Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
Cozy Corner Writer's Nook
aroseinbloom
Posts: 3,456 Member
Welcome to the Cozy Corner Writer's Nook!
We're happy you stopped by--this place was brought to reality by @aroseinbloom, @CathyTea, @Jes2G and @munterbacon.
Before you post, please read our Shared Vision and Etiquette sections. There are many threads out there that fit a variety of needs, and it is our hope that this thread will be a place that fulfills certain needs for certain community members.
If this place isn't for you (or is, but just not your current need), please check out these other awesome threads:
Writer's Lounge
Book Club
The Monthly Story Writing Challenge
The Writer's Workshop
Again, thanks for visiting us and we look forward to you ideas, thoughts, and inspiration!
We're happy you stopped by--this place was brought to reality by @aroseinbloom, @CathyTea, @Jes2G and @munterbacon.
Before you post, please read our Shared Vision and Etiquette sections. There are many threads out there that fit a variety of needs, and it is our hope that this thread will be a place that fulfills certain needs for certain community members.
If this place isn't for you (or is, but just not your current need), please check out these other awesome threads:
Writer's Lounge
Book Club
The Monthly Story Writing Challenge
The Writer's Workshop
Again, thanks for visiting us and we look forward to you ideas, thoughts, and inspiration!
0
Comments
According to Peter Senge, it is, "... a force in people's hearts, a force of impressive power....At its simplest level, a shared vision is the answer to the question, 'What do we want to create?'"
A small handful of community members proposed this question--what do we want to create?--because we were feeling that there were several needs of ours that were not being met by what is currently available on the forums.
Our Shared Vision:
We want to create a space that evolves in authenticity and connection, especially in regards to the Sims--SimLit reading and writing--and how it impacts our lives. This space is meant to be inspiring, sometimes goofy, but overall a place where meaningful conversations occur daily.
Discord: #5153
While holding our Shared Vision with you, please also keep these pieces in mind as you participate:
What's the difference between dialogue and discussion?
Discussion: its roots come from the same as percussion and concussion! Those are not pleasant words! It literally means 'to break things up!' When having a discussion, people interrupt, rudely disagree, and fight to make their point(s) known. What fun is that?
Dialogue: it means 'the meaning of the word' and 'through.' So, through the meaning of the word, which makes space for flow and the emergence of new understandings. How fun is that? New understandings of what comes up on our thread!
**********
So, please remember, this is meant to be a form of guidance put together by those community members who felt that there were some needs of theirs not being met by the other thread conversations. This is not meant to be limiting and constrictive, but keep these in mind when posting and/or responding to posts.
You will be reminded of these if you venture too far from them, so be kind and respectful of our Shared Vision and Etiquette.
Discord: #5153
Are you a regular participant of this thread? Want to share the link to your blog/story thread? PM the link and I will add it!
@Anua92: Ashes to Ashes: A TS3 100 Baby Challenge
@aroseinbloom: A Rose In Bloom Sims
@CathyTea: Cathy Tea's SimLit Anthology
@Jes2G: Stories by Jes2G
@munterbacon: Ironbound | My Life As A Zombie | The Stevens Legacy
Discord: #5153
Discord: #5153
(My tiny keyboard on my nook makes typing feel zen.)
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Rebuild | Rebuild Vol. 2
Today, my mind has wandered to the topic of how SimLit writing creates community...
Discord: #5153
Funny you should say that! I was just thinking about that yesterday...
For me a big part of it is the shared experience. TS4, especially, seems to prompt deep reflection, and as we share these deeper thoughts with each other, it naturally opens up trust and appreciation.
What are your thoughts and feelings? (You, meaning whoever reads these words)
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
But when we Sim, and especially when we write and Sim, and then read others' writing about Sims, we're able to reflect a bit easier. We can see the patterns in our Sims or in others' Sims and we can identify it.
Soooooo...what if one reason we're able to create such a tight community is because we create space in ourselves and in others for deeper, meaningful reflection?
Discord: #5153
As a side conversation: What have you noticed about the individual ways that your Sims go through grief? Doug Bough is blowing me away with the profound and thoughtful way he's processing and moving through it (Somebody's Shoulders). He's also two days away from elderspin himself, so I wonder how his awareness of his own impending appointment with Grim is influencing his travels through his grief for his mom.
and back on topic--as we share reflections like this with each other, I agree--it does build and fashion community. It builds trust, too--for how often in our daily lives can we share deep thoughts like this? I can share with my boyfriend, and sometimes with my office mate, and with one of my best friends--and now and then, space opens even in seemingly mundane days to allow for sharing of a deep level. But here, with our Simming friends and community members, and through our blogs, we can always share deeply.
Another thought: I notice that Simming with TS4 creates oxytocin in me (that's bonding hormone), and I can feel through conversation and reading others' blogs that it does the same for many others. And so, I feel that when we're steeped in oxytocin, we will be open to building community--for that's one of the purposes of that specific hormone.
(Future psychology researchers: this could be an amazing area for research!)
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
"You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
I think that this second quote is something that rings true for me personally. When i write stories I usually write them with the full intent of examining the human condition and exploring life. Both the good and bad aspects of it all and how it shapes us as human beings.
