Question: What is the difference between fiction and literature?
(from About.com)
(from About.com)
Answer: Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.
Fiction is a work of the imagination or invention, which contrasts with non-fiction (which is usually thought to be based on facts). Written works like novels, short stories, plays, and poems are fictional.
A work of fiction is a work of literature, but the term "literature" encompasses far more than just fiction. Literature also refers to non-fiction (memoirs, biography, and other works that are factual in scope).
Fiction is a work of the imagination or invention, which contrasts with non-fiction (which is usually thought to be based on facts). Written works like novels, short stories, plays, and poems are fictional.
A work of fiction is a work of literature, but the term "literature" encompasses far more than just fiction. Literature also refers to non-fiction (memoirs, biography, and other works that are factual in scope).