Fiction is a style of writing or literate which does not strictly adhere to facts or truths. It can be a completely imaginary an made-up story, an account based on fact, or a story that includes facts but contains false information. http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=fiction Fiction is most often prepared for entertainment purposes, such in novels or movies. The use of fiction allows for impossible events to be portrayed, such as superheroes, magic, monsters, or more. It can also put characters in situations that have never happened in the past, or places that don’t exist. http://www.christianfantasy.net/glossary.html http://library.thinkquest.org/5002/Basic/ficnf.htm

Fiction can also be used to tell the story of a historical event where all the facts are not completely clear. If an author has a partial story which is missing details, these details can be imagined, borrowed from another event, or otherwise given where that fact may not necessarily be what occurred. The entire story may not become fictitious, but it can include fictitious elements. This allows an event to be described when details are missing, and the historical value can still be gained.

The opposite of fiction is non-fiction. Non-fiction is literature, writing, or other dramatic displays such as television or movies where the events portrayed are completely factual.http://www.christianfantasy.net/glossary.html This may be original research, an account of a person’s life or historical event, or a summary of fact based completely on research. Non-fiction is also used in entertainment, though does not allow for the author to show their own creativity. Non-fiction is highly used in educational literature such as text books or reports, but can also be used to describe original research such as in a scientific or business report. http://library.thinkquest.org/5002/Basic/ficnf.htm http://www.jstor.org/pss/429900