embellishment

Writers of fiction embellish reality almost without knowing it.

You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true.

Whether we forget something we are not proud of, or embellish it, or blame somebody else, we want to save face by not owning up to shortcomings.

Any story worth telling has been embellished a little bit, Skyco, but the best stories are born from an honest seed that simply grows a little in the retelling of it.