Whereas fiction consists of made-up or concocted works, nonfiction deals with or offers information, data, opinions or conjectures on facts and reality. So far, this distinction seems clear. However, the lines between these various forms of writing can sometimes blur. For example:

Manga is an art form that is the Japanese equivalent of a comic book or cartoon; it tells a story in both prose and pictures, not just in prose. A graphic novel also is graphically similar to a comic book but it tells a kind of story that is analogous to that told by a novel, although one that's not as long or complex and that lacks much character development if it has any at all. In short, a graphic novel is not literary.

If the story in a work of manga or a graphic novel is the product of the author's imagination, it's fictional; if the story is true, it is nonfictional. With works as simple as these, the question of fiction vs. non-fiction probably seems uncomplicated.

But next, consider a biography that tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Clearly, such a biography would be a work of nonfiction, if ever it existed.

But now consider a biography which omits portions of the subject's life, adds alleged facts that are false, is replete with errors, relates events that never happened, falsifies the story of events that did happen, exaggerates or lies to flatter or deprecate the biographer, or otherwise stretches and distorts the truth. At what point does such a biography become a work of nonfiction? Would such a work be better classified as a fictional biographical sketch?...a biographical novel?...a legend?

examples of Non-Fictional (objective) expository prose works

Nonfiction writing, or nonfiction, is the branch of literature that comprises non-fictive works of writing. It includes types narrative prose works such as biographies, histories, essays, treatises, high school or college compositions, speeches, and reference works.

Nonfiction writing, or nonfiction, stands in sharp contrast to fiction. Fiction includes all kinds of writing that is fictive in character, especially fictional works in prose form but not limited to prose. Examples of prose fiction writing are novels, fairy tales, short stories, detective fiction, and various kinds of works of imaginative narration. Examples of non-prose fiction writing are poetry and drama.

Most fictional works are fundamentally the products of the creative imagination of their author, and nothing else; but it is possible for authors of fiction to base their fiction on reality. The biographical novel, which is based on real personalities or events, is an arch example of this kind of writing. Typically, the author of a biographical novel founds his work on a true story and person, whose life and times become the scaffolding or broad outline of the novel, but the author calls on his fertile imagination to fill in the details that describe the events, characters, and other aspects of the biography.

Although fictional works such as biographical novels can be based on fact, all works of fiction are imagined or created by their authors. Irving Stone's commercially successful biographical novel, The Agony and the Ecstasy, which purports to describe the life and work of the great Renaissance sculptor-painter, Michelangelo Buonarroti, is a prime illustration of how far it is possible for a biographical novel to digress from truth and still make a stunning impact on its readership. No one knows how many of the reading public formed serious misconceptions and distortions of the artist's life and work because they read this novel.

see wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expository_writing

Too many different kinds

Non-Fictional expository prose writing is an especially important kind of prose; it's nonfiction writing that's written with the sole objective of exposing information, data, facts, or ideas. It takes its name from the following senses and forms of the word expose:

• Expose means to present; view; exhibit; display; to make known, disclose, or reveal facts, concepts, or ideas.
• Exposition is writing or speech primarily intended to convey information, explain, or display.
• An exposition is a detailed statement or explanation or explanatory treatise such as an essay, newspaper article, book, treatise, reference work, or scholarly paper.

Remember:

• To be non-fictional expository prose writing, a piece of writing must be written in prose style.
• Expository prose writing cannot be fiction.
• Good expository prose is not creative writing, but it is written in a creative manner that renders it more effective and clearer than if it were written in an uncreative manner.

Types of Non-fictional expository prose writing

Generally speaking, there are two types of non-fictional expository prose writing:

subjective

In this type of expository prose writing, the writer offers information, facts, data, ideas, opinions or other kinds of material aimed at convincing a readership concerning the merits or truth of the writer's personal position about a specific, narrow topic. For this reason, this kind of expository prose writing is usually written in the first person.

In this type of writing, the writer's views are at center stage. He makes it clear that his own opinions are being offered. He may back up his opinions by stating the views of others. He may cite facts, data, or the opinions of authorities to substantiate his claims and convince a readership of his personal conclusions or opinions.

Writing style is an important aspect of this type of writing because good writing has an important role to play in convincing others of a cause, idea, or fact.

An essay is a good example of this kind of expository writing because it is a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.

objective

The goal of the objective expository prose writer is to reveal information, data, facts, or ideas, usually on a narrow topic, without introducing his own point of view, prejudices, opinions, or himself. For this reason, this kind of expository prose is usually written in the third person.

There is no room for the writer's point of view. Indeed, except, perhaps, for a byline, a writer of expository prose should avoid even the suggestion that anyone was personally involved in producing the written material. Good expository prose writing comes across to the reader as if it wrote itself.

The sole objective of this kind of writing is to objectively covey ideas, facts, and information effectively and efficiently. The writing style is economical; it employs enough words to clearly and unambiguously convey its information content to the reader, and no more. Text or illustrations only belong on the page if they carry data or factual information relevant to the topic or if they help organize and clarify the exposition.

A well-written article in a scientific journal is a good example of this kind of expository prose writing because it will be objective, factual, and to the point.