Editing Non-fiction

{{short description|Type of genre, true work}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{other uses|Non-fiction (disambiguation)}}
{{Literature}}

'''Non-fiction''' (or '''nonfiction''') is any [[document]] or [[content (media)|media content]] that attempts, in [[good faith]], to convey information only about the [[real life|real world]], rather than being grounded in [[imagination]].<ref name="litfiction">{{cite book |last=Farner |first=Geir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXXHAgAAQBAJ |title=Literary Fiction: The Ways We Read Narrative Literature |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing USA]] |year=2014 |isbn=9781623564261 |chapter=Chapter 2: What is Literary Fiction?}}</ref> Non-fiction typically aims to present topics [[Objectivity (philosophy)|objectively]] based on historical, scientific, and empirical information. However, some non-fiction ranges into more subjective territory, including sincerely held opinions on real-world topics.<ref>{{Cite Dictionary.com|nonfiction}}</ref>

Often referring specifically to [[prose]] writing,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/nonfiction| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190825065008/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/nonfiction| url-status = dead| archive-date = August 25, 2019| title = "nonfiction" definition via ''Lexico''}}</ref> non-fiction is one of the two fundamental approaches to [[narrative|story]] and [[storytelling]], in contrast to narrative [[fiction]], which is largely populated by imaginary characters and events.<ref name ="litfiction"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Culler |first=Jonathan |title=Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |page=31 |quote=Non-fictional discourse is usually embedded in a context that tells you how to take it: an instruction manual, a newspaper report, a letter from a charity. The context of fiction, though, explicitly leaves open the question of what the fiction is really about. Reference to the world is not so much a property of literary [''i.e.'', fictional] works as a function they are given by interpretation.}}</ref> Non-fiction writers can show the reasons and consequences of events, they can compare, contrast, classify, categorise and summarise information, put the facts in a logical or chronological order, infer and reach conclusions about facts, etc.<ref name=Loechko&Rossi2007/> They can use graphic, structural and printed appearance features such as [[picture]]s, [[Chart|graph]]s or [[chart]]s, [[diagram]]s, [[flowchart]]s, [[Abstract (summary)|summaries]], [[glossaries]], [[Sidebar (publishing)|sidebar]]s, [[timeline]]s, [[table of contents]], [[Headline|heading]]s, [[subheading]]s, [[Emphasis (typography)|bold]]ed or [[italicised]] words, [[footnote]]s, [[map]]s, [[Index (publishing)|indices]], [[label]]s, [[Caption (text)|caption]]s, etc. to help readers find information.<ref name=Loechko&Rossi2007/>        

While specific claims in a non-fiction work may prove inaccurate, the sincere author aims to be truthful at the time of composition. A non-fiction account is an exercise in accurately representing a topic, and remains distinct from any implied endorsement.

==Distinctions==
The numerous [[narrative technique]]s used within fiction are generally thought inappropriate for use in non-fiction. They are still present particularly in older works, but are often muted so as not to overshadow the information within the work. Simplicity, clarity, and directness are some of the most important considerations when producing non-fiction. Audience is important in any artistic or descriptive endeavour, but it is perhaps most important in non-fiction. In fiction, the writer believes that readers will make an effort to follow and interpret an indirectly or abstractly presented progression of theme, whereas the production of non-fiction has more to do with the direct provision of information. Understanding of the potential readers' use for the work and their existing knowledge of a subject are both fundamental for effective non-fiction. Despite the claim to truth of non-fiction, it is often necessary to persuade the reader to agree with the ideas and so a balanced, coherent, and informed argument is vital. However, the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction are continually blurred and argued upon, especially in the field of [[biography]];<ref name="The Art of Life">{{cite web|last=The Institute of Art and Ideas|title=The Art of Life|url=http://iai.tv/video/the-art-of-life|publisher=IAI|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626130913/https://iai.tv/video/the-art-of-life|url-status=live}}</ref> as [[Virginia Woolf]] said: "if we think of truth as something of granite-like solidity and of personality as something of rainbow-like intangibility and reflect that the aim of biography is to weld these two into one seamless whole, we shall admit that the problem is a stiff one and that we need not wonder if biographers, for the most part failed to solve it."<ref>{{cite book|last=Woolf|first=Virginia|title=Orlando|year=2010|publisher=Aziloth Books|isbn=978-1907523687|pages=134}}</ref>

