The world and the character should feel like they naturally fit together. Their deep knowledge of their own reality thus helps make the extraordinary stand out. Likewise, the reader should almost immediately feel immersed in that world and see logic in the characters and their reactions.
The heroes of our fiction, of our real world, often are ordinary folk thrust into the extraordinary: and they persevere. We are the heroes we need. We are the solution to our problems.
A plot that immerses us so deeply, that builds characters and a world that can suspend our disbelief and take us there and make us want to linger, is the perfect escape.
I cannot sell myself.
Not that the material (me) is substandard – obviously it isn’t if you’re swayed by all the other things I can sell. But asking you to consider my research, read my work, buy my book? There I fail. It’s all mental and elemental. It’s a weird combination of imposter syndrome, conditioning, others’ expectations, fear of failure and maybe just a little bit of Midwest humble.