This is gonna be the thread where we talk about stuff

I am neither particularly versed in world or character building. I often focus on plot-building, to the detriment of my stories. Though a friend of mine has been very helpful in terms of encouraging me to focus more on my characters. The more I expose myself to these extravagant stories, or even simple stories in general, the more I find that the characters are what draw the people into the world, not the other way around.

I think universe and setting are different things, like you're saying here, universes feel like the characters are just there to advance the plot and develop the universe's rules and all that. A setting is the place or world where the characters develop themselves and have their adventures. For me, a story where the universe has priority over the characters feels cold, shallow and flat, whereas character driven stories are easier to relate to and have that "soul factor".

I wasn't talking about that kind of humble, bob. I meant humble as in simple, free-of-pretensions humble. The opposite of a Mary Sue, i guess.

Thanks for calling my characters loveable, though.