What is Unfiction?

Unfiction is an umbrella term for a fiction which insists that it is real, existing within the same world that You or I exist in. It is typically found in an online form, such as through social media posts either from the main character him or herself, or a supporting character who is witness to the events, and is often (although not always) portrayed in real time. Some Unfiction can have real world elements, or even exist solely within the real world its self. Beneath the general umbrella term of Unfiction there are many subcategories, such as:

ARG, or Alternate Reality Game, refers to an Unfiction in which the audience members themselves must participate in order to experience the story. This is often accomplished through the solving of clues and puzzles or performing certain actions. Perhaps one of the more popular ARG’s is The Jejune Institute, a real world ARG which took place in San Francisco between 2008 and 2011, in which the participants were recruited into a secret organization when they answered flyers that had been posted around the San Francisco area. A film entitled The Institute documents the events of this ARG, and there is now an interactive television show scheduled to begin airing in March of 2020 on AMC entitled Dispatches from Elsewhere, which is based upon The Jejune Institute.

Chaotic Fiction is the term for an Unfiction in which events, and even the outcome of the story its self, are driven by the audience. Although they have a general idea or framework from which they are working, the story is considered chaotic precisely because the audience determines how the story expresses its self rather than the creator or creators themselves. The Sun Vanished is a Chaotic Fiction that was told on Twitter in which the main character prompted his followers by asking advice on which of several actions he should take, and then followed the actions suggested by the majority.

Pseudofiction is Unfiction which does not have a definitive resolution or contain a traditional story line. It is meant as an experience. A Pseudofiction will often just focus upon one or two elements of a story, such as Character or Theme, while ignoring the rest. It can be a one off experience or continue on indefinitely. That Poppy (or just Poppy), a popular channel on YouTube, is an example of a Pseudofiction based upon the character known as Poppy. Although it may be easy to read into it that the character herself is a celebrity puppet, or robot, being controlled by the illuminati, there is no actual story taking place around this fact. It is just a part of the character herself that we are experiencing in various circumstances and under various conditions.

This is not intended as a definitive list of all forms of Unfiction. Unfiction is a living entity that is constantly evolving and expressing its self in many ways and in many forms through many creative individuals and groups, and many Unfictions contain a combination of these elements that can make them difficult to classify. As such, Unfiction is used as a catch-all term for such creations.

If you are interested in Unfiction, or in learning more about this unique and compelling art form, its history, and how it operates, I would highly recommend watching this video from Night Mind. Night Mind has built a career around researching and analyzing Unfiction in all of its various forms, and is, in my opinion, one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field:

Update (9/4/2020): Night Mind has recently launched a website categorizing and indexing Unfiction, where you can go to discover Unfiction projects, as well submit your own discoveries or personal projects for inclusion. For more information about his new website, nightmind.info, and how it operates, you can watch his video on the subject here:

Giallo Rose is the curiator of The Unsperience, a collective of one that focuses primarily upon spontaneous, intuitive and associative writings and artwork.