A novel is a book, a piece of writing in the form of a book, or electronic form of the same thing. . Books and other works can be classed as fiction or non-fiction. Fiction means the story was made up, imagination. Example Paper towns, Lord of the Rings, James Bond movies. Non-fiction means that the work represents reality. A documentary.. . "fiction" can also be used as an adjective. A: I saw an elephant on the street just now. B: Pure fiction. Don't believe a word of it. . "Novel" is also an adjective meaning "new", not seen before.