Writing innovative narratives to capture the complexity of lived experience: Poetry, scriptwriting and prose

Abstract

The task of capturing the lived experiences of individuals, groups, communities and societies is at the forefront of many qualitative methodologies.Yet, creative writing methods in research often demand courage. Courage to disrupt traditional notions of research and courage to give voice to issues that are complex, ambiguous or controversial; courage to be creative and design new methods to respond to tricky research topics and scenarios. However, in collaboration with others, and with recognition that others have gone there before, the emerging researcher is encouraged to (as we say in Aotearoa New Zealand) 'give it a go'. This chapter explains and explores how two such emerging researchers have employed creative narrative methods to capture the complexity of lived experience.