The fiction writer uses language to create the illusion of reality. A work of fiction is an illusion of life in which characters attempt to transform basic reality by casting their desires and views upon it, thus creating internal conflict between elements of the real and the unreal. Characters must sort out through experiences that enable them to…

Sigmund Freud's attitudes about writing biographies of authors, and the influence of Freud's work on the interpretations of creativity, are discussed in relation to biographies of and by a number of writers. It is proposed that Freud's contributions, used carefully, have served to enlighten biography. (MSE)