Including information that the author knows to be untrue within such works is usually regarded as dishonest. Still, certain kinds of written works can legitimately be either fiction or non-fiction, such as journals of self-expression, [[Letter (message)|letter]]s, [[magazine]] articles, and other expressions of imagination. Though they are mostly either one or the other, a blend of both is also possible. Some fiction may include non-fictional elements; [[semi-fiction]] is fiction implementing a great deal of non-fiction,<ref>[https://ssrn.com/abstract=981296 The Role of Narrative Fiction and Semi-Fiction in Organizational Studies] G. Whiteman. N. Phillips. 13 2006, 12</ref> (such as a fictional description based on a true story). Some non-fiction may include elements of unverified [[supposition]], [[Deductive reasoning|deduction]], or [[imagination]] for the purpose of smoothing out a [[narrative]], but the inclusion of open falsehoods would discredit it as a work of non-fiction. The [[publishing]] and [[bookselling]] businesses sometimes use the phrase "[[literary non-fiction]]" to distinguish works with a more literary or intellectual bent, as opposed to the bulk of non-fiction subjects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Penguin Press |url=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/adult/penguinpress.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213211558/http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/adult/penguinpress.html |archive-date=Feb 13, 2014 |website=Penguin Group (USA)}}</ref>

==Types==
Based on the author's intention or the purpose of the content, the main [[genres]] of non-fiction are instructional, explanatory, discussion-based, report-based (non-chronological), opinion-based (persuasive) and relating (chronological recounting) non-fiction.<ref name=Loechko&Rossi2007>{{Citation |title=Guiding Readers Through Non-fiction: Effective Strategies for Small-group Instruction |author1=Dave Leochko |author2=Tom Rossi |publisher=Portage & Main Press |year=2007 |pages=5–16}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The National Literacy Strategy: Developing Early Writing |page=154 |publisher=Department of Education and Employment |place=London |year=2001}}</ref> Non-fictional works of these different genres can be created with the help of a range of structures or formats such as: 
* [[reference work]]s ([[almanac]]s, [[encyclopaedia]]s, [[atlas]]es, [[bibliography|bibliographies]], [[chronicle]]s, [[consumer report]]s, [[dictionary|dictionaries]], [[thesaurus|thesauri]], [[business directory|business]] or [[telephone directory|telephone directories]], [[handbook]]s, [[yearbook]]s, books of [[quotation]]s, etc)
* [[life writing]]s ([[autobiography|autobiographies]], [[biography|biographies]], [[confession]]s, [[Diary|diaries]], [[Logbook|logs]], [[memoir]]s, [[epistle]]s, [[Letter (message)|letter]]s, [[postcard]]s and [[letter collection]]s, [[epitaph]]s, [[obituary|obituaries]], etc.)
* [[literary criticism]] ([[book report]]s and [[book review]]s), [[art criticism]], [[film criticism]]
* [[persuasive writing]] ([[apologia]]s and [[polemic]]s), [[essay]]s and [[essay collection]]s; promotional writing ([[brochure]]s, [[pamphlet]]s, [[press release]]s, [[advertorial]]s, etc.)
* [[history|history books]]
* [[academic publishing|academic texts]] ([[academic_publishing#Scholarly_paper|scholarly paper]]s including [[Scientific literature#Scientific article|scientific paper]]s, [[monograph]]s, [[scientific journal]]s, [[treatise]]s, [[edited volume]]s, [[conference proceedings]], etc.)
* [[News story|news stories]], [[editorial]]s, [[letters to the editor]], and [[opinion piece]]s, [[manifesto]]s, [[:wikt:notice|notice]]s (announcements), [[documentary film]]s and [[factual television]]
* [[textbook]]s, [[study guide]]s, [[field guide]]s, [[travel literature|travelogue]]s, [[recipe]]s, [[owner's manual]]s and [[user guide]]s
*[[self-help book]]s, [[Science book|popular science books]], [[blog]]s, [[presentation]]s, [[oration]]s, [[saying]]s
And so on.<ref name=Loechko&Rossi2007/> 
Common literary examples of non-fiction include [[expository writing|expository]], [[Rhetorical modes#argument|argumentative]], functional, and [[opinion piece]]s; [[essay]]s on art or literature; [[biography|biographies]]; [[memoir]]s; [[journalism]]; and historical, [[scientific writing|scientific]], [[technical writing|technical]], or economic writings (including electronic ones).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzbNGWVonZIC |title=Quality Reading Instruction in the Age of Common Core Standards |publisher=[[International Reading Association]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780872074965 |editor=Susan B. Neuman |page=46 |editor2=Linda B. Gambrell}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Creative non-fiction]]
* [[Documentary practice]]
* [[List of writing genres]]
*[[:Category:Non-fiction literary awards]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
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==External links==
{{wiktionary|nonfiction|non-fiction}}
{{commons category|Non-fiction}}
{{Library resources box
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* [https://www.creativenonfiction.org/what-creative-nonfiction What is Creative Nonfiction?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019090416/http://www.creativenonfiction.org/what-creative-nonfiction |date=2012-10-19 }}
*[https://www.britannica.com/art/nonfiction-novel Nonfiction – overview] at Britannica

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[[Category:Non-fiction| ]]
[[Category:Genres]]
[[Category:Reality]]