Autofictional

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A genre blending autobiography and fiction, where the author uses their own experiences and identity while crafting a narrative often rooted in imaginative elements
2. This style of writing combines personal experiences with fictional storytelling, allowing the author to explore their identity in artistic ways
3. It refers to a literary form that merges the real-life narrative of the author with fictionalized elements, creating a unique introspective piece

Etymology: Autofiction, the noun, was a French coinage. Serge Doubrovsky, a French writer and literary critic, used the term in 1977 on the back cover of his novel "Fils" to describe a book that blends autobiography with invented fiction. The word combines "auto-", from Greek "autos" meaning "self", with "fiction", which traces back through Old French to Latin "fictio", from "fingere", meaning "to shape or fashion". The sense of making something up is built into the root: a fiction is something shaped by the imagination. The adjective "autofictional" is simpler in construction. It takes the noun "autofiction" and adds the suffix "-al", which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "relating to" or "characterised by" it. So something autofictional is something belonging to the genre of autofiction.