TWO MAIN CATEGORIES THAT SEPARATE WRITTEN WORKS BASED ON THEIR CONTENT AND

PURPOSE:

The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and non-fiction.
Fiction is generally understood to be imaginative works that are the product of an author’s
imagination and include novels, short stories, and poetry. In contrast, non-fiction is factual writing
rooted in reality, including biographies, histories, and scientific texts.

While fiction is often characterized by its creative and imaginative elements, non-fiction is typically
grounded in research, evidence, and facts that have been thoroughly researched and verified. This
means that non-fiction is often used to convey information or to educate readers on a particular
topic, while fiction is more likely to focus on telling a story or exploring the human experience.

These two categories help readers and writers distinguish between works of storytelling imagination
(fiction) and works that aim to convey factual information or knowledge (non-fiction).

NON-FICTION

1. Narrative non-fiction

Narrative nonfiction, also known as creative nonfiction, is a type of nonfiction writing that uses
storytelling techniques to convey facts or tell a true story. It combines storytelling elements such as
character development, plot, and vivid descriptions with true events and facts. Memoirs,
travelogues, and historical accounts are examples of narrative non-fiction, in which the author's
personal experiences or historical events are narrated in a compelling and engaging manner. It's a
popular writing style for books, articles, and essays that aim to inform and entertain readers by
combining fiction techniques with nonfiction accuracy.

2. Essay

A nonfiction composition that explores a concept, argument, idea, or opinion from the writer's
personal perspective. Usually written in paragraph form that uses informal language, although it can
be written formally. Essays may be written in the first-person point of view, but third-person is
preferable in most academic essays. Essays do not require research as most academic reports and
papers do; however, they should cite any literary works that are used within the paper. Essays are
usually a few pages, but they can also be book-length.

3. Biography

A biography, also called a bio, is a nonfiction work that provides a factual account of a person's life. It
could be about a living person, a person who lived centuries ago, a globally famous person, an
unsung hero forgotten by history, or even a unique group of people. The word 'biography' means
'life-writing': the two halves of the word derive from medieval Greek bios, 'life', and graphia,
'writing'.

Biographies include information about the individual's birthplace, education, work, and
relationships, as well as details about key events in their lives. Interviews, letters, diaries,
photographs, essays, reference books, and newspapers are all used by biographers as research
sources. While most biographies are written, they can also be produced in other formats such as
music composition or film.

4. Autobiography
An autobiography is a literary genre that is a self-written account of a person's life. It is often written
by people who are well-recognized or well-renowned in an attempt to inform the reader of their
thoughts and experiences. Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the intimate writings
made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries,
journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to a formal book-length autobiography. Autobiographies
usually include information about where a person was born and brought up, their education, career,
life experiences, the challenges they faced, and their key achievements.

6. Speech

In literature, a speech is a public discourse performed by an orator. In other words, a person uses a
public forum to inform, persuade, or entertain a group of people. Speeches help create a space for
people to discuss policies that affect society, either after the decision or during the decision-making
process. When a speech is widely believed to be particularly moving, it becomes classified as a work
of literature.

These non-fiction forms cater to different ways of conveying information and storytelling, allowing
authors to choose the style that best suits their message or narrative.

FICTION

1. Drama

A drama is a type of literature that is written for the purpose of being performed in front of an
audience. This type of writing is written in the form of a script, and the story is told through the lines
of the characters played by actors. Intended to portray life or character or enact a story, usually
involving conflicts and emotions exhibited through action and dialogue, designed for theatrical
performance.

2. Poetry

A type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a story in a concentrated,
lyrical arrangement of words. It aims to evoke an emotional response in the reader through
language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. Poems can be structured, with
rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can also
be freeform, which follows no formal structure.

3. Fantasy

A literary work that is set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations,
events, or people from the real world. Often magic, the supernatural, and magical creatures that
don't exist in the real world are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may
be directed at both children and adults.

4. Humour/Humor

Humor is a literary tool that makes audiences laugh, or that intends to induce amusement or
laughter. Its purpose is to break the monotony, boredom, and tedium, and make the audience’s
nerves relax. The writer uses different techniques, tools, words, and even full sentences in order to
bring to light new and funny sides of life. Humor is often found in literature, theater, movies, and
advertising, where the major purpose is to make the audience happy.

5. Fable
In literature, a fable is a short fictional story that has a moral or teaches a lesson. Fables use
humanized animals, objects, or parts of nature as main characters, and are therefore considered to
be a sub-genre of fantasy. Fables can be either prose or poetry as long as they teach a lesson.

6. Fairytale

A genre of magical story, usually originating in folklore. Features fanciful and wondrous characters
such as elves, goblins, wizards, and even, but not necessarily, fairies, and a moral lesson, often
intended for children.

7. Short story

a piece of prose fiction that can typically be read in a single sitting—usually between 20 minutes to
an hour—and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of
evoking a single effect or mood. There is no maximum length, but the average short story is 1,000 to
7,500 words, with some outliers reaching 10,000 or 15,000 words.

8. Realistic fiction

A genre consisting of stories that could have actually occurred to people or animals in a believable
setting. These stories resemble real life, and fictional characters within these stories react similarly
to real people.

