Fiction or non-fiction..

by Nicola Clark
1st February 2023

Hi all, 

I'm looking to write my first book and have lots of content ideas but I'm not sure whether I should make my work non-fiction or fiction. 

My ideas are all true, and I'm particularly keen to show this, through a non-fiction book.  However some events include bad behaviour from others, and fiction allows for this honesty, via character names and location changes - so may be the better option?  

Many thanks in advance. 

Areas of interest

Replies

Hi Nicola,

This really does depend on your ideas, however as Harry has mentioned, when writing a non-fiction book, the writer needs to show why they are the best person to write this book. Are they an expert in a particular field? We have a useful article on site about writing a non-fiction proposal: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/how-write-non-fiction-propos…

If you want to include real life events, including the behaviours of other real-life people, it's true that fiction might be the better format for you. If you decide to write a novel you can use real life events and characters under different names, process the experience while getting it down and shaping it. Fictionalising your story can also possibly help to avoid legal complications.

It does come down to your idea - perhaps experiment with writing your idea in both formats - maybe a few paragraphs or even an opening chapter - and see which one works best?

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That's a big question but are you talking about a memoir? Even if not, you have to think of who might be interested in reading your non fiction book.

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