For the first time in a while, I'm writing new story, or rather, extending a previous story.

It's also the first time I've really picked up an abandoned book and continued it. I have three or four such stories around, but new ideas have always superseded them.

I have the same realization each time I write new stuff.

Nothing else matters. Doubts and second-guessing go away. Publishing, or editing, or reviews and anything else not-the-story disappears.

The story is the thing.

Basically, once I focus on the story, I'm thinking about how I can improve it. The writing world is contained within, without need of anything from outside.

A simple world of who says what, who does what, and where did that come from?

I live with the characters, and the characters are concerned with their world, not mine. Nothing alters the results in that world, but me.