To sort of piggyback on what @CathyTea mentions here:
In the Sims 4 the sims themselves seem more alive therefore drawing us in even more through game play and storytelling that it is hard to steer them the way you might have been able to in previous games. And I think that is where that comes from. As a result of that writer's delve into certain topics and explore them through their stories and legacies.
Rebuild | Rebuild Vol. 2
Yeah, it's interesting. You mention that your Sims storytelling is driven by exploring life and the human condition. I know that I've reflected way more about what it means to be a person here on this planet--especially in terms of our mortality--while writing a legacy than I ever thought I would!
And now, my Sims are pushing me to make a shift. My SimLit is starting to explore not so much what it means to be a person on this planet, but more what it means to be a Sim in a digital world. I find that, more than anything else, that's what I love about Sims and what draws me in: the Sims themselves.
How has playing and writing about the Sims helped you explore life?
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
@CathyTea, to answer your question I think its helped me to become more accepting of people. Now I know alone that is a very generic and vague statement but it's something that I didn't even realize I had an issue with. And it took some time to accept that as a problem and work towards fixing that. The Sims has also helped me explore the process of grieving, as it is something that has not touched me too often in my adult years.
Rebuild | Rebuild Vol. 2
That's really interesting--I've had a similar response to both. Yes, for sure, playing a legacy, watching our Sims move through the grieving process is something that we'll do at least seven, and likely eight or nine times. We get to know the patterns and to watch it in ourselves.
Sims help me with acceptance, too. I come to love all the Sims on my hard-drive: even (maybe especially) those with traits that I find challenging. And this naturally crosses over to people. I begin to think that I can come to love people with challenging traits, too. And it helps me be more accepting of my own challenging traits--those in my shadow side and those that for some reason I think think I "shouldn't" have. As I accept those traits within myself, I can just let them be--create space around them and let them be. And then, I don't even have to try to change them, for they don't cause issues.
And also, Simming has helped me accept others, too. Here in our SimLit community, we are SO diverse. We come across people that I'd usually never run into on this side of the screen--and if I did, it's likely we'd not have a lot of shared ground. But because we're all Simmers, we're immediately drawn to each other and we have a huge area of interest in common.
So this goes right back to Rosey's question about Simming and community.
What's been your experience coming into this community? (This question, too, is for Jenn and anyone who happens to read this.)
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Rebuild | Rebuild Vol. 2
For me, I usually avoid communities. It's one of my flaws, I prefer to muddle along under my own devices and leave it at that. I stepped out of my comfort zone by joining Tumblr, but the Sims community on Tumblr is so volatile at times that I thought it was going to be no different on the forums, but I wanted somewhere that I could share my stories. I felt they weren't getting the right kind of attention on Tumblr.
From the moment I joined this community (the writers portion, not the sims 4 forums as a whole) I felt like I was amongst friends. You know the kind of friend that you could see only once every few years or so but nothing has changed, and you can still have the same good times as before.
That's been my experience.
I tend to agree with you. For example, I have a BF who lives around the corner (literally) from me, but I sort of avoided her all last week because I felt so caught up in my writing for Meets the Eye. She's not really one who cares about my writing or gaming, so I knew when I was with her, my energy for that would be negated.
I know it's probably not healthy to avoid friends, BUT, I wanted to be online so I could talk to my friends here about plots and ideas and characters. I know they get it. I know they understand my passion and excitement because they have been in the EXACT same space before.
I do wonder, though, what allows many of us to move from the space of gaming and writing, to a more personal relationship. I know at least 6 or 7 people here who I talk to regularly outside of just the forums...a few who I would trust with my inner most secrets.
Discord: #5153
As such I tend to align (not sure if that even the write use of the word, English isn't my first language) myself with like-minded individuals. And I don't think I am alone in that. As mentioned here it is something that we as human beings naturally do. But I most of my friends outside of the Sims are aware of my addiction to the game. I have few that tease me for it but I do know some people who do. Most of those friends are gamers, just in different genres. The one thing we all have in common however is our love of literature.
Now I can honestly say that I do not connect with everyone on the forums. I often find that some of use are simply passing through to ask questions or toss out ideas and then disappear again. On the forums I feel that I am not as outgoing as I am in real life and being behind the screen in a way limits me.
Rebuild | Rebuild Vol. 2
@OJenn, that's interesting. You're outgoing, but not so much on the forums. I'm not, but I'm more outgoing on the forums lol. But yeah, I agree with what you say. Everyone comes to the forums for various reasons, and that's perfectly ok.
First...thanks for saying hi.
Second...I bet you do! I am not pressuring you--you'll know when you're ready, but I am curious to know your own experiences with community and friendship in regards to the forums and your SimLit adventures.
Discord: #5153
This reminds me of "The Conversation with... The Awesome J's!"
Likeness is important. And also important is valuing diversity!
That's one of the aspects I've come to love most about the Storytelling Corner of the Forums--we're able to share similarities and our diversity.
Often, I feel that there's a feeling of respect that extended out--almost like an invitation for us to share those areas in which we differ from each other, because we know and trust that our differences will be accepted with respect.
Another aspect that I love about the Storytelling community is that we celebrate each other's talent!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!