Of course I know that the twins are only words on a page, and I'm certainly not the sort of writer who talks to his characters or harbours any illusions about the creative process. But at the same time, I think it's juvenile and arrogant when literary writers compulsively remind their readers that the characters aren't real. People know that already. The challenge is to make an intelligent reader suspend disbelief, to seduce them into the reality of a narrative.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of immersing readers in a fictional narrative, despite knowing the characters are not real.
Michel Faber argues that while writers are aware that their characters are fictional constructs, it is essential to create a world that engages readers' imaginations. Dismissing the reality of characters may come off as pretentious; instead, effective storytelling should encourage readers to suspend their disbelief and fully embrace the narrative's reality.
In practice
In a writing workshop, when discussing the importance of creating believable characters, one might use this quote.
Total oblivion is the fate of almost everything in this world. I'm very likely to suffer that same fate; my work will probably not be remembered, and if any of it is, if any of those novels is fated to be one of those novels that is still being read 50 or 100 years after it was written, I've probably already written it.
Really good books need a chaos element: something weird or inexplicable.
Everyone thinks these are self-portraits but they aren't meant to be. I just use myself as a model because I know I can push myself to extremes, make each shot as ugly or goofy or silly as possible.
I do not believe in the art which is not the compulsive result of man's urge to open his heart
One of the obsessions that the Soviet Union and the Eastern European communist parties had was always controlling the message - all information that everybody gets has to be carefully controlled and monitored. Art was no exception.
The art of the critic in a nutshell: to coin slogans without betraying ideas. The slogans of an inadequate criticism peddle ideas to fashion.
What is Art? It is the response of man's creative soul to the call of the Real.
It is a peculiar part of the good photographer's adventure to know where luck is most likely to lie in the stream, to hook it, and to bring it in without unfair play and without too much subduing it.
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