The written word is a medium uniquely suited, as we tend to read words aloud in our heads, not only to act as a canvas for the mind itself but to affect the ways we think. Take twins, one an avid reader of fiction and the other a nonfiction bookworm. I'd bet the manners of thought the twins used would differ. Perhaps nonfiction tends toward more rational lines of thinking, while fiction is more whimsical. Moreover, I'd bet the nonfiction reader might overall be better at thinking–the confrontation of difficult problems, without deus ex machinas or even plot line to aid, leads to a more practical and nuanced worldview–it is based on the world after all. In contrast, the reasoning, memorability and cohesion of fiction is, in its invention, less challenging (one might posit). A film of detachment so lies on the surface of fiction. Read a fiction book and try to write, then read a non-fiction and try again. The writing of non-fiction is much stronger.