fiction

In literature, any work in which the content is completely or largely invented. The term describes imaginative works of narrative prose (such as the novel or the short story), and is distinguished from non-fiction writing (such as history, biography, or works on practical subjects) and from poetry.

Fiction need not be only prose literature; poems can also be fictional. Genres such as the historical novel often combine a fictional plot with real events; biography may also be fictionalized through imagined conversations or events.