When I write, I love background noise. I cycle between different kinds of background content. Usually, I put on some music. I tend to listen to synthpop or music without any words. If my family is awake, I will play YouTube reaction content. “Gorl-world” is one of my favorite YouTube niches (if you know, you know). If I’m having trouble with characterization, I watch courtroom footage for the entertaining personalities that sometimes appear, as well as body cam footage, especially of drunk drivers being arrested. The purpose of those is to better examine humans in extreme environments. When inhibitions are lowered or stakes become immediate, it is easier to examine veiled personality traits. You can explore a hidden and subconscious layer of the human condition that influences our life choices. If my characters exhibit those hidden traits that I’ve observed, I question how that thinking may affect their decisions.
PolyProse 
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