Writing Exercise #2, Creative Non-Fiction, “Breaking News"

Creative Non-Fiction: Breaking News. This exercise is adapted from an exercise from Poets & Writers Summer 2015 issue.

When something major happens in our lives, we often leave some time between the time that it happens and when we get around to writing about it. But great fiction and creative non-fiction are full of strong emotion, powerfully expressed, even if it’s restrained. And if we let too much time pass, the intense emotion of the event fades and is replaced by a more analytic, subjective memory of the event.

In order to channel that sense of immediacy, put yourself back at the scene of a significant incident right in the middle of the action. Sit down and picture this: Something life-changing is happening to you right now. Be sure you cover those key journalistic questions, the Who, What, When Where and Why of the story. Sensationalize at your discretion! Skip the mundane details! Get to the heart of your story and write as much as you can remember without stopping.

Write for no more than 20 minutes.