Guest: NAIWE’s Creative Nonfiction Jennia D’Lima

Would learning how historical details can add depth and context to your creative nonfiction manuscript pique your interest as well as create added value for your manuscript? Apart from bringing credibility to your topic, these details have the benefit of helping your reader better understand the context surrounding your subject. This session shows how to sift through research and facts to find what information will have the most impact and meaning as well as how to identify which areas of your manuscript would best benefit from these additions.

Here’s what you can expect to learn in this class:

  • Why historical details can create a more immersive reading experience

  • Determining whether historical details add or take away from the manuscript

  • How to avoid information dumps

  • Identifying when and where to add the information to achieve the desired effect

  • Finding and using credible resources

Duration: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Jennia Herold D'Lima is a full-blown logophile. She joined her high school’s newspaper in ninth grade, winning statewide awards for her writing, and expanded her journalism skills by continuing to write and edit throughout her high school years and as a college freshman. While earning her BA in psychology (and minoring in cultural anthropology with a focus on precolonial Mesoamerica) and her MA in applied developmental psychology, her writing and editing naturally skewed toward all things academic. Writing for and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, editing papers for classmates, and writing parenting resource guides honed her research skills. Jennia joined multiple professor-led research groups and completed four internships throughout her academic career. After graduating with a master’s, she worked at a national nonprofit in Washington, DC, and as an assistant researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. Jennia gradually transitioned to full-time editing. She enjoys traveling, volunteering, and taking creative photos of books and book-related items in those rare moments when she is not reading or editing.