I'd say that:
- What does the story writing process look like (in steps)?
It starts with the first good idea you have. An event, an universe, a character, a place. Anything. Then you fill in logically: a character will need to have an occupation, a personnality, to live somewhere, and then you can direct him towards this or that adventure based on this data. An awesome event needs reasons to happen, stakes, and people to take part in.
- What would help me be able to see the details for my story? Or is their a way to effectively “brute force" it? Or perhaps questions to decide on to coerce the details out of me?
Nah, details are important, I'm afraid. The only thing that could help you see them would be to write the story, the details will come naturally as without them, this story will sound/look bad for you.
- How important is naming characters or regions/areas? What is the best way to go about this? Currently I either jam it into a random name generator or choose a name I like.
It's better to do efforts and to create the name yourself. Bonus points if you're not going for overused tropes like the Norse mythology.
- What does the inclusion of minor hidden plot elements look like in practicality? In other words, how do you plan your plot around something that seems insignificant but is important without it feeling forced?
It looks like side quests, the kind of things that turns a good game universe into a deep, fascinating one. And these side quests will then later on start looking like a big important quest, to the author or to the player!
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