You know those baskets people put together and donate to basket bingos or raffles? The kind filled with all different types of items for any sex or age because you never know exactly who’s going to be winning it? That is what I see Creative NonFiction (CNF) as. A whole mess of stuff just piled together in one basket and wrapped, neatly, with a bow. Because nobody thinks alike, and so nobody has the same experiences. CNF is memories and experiences told like they are. Of course, there are some cases where people add a little embellishment (do you really think Running With Scissors is entirely 100% fact?) and that’s okay. If everything was written exactly as it happened it would probably be pretty boring.

But CNF isn’t just memoirs. It’s Travel writing, Literary Journalism, the Personal Essay, etc. and it could be all these things in one nice little package. Just like a basket bingo.