fiction

Fiction is a category of narrative literature that presents imagined events, characters, and settings. It is distinguished from nonfiction by its use of invented content, though it often engages with real people, settings, and social issues. The term encompasses a wide range of prose forms, including novels, novellas, and short stories, as well as dramatic works telling imagined stories. Fiction aims to entertain, explore ideas, and illuminate human experience.

Fiction has historical roots in oral storytelling, myths, and epic poetry. The modern novel emerged in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, with writers such as Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson contributing to its development. Realist and psychological approaches in the 19th century broadened its scope, while 20th-century modernism and postmodernism experimented with form, voice, and narrative reliability. Today fiction appears across many cultures and media, continuing to evolve with technology and global exchange.

Common forms include novels, novellas, and short stories, as well as narrative subgenres such as science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, and historical fiction. Core elements include plot, character, setting, and point of view. Writers use techniques such as unreliable narration, framing devices, symbolism, and motifs to structure meaning. Realistic fiction aims to reflect everyday life; speculative fiction explores possibilities beyond present reality; the boundaries between categories are often fluid.

Fiction serves multiple purposes: to entertain, explore moral and social questions, and foster empathy by inhabiting other perspectives. It has significant cultural impact and can influence public thought and taste. Debates surround the representation of truth, ethics of representation, and the role of fiction in education and public life. Adaptations across film, television, and digital media extend its reach beyond print.

Because fiction intentionally constructs worlds, its value lies in the resonance of its stories and the insights they offer into human experience.