the thing is. i think i need a fictional story for the fangirl/reader character in my wanderwoods story to be super into.
because a bookish character talking about how much they love ~general books, like in general~ always comes across as weird and insincere to me, and i think that's part of why i've struggled to connect with this character.
kind of a problem, since she's the narrator.
i think it's hard to sell passion and SpIn-levels of devotion without at least a little info-dumping. and it's hard to convey the books she loves are the lens through which she experiences the world when the only way she ever references them is by name-dropping tropes and archetypes.
for it to be effective, i want to have an internally consistent thing she can reference -- not just random unconnected comments she makes. themes and character development and the big twist that happened in book 6 and who's shipping what, because that feels like a more authentic way to talk about a franchise you enjoy. you know?
... anyway i may or may not be plotting a children's fantasy book series that only exists inside another story. for funsies :)