Fiction Writing

Some people like fiction writing, other people prefer nonfiction, and some people dont read. For those of us who do, we know that theres a distinct difference between the two types of writing, each with their strengths and weaknesses. And for those of us who write, we know that theres a difference between writing fiction or nonfiction as opposed to reading it. Perceiving and creating are two different things.

Fiction writing is obviously fictional. The characters and situations in no way are supposed to represent real life people and events and any similarity is purely coincidence and all that, unless its an allegory or satire or something of that sort. Fiction writing is conceived of in the authors head, and out of their imagination comes a story that can resonate with readers despite being fabricated. Nonfiction, on the other hand, is an account of something that actually happened in real life (unless youre James Frey), or it generally has to do with something not imaginary. While nonfiction can refer to things like instruction manuals and research papers, when people talk about nonfiction writing theyre usually talking about a real life story or a biography.

Fiction writing might appeal more to some people because it can contain fantastical elements that you wont find in the real world while on the other hand, it has been said that truth is stranger than fiction. After all, if someone wrote a book about it, its probably something noteworthy. People might be able to relate to nonfiction writing more because they might have personally experienced what theyre reading about, but people can sometimes relate to fiction writing better because it has a universal theme that a wider audience can appreciate. This isnt to say that people who havent personally experienced what they read about cant relate to it or enjoy it; the point is just that people relate to different things.

But writing isnt always such a strict dichotomy. Sometimes elements of both styles get blended together to create something that doesnt fall into either category. For example, sometimes stories are based on a real life event, but they take poetic license and create imaginary people and situations surrounding that event in the way that many movies do. And writing preference doesnt have to be dichotomous either people enjoy both fiction and nonfiction writing as long as it captures their interest.