MetafictionThe prefix meta means beyond or transcending; thus

the term metafiction literally means "beyond fiction."

Thus metafiction can be described as fiction about the nature and purpose of fiction. In Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-conscious Fiction, Patricia Waugh defines metafiction as: fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. . . Metafiction explore[s] a theory of writing fiction through the practice of writing fiction" (2).

Metafiction attempts to blur the line between fiction and reality. With metafiction, authors often break out of the narrative to address the nature of what they are doing in the novel. There are differing degrees to which writers will break through into their fictions, some more subtle and some more direct.

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