One of the incredible attractions to creative writing is the opportunity to flesh out characters and lives that otherwise don’t exist. Ah, the power of the written word—with just a few words typed out anyone can make up a mythical persona. Fictional people, whether they be characters in a novel, childrens story book, or elsewhere, inspire real life people to greatness.

We are drawn to fictional lives because fictional people have nothing to loose and their lives are an open book (no pun intended, honestly). The fake man has no reason not to be honest with the real man. Authors can divulge sins of make-believe characters without offending those people in the real world. Then, they can express the depths of the struggling spirit to overcome all obstacles without being too dramatic for the real world, so to speak.

Thus, when I create a fictional character, I aim to tap into the greatest depth of human emotion, intelligence, and spirit. The artificial reflection of fiction serves a great impact on our own lives; the non-real inspire us to make the virtues of the non-real real in our own lives.