Fictionalism

Short Dialogue:

Someone asked me something like the following:

Are fictional characters such as Extra Pound real?

I answered, according to Meinong, yes, they have a degree of reality because we can talk about them as if they were just around the corner, describing them in great detail, such that they are recognizable when they appear from around that corner.

Someone else asked me what fiction could tell us about the nature of truth and reality?

I said I didn't know. And I added, "What can nonfiction tell us about those two?"