I know, I know, talking about the precise definition of fiction and nonfiction is so palpable, I can tell that you’re rolling your eyes at me. But don’t roll them just yet, because, believe it or not, many of those who are just starting to read books still don’t know the difference between fiction and nonfiction. I know, because I met many people who can’t tell them apart. I’m here to explain what fiction and nonfiction books are in simple terms.
“Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?”
Tanith Lee.
Fiction
Fiction books are those where the characters, the plot, and the setting are all coming from the author’s imagination. They branch out into many categories and genres, including novels, short stories, children’s books, poems, and plays. Sometimes, the author uses an actual setting that he knows, and he builds up a from his imagination story and characters on it.
“The trouble with writing fiction is that it has to make sense, whereas real life doesn’t.”
Iain M. Banks
In Sci-Fi genre novels and fantasy, for example, everything comes from the author’s imagination, including the setting. Yet what you must know is that the author makes extensive research on the topic to make it as believable as possible to the reader. An example of Sci-Fi is The Martian by Andy Weir and Fantasy The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski.
It is essential to point out that when the author writes fiction, there is no limit to his imagination. He has the liberty to do whatever he wants for grabbing the reader’s attention. Sometimes elements of suspense are introduced, chapters interchange between the past and present, and sometimes they could be written from different character POVs.
Nonfiction
The most important rule about writing a nonfiction book is honesty. Here the author must give actual facts if he’s writing an essay or a self-help book, for example. Yet if he’s writing a biography or a memoir, he must focus on issues that have happened in actual life to real people. Other examples of nonfiction are theory, philosophy, research, history, and academic books.
“You know, everybody’s ignorant, just on different subjects.”
Will Rogers
Even in nonfiction, the writer still can be creative in his style of writing. Biographies and autobiographies are still real-life narrative stories, and they can still grip the attention of the reader. These type of nonfiction books is called creative nonfiction. An example that does to my mind is Educated, by Tara Westover.
In a nutshell, good fiction books are the ones that are as closer to reality, and good nonfiction books are the ones that are more creative. That’s where the thin line separating the two disappears.