The clarity of the image produced relates to how well the writer can close the distance between the self and other, between experience and imagination. Writers mark off this distance. It is their playing field.
Writers watch people.
They take notes. They imagine the world from the other's point of view. In considering these many points of view, one is considering not only the differences but also what is fixed, what isn't a matter of perspective. The writer seeks the bond between himself and all those who aren't him. According to how well one comes to terms with these questions, marriages are made or dissolved, political policy is formed, war is started or peace is achieved, and good or bad fiction is written.