W(h)ither fiction?

Ok, class, I’m hoping for some deep thoughts here.

I’ve noticed that my inclination to read fiction has dropped dramatically in recent years, and that, Chuck Palaniuk novels aside, I find it a fair amount of work to drag myself through a fiction novel. Meanwhile, I am a voracious reader of nonfiction and what I’d consider “partially embellished” nonfiction. I find it easier to read, frequently more gripping, and often no less stimulating for my imagination.

As a starting point, let’s assume the novel is the pinnacle of both fiction and nonfiction and that sitcoms, movies, short stories, columns, essays, true crime dramas, and all other forms of stories and essays are derivatives. (Feel free to disagree with that premise if you do.)

So my questions are: What is the relevance of fiction? What can fiction do better than nonfiction? Has the proliferation of nonfiction or (embellished nonfiction) such as true crime stories partially eclipsed a presumed role of fiction, at least with respect to tragedy? In other words, has the seemingly infinite number and permutation of “true stories” made fiction less relevant or irrelevant? Is fiction merely for entertainment, or does it serve a greater purpose or more useful function (in the sense of feeding a human need)?

In thinking about this I have two answers, which I’ll save for the discussion, since they aren’t all encompassing (i.e. this isn’t a question in trick Bible lesson format but I will be offering an answer to my own question).

This is coming, by the way, from an English lit major and wannabe novelist.