US Trends

what's the difference between fiction and nonfiction

Fiction is made-up writing, while nonfiction is factual writing about real people, places, or events.

Core difference

  • Fiction: Stories created from the writer’s imagination, even if inspired by real life.
  • Nonfiction: Writing based on facts and real events that can be checked or verified.

A quick way to test it: if it didn’t actually happen (at least not exactly as told), it’s fiction; if it did happen and is presented as true, it’s nonfiction.

Purpose and feel

  • Fiction usually aims to entertain, explore ideas, or make you feel something through invented characters and plots.
  • Nonfiction mainly aims to inform, explain, persuade, or document reality, even if it still tells a compelling story.

Both can be emotional and gripping, but nonfiction has to stay truthful, while fiction can bend anything to serve the story.

Examples of each (mini list)

  • Common fiction:
    • Novels and short stories (fantasy, romance, mystery, sci‑fi).
* Most movies and TV dramas, even if “inspired by a true story.”
  • Common nonfiction:
    • Biographies and memoirs.
* History books, self‑help, how‑to guides, cookbooks, travel guides, and journalism.

A tiny story-style example

  • Fiction version:
    “Alex stepped onto Mars at sunrise, watching twin moons fade as the new colony came alive.”
    (This hasn’t really happened; it’s imagined, so it’s fiction.)

  • Nonfiction version:
    “On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.”

(This is a verifiable, historical event, so it’s nonfiction.)

Quick HTML table (for your “Quick Scoop”)

html

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Aspect</th>
    <th>Fiction</th>
    <th>Nonfiction</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>What it’s based on</td>
    <td>Imagination, invented characters and events[web:1][web:7]</td>
    <td>Facts, real people, real events[web:3][web:5][web:7]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Main goal</td>
    <td>Entertain, explore ideas, create emotional impact[web:1][web:9]</td>
    <td>Inform, explain, document, or persuade using truth[web:3][web:7][web:9]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Truth requirement</td>
    <td>Can freely change or invent anything[web:1][web:2]</td>
    <td>Expected to be accurate and verifiable; fabrications hurt credibility[web:3][web:7]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Typical forms</td>
    <td>Novels, short stories, fantasy, mystery, sci‑fi[web:8][web:9]</td>
    <td>Biographies, memoirs, history, journalism, guides, essays[web:1][web:3][web:6][web:7]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Can be “inspired by real events”?</td>
    <td>Yes—still fiction if key parts are made up[web:5][web:8]</td>
    <td>Yes—but details must remain accurate overall[web:3][web:7]</td>
  </tr>
</table>

TL;DR: fiction = imagined stories; nonfiction = true, fact-based writing about the real world.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.