What is faction?
A blend of fact and fiction.
Faction: Where fact and fiction intertwine
Faction is a term used in creative writing to describe a work that blends elements of fact and fiction in a seamless manner.
By combining factual information with fictional elements, writers can create compelling narratives that entertain, inform, and challenge readers. Faction offers the opportunity to explore history, politics, and social issues in a way that traditional non-fiction cannot. It allows writers to fill in gaps in the historical record, speculate about unknown events, and offer alternative perspectives on established facts.
While there is some debate about the ethics of presenting fictionalized events as factual, faction opens up new avenues for writers to engage with their subjects and audiences. By taking advantage of the flexibility of language and storytelling, authors can create works that are both informative and entertaining, and that encourage readers to think critically about the world around them.
Here are two prime examples in literature where the use of faction creates an engaging and thought-provoking narrative:
Capote's true crime novel about the murder of a Kansas family blends factual reporting with creative storytelling, offering a gripping and haunting portrayal of both the perpetrators and the victims.
Diaz's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about an overweight Dominican boy growing up in the United States incorporates historical and cultural information about the Dominican Republic, as well as fantastical elements like fukú, a curse said to haunt the family of the main character.