The non-fiction novel was sort of invented by Jack Kerouac in ?On
the Road? where he mingled factual experiences that he and his gang had
enjoyed while mixing in purely fictional events, characters and scenes that
never really happened. This sort of blend, in a post-modernist way,
allowed truth to emerge from beyond the facts. For reasons that are well
documented, Kerouac?s career as a writer was cut short and he published
very little of merit after his single masterpiece.
Hunter Thompson, back in the fifties, started experimenting with
the form and is thought of as the father of the movement. With his ?Hell?s
Angels? he inserted himself into what had been intended to be a
journalistic work, breaking the rules of journalism by removing objectivity
altogether. His ?Fear and loathing in Las Vegas took the form even
further and put truth well ahead of facts or reality.
Authors who soon followed and were highly informed by Thompson
include Joan Didion, Truman Capote (?In Cold Blood? being an
excellent example of the form), Norman Mailer who changed a lot in the sixties,
Tom Wolfe, Dom DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon and lots of others.
It's an interesting but dangerous form as one needs to be very
careful with the balance of factual and fantasy and the writer needs to
understand the limits of truth exposed outside of the facts.
It's also a fun form as you can add dialogue and drug induced
perceptions as if they were real but one needs to be careful that they remember
that the character(s) that are based on themselves are, in at least some part,
not really them or else an identity crisis will emerge.
There?s a pretty good and fairly recent book called ?The
New Journalism: Thompson, Capote, Didion and Wolfe? I can?t recall
the author?s name but it explains this movement very well.
cdh
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Amy Goldring
Tajalli
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 5:43 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: My novel is finished!!!!
Chris,
Other than being an oxymoron, what is a non-fiction novel??? Using such a term
to a writer named Hawthorne - Shame.
Amy
oms,
-------------- Original message from "Chris
Hofstader" <cdh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>: --------------
Congratulations!! I have about a half dozen non-fiction
novels in various stages of incompletion and find it very difficult to focus
and drive one home.
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nan Hawthorne
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 6:41 PM
To: 21 Acres Yahooghroup; bls-vol-discusws; Historical Novel Society;
HNS-PS; IAG Members; selfpublishedHF; ST-advisory
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] My novel is finished!!!!
I will be uploading it to the publisher in the next few
days.
Let's see.. it just took me 27 months...
I will keep you posted on when it is available. Probably late
summer, will be on Amazon.
An Involuntary King: A Tale of Anglo Saxon England
By Nan Hawthorne
His father dead at a usurper's hands, the new young king must prove himself in
spite of his own self-doubt. Through years of setbacks and misfortunes,
he struggles on, while his queen, the love of his life, is relentlessly pursued
by a dark sensual mercenary.
http://crislicland.blogsspot.com
--
Cordially,
Nan Hawthorne, co-owner
medieval-novels.com (tm)
Your source for novels set between 500-1600 AD all over the world.
http://www.medieval-novels.com
Authors! List your books!
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