Azu asked Josh Lanyon:

Dear Josh. When you write a piece, do you write the story first? Or do you write the characters first? Also, do you have models for each character's visuals and inner personality?

Josh Lanyon Hi Azu! That's an interesting question. Usually the "spark" or inspiration for a story comes through the characters and their conflict. The story develops from there. But occasionally, I'll get an idea based on a particular location or something that I've stumbled across in earlier research--an unsolved mystery or a true crime story or even some tragic event that I want to "correct" in my own mind by writing a better, if fictional, outcome.

I always know how the characters look, though sometimes it's sort of vague in the beginning. Psychological details usually evolve as the characters interact and their backgrounds become clearer to me.

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