What is the difference between fact and fiction?
There is a world of difference between the two words fact and fiction. They have different meanings and therefore different connotations. Fact refers to something that can be proven as true but fiction is imagined and made up. Stories are fiction because they are imaginative and fictitious. Novels and short stories are works of fiction.
There is a difference in the origin of the words as well. Fact comes from the Latin word “factum” that means an occurrence or an event. It refers to something that actually took place. Fiction comes from the Latin word “ficto” which means imagined. The origin of the words shows that fiction is something that is not true.
Fact is based on truth. You cannot make up a fact because it either is or isn’t. Fiction can be perceived or experienced in the mind of the author. An autobiography is an example of fact because it is the story of a person’s life written by that person.
Fact has nothing to do with imagination or the mind. It is something that has happened at some point. Something that you see happening every day is a fact and has nothing to do with what you think or imagine. Fiction, though, is mind based and has nothing to do with what you see.
Fiction is the result of creativity. This is the power and talent that is inherent in a person and the ability to craft pieces of writing that tell a story in an imaginative way. It is considered a true gift.