Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction Book

I picked this up from the library on campus where I work a while back while I was finishing up my application to the MFA program, and then I promptly refused to read it after submitting my application and writing material because I was sure that if I did, I would magically not get accepted into the program. I'm superstitious like that.

And it worked! Because I didn't read this book after submitting my application, I was accepted into the program. Magic! BOOM.

Now that I've been accepted and have a few months before starting the program, I'm doing a whole lot of "Omigod, what have I just done" and "Now I have to write stuff, holy shit" and otherwise feeling pathetic, unworthy, and like a big fat failure. Which is always great six months before you actually start something. Might as well start early.

I finally got around to reading this because, really, I could use all the tips and hints I can get. And Lee Gutkind is like the godfather of the creative nonfiction world.

This is a compilation of other people's writing, for what it's worth. People who have written from Creative Nonfiction, the literary journal. It's an ABCs of the writing world with some helpful bits and bobs, but otherwise just a nice little companion for someone who doesn't really know anything about writing creative nonfiction. I know a thing or two which of course doesn't make me an expert, and I did find this a helpful little book to read through if for no other reason than there are some great reminders in here about what not to do. Like, basically, don't be James Frey or Stephen Glass. Not that we need those reminders, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

A nice little how-to guide without giving too much how-to, if that makes sense. I'm trying to read whatever I can get my hands on to give myself as much content and context as possible because I take things to the extreme, so I'm not disappointed that I read this (and it was really so short that it barely made a blip on my reading time), but it wasn't quite what I had hoped it would be. I wouldn't be surprised if this winds up being required reading for some of my classes.