TheT-shirt above from www.signals.com proudly states, "Careful, you'll end up in my novel" isn't terribly far from the truth. More accurately, I think threads of people we observe, meet and know may end up in stories and novels than the actual person. When I look at people or spend time 'people watching,' I enjoy the pastime of placing them in a story or reimagining them in another time period, place and costume.
I am surprised when friends confess that they do not have stories in their heads running 24/7. I have more stories to write than lifetimes to live.