riting creative nonfiction requires special attention to perspective and accuracy. One cannot make up facts and figures, yet it needs to be attention-grabbing. It may sound easy but not everybody is capable of writing nonfiction. The author needs to create engaging, moving pieces that explore personal history with a secondary focus on personal opinion and emotion. The story has to be emotive, but the author needs to be carefully objective.

The challenge of good creative nonfiction is to write the truth that is as accurate and informative as reportage and as personal, provocative and dramatic as fiction.

Sibtain Naqvi, the author of Unravelling Gordian Knots often writes about things that inspire him and topics that he is passionate about. He carefully ponders over the topic before he starts writing. “To make sure it connects with the audience, I try to think like a reader and pick aspects and details that will resonate and connect. It may sound simple but the best way to learn nonfiction is to read as much creative nonfiction writing as you can get your hands on. I think a good reader makes for a good writer as reading helps the writer’s radar and sonar. It allows the writer to zero in on the right topic and the right words. A common mistake many writers make when writing a memoir, autobiography or other non-fiction is becoming insular, focusing only on what matters to them and not necessarily to the reader. This would be fine if the writer were writing only for their own pleasure, but if you want your work to be read, you have to also write for the reader.”

Shrayana Bhattacharya, the author of Desperately Seeking Shahrukh, wanted to tell a story about how womanhood in India has evolved since the economic growth spurt triggered in the 1990s. “My first rule was simplicity: I wanted to write a text that could explain the gender crisis in the Indian economy to a non-specialist, to my grandmother and to Shah Rukh Khan. This was tough to implement. I was writing this book through fifteen years of research, notes and data. I had a million moments of self-doubt. Many times, I wondered if I should write in a more academic and technical style to signal what a serious scholar I was. However, one of the exciting parts about it was the leeway it gave me to explore emotional truths, but this should never come at the expense of facts.” She feels that the biggest mistake authors of nonfiction make is the use of technical jargon. The social distance between the researcher and research subject is a challenge all nonfiction writers face. “I tackled it by only asking questions I would also answer for myself in the book. If I wrote about the love lives of other women, I would share mine,” she states. Exploring a familiar real-life event from a different angle can help bring nuance and variety to a literary nonfiction narrative.

Tarana H Khan, the author of The Begum and the Dastan, has always been a storyteller, melding personal experience and imagination to create a narrative that comes most naturally to her. “Writing nonfiction meant exercising another writing muscle, but what I like about creative nonfiction is that it lends itself to different styles of narrative – from oral history and personal stories to historical research,” she says. She generally writes about cultural history and food. So her inspiration for a piece can come from something she has experienced or something she has read. “It takes me back into memories, that realm of half-remembered stories and instances.” She attempts to research the subject and connect to people who might have relevant knowledge or information, taking down notes and making inferences, then letting the material rest before it forms a cohesive whole in the mind. “It can help you craft a thematically cohesive piece of writing. There will be an ‘aha’ moment when everything will come together. That’s when you start writing. I write like a child – no filters and no barriers to free expression. Again, the article needs to rest. Meanwhile, you can read, and continue your research. It is important that everything one puts down has a factual base. A cardinal mistake new writers make is putting down unconfirmed facts or being politically incorrect.” Khan says she has been guilty of making such mistakes too but has learnt from them. “Then one takes up the persona of a ruthless editor. Cut, slash, confirm and rewrite. All writing is essentially rewriting,” said Khan.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Karachi