Why Authors Write Fiction

Analyze the purposes behind stories beyond simple entertainment.

Fiction entertains, but authors usually have deeper purposes too: to explore a theme, help readers understand experiences different from their own, criticize something in society, preserve a culture's traditions, or show the consequences of choices. These purposes shape the author's craft. An author exploring loneliness might use a first-person narrator so readers feel it from inside. An author criticizing unfairness might create a world where a rule seems absurd, helping readers see similar rules in real life.

Consider an original short story set in a future where students must have their lunches approved by a computer, which rejects anything 'unusual. ' The main character's grandmother's traditional dish keeps getting rejected. The story entertains with an odd premise, but its deeper purpose is to question systems that treat difference as a problem. When analyzing purpose in fiction, connect the author's choices of setting, character, conflict, and point of view to what the author seems to want readers to think about.

• 1Fiction can explore themes, build empathy, or criticize society
• 2Purpose shapes setting, character, and point of view
• 3Connect craft choices to what the author wants readers to consider