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My characters live inside my head for a long time before I actually start a book about them. Then, they become so real to me I talk about them at the dinner table as if they are real. Some people consider this weird. But my family understands.

Among adults, we can admit that of course, characters are creations. They aren't real people.

All I can guess is that when I write, I forget that it's not real. I'm living the story, and I think people can read that sincerity about the characters. They are real to me while I'm writing them, and I think that makes them real to the readers as well.

When I write for kids, I have to make sure they know what can't happen. They have to know it's a fantasy. But when I write for adults, they have to think it's real. Every detail has to be real or they won't buy it.

In order to make characters real - no matter what the character is doing - you have to see yourself as capable of having done that.

What makes characters real are details, and if you're crafting a person from scratch, you're probably not going to pay as much attention to a question like, 'Does this person bite their nails?'

I always talk about my characters like they're real people.

I just want to tell a good story, so I always ask myself, 'Are these people real to me?'

To me, my characters are more real than most people I meet.