Your true story is important, no matter what

Why writing personal nonfiction is valuable, even if it's just for you

The truth is: writing creative nonfiction (CNF) is hard work. But it can also be life-changing. Some of the benefits I’ve received from writing personal stories include

• gaining insight on a question I’ve never been able to answer

• having important conversations with relatives and friends

• releasing a difficult memory; experiencing catharsis

• discovering patterns and connections between different parts of my life

• exploring the nature of memory, including the places where memory fails

• getting reacquainted with my history and the history of others through journals, documents, and photographs

• finding intersections between my personal story and a larger story or idea

What I love about writing CNF is that all of these valuable experiences are available to me whether or not my work gets published. Over the next issues, I’m planning to take a closer look at each of these benefits and the positive changes they can bring to our lives. But for now, keep in mind that the work you’re doing matters. Writing true stories has the power to shed light on the past in ways that can deeply affect the present and therefore change the future. I believe this type of writing is truly important.

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Some upcoming opportunities

• The 19th Annual Geist Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest (or “the writing contest whose name is almost as long as the entries”) is currently open for pieces of nonfiction (or fiction) of up to 500 words that pair well with an image. The extended deadline is June 03 and you’ll find some more info here.

• The Fiddlehead literary journal’s annual CNF Contest is now open and this year’s judge is Lorri Neilsen Glenn. The deadline is June 03 for essays of up to 6,000 words. 

• The Writers’ Trust Mentorship program provides support, guidance, and one-on-one instruction to a developing Canadian writer from an established writer. This year’s nonfiction mentor is Amanda Leduc. Applicants need to have published at least one piece (e.g. in a journal) and be working on a substantial work-in-progress (e.g. likely a book-length work). The deadline to apply is June 10, and you’ll find more details on this program here.

• Room Magazine’s CNF Contest is currently running, and the judge is Angela Sterritt. Pieces can be up to 3500 words and the deadline is June 15. More details here.  

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Me, myself, and friends

Writing can feel like a solitary activity, so it’s important to remember that you are not doing this work alone. Many others are at their desks right now, writing their true stories. One of these people is this month’s highlighted writer, Trina Chapman. You can get to know Trina and her work via the answers she shared with me here:

Trina, what’s important to you about writing true stories?

For me, it’s writing all of it—using the same courage to include the ugly bits of my stories as I do to write the laughter and beauty of them. Neglecting the painful parts of my history because they can be overwhelming and scary to talk about would make my stories feel hollow. Focusing entirely on trauma and forgetting there is joy would also create an incomplete tale. I think it’s important to strike a balance between the two.

Acknowledging my biases about the other characters in my life story is also essential. Letting go of my prejudices toward them allows me to unearth a shared story that continues to teach me about where I come from. The more I learn, the more I want to know. With every revelation, I gain something new to pass along to my children for their own book of life.

What’s important to you about reading true stories? Who are you reading right now?

Truth in storytelling is important to me as a reader of nonfiction. I particularly love books that run me through the full spectrum of emotion. A good book can touch me so profoundly that I’ll still be processing it weeks after reading the last chapter.
Witnessing human resilience, failures, shortcomings, triumphs, and successes allows me to feel more a part of something bigger than myself. I can relate to some stories, and others I cannot, but both offer me exposure to the journey of others, taking me to places I could have never gotten to on my own. 

Right now, I’m reading What Disturbs Our Blood by James Fitzgerald. It’s a nonfiction story about multi-generational trauma existing in the subconscious of a son seeking answers to his family’s past. The other book I just completed is Adrienne Gruber’s Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes, a memoir-in-essays about navigating the complexities of motherhood and family. Both books discuss epigenetics and how the marks on our genes from trauma can be passed on to future generations.

Anything you'd like to tell us about the piece you're going to share?

This story is one I've always wanted to share, one that's close to my heart as a mother. It's become one of my favourite mom stories. My son is 23 now, past the years of teen embarrassment. I recently felt it was the right time to approach him and ask if I could include his story in my writing.

Every generation faces the challenge of balancing themselves somewhere between their parents' world and the future they want for their children. We try to preserve a part of our past while also moving toward new ways of doing things. In my case, religion was the subject that was pulling me in both directions. I wanted to share my personal struggle with trying to fit in where I thought I should for my parents, while also trying to find a sense of comfort in my own beliefs so I could set a course for my children to have the freedom of choice. Hopefully, it will resonate with some readers.

Read Trina’s essay here: “Sunday Best”

TRINA CHAPMAN is an emerging essayist whose work has appeared in The Write Launch, Cool Beans Lit. and Half and One Magazine. She won an Honorable Mention in the 92nd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition. Trina holds a double bachelor's degree in English and International Development Studies from the University of Guelph. A lifelong learner and educator, Trina taught English as a Second Language in Japan and worked as a desktop publisher, holistic nutritionist, entrepreneur and Montessori teacher. Trina cares for seven children, three dogs and one husband. She is working on her MFA at the University of King’s College.

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