Fiction is a type of creative work. It often tells stories about people, events, or places that are not real. These stories do not match real facts, history, or what is likely to happen. In the past, fiction mainly meant written stories in prose, such as novels, novellas, and short stories. Today, fiction includes many other forms, such as plays, movies, TV shows, radio plays, comics, games, and video games.

Definition and theory

Fiction is usually recognized as not being real, so people expect fictional works to differ from the real world. These works may not include true facts or real people, but instead use made-up stories and characters. Because fiction is not based on reality, the messages and ideas in fictional works, such as how they connect to real-life problems or events, can be understood in many different ways. Fiction has been around the longest in literature, which is written stories. The study of what fiction is, how it works, and what it means is called literary theory. Looking closely at specific fictional stories and their meanings is called literary criticism, which also includes areas like film and theater criticism. Some fictional works create their own worlds that are completely separate from the real world. Creating these imaginary worlds is called worldbuilding.

Literary critic James Wood says that fiction is both made-up and believable. This means that stories need creative ideas but also need to feel real enough for readers to enjoy them. This idea is linked to poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's concept of "willing suspension of disbelief," where readers choose to believe in a story even though it is not real. For many years, scholars have studied how reading fiction affects people and how it changes their understanding of the world. The endless possibilities in fiction also raise big questions about reality, such as whether there is a way to measure what is real or if it is impossible to know everything about the world.

Fiction and reality

Non-fiction writers take responsibility for sharing information and sometimes opinions that are based only on real historical and factual events. Although fiction and non-fiction are often seen as opposites, some modern works make the line between them less clear. These include certain types of experimental stories, such as postmodern fiction, autofiction, or creative nonfiction like non-fiction novels and docudramas. Some works also falsely claim to be non-fiction when they are actually fiction.

The difference between fiction and non-fiction can be best understood from the audience's perspective. A work is considered non-fiction if its people, places, and events are seen as entirely real by the audience. A work is considered fiction if it changes any of these elements in any way.

Even most fiction includes some truth or reflects real experiences from a particular point of view. Fiction invites readers to explore real-world ideas, problems, or themes using imaginary settings, events, or situations that are similar to reality but not exactly the same.

The broad category of speculative fiction includes stories that follow less realistic rules about people, events, or places. For example, it might describe completely imaginary worlds, events that break natural laws (like fantasy), or real historical events that end or change in completely imaginary ways (like alternative history). It might also feature technology that is impossible or beyond current scientific understanding (like science fiction).

In contrast, realistic fiction includes stories set in real places and times, with events that could plausibly happen in the real world. A type of realistic fiction is historical fiction, which focuses on true events and time periods from the past. The effort to create stories that feel true to life or describe details in a more objective way is called literary realism. This approach includes some works of both fiction and non-fiction.

History

Storytelling has been part of every human culture. Each culture uses different amounts of truth and fiction in its stories. Early fiction was closely connected to history and myths. Greek poets like Homer, Hesiod, and Aesop created fictional stories that were first shared through spoken words and later written down. Prose fiction began in Ancient Greece, inspired by storytelling traditions from Asia and Egypt. Fictional works were not clearly separated from historical or mythological stories until the imperial period. Stories with completely made-up characters and events were developed through ancient drama and New Comedy. A common pattern in early fiction was a series of strange and unusual adventures, as early writers explored the limits of fiction. Milesian tales were an early example of fiction writing in Ancient Greece and Italy. As fiction developed in Ancient Greece, writers focused on characters and situations that readers could relate to, including themes like love, pirates, and religious events. Heroic romance was created in medieval Europe, including elements of fantasy, such as supernatural beings and chivalry.

The structure of the modern novel was introduced by Miguel de Cervantes in his book Don Quixote during the early 17th century. The novel became the main form of fiction in the 18th and 19th centuries. These works often reflected ideas from the Enlightenment, such as relying on evidence and questioning certainty. Realism became a popular writing style during this time. New types of mass media appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as magazines for popular fiction and early films. Interactive fiction was created in the late 20th century through video games.

Elements

All stories, including those in narrative fiction, share certain basic elements. These elements are character, conflict, narrative mode, plot, setting, and theme. Characters are the people or beings in a story. Conflict is the problem or challenge that affects how characters think and act. Narrative mode refers to the ways a story is told, such as through a character's perspective or as a series of events. Plot is the order of events that make up the story. Setting describes where and when the story takes place. Theme is the important idea or message that readers consider and think about after finishing the story.

