Fiction is a type of creative work that mainly tells stories about people, events, or places that are not real or are imagined in some way. These stories do not match real facts, history, or what seems likely to happen. Traditionally, fiction refers to written stories in prose, such as novels, novellas, and short stories. However, fiction can also include imaginary stories in other forms, like plays, movies, TV shows, radio plays, comics, role-playing games, and video games.
Definition and theory
Fiction is usually clearly identified as not real, so people expect fictional works to differ from the real world in some way. These works may not show real events or real people, but instead create imaginary situations and characters. Because fiction is not based on reality, the messages and ideas in fictional works can be understood in many different ways. Fiction has been part of literature for a long time, so the study of what fiction is, how it works, and what it means is called literary theory. Looking closely at specific fictional works, like books or plays, is called literary criticism, and this includes areas like film and theater criticism. Some fictional works create completely separate worlds, not connected to the real universe. Creating these imaginary worlds is called worldbuilding.
Literary critic James Wood says that fiction uses both made-up ideas and believable details to make stories feel real. This idea is similar to poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s concept of the audience choosing to believe in fictional stories even if they are not true. 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 questions about reality, such as whether there are clear ways to measure what is real or if it is impossible to know reality completely.
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 mix these categories, especially those in experimental storytelling genres such as postmodern fiction, autofiction, or creative nonfiction, including non-fiction novels and docudramas. These works may also involve misleading audiences by falsely claiming fiction is non-fiction.
The difference between non-fiction and fiction can be best understood from the audience’s perspective. A work is considered non-fiction if its characters, settings, and events are seen as completely real or based on history and facts. A work is seen as fiction if it changes any of these elements to make them different from reality.
Most fiction includes some truth or real-world ideas, even if the story itself is imaginary. Fiction invites readers to explore real themes—like important issues or ideas—through imaginary settings, events, or situations that are similar to, but not the same as, reality.
The genre of speculative fiction includes stories that follow less realistic rules about people, events, or places. For example, speculative fiction might show a completely imaginary world or one where natural laws do not apply (like fantasy), or it might describe real historical events that end in completely made-up ways (like alternative history), or it might include technology that goes against current scientific knowledge (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 past events and time periods. The effort to make stories feel like real life or to describe details more accurately, which became popular in the 19th century, is called literary realism. This approach includes some works from both fiction and non-fiction.
History
Storytelling has been part of every human culture. Each culture uses different amounts of real events and made-up stories in their storytelling. Early stories often mixed real history with myths. Greek poets like Homer, Hesiod, and Aesop created fictional stories that were first told aloud and later written down. Prose fiction began in Ancient Greece and was influenced by storytelling traditions from Asia and Egypt. Stories with completely made-up characters and events, called plasmatic narratives, were developed through ancient plays and New Comedy. Many early fictional stories included strange and unusual adventures as writers explored the limits of storytelling. Milesian tales were an early example of fictional writing in Ancient Greece and Italy. As storytelling in Ancient Greece grew, writers focused on characters and situations that readers could relate to, such as love stories, pirates, and religious events. Heroic romance, which included fantasy elements like magic and knights, developed in medieval Europe.
The modern novel was created by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century with his book Don Quixote. Novels became the main way to share fictional stories during the 18th and 19th centuries. These stories often included ideas from the Enlightenment, such as the belief in using evidence to learn and the idea that some questions may not have clear answers. A style called realism became popular during this time, focusing on stories that seemed true to life. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new ways to share stories appeared, such as magazines and movies. Interactive fiction, where readers make choices that affect the story, was created in the late 20th century through video games.
Elements
All stories, whether fiction or not, have certain basic parts. These include characters, conflict, narrative mode, plot, setting, and theme. Characters are people or creatures in a story. Conflict is a problem or challenge that makes characters think and act in certain ways. Narrative mode is the way a story is told, such as through a narrator or directly from a character's perspective. Plot is the order of events that happen in a story. Setting is the place and time where a story takes place. Theme is the main message or idea that a story shares, which people can talk about and think about.