9. Folklore

Folklore refers to the tales people tell – folk stories, fairy tales, “tall tales,” and even urban legends.
The term folklore encompasses the traditional beliefs, stories, customs, and legends, transmitted
orally, from generation to generation.

10. Historical fiction

A literary genre where the story takes place in the past. Historical novels capture the details of the
time period as accurately as possible for authenticity, including social norms, manners, customs, and
traditions.

11. Horror

In literature, horror is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion,
and terror in the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of horror. The term’s
definition emphasizes the reaction caused by horror, stemming from the Old French orror, meaning
“to shudder or to bristle.”

Horror literature has roots in religion, folklore, and history; focusing on topics, fears, and curiosities
that have continuously bothered humans in both the 12th and 21st centuries alike. Horror feeds on
the audience’s deepest terrors by putting life’s most frightening and perplexing things—death, evil,
supernatural powers or creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft—at the center of attention.

12. Tall tale

A tall tale is about a larger-than-life hero or heroine with superhuman abilities. Tall tales are often
funny and outrageous, where everyday problems are solved in humorous ways. The stories feature
exaggerated details about the main character's life and amazing feats of bravery and strength.

13. Legend
A legend is a story about human events or actions that has not been proved nor documented in real
history. Legends are retold as if they are real events and were believed to be historical accounts.
They usually tell stories about things that could be possible, so both the storyteller and the audience
may believe they are true. Its meaning stems from the Medieval Latin term legenda, meaning
“things to be read.” and from the Latin legendus.

14. Mystery

Mystery is a genre of literature whose stories focus on a puzzling crime, situation, or circumstance
that needs to be solved. The term comes from the Latin mysterium, meaning “a secret thing.” Stories
can be either fictional or nonfictional and can focus on both supernatural and non-supernatural
topics. Many mystery stories involve a “whodunit” scenario, meaning the mystery revolves around
uncovering a culprit or criminal.

15. Mythology

Mythology is a term that refers to a collection of Myths. The word Myth comes from the Greek
Mythos, which means story. A myth is a classic or legendary story that usually focuses on a particular
hero or event, and explains mysteries of nature, existence, or the universe with no true basis in fact.
Myths exist in every culture, but the most well-known in Western culture and literature are part of
Greek and Roman mythology. Myths are stories relating to religion and culture and come from a
tradition of oral storytelling.

16. Fiction inverse

An inversion occurs when the writer changes the normal order of words. They are reversed,
therefore leading to a different kind of effect. An inversion is usually done to emphasize a particular
statement, way of thinking, or entire passage for the reader. When writers use inversion as a literary
technique, they purposefully reword phrasing in sentences to contrast the traditional organization in
order to achieve a desired effect on the audience.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION

Characterization

A writer’s tool, or “literary device” that occurs any time the author uses details to teach us about a
person or describe characters in literature. This is used over the course of a story in order to tell the
tale. Characterization includes both descriptions of a character's physical attributes as well as the
character's personality. The way that characters act, think, and speak also adds to their
characterization.

Character

A person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a literary work. Writers use characters to perform the
actions and speak dialogue, moving the story along a plot line. A story can have only one character.
But most stories have multiple characters interacting.

- Major Character
A major character is an important figure at the center of the story's action or theme. The
major character is sometimes called a protagonist whose conflict with an antagonist may
spark the story's conflict.
- Antagonist
 Antagonist, in literature, the principal opponent or foil of the main character, who is
referred to as the protagonist, in a drama or narrative. The word is from the Greek
antagnistḗs, “opponent or rival.”
- Minor Characters
A minor character will act on the story in smaller ways, like by appearing in only one or two
scenes. A supporting character is more significant, like your main character's best friend,
love interest, and other characters with their own lives, backstories, and goals
- Dynamic Character
A dynamic character refers to any character who changes as a result of the story's conflicts
and plot. Dynamic character definition: a character who changes as a result of the story's
conflicts and plot. Characters can “change” in a variety of ways.
- Plot
In a narrative or creative writing, a plot is the sequence of events that make up a story,
whether it's told, written, filmed, or sung. The plot is the story, and more specifically, how
the story develops, unfolds, and moves in time.

PLOT

1. Exposition or Introduction
The exposition is the introduction to the story. The characters and setting are introduced.
The background information provided by exposition helps connect to the audience to the
emotional stakes of the narrative. In Snow White, the queen is obsessed with being beautiful
and consumed with jealousy over Snow White’s greater beauty.
2. Conflict
The conflict is the primary problem that drives the plot of the story, often a main goal for the
main character to achieve or overcome. The main character must fight against another
person or group or against a non-human force such as a storm.
3. Rising action
In rising action, the story becomes complicated. The main character is in crisis and there are
multiple moments of conflict that escalate and create tension.
4. Climax
The climax is the peak of the action. At this point, the main character confronts the big
conflict. The most action, drama, change, and excitement occur here. A choice must be
made that will affect the rest of the story.
5. Falling action
In falling action, the conflict that arose as a result of the climax can start being resolved. The
story begins to slow down and complications begin to resolve.
6. Denouement or Resolution
The resolution is the end of the story and it brings the story to its happy or tragic ending. The
conflict from the climax has been resolved. There is a sense of finality and closure here,
making the reader feel that there is nothing more they can learn or gain from the narrative.