What is fiction? »Its definition and meaning

The fiction comes from the Latin fictus, which means invented, fake or unreal. It is an alternate state to the reality on which most cinematographic artists rely to carry out different simulations in movies and series. In addition to this, fiction can also be present in comics, literary works and all kinds of animation, so that the receiver is shown a world, characters and objects that do not belong to this world or that simply have not yet been prepared by current scientists. With this understood, we can talk about science fiction.

What is fiction

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The first definition of fiction was closely linked to the concept of mimesis, whose origin comes directly from Greece and speaks of poems as works that go beyond reality and that, logically, was also part of what the word fiction encompasses.. That is why it is said that even before the 1920s when the word was very popular, it was already being used in different ways and by different authors. Aristotle, for example, said that poetry was a slightly altered copy of what we know as reality.

Science fiction is a genre that gives birth to characters, places, creatures and objects that do not really exist, but that live in the imagination of their creator, who can be an ordinary person, writer, designer, etc. At first, science fiction had a wrong definition, as it was said to come from the word Science fiction, which means science fiction. Although it was formally recognized in the 1920s, before this time there were already stories and documentation of entertainment that not only encompassed worlds parallel to ours. All this pertaining to the speculation and imagination of the people.

The origin of fiction

This genre has its beginnings in antiquity, long before the 1920s and this can be seen in Greek and even Egyptian writings, in which many authors spoke of supreme beings or travel that, for the time, were impossible carry out. Currently all these works are taken as fantastic stories that are passed from generation to generation and comply exactly with the guidelines of fiction.

From here, what science fiction is and its impact on today's society makes even more sense, in fact, apart from the literature and movies that many see around the world, the stories that have been told to us since ancient times also form part of this genre, from those that are considered taboo to those that define the origin of the universe and, consequently, that of man. Not knowing what science fiction is even today can present very great doubts in people, doubts that in this content will be dispelled.

What is a science fiction story

It is an oral or written story in which a story that is very far from reality is spoken and described in a very detailed way. The correct term for these stories is fictional, which is why they belong to the science fiction genre. These tales can tell all kinds of fantastic stories and, in fact, can later come to life in the world of cinema. The structure of science fiction stories is similar to that of a novel, however, it is not the same, even though the two are difficult to differentiate.

Characteristics of a fictional story

Science fiction stories are the ideal way to convey a speculative message or a futuristic idea. These stories do not focus solely on one character, as they are responsible for creating fantastic worlds, different characters and an endless number of unreal elements that attract the attention of the reader or receiver. Within the characteristics of a science fiction story, is its trajectory, which focuses on a race and not on the artifice that carries or encompasses short novels.

Types of fiction

Throughout this post, what fiction is, its science and the characteristics that surround it have been explained in a generic way. It is time to investigate even more about it and outline or simply describe the types of fiction that exist, how they work or what they are exactly about, so that it is clear that it is a fairly broad genre and that, at some point in the life of the human being, more than one person has come across these kinds of stories. There are currently several types of fictional stories and they will be seen below.

Due to their length, fictional stories have a three-pronged classification: short story, short novel and novel proper. The stories have from 10 to 50 pages, it is not very long and the story is schematized in such a way that everything is perfectly understood. The short novels are from 50 pages to 150 and, finally, the long novels exceed 500 pages. These are complex stories, with a fictitious story that warrants enough pages to narrate all that it encompasses. The science fiction books can be categorized as short stories, novellas.

Due to their subject matter, fictional stories are also divided into three aspects: Fantasy, pink novels and black novels, detective, religion and spies.

Fantasy

In fantasy literary works, stories are told that totally break with the standards of reality, creating worlds so wonderful and unreal that they give the feeling of wanting to remain in them. They include fairy tales, chivalry, gothic and modern horror, stories about heroes and mythological creatures. On the other hand, video games, comics or comics and even science fiction movies that are so successful today, fall into this classification.

Novels Roses

Rose novels also fall into the category of fiction because in the face of the entire plot, which mostly presents obstacles, the protagonists end up together in the face of all adversities, a happy ending, so to speak. Detective novels narrate the crimes that a conventional person with criminal intent can commit. They fall into the fictional classification because, for the most part, the characters carry out activities that in real life are impossible to do, either because they defy physics or because they are humanly improbable. The same goes for spy novels.

Black Novels

Noir novels, on the other hand, are professional stories about crime, in fact they are generally called crime novels. There are many science fiction films with this type of theme where a clear distinction is made between good and evil, although in others this can be very well blurred, so that the viewer is confused. They also show a certain degree of violence and their objective is to seek the truth about a certain situation or find a glimpse of it. Science fiction movies can also cover religious themes that go beyond the realm.

An example of this are the stories about the gods of Egypt, the Greek gods and the religious representation known today as Almighty God.

Frequently Asked Questions about Fiction

What do we call fiction?

Fiction is synonymous with imagination, invention or pretense, therefore, it is designated as the act of pretending. On the other hand, it can be a set of literary, dramatic or cinematographic works, in which the facts and the characters of the story are invented. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are examples of fictional characters.

What do science fiction stories talk about?

Of dystopian futures that are based on the creation and representation of imaginary universes that arise from physics, biology and technology, from the intervention of natural elements that guarantee human superiority, from the position of individuals in the face of advances technological, among other things.

How to create a science fiction story?

The first step is to determine the main idea to develop the story, then the characters are created, how long the story will be defined, the narrator is chosen, the story begins to be written, letting it flow so that it follows its natural course, it is reviewed the content correcting each mistake made, and finally, the story is edited and made public.

What is science fiction good for?

To expand the limits of human imagination, to inspire new discoveries, to promote learning, to understand and challenge science, to analyze social consequences, to help people become distracted and disconnected from the world, to provoke empathy, to relieve stress, to expand vocabulary, to develop creativity, to preserve memory, to promote inclusivity, etc.

What is the origin of science fiction?

Science fiction emerged in the 19th century with a novel by the writer Mary Shelley, which was named Frankenstein.