I love the fictive canvas. One reason is that, by design, there’s a certain amount of introduced chaos by nature of the subject matter. There’s a certain discord between the realities in the fictive world and the one at large, by definition, and this creates novelty (hence the word “novel”). The conductor of the fiction novel, as with novels of any genre, is tension, and tension drives the narrative elements. The goal of writing a fiction novel is not to represent a world of entirely faithful things to our own world of things. Instead, it is to build a verisimilar map of reality as we experience it. As it affects us. And hence, the experience of the reader is had analogically, instead of directly. By distancing the reader from the true moral crux of the story, and projecting these emotions passively on the main character(s), the reader experiences the story with minimal bias. We’ve all seen the copyright disclaimers:

“This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.”

In the case of non-fiction, the faces and places are real, and so are the preconceived notions we carry of these places. Hence, when we are consuming non-fiction we are carrying all of our biases with us. But when we enter the fictive canvas, these preconceived notions are left by the wayside.

The fiction genre works because empathy itself is a thing that exists and that humans are capable of. The fictive framework allows for the bending and warping of elements, so as to diminish the importance of some elements and highlight the affective importance of other elements — and in doing so, to tell the author’s perfectly tailored story. The fiction artist strikes a beautiful melange between what is and what might be. The ratio of each is to the discretion of the author. If done correctly, a fictional story presents an alternate but believable or at least relatable story. And if the story is not believable or relatable at all, that must be its main message, as these are necessary vehicles for empathic engagement.

Fiction allows for us to state the truth of our existence at a level separated from — and only allegorically related to — our level of experience. The meta-level. Being so removed, with each new character we follow down their fictional story, we can see their world of problems as if from a new perspective.

All that being said, fiction has not found the homeliest position on Medium. Even though perhaps it should. And a reason for this is the demographic on Medium tends to be adults. Fiction as a genre, for some inexplicable reason, extends from preteens to young adults (YA), but there has been a recent burgeoning of “New Adult Fiction,” with protagonists typically between the ages of 18 and 25, with a cap at 30.

The problem with fiction is ironically its frivolous, or childish connotation. It’s not to be taken seriously by adults until it tackles serious problems. All too often, fiction aimed at the youth falls for the use of tropes for the sake of tropes. Some recent authors are trying to battle this image, such as George R.R. Martin, by subverting the tropes of young adult fiction, and including incest, sex, and all sorts of mature content canon to the historically-based setting of the plot. By exploring complex questions of our existence and avoiding trite and tired narratives, and instead opting for pointedly subversive narratives, we are appealing to an older audience who has grown tired of vanilla fiction.

Bre Miche recommends introducing the New Adult section in and libraries to combat this stereotype and normalize the sub-genre. That would look something like this:

Early Reader / Picture Books / Middle Grade / YA / [New] Adult.

Personally, I think this is a great idea and would help shed light on the fact that people still like to read fiction well after they graduate high school or University. And diverse adults should have relatable protagonists.

The way that I have chosen to do this is to write a fiction novel myself.

If there is a story you want to read then you must write it. — Toni Morrison

My book is (in the works) a fantastical series written for my adult self, stressing our impact on the planet and appealing to our better angels. I also wanted to portray how one could move unwaveringly forward whilst respectfully acknowledging one’s inherited past, as I have experienced this conflict in my life. Fiction is the perfect medium to explore all of these ideas incarnate with wondrous words in a magical setting. It includes protagonists from a range of ages, ethnicities, sex and sexual orientation. Hence, hopefully one day it’ll see the light of day and influence a young one’s life as fiction has influenced mine.

Happy writing.