Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.
The use of real events and/or individuals to fashion creative works is known as fictionalization. In intellectual research, evaluating this process is a part of media studies. The opposite circumstance, in which reality appears to change based on what had been shown in past fiction, is comparatively known as life imitating art. The latter turn of phrase is popularity associated with Oscar Wilde.The effects of reading fiction, and the way the reader is changed by the new information they discover, has been studied for centuries. These emotional experiences involve what the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the "willing suspension of disbelief".
