I need to know when I begin something about the main character. I need to know the end of the story. And I need to the title, which kind of keeps me on the straight and narrow, the title reminds me where I'm headed. If I write without knowing the end, it's like deciding a journey and not knowing your destination, you could be going anywhere and nowhere. If I write without knowing my character very well, my character is liable to sound like anybody or nobody.
Some fantasy is just that, it's just fantasy, it's someone playing.
Some fantasy works very well with metaphor and does help with understanding. No one has this particular disease. There are diseases that compel people to injure themselves and I borrowed from one of these specifically. You are definitely my favorite sci-fi writer. No, we are pretty much done with that family, Lauren and her daughter Larkin.