personal reportage presentation, spring 2015 techniques course

1. THE REPORTED PERSONAL ESSAY
Also known as our next project

2. ISN’T MEMOIR A PERSONAL ESSAY?
 Yes, it is.
 Within the framework of creative nonfiction, we
have a variety of forms, such as memoir, essays,
literary journalism, flash nonfiction etc.
 One way to think about these various forms is to
think about what they have in common (rooted in
reality/ true stories; use of creative writing
techniques such as those we have discussed
 But a key difference between memoir and a
reported essay might be looked at as internal vs.
external

3. MEMOIR VS. REPORTAGE
 In memoir, the main “source” for information is
usually the writer and the writer’s memory (internal
reportage).
 In some cases, such as with David Carr and David
MacLean—and for longer narratives—the unreliable
narrator may talk to others.
 But in reported essays and literary journalism, the
sources may stretch farther than those close to the
original source to the outside world (external)

4. WHY REPORT?
 Interviewing sources, and research, can enhance
and deepen our topics
 Interviews and research provide credibility
 Moving outside our own brains and experiences
broadens our expertise, knowledge and ideas for all
writing
 This is why so many nonfiction and fiction writers
work in both genres—because there is so much
cross-over in the techniques of gathering
information for a story and for the techniques of
writing fiction and creative nonfiction
 (And also because non-fiction provides more
opportunities to publish and get paid to write)

5. INSIDE WORLD + OUTSIDE WORLD
“This is one of the central imperatives of combining
personal material with history or criticism or
reportage: each thread must do some work that
isn’t being done by another; that can’t be done by
another.”
—Leslie Jamison (Empathy Exams)

6. MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Did reading this essay make you feel itchy?

7. THE DEVIL’S BAIT
“For Paul, it started with a fishing trip. For Lenny, it
was an addict whose knuckles were covered in
sores. Dawn found pimples clustered around her
swimming goggles. Kendra noticed ingrown hairs.
Patricia was attacked by sand flies on a Gulf Coast
beach. Sometimes the sickness starts as blisters,
or lesions, or itching, or simply a terrible fog settling
over the mind, over the world.”
(The Devil’s Bait, Leslie Jamison)

8. “DEVIL’S BAIT” INCLUDES:
 Personal and external reportage
 Scenes, exposition and an overall shape
 Description and metaphor
 Reflection and exposition
Group activity: To analyze Jamison’s essay and its
use of the elements of creative nonfiction, then
share with the rest of the class for a larger
discussion.

9. SPECIFIC TASKS
 Group 1: Structure: As a group, look through the piece
and make observations about the overall shape of the
piece, as well as observations about the use of scene
versus summary. How would you say the piece is
organized?
 Group 2: Imagery and metaphor: As a group, look
through the essay and identify examples of visual
imagery and metaphor used by Jamison. How do these
examples bolster the piece as a whole?
 Group 3: Identify places where Jamison “reflects” on her
topic. What is she saying in this piece? What is its point/
theme?
 Each group should be prepared to share observations
from each topic with the class today for a larger
discussion.

10. WRITING EXERCISE: PICK A COLUMN
places hobbies beliefs
vacation sports religion
hometown gaming friendship
Bucket list cooking politics
Road trip knitting Activist arena

11. DON’T THINK: WRITE
 Write everything you know about the topic you’ve
chosen
 You can write a scene in which the topic takes
place
 You can write a list of everything you know
 If you’re stuck, start with the sentence: “here’s what
I know about...”
 Write for 15 minutes, then we’ll read

12. NEXT STEPS
 Take what you’ve written, and write a complete
draft.
 Don’t stop for research (we’ll do that next): just
write to the end
 If you hate your topic, you can pick a new one, but
you need to bring a complete first draft to class next
week
 Length is not important (two pages is sufficient)
 We’ll be working in pairs next week to look for
places to bring in “reportage” to the piece