I often read for escapism. For me escapism is not about going into a super immersive heavy story to take me away from my current life. It's more about exploration and discovery.
Just like in real life where I love the idea of travelling solo to a new town and just exploring, or just taking weird turns in my local area just to see an alley I've never seen before. I also love quirky premises that propel the protagonist into a new world, parallel world, or back in time or whatever.
Because of this I often love the beginning of some stories, because often it's open ended, and more about discovery. Endless possibilities, not tied down by rules or relationships. Like Off to be the Wizard, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Fred the Vampire Accountant. Even Stephen Kings 11.22.63 was perfect in the beginning. But eventually most books lead to the protagonist getting tied down into social relationships, romance, some sort of structure or system and the discovery is lost.
I know a plot can't just be exploring and discovery, there needs to be conflict and other characters, but ideally if it can keep that sense of wanderlust and exploration it would be great.
Any suggestions?
Disclaimer: I live a happy life with an amazing family and friends. So this is not some way of wanting to escape my social relationships. But for some reason I just really enjoy wandering around by myself.
by Friendofabook