When I look at the stories I keep returning to, one thing connects almost all of them: outsiders.
People searching for identity. People hiding secrets. People trying to survive systems that exploit or misunderstand them. People caught between worlds emotionally, socially, politically, or even literally in the case of some of my sci-fi stories.
I think outsiders are compelling because they notice things other people ignore. They question systems instead of blindly accepting them. They often carry pain, isolation, or emotional scars, but they also tend to be resilient, observant, creative, and deeply human.
That’s why I’m drawn to characters like investigators, veterans, alien hybrids, whistleblowers, isolated women, morally conflicted heroes, and people trying to uncover truths buried beneath institutions and appearances.
Genre storytelling naturally connects to outsider perspectives. Science fiction asks what it means to belong. Horror explores fear and survival. Thrillers deal with deception, trust, and hidden truths. Those genres work best when the characters feel emotionally grounded and human.
I also think a lot of people connect to outsider stories because most of us have felt like outsiders at some point in our lives. Feeling underestimated. Feeling disconnected. Feeling unseen. Trying to figure out where you belong.
For me, storytelling has never just been about spectacle. It’s about emotional connection. It’s about humanity under pressure. It’s about people trying to survive emotionally complicated worlds.
And sometimes the people standing outside the system are the only ones capable of seeing the truth clearly.
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