Jo March. Harry Potter. Captain Underpants (yes, even him!). These are just a few of the names people may say when asked who their favorite character is. But besides their popularity, what do all these beloved characters have in common? They are all found in works of fiction. Read on to learn what fiction is, and how you might want to become a fiction writer yourself.
Fiction definition
First, let’s define fiction
What does fiction mean? Believe it or not, you’re probably already pretty familiar with this common genre. It’s extremely popular, and fictional characters and stories make up a huge amount of the literary and film works of history. Read on to define fiction.
FICTION DEFINITION
What is fiction?
What does fiction mean? Fiction quite simply is any work where the events, elements, or characters are imaginary. Usually fiction refers to literary fiction. What is literary fiction? This refers to books, novels, or short stories. But fiction can also refer to film, television, podcasts, radio, or really any type of media that tells a story that comes from the author’s imagination.
Fiction stories are not true. They can be inspired by true events or people, but the story is imaginary, or not factual. It would be fair to say the majority of the most beloved stories in our history are fiction, whether that’s the story of boy wizard Harry Potter told in the eponymous series, or the tales of the March sisters portrayed in the book “Little Women.”
Read on to see some examples of fiction from literature. In fiction, characters, places, and events come from the author’s imagination, as opposed to real life. Have you heard of these fiction people, places, or stories before?
Famous fictional elements:
- Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings, a fictional place created by author J.R.R. Tolkien in his book series.
- Anna Karenina, the main, fictional character of a book written by author Leo Tolstoy.
- The Icarus myth, a story from Greek mythology, about a boy flying too close to the sun. This is a myth, which is a traditional type of fiction story that ancient civilizations created.
Did You Know?
The word fiction has a Latin root. Fiction comes from the Latin word fictio, which means “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.” It makes sense, right? Because when writers write fiction, they are making up their own world, characters, and story.
Fiction meaning
Fiction vs nonfiction
Fiction stories can be based on truth, but the difference between fiction and nonfiction is that fiction is imaginary, while nonfiction is true.
What is the difference between fiction and nonfiction
Looking at film is a great way to understand the difference between fiction vs nonfiction.
In film, documentaries are usually nonfiction, while narrative film is usually fiction. For example, the sinking of the boat Titanic was an event in history that actually happened. There have been many documentary films about this event. These are nonfiction works, as they cite facts, provide expert commentary, and tell the story of what actually happened.
Meanwhile, the narrative film Titanic by James Cameron is a fictional movie. Cameron was inspired by the real life events of the Titanic, and while some of the events depicted in the film did happen, the characters and story is fictional, coming from Cameron’s imagination as opposed to real life.
Fiction books
Why choose to write fiction?
Many authors prefer to write fiction as opposed to nonfiction, and there are several reasons why. Some authors, especially in the sci-fi and fantasy genres, are more interested in using their imaginations to go places that do not exist in the real world, or create characters with traits that do not exist here in real life. If you want a character to have the power to fly in your story, that’s not based on reality. This makes the character fictional. Many literary genres, such as sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and horror - just to name a few - focus on fiction, since their stories contain magical or imaginary elements.
Many authors also say it’s easier to comment on truth or explore tough issues using fiction. Perhaps you want to write a story based on something that happened in your life. By making your characters, the settings, or the events fictional, it may be easier to explore what happened than writing a completely factual account.
Tips for writing fiction
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Up Next
What is nonfiction?
Now that you’ve learned all about fiction, you might want to focus on learning more about nonfiction. Many writers, from journalists to documentarians, focus their work on true events, finding real life more interesting than imagination.
Up Next: What is Non-Fiction? →
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