject the non-fiction will be an easy read. If it’s for research or something else, then it will be read, but a more academic paper will be harder to read. Been there done that. Fun as it was, not so much if the reader can tell the writer didn’t put any effort into their writing.

I would also hazard to suggest creative non-fiction is more widely read, and sells better than straight non-fiction, and yet they are both one in the same.

My Question for today is this: What makes creative non-fiction more publishable than non-fiction?