01
Essay · sample
Why do fictional people feel like friends?
On the real connections we make with made-up people — and the small things they help us notice.
I read into things.
1
Books. People. The bits in between.
Stories, notes and observations on books, people and everyday life — with a few detours.
Process
Side thoughts
A closer look
The recent pagesA few pages to get lost in.
By KaraThe recent pages
A closer look
Fiction & belonging
What makes an imagined person feel familiar?
Illustrative edition01
Essay · Sample3 min
Why do fictional people feel like friends?
There is a particular kind of comfort in returning to a story you already know. No introductions are needed. The rhythm is familiar. Somebody will say the wrong thing, somebody will understand what they meant, and the…
Keep readingIllustrative writing02
By KaraThe recent pages
A closer look
Fiction & belonging
What makes an imagined person feel familiar?
Illustrative edition01
Essay · Sample3 min
Why do fictional people feel like friends?
There is a particular kind of comfort in returning to a story you already know. No introductions are needed. The rhythm is familiar. Somebody will say the wrong thing, somebody will understand what they meant, and the…
Keep readingIllustrative writing02
By KaraThe recent pages
A closer look
Reading & perspective
Can a story improve a question without settling it?
Illustrative edition03
Book note · Sample2 min
What reading teaches us about people
A book can give us a view of a life we have never lived. That is an invitation, not a qualification. Finishing the last page does not mean we now understand every person whose circumstances resemble the…
Keep readingIllustrative writing04
By KaraThe recent pages
A closer look
Everyday life
How can an ordinary detail become a better question?
Illustrative edition05
Observation · Sample2 min
Ordinary people, extraordinary detail
A good opening does not always need a spectacular event. Sometimes it needs an exact detail: the chair nobody chooses, the handwritten sign in a window, the pause before somebody answers a simple question. These are imagined…
Keep readingIllustrative writing06
By KaraThe recent pages
A closer look
Noticing things
When does a second thought make a story better?
Illustrative edition07
Essay · Sample2 min
The quiet appeal of overthinkers
Some of the most interesting sentences arrive after the conversation seems to have ended. “Actually,” someone says, “there is another way of looking at that.” A small door opens in an argument that had appeared to be…
Keep readingIllustrative writing08
Preview edition • Sample writing is clearly labelled. None is presented as Kara’s own work.
The notebookA few things
A few things
worth looking into.
Some stories begin with a big question.
Others with a detail you almost missed.
02
Book note · sample
What reading teaches us about people
Not all the answers. Sometimes something more useful: a reason to ask a better question.
03
Observation · sample
Ordinary people, extraordinary detail
There might be a story in the things we usually walk past. The trick is to look without deciding too soon.
04
Essay · sample
The quiet appeal of overthinkers
A thought about noticing, second thoughts, and leaving a little room for the unfinished.
The Rabbit HoleOne thought.
One thought.
Another possibility.
The questions connect. Choose one and see where it leads.
Start anywhere
Why do fictional people feel like friends?
On the real connections we make with made-up people — and the small things they help us notice.
Read this storyChoose a topic above. Your trail stays in this browser session.
Good stories leave
a little room for you.
A question, an observation, a thoughtful correction.
There is always room for another perspective.