Since this is a writing site, it is probably time consider that much-worn word, fiction.
The word apparently came into being in late Middle English, borrowed from Old French, where, in turn, it had been lifted from the Latin, fictio (noun), and fingere (verb).
I have heard several writers call themselves liars, a concept I find somewhat unsettling. But the fact remains, fiction writers make stories up, To do so, they use invented people (characters) and invented events (plots & sticky situations). Thus, writers present "fiction" as opposed to "fact."
So to separate writers from liars, some say, it matters whether one "makes up" stories to deceive or to entertain. If it's the latter, you're working in fictional prose; if it's the former, well, shame on you.
However, to be able entertain readers, writers must get readers to "suspend disbelief." So writers must make their work seem as real as possible, pushing most of us, in the end, to employ techniques or tricks which qualify as outright deceptions. Ugh.
After all, we must remember that fiction's antonym is fact.
Best wishes
Anna Drake
