Which is easier to write, fiction or non-fiction?
In general I would say that nonfiction is easier, mostly because you don’t have to make anything up in order to write it. The events and people and ideas you’ll write about already exist. All you have to do is turn your memories of or research into or perspective on those things into a narrative, a how-to guide, an argument, or whatever you’d like it to be. You don’t have to worry about world-building or character creation or designing plots or anything like that. At base, nonfiction is writing about what is, what can be, and/or what ought to be. Fiction is writing about what isn’t, what has never been, and what we only wish could be, and that makes it more difficult in my eyes. Plus, it’s been said that the only difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to make sense, so there’s that additional stricture to keep in mind.
That being said, there can be a tremendous element of freedom in being able to make up literally anything and write about it. There’s also an individual element to this question, as it may be much easier FOR A PARTICULAR WRITER to write fiction than nonfiction, or vice versa. There are likely as many writers who can’t wait to dive into the fictional worlds of their books-in-progress as there are writers who want to write biographies or business books. Desire plays a huge part here, since doing something you really want to do will always be easier than doing something you don’t.
And let’s face it, some people just have a knack for one genre or the other. Stephen King and Ron Chernow are both excellent writers, but if King had tried to biographize Alexander Hamilton or Chernow had attempted to write The Shining, neither author would likely have been as successful.
There are crossovers between the two genres to think about as well. Historical fiction is a great example: fictional characters influenced by or taking part in actual historical events. This subgenre has been wildly successful for decades, covering pretty much every era of human history from ancient civilizations to the events surrounding 9/11. Or flip that idea around and use historical information to tell a true story in the style of a novel, as Jeff Shaara and Erik Larson have done in recent years. Both of their books feature real people who took part in historical events, but read like fictional accounts, with dialogue and everything.
So if you’re trying to decide whether to write fiction or nonfiction, I’d start by asking yourself this question: what do you write when you don’t have to write anything? When you sit down with your notebook or laptop and let the words start to flow for their own sake and for your own enjoyment, what comes out? If you write about your life or current events or famous people or issues of the real world, nonfiction is probably your bag. If you find yourself treading the paths of a magical forest or soaring through the space of a distant universe, fiction is more likely where you want to go.
And if you find you write some of each, don’t feel pressured to pick one or the other for all time — pick the one you most want to write about first, or even on that particular day. “Both” is a perfectly acceptable answer here. The only thing I’d warn against is spending so much time going back and forth trying to figure out which will be harder that you never write anything at all. Writing will be hard sometimes, no matter what kind of writing you do. Accept that, welcome it, prep for it as best you can, and just start writing.
