Difference Between Fiction and Literature

Fiction Vs Literature

Literature is a very broad term that encompasses many different types of written or spoken materials. It has many definitions but in the technical sense, it consists of works produced by the inventive imagination. Because of this characteristic, it includes the following works: drama, poetry, non-fiction and even fictional works. Thus, it can be likened as a mother to fiction which is only one of its many children.

Conversely, fiction is a product of one’s imagination. It directly opposes the non-fiction category. It is only literature’s sub branch that serves as a writing genre rather than a collective term for a group of written or spoken works as in the case of literature as a whole. Fiction is usually expressed in the following types of literary narrative works like novels and short stories among others.

Fiction is considered to be part of post modern writing compared to general literature that is more classic in nature. Often, when one reads fiction he will find it easy to read from beginning to end because there’s no need for deeper comprehension and analysis. The flow is usually predictable and recognizable to most types of readers. In literature however, one is expected to stumble upon deep symbolisms whose main theme is slowly being uncovered as the reader reads on.

Lastly, writing literature is deemed to be a lot more difficult than writing pure fiction because literary writing necessitates that the author or writer imparts to his readers a sort of feeling, emotion and lasting memory with regard to the literary material read. Fiction writing ,on the other hand, is done by writers to make an appeal to the ordinary masses. That’s why it is written with clear central themes, interesting characters, often with very simple linear plots and predictable conclusions.

Summary

1. Literature is a broader term than fiction because the latter is only a type of literature.

2. Literature can either be non-fictional or fictional while fiction has to be purely fictional in scope.

3. Literature is a collective term that encompasses many writing genres and styles whereas fiction is only a writing genre in itself.

4. Literature usually has an ongoing central theme that may not be clear from the beginning compared to fiction that has a clear central theme right from the start.

5. Literature is more classic in nature than fiction which is more into the post modern era.

6. Literature is much more difficult to make than fiction.

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