So for the past week or two I've been trying to work on... multiple stories. My interests and TF moods have been kind of erratic and I quickly lose focus in stuff I'm writing. Some of it has been free writing and have been pretty lowkey, and were ONLY meant for fun, while other stories are ones that I planned to complete and post here, and on FA.

What ALL the stories had in common was a struggle with setting... Like: I had ideas for the characters themselves, or ideas for what the characters become, but no clue where they are...

And this is where... a piece of writing wisdom came to me, where many writers would say "well, duh!" and I probably knew at some point but forgot along the way: I gotta think of how the characters interact with the setting! are the characters familiar with where they are? are they comfortable? uncomfortable? How similar are the characters to the setting? (am I writing about an ogre in a swamp, or an ogre in NYC?) those sorts of questions.

Furthermore: I came up a sort of prompt or mantra (that I'll try to stick to for a little while): Think of the setting AS a character. I've developed a sort of knack for making a character I like, where (I use heroforge as a crutch) imagine a character in my head and think of certain aspects of the way they act, and they sorta become a blorbo for a little while. The thing is: they're a blorbo existing in the void. I don't really know what they do for fun, who their family is or anything. I just have an idea of their appearance and an innate idea of their personality that's... sorta close to my heart. Like: when I imagine this character: they feel like a close friend of mine.

And the thing is: I never really do this with setting. Either I come up with the idea of a setting that would seem cool, or I come up with a setting in response to a character, without thinking of whether or not the setting would be good for that character. It's like White Space in the game Omori: my settings are "a place to survive, but not to live." Basically: I create a space for my character just to be in but not to interact with. On the flip side: I may have this immersive setting idea in my head but no characters living there. This is the fate that my "Ghost Story" suffered. I had this really cool idea for a world filled with ghosts, and where ghost hunting is an occupation, but for the life of me: I couldn't come up with characters I liked. (I did come up with two names, however: Dexter and Zugh. so I'm making slow progress with that story now.)

So with all of that said: I thought to myself just now: why do I just come up with characters in this heartfelt way? Why don't I think of settings that are close to my heart, worlds for the characters I love to live in, to thrive in? why does setting need to be an afterthought or a chore? why can't I enjoy it? I believe that by keeping this in mind: I may go somewhere with my writing, I may enjoy it a lot more, and I'm gonna grow as a writer. All I need to do is make sure it doesn't backfire, that I don't overthink my characters and setting.

Once again, if you read this far: thank you! I consider this to be progress with my writing, just as much as any story I write. It's important to remember that progress with writing isn't just words on the page. it can be outlining, world building, introspection, and reflections like this one! So I really like sharing my thoughts here because it may be helpful to some, and it also shows my self-doubt that I am going somewhere.