Short answers, pulled from the story.
Non-fiction describes any document or media content that attempts to convey information about the real world rather than imagination. This definition relies on good faith from the creator who must aim to present topics objectively based on historical, scientific, and empirical information.
Fiction is largely populated by imaginary characters and events while non-fiction deals with actual occurrences. Non-fiction uses logic or chronological order to show reasons and consequences of events without relying on indirectly presented themes.
Main genres include instructional explanatory discussion-based report-based opinion-based and relating non-fiction categories such as academic texts history books life writings literary criticism journalism persuasive writing reference works self-help books popular science blogs presentations orations sayings textbooks study guides field guides travelogues recipes owner manuals user guides and electronic writings.
The publishing and bookselling businesses use the term creative non-fiction to distinguish works with a more literary or intellectual bent from standard subjects found in stores. This label allows writers to blend literary techniques with factual reporting to enhance storytelling without sacrificing truthfulness.
Virginia Woolf noted that biography attempts to weld granite-like solidity of truth with rainbow-like intangibility of personality into one seamless whole but admitted this problem was stiff and that biographers mostly failed to solve it completely.