Fiction to Reality

Name:

Course:

Lecturer:

Date:

Fiction to Reality

In recent years, a few non-fiction writers have admitted to altering fictitious stories into non-fiction. The success of a non-fiction story is judged by the level to which it tags at the heart of the reader. Therefore, these authors add non-truths into their stories in order to create a more dramatic story that will capture the interest of the readers. This has raised the question over whether literature can accurately be labeled as non-fiction whereas so many truths are altered by the author or the publishers in order to make the story more appealing to the public.

Non-fiction writers also bend their stories because they are not obligated to prove the authenticity of the stories they present to the readers as non-fictions. Therefore, it is up to the reader to read the story for himself and assess its credibility. No one but the author can ascertain whether the story gives a true account of an event or has been embellished in order to boost its popularity and drive up sales. The readers have to take what is written as truth. Sometimes, the author may lie because he or she is under pressure by the publishers to write a book that meets certain standards and meet strict deadlines; hence, the exaggeration of truth may also be out of desperation. It is however unethical for a writer to write a fiction story and make readers believe that it is non-fiction because it betrays the trust that the reader has in the writer and his story.

In literature, fiction cannot be disguised as reality. Fiction is a creatively made-up story while non-fiction gives a true account of a certain real-life story. Non-fiction can be merged into fiction, but fiction can never be merged into non-fiction. Once the reader finds out that there are untrue elements in the story, it taints the whole story, even the parts that may have been true. It also shows that the writer has no regard for his audience and is only interested in pushing up his sales.

The truth may sometimes be discomforting to the writer and the reader, but once an author decided that he is going to write a non-fiction piece of literature, he has to adhere to the truth, whether it suits him or not. An author of non-fiction works such as an autobiography may lie for various reasons; the truth may be embarrassing or may pose some negative consequences for him. The author might also be scared or shy, or perhaps he himself might not have a firm grip of reality. The author might also embellish the truth for fear that the original story may not be interesting enough. Non-fiction is also bended in order to make the story more dramatic or intense, and hence drive up the sales.

James Frey’s ‘A Million Little Pieces’ was published as a non-fiction novel and was met with wide public acclaim. It tells the story of a young man whose life is destroyed by alcoholism and drug-abuse but is finally able to pick up the pieces and rebuild his life (Frey 23). Many people were deeply touched by the story and its sales grew phenomenally; it became one of the top-selling books of 2005. However, the readers were soon to learn that some parts of the story had been fabricated in order to make it more interesting and dramatic. Frey admitted that he had written untruths in the non-fiction memoir, some of which were done by mistake and others were simply lies. The writer goes as far as lying that he had been arrested for 87 days whereas the truth is that he was arrested for a few hours. Certain characters in the book were also exaggerated in order to make them more outstanding and interesting.

James Frey’s memoir had been highly lauded before the readers realized that some parts of the story were false. After his confession, many of the readers were deeply disappointed and lost the respect they had given him as an excellent writer. This case clearly illustrates that authors should always reveal the whole truth in non-fiction, failure to which they should label the work as fiction or semi-fiction. When the readers realize that the story is not authentic, the author suffers the most because his subsequent works will be met with suspicion and perhaps a less enthusiastic response. Despite this, there are still genuine non-fiction works of literature, where the author tells a completely true account of an occurrence. A credible non-fiction story is one that the author can provide sufficient evidence when called for.

Works Cited

Frey, James. A million little pieces. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2004. Print