The Ethics of Nonfiction: Balancing Accuracy with Storytelling

Nonfiction writing lives in a space of tension. On one side is accuracy—the obligation to get the facts right. On the other is storytelling—the desire to shape those facts into something compelling, meaningful, and memorable. Writers are pulled between the two, and the balance is not always clear. How much can you compress? Can you merge two conversations into one scene? What if memory contradicts the record?