The Main Difference Between Fiction and Non-fiction

Myths, Facts, and Everything in between

Isn't it strange that the simple act of reading a bunch of artfully compiled words is able to provide an exhilarating experience that is on par with any adrenaline rush you could possibly get from an adventure sport? 

The first thing you would want to do having read the above would be to classify it as either fact or fiction, and the reason for the same can be attributed to human nature. Since time immemorial, we've had an innate urge to label things in a binary fashion: right/wrong, good/bad, etc. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that almost all of literature is primarily categorized into Fiction and Non-Fiction. This classification can also be extended to other forms of entertainment like movies but we'll restrict ourselves to discussing books and other literary forms in this post.

What is fiction?

Typically, fiction is associated with imagination whereas non-fiction is said to be real, despite the fact that the basis for both might lie in true events. A section of experts describes fiction as a piece of literature where the author wants the reader to 'make-believe' what he or she has written. When it comes to non-fiction, however, the author's job is to 'make the reader believe' what has been written. In this context, we can say that any literary work needs to meet relatively higher standards in order to be classified as non-fiction. This doesn't mean that fictional works are inferior in any way. It only means that there is a much higher degree of creative freedom given to fiction whereas non-fiction has to be predominantly based on facts.

The experience of reading fiction can be described as hallucinating vividly with open eyes. Some futuristic books like George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 have the ability to amaze us beyond our wildest dreams, thanks to the shocking predictions they make. Jules Verne's sci-fi novels also retain this quality. The Godfather, Sherlock Holmes, Robert Langdon, Hercule Poirot, are all examples of fictional characters who worm their way into our hearts on account of being hauntingly life-like and being in fact set in the real world. 

What is non-fiction?

Non-fiction is more often than not portrayed as dull, boring, and hard to read by even avid readers. Whenever you come across such descriptions, remember that it's just somebody's opinion. Readers often get frightened or discouraged from reading non-fiction because of the negative opinions of a small bunch of readers. In actuality, non-fiction is a very intimate form of writing that comes very close to reality, sometimes too uncomfortably. Sometimes it so happens that in his or her quest to be authentic, the author loses sight of writing in an engaging manner. Non-fiction is a very broad classification that includes basically anything that's not fiction. Business, self-help, biographies, cookbooks, are some popular non-fiction genres. 

Non-fiction often has more to it than meets the eye and leaves an eternal imprint on the reader's mind. Biographies especially endear themselves to the reader by way of the character appealing to the reader's very soul owing to the maelstrom of emotions the person's life story evokes in the reader. Self-help books are the need of the hour in order to help us combat and cope with the widespread mental health problems globally. Non-fiction helps us enhance our character and presents us with inspiration, role models, and several potential pathways to improve ourselves. It also extensively imparts knowledge about the past in the eyes of a host of personalities spread over the fabric of time. It is these experiential accounts that in fact constitute most of history. True accounts of crimes incite a morbid fascination whereas similar accounts of war evoke genuine sympathy for the unfortunate souls. 

The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddartha Mukherjee, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank's, Becoming by Michelle Obama's, The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma's, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari's, are some popular works belonging to this genre. 

In the end, it needs to be said that the ultimate goal of reading is to gain knowledge and pleasure, and these can be achieved on the consumption of any kind of book :)