Characters are real... right?

Humans are pretty cool, but writers are an especially cool breed, you know why? They can create people on a separate plane of existence. Yeah, words can do that.

Most writers and readers experience a deep connection or attachment with a character in which the character seems alive as a flesh-and-blood person.

This attachment (according to Urban Dictionary) is called a soulbond: a soul created by the mental energy of another person/people, existing within the mental plane' of a person and not in the physical plane.

Is that timelordian enough for you?

Characters are real and don't let anyone tell you different. They just remain on a different plane of existence.

Writing is the closest that humans will ever get to creating. Sure, you can argue that painting and sculpting and stuff are creation too, but writing is, in its barest bones, ink on a page.

True creation is making something out of nothing, we humans, cool as we are, do not have phenomenal cosmic powers and cannot make stuff out of nothingness. Writing is as close as we can get. Ink on a page can grow to become other worlds of lovely people with goals and ambitions, portray a great evil that we want to see conquered, and offer the opportunity to see life from another's eyes.

Writing is awesome. Books are awesome, go read one.

Notice how I said go read a book instead of go write a book? Yeah, that was intentional.

For some reason, just about everyone thinks that they can write a book. That's like everyone thinking that they can run a triathlon. Haha no. You're creating a person on a separate mental plane of existence. That's way harder than a triathlon.

If you want to write, you've got to read. A lot. And not crappy stuff, you've got to read good stuff that makes you think. Read books that have really fleshy characters. You'll know a really good book when you read it, it will be beautiful and make you want to cry. Not emotional angsty crying like with those hormonal paranormal teen romance novels (seriously people, how did we make that a "thing"). I'm talking the words are so dang beautiful that you just can't keep it in. A book like that makes you want to be a better person, makes you want to make the world more beautiful. Once you've read a book like that, writing becomes a heck of a lot harder. It's like seeing the light for the first time. Try writing when you're blinded.

So, come on people. Read a ton. Write of beautiful things (no more zombies or vampires please). Don't write to be successful, write to teach, and write to remember what is good.