Sadly I play Destiny mostly alone, and soloing gives me a lot of time for introspection. Plus it allows me to explore the world and lore at my own pace. For writing, I create multiple tulpa for my characters and/or lucid dream about them. I give them strong personalities and motives and sometimes even settings. They basically do the rest in my head and all I have to do is write down what's happening in a vivid and descriptive way. Yes, it's like cheating. This is harder to do with pre-existing characters though, since I can't really conceptualize their innermost conflicts. So for those I typically use day-to-day situations or project part of my identity or my friends into them. I try to incorporate my passion for physics and programming into my stories. I feel like it's a good way to get people interested in science and engineering. I love books and reading so I'm constantly looking for new words and concepts. I also love videogames and learned to do pixel-art. Typically I envision a scene or setting, draw it and polish it a bit, and then dream the rest. I think this is why I take a bit longer, because I need time to set things in motion and get the most consistent version - letting it sink in first is the key!