The Fiction & The Real

The Fiction and the Real are descriptions of two specific dimensions described in The Amory Wars. These two dimensions can be accessed through the Willing Well. There may be other dimensions that have not yet been revealed. They are named by Ryder the Writer who believed his dimension was the Real and the other dimension he could see and hear was the Fiction; named such because he believed he was writing it into existence.

The Fiction
The dimension known as the Fiction is the dimension of Heaven's Fence and the setting for the majority of The Amory Wars. Ryder believed that he was the creator of this dimension as he wrote a story that mirrored events that took place there. We cannot verify these claims for a number of reasons: Ryder is schizophrenic, we have not read his actual story, and we cannot be sure he is not simply writing what he witnesses rather than the world goes as he has written.

The Real
The dimension known as the Real is the dimension that Ryder inhabits; his own reality. In this dimension, the Solar System is made up of just eight planets and one star, known as the Sun. Only one of those planets is inhabitable and only humans exist as a sentient, complex communicating animal—no mages or prise.

Trivia

 * It is unclear if the dimension depicted in My Brother's Blood Machine is also the Real, a past Fiction, or a third, unknown dimension.