Fiction refers to any creative work, primarily any narrative work, that portrays individuals, events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary/04%3A_About_Fiction-_Short_Stories_and_the_Novel/4.01%3A_What_is_Fiction). Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose, often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. However, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.
Fiction can be categorized into different genres such as mysteries, science fiction, romance, fantasy, chick lit, and crime thrillers/04%3A_About_Fiction-_Short_Stories_and_the_Novel/4.01%3A_What_is_Fiction). Literary fiction is a term used to describe works that are often taught in literature classrooms, including classics by Dickens, Austen, Twain, and Poe, for example/04%3A_About_Fiction-_Short_Stories_and_the_Novel/4.01%3A_What_is_Fiction).
The difference between fiction and nonfiction is that while nonfiction and creative nonfiction are true, fiction is not true/04%3A_About_Fiction-_Short_Stories_and_the_Novel/4.01%3A_What_is_Fiction). Fiction may chronicle real events that happened in a convincing way using verisimilitude, but for categorization purposes, the literature is still fiction/04%3A_About_Fiction-_Short_Stories_and_the_Novel/4.01%3A_What_is_Fiction).
In summary, fiction is any creative work that portrays imaginary individuals, events, or places and is inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. It can be expressed in any medium, including writings, live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Fiction can be categorized into different genres, and literary fiction refers to works that are often taught in literature classrooms.
