NONFICTION - GENERAL INTEREST & ASSIGNMENT FOR H ENG 9 (Mrs. Bilancini): Nonfiction Explained

• At its most basic, nonfiction covers everything that isn't fiction.
• Though there are similarities and coincidences, works of fiction are aren’t based on true facts. Nonfiction is based on facts, actual events, and real people.
• Fiction encompasses written works that are defined by narratives or stories that are created, invented, and made up by an author.
• Nonfiction is literature that, regardless of subject matters, has one primary goal: to inform. Nonfiction is not based on the author's imagination; rather, it is based on facts and conclusions of the author's research or expertise.
• While some forms of nonfiction can be confused with fiction because they are written as prose like a novel (e.g. memoirs), the essential difference is that the text must be factual to be nonfiction.
• Keep in mind that in addition to novels, fiction can appear as short stories, poetry, and in theatrical scripts for movies, television, and live performances.

Here are some of the most recognized categories of nonfiction genres.

1. 1. History. Historical nonfiction consists of true accounts of historical eras and events. Some histories dwell purely in objective facts, and other histories are refracted through the lens of the author’s personal beliefs. In either case, history books must present true stories in order to qualify as nonfiction.
2. 2. Biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. This subset of nonfiction focuses on the life story of a particular subject. Biographies are written in the third person about someone other than the author. Autobiographies and memoirs are written by the subject themselves. While autobiographies and memoirs are, by necessity, written by someone who is currently alive at the time of the writing, biographies may profile subjects both living and dead.
3. 3. Travel guides and travelogues. Travelogues are a close cousin of memoirs, and they recount an author’s specific experience traveling somewhere. Travel guides tend to be more instructive, offering suggestions and practical information for travelers bound for a particular destination.
4. 4. Academic texts. Academic texts are designed to instruct readers on a particular topic. Most Americans first encounter academic books in the form of assigned school textbooks, but academic texts are also used by anyone wishing to learn about a particular trade, such as car repair or music arrangement. These types of texts are considered a bit more detailed and technical than just guides or how-to manuals.
5. 5. Philosophy and insight. These books are a closely related to academic texts, and many are published by university-affiliated publishing houses. This genre spans from traditional philosophy (Plato, Aristotle) to scientific theories (Newton, Watson) to analysis of scientific or cultural phenomena.
6. 6. Journalism. Journalism is a broad subgenre of nonfiction and one that encompasses many media. Journalism is most regularly consumed in the form of newspapers and magazines, along with monthly journals, TV news reports, and more. Journalism reports on true events that typically, but not always, have relevance to a contemporary audience. Journalism can also take the form of books. This can also includes narrative nonfiction and the popular genre of true crime books.
7. 7. Self-help and instruction. Self-help books are some of the best-selling books in the world of nonfiction. Many of these books concern topics of common human interest like business success, confidence building, staying organized, relationship advice, financial management, mental health, self-care, etc.
8. 8. Guides and how-to manuals. Related to the self-help subgenre, but more focused on specific skills is the subgenre of guides and how-to manuals. These include cookbooks, music, sports, and various tutorials for home hobbyists.
9. 9. Humor and commentary. These subgenres are forms of creative nonfiction, where analysis and reflection on real-world events are distilled through the an author’s point of view. Sometimes that point of view can be humorous, sometimes it’s political, and sometimes it’s purely meditative. What prevents this subcategory from being fiction is that it is rooted in objective events, both present and historical.
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