Blog 5: Thoughts on Non-fiction

In my mind, if a book is labeled as a memoir, every detail and experience that the writer writes about must be true. As for Non-fiction, I believe if the major story elements are true, but some minor details such as dialogue or insignificant actions are made up, the story retains some credibility . Non-fiction should be written as it occurred, and should have no significant changes to the story.

I don't believe that half-truths are ok within a good story if the story labels itself a memoir. Every part of a memoir should be true. It does matter if memoirists bent their stories to make it more interesting, because it breaks the category of memoir.

I don't believe David Shields is right. Yes, I agree that a book doesn't absolutely need to be associated with a certain genre, but basic categorization is needed. It's the difference between Fiction and non-fiction, not Magic Realism and Fantasy, that matter. This basic characterization is what draws readers to a certain novel.