Formats
Traditionally, fiction includes novels, novellas, short stories, fables, legends, myths, fairy tales, epic and narrative poetry, and plays such as operas, musicals, dramas, puppet plays, and different types of theatrical dances. However, fiction may also include comic books, animated cartoons, stop motion animations, anime, manga, films, video games, radio programs, and television programs such as comedies and dramas.
The Internet has greatly influenced how fiction is created and shared. It has raised questions about how well copyright laws can ensure that creators are paid for their work. Also, digital libraries like Project Gutenberg make public domain texts easier to access. The combination of affordable home computers, the Internet, and the creativity of users has created new types of fiction, such as interactive computer games and computer-generated comics. Countless online forums allow fans of specific fictional worlds to create and share stories based on existing ones. The Internet is also used for blog fiction, where stories are posted on blogs as short stories or ongoing series. Collaborative fiction involves multiple authors writing a story one part at a time, or allowing anyone to edit the text using a wiki.
Fiction writing
The definition of literary fiction is disputed. It may describe any written story. However, other definitions exist, including a written story that:
Literary fiction is sometimes used as another word for literature, meaning works considered an art form. While some people believe 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, the study of genre fiction has grown in schools and universities.
The term "literary fiction" is sometimes used to mean all literature. This idea is debated. Neal Stephenson has said that while any definition is simple, there is now a cultural difference between literary and genre fiction. Literary authors often have jobs at universities or similar places, and their positions depend on praise from other writers and critics, not on book sales. Genre fiction writers usually rely on selling books for income. John Updike once said that the term "literary fiction" has caused confusion for writers like him. He called himself a genre writer, saying his work is like spy fiction or chick lit. He also said the term limits his work and that all his books are literary because they are written in words.
Literary fiction often includes comments on society, politics, or the human experience. It focuses on detailed stories about characters who are complex and interesting. This is different from genre fiction, where the story itself is more important. In literary fiction, the story is driven by characters' inner thoughts and feelings, with detailed reasons for their actions. The writing style is often described as elegant, poetic, and complex. The tone may be darker, and the pace may be slower than in popular fiction. Terrence Rafferty said that literary fiction can take time to describe small details, even if it risks losing its way.
Depending on how literary fiction is defined, genre fiction may be a type of fiction (stories that follow a specific genre) or the opposite: a label for fiction that is seen as less artistic or intellectual than high culture. Fiction is usually divided into genres, which are groups of stories that share similar styles, themes, or elements.
Science fiction includes ideas about technology that do not exist when the story is written. For example, Jules Verne's book From the Earth to the Moon (1865) imagined a moon landing, which happened in 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon.
Historical fiction places fictional characters into real historical events. In Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, the character Edward Waverley meets Bonnie Prince Charlie, a real historical figure, and joins a real battle. Some stories are based on true events but include changes to make them more interesting. For example, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (1990) is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War.
Fantasy fiction includes supernatural, magical, or impossible elements. Examples include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. Fantasy stories often include imaginary creatures like dragons or fairies.
Written fiction is divided by length into categories such as:
Fiction writing is the process of creating a fictional story. Some parts of the process may be planned, while others may happen suddenly. Writers use different styles and have unique voices when creating stories.
Fictionalization as a concept
The use of real events or real people as inspiration for fictional stories or characters is called fictionalization. The opposite situation, where real life seems to copy events or ideas from fiction, is often called "life imitating art." This phrase is closely linked to the Anglo-Irish writer Oscar Wilde.
Changing real events into a fictional story, such as by dramatizing real events or people, is called fictionalization. For visual works like plays or films, this process is sometimes called dramatization. According to the academic source Oxford Reference, a work created this way includes a story that uses real facts but presents them as if they were made up. Such films or TV shows often include labels like "based on a true story." Studying this process is part of media studies.
Examples of fictionalization in the arts include stories about real events from World War II and real people, such as Adolf Hitler or Reinhard Heydrich. For instance, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator, British actor Charlie Chaplin played a character named Adenoid Hynkel, who was inspired by real fascist leaders during World War II. The character exaggerated real events to show how fascist leaders acted in a foolish and ridiculous way. Many other fictional characters are based on real people but have made-up traits, such as names, looks, or backgrounds.