How real are your characters?

Ernest Hemingway said, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

Do you agree with his statement?

I don’t want to be biased just because he’s one of my favorite authors but I concur. Real characters are beautiful. This post could be a follow-up to my previous one about compelling characters.

I am finishing up a story where my characters were inspired by real people. Although I changed their physical traits and names, their essence and emotions are still palpable. Their spirits continue to live on in the ink of my paper because their story needed to be told.

Are your protagonists the extension of someone you know?