See yesterday to understand today. Fiction is great, but it isn't the best. Instead, real life. Not because everything that happens is wonderful; it's surely not. Bad things happen all the time, and having an escape is good, as long as it doesn't become an addiction. But sometimes escape and refuge aren't necessary. Real life is the best, because, no matter how far technology goes—no matter how it makes us feel we are experiencing something simulated, no matter how dramatic and drastic our 'fiction' can be—nothing holds a candle to the size of the earth, to the warmth of the sun, to embrace from a friend or the warm release of a real tear slipping down a cheek.
Following that real life is the best, that is why the best fiction is about real life. We want to read things that we can understand, we want to read about people like us, we want to grasp insight from someone we're not prejudiced against or intimidated by so we can actually respect it.
The message is twofold:
#) whatever you write, write real life into it. It has greater allure, wider depth, and deeper purpose.
#) really nothing beats real life; so take time in the rush to stop and appreciate it. It's not hard to do—step outside in any season, and you'll immediately be barraged by whatever reality is happening with the weather; then go from there.