To consider the answer to this question more completely, we should first determine what criteria we are using to define "Great Fiction." There are several criteria to consider, but in the interest of brevity, I'll focus only on a couple key aspects that also demand a strong imagination on the part of the writer.

These aspects are some of the most basic fundamentals of fiction writing, and if you've ever had any kind of writing class or read any books on writing you'll already be familiar with them. They are Character and Plot.

In great fiction Characters are often referred to as three dimensional. That simply means that they act and behave in a manner that suggests all the internal conflicts and contradictions that define a real human being. In order to accurately convey this, an author must imagine him or herself in each situation he or she creates as the character. The importance of imagination to this should be obvious.

The plot is concerned with what happened next, and the best plots are almost always planned in detail before the first word of prose hits the page (or computer monitor today). A plot must be structured for consistency and coherency. Coherency means that all elements of the plot ultimately work together towards an over-arching story. Consistency means that the plot elements work together thematically. Both of these things require a great degree of planning and imagining of various situations and how these situations will or will not work towards the concepts of consistency and coherency. Again, the importance of imagination should be obvious.

There are many more examples that could be considered, but the elements of Plot and Character are probably the most essential and universal to nearly all "Great Fiction." By seeing the importance of imagination to these elements, the importance of imagination to great fiction is demonstrated.

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