@ufos
@DeMaizu
@sparrow;
Thank you so much for the welcomes, guys! c:
As for this killer question...
Have you started any of your stories because of a scene that popped into your head, a character that popped into your head, or because something happened to you and you thought it would be fun to write down as a bigger adventure?
MAN, do I feel this! Yes, yes, 100%. I mean, even just being exposed to a setting you don't see every day. But I've also grown very attached to characters I spontaneously make up and have only known for a few hours, so much so that I want to give them their own world.
Alternatively, if I don't want to consider an all new story, or just can't see the concept standing on its own, I try to think of ways that my new ideas/characters can fit into an already existing story of mine, which is how I've come up with many elements I can't picture my works without now. Sometimes this process freshens things up.