Response to "The Old Country," etc.

Both Peter Balakian’s “The Old Country” and Emily Hiestand’s “Hose” were extremely enjoyable to read. Obviously both stories are about strong memories in each author’s life; a reader can always connect to a memory, even if it isn’t his or her own. I noticed that not only were the stories about a memory, but a particular part of the memory is what the story is really about. With Balakian, the event was seeing his usually fun-loving grandmother obsessing over baseball. It was not until he saw a deeper, more serious side (his grandmother praying and smoking a pipe) that he wondered about his heritage and his grandmother’s past. Hiestand’s special moment was not just the memory of hosing a neighbor down in front of her yard, but the feeling of elation from breaking the rules that she got from the act. Each story is about a complete memory in chronological order; however, the ends of both stories still come to a realization. I need to remember that creative non-fiction still has elements of fiction. I realize there needs to be conflict, plot, characterization, etc; however, I’m scared I might get caught up in the memory and forget such strong images and feelings a memory can cause. My problem is still telling instead of showing, although I work very hard for that not to happen. I do have a question: is there supposed to be much dialogue in creative non-fiction? There really isn’t much so far in the stories we’ve read. I want to show, not tell. How can you specifically remember dialogue from a past memory accurately enough to put in non-fiction? Some of these stories have just summarized what characters have said; perhaps it’s because what they say isn’t too important in helping further the story. I’m getting stuck starting on this story, however. Who is to say my memory is interesting enough for someone to want to read about?