Creative Nonfiction

I came across this term, "creative nonfiction" on Jeanne Damoff's site, where it was used to describe the style of her soon to be published work. You can read the first two chapters here. I was absolutely riveted and the book is on my list to read when it is published.

I have always enjoyed non-fiction, and it is this "creative nonfiction" that I enjoy most. Reading a book which vividly recounts situations which I have never and probably will never experience allows me to live temporarily in a new culture, mode of operation or frame of reference. A book which defines this for me and has become one of my all time favorites is Into Thin Air. Another nonfiction book which I was surprised to enjoy was Barbarians at the Gate.

Learning this new term got me to thinking that we can be creative in our nonfiction kind of lives. I have never described myself as creative, and yet I believe that I was created by a Creator, in His image. I also am made to be creative. Here are some ways I've realized that I can also create while doing the mundane:

• Instead of preparing an old stand by meal for dinner, I can give it my own interpretation by adding a new or exotic ingredient, or I can experiment with new recipes frequently.
• Instead of just having music playing as background noise, I can sing along with my whole heart, or close my eyes and let the music stir an emotional response, which might manifest later in my own form of creation, in prose or poetry, or art or music composition.
• I can repaint a room in my home, appreciating the look and feel of color and how it transforms my surroundings.
• While watering my vegetable garden, I can look forward expectantly to the part I am playing in growing food. I can take the time while I'm just standing there, sweating, to examine the microcosm of life in the ground, feel the air moving through the trees, and listen to the birds.
• I can dance with the duster or the broom.