During this workshop, with special guest Rowan McCandless, we looked at three different essay structures. We then used a series of prompts to play with different creative nonfiction forms.
First a look at essay forms
The hermit crab essay is a structure in which the container acts as a shell to hold the story. The term hermit crab essay was first coined by Suzanne Paola and Brenda Miller in their book, Tell It Slant. Hermit crab essays can take the form of a list, a recipe, pharmaceutical instructions, or a collage; the possibilities are endless.
The flash nonfiction essay is a form of creative nonfiction in which compression and the constraint of word count provides the essay’s parameters. Flash nonfiction pieces are generally 1,000 words and under. The flash nonfiction essay can take on various forms such as a braided essay, a collage essay, a lyric essay, a diptych as examples.
The Diptych is an essay form in which two written panels reflect upon one another.
The Prompts
1. Using the WRITING PROMPT “I regret to inform you.” Write for 4 minutes.
2. At the top of your page write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that comes to mind. Write for 6 minutes.
3. PART A. For 3 minutes list the contents of a room that you are familiar with. PART B. For 5 minutes write about being in that room. Focus on the senses. How does it feel being in this room? Is there a memory attached to this room?
4. PART A. For 2 minutes list all the places you have lived in. PART B. For 5 minutes write an anecdote about each place you have lived.
5. Divide a piece of paper into quarters with your pen. PART A. Write 2 minutes listing things you like. PART B. write 2 minutes listing things you dislike. PART C. Pick one from the like list and write about it for 5 minutes. PART D. Pick one item from the dislike list and write about for 5 minutes.
6. PART ONE. write 15 sentences using the following writing prompt. I’m the kind of person who__________________ but doesn’t _____________________________. Write for 10 minutes. Remember to write to the concrete rather than to the abstract. PART TWO. Look over your list and choose one sentence to expand upon. Write for 10 minutes.
You can take a look at Rowan’s slides from the workshop here: https://youtu.be/qJXHDdTsmIY