Formats

Fiction includes many types of stories and works, such as novels, shorter books, short stories, fables, legends, myths, fairy tales, poems, plays (like operas, musicals, dramas, puppet shows, and dance performances). It also includes comic books, animated cartoons, stop-motion films, anime, manga, movies, video games, radio shows, and television programs (such as comedies and dramas).

The Internet has greatly changed how fiction is created and shared. It has made it harder to protect the rights of people who create fiction, as it is now easier for others to copy and share their work without permission. Websites like Project Gutenberg help people access books that are free to use. The low cost of home computers, the Internet, and the creativity of people online have led to new kinds of fiction, such as interactive games and comics made by computers. Many websites allow fans to write and share stories based on existing fictional worlds. The Internet is also used for blog fiction, where stories are posted on blogs as short pieces or in parts, and for collaborative fiction, where stories are written by different people or edited by many users on a wiki.

Fiction writing

The definition of literary fiction is debated. It can refer to any written story. However, other definitions include works that focus on deep character studies, social issues, or the human experience. Literary fiction is sometimes used as another word for literature, which is considered an art form. While some people think literary fiction is better than genre fiction, the two are not always separate. Many famous writers have used genres like science fiction, crime fiction, or romance to create literature. In recent years, universities and scholars have studied genre fiction more closely.

The term "literary fiction" is sometimes used to mean the same as "literature." This idea is not agreed upon by everyone. Neal Stephenson has said that today, literary authors often get support from universities or other institutions, not from selling books. Their jobs depend more on praise from other writers and critics than on sales. Genre fiction writers usually rely on book sales for income. John Updike once said that the term "literary fiction" can limit writers and their goals. He believed all his books are literary because they are written in words. He also said the term feels restrictive when applied to his work.

Literary fiction often includes themes like social issues, politics, or reflections on life. It focuses on detailed, complex characters and their inner thoughts. This is different from genre fiction, which usually centers on the story's events. In literary fiction, the characters' emotions and motivations drive the plot, and the writing style is often elegant and detailed. The tone may be more serious, and the story may move more slowly than popular fiction. Terrence Rafferty said literary fiction can take time to describe small details, even if it risks losing the reader's attention.

Depending on the definition, genre fiction may be a type of fiction that fits into a specific category, or it may be seen as less artistic than other types of fiction. Fiction is often divided into genres, which are groups of stories that share similar themes, styles, or storytelling methods. Examples include science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy.

Science fiction stories imagine technologies that do not exist when the story is written. For example, Jules Verne's book From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, but humans did not land on the Moon until 1969.

Historical fiction places fictional characters into real historical events. In Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, the main character meets a real historical figure, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and participates in a real battle. Some stories are based on true events but include changes to make them more interesting. For example, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War, but it includes fictional details.

Fantasy fiction includes stories with magical or impossible elements. Examples are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. These stories often include imaginary creatures like dragons or fairies.

Written fiction is categorized by length. These categories include:

Fiction writing is the process of creating a fictional story. Some parts of the process may be planned, while others may develop as the writer works. Writers use different styles and have unique voices when creating stories.

Fictionalization as a concept

When real events or people are used as inspiration for stories or characters in fiction, this process is called fictionalization. The opposite situation, where real life seems to copy events or ideas from fiction, is often described as "life imitating art." This phrase is closely linked to the Anglo-Irish writer Oscar Wilde.

Changing real events or people into a fictional story, especially through dramatic performances in theater or film, is called fictionalization or, more specifically, dramatization. According to the academic source Oxford Reference, works created this way often have a story that is partly or fully based on real events but presented as fiction. These works are sometimes labeled "based on a true story." Studying this process is part of media studies in academic research.

Examples of fictionalization in the arts include stories about World War II and real people, such as Adolf Hitler and Reinhard Heydrich. For example, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator, British actor Charlie Chaplin played a character named Adenoid Hynkel, who was inspired by real events from World War II. This character was shown as a silly and foolish leader, making fun of real fascist leaders. Many other fictional characters are based on real people but have made-up traits, such as names, appearances, or backgrounds.