--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All a writer's characters are imaginary…" description: "\"All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. They are people as one imagines them to be.\" — Allan M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/allan-massie-43107_character_all-a-writer-s-characters-are-imaginary_1279861.jpg" --- # All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether… ![“All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. They are people as one imagines them to be.” quote by Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/allan-massie-43107_character_all-a-writer-s-characters-are-imaginary_1279861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/allan-massie-43107_character_all-a-writer-s-characters-are-imaginary_1279861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/allan-massie-43107_character_all-a-writer-s-characters-are-imaginary_1279861.jpg) > “All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. They are people as one imagines them to be.” [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All characters are constructs of imagination, regardless of real‑world inspirations; they exist as the author envisions. **In simple terms:** Characters are imagined, not real. Key Takeaway Create characters that serve your story. Themes creativity fiction imagination authorial control Mood analytical inspirational Type literary creative When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - role‑playing games - creative workshops Key Concepts literature psychology storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance reality and imagination? - What makes a character feel authentic? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on real people can limit originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-imaginary-593999/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Imaginary Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-matter-4131779/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-characters-696161/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The satisfaction of short fiction does not come close to the rich pleasure I get as a writer in the long deep immersion in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-satisfaction-of-short-fiction-does-not-come-close-to-the-rich/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I can relate to historical characters or imaginary ones. It doesn't matter if a story takes place in the future or in the present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-can-relate-to-historical-characters-or-imaginary-ones-it-doesn-t/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [“The best part of the fiction in many novels is the notice that the characters are imaginary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-p-adams/the-best-part-of-the-fiction-in-many-novels-is-the-notice-that-the-2/) [Franklin P. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-p-adams/) > [He invented this idea of telling the life story of a great writer through becoming his characters and becoming him. It was such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/he-invented-this-idea-of-telling-the-life-story-of-a-great-writer/) [Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/) > [I've had people who see all my characters as Native, even if they aren't. 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Sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/i-like-to-mix-the-real-and-the-imaginary-sometimes-it-is-characters/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) > [Using the device of an imaginary world allows me in some strange way to go to the central issues - it's one of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/using-the-device-of-an-imaginary-world-allows-me-in-some-strange-way/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More by Allan Massie > [“The word ‘steward’ derives from the Anglo-Saxon ‘stig’, meaning a hall, and ‘weard’, which is ward, guardian or keeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/the-word-steward-derives-from-the-anglo-saxon-stig-meaning-a-hall-and/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He's the chap who makes it possible for civilized folk to despise war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/do-you-know-what-a-soldier-is-young-man-he-s-the-chap-who-makes-it/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [It is one of the many merits of this admirable biography of Proust's mother that it invites one to return to the novel with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/it-is-one-of-the-many-merits-of-this-admirable-biography-of-proust-s/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [We are responsible for actions performed in response to circumstances for which we are not responsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/we-are-responsible-for-actions-performed-in-response-to-circumstances/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [“Life is not mathematics, and few things have only one correct answer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/life-is-not-mathematics-and-few-things-have-only-one-correct-answer/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [“Macbeth was played before the first Stuart king of Great Britain and Ireland, James VI of Scots and I of England, and this scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/macbeth-was-played-before-the-first-stuart-king-of-great-britain-and/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [Today the crime novelist has one advantage denied to writers of 'straight' or 'literary' novels. Unlike them he can range over all levels of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/today-the-crime-novelist-has-one-advantage-denied-to-writers-of/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) > [Blunders are an inescapable feature of war, because choice in military affairs lies generally between the bad and the worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-massie/blunders-are-an-inescapable-feature-of-war-because-choice-in-military/) [Allan Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) [Explore all 9 Allan Massie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-massie/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. 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