I'm actually still amazed and glad readers like that chapter.
I was worried that since I'm not a middle-aged father of two, I wouldn't get the tone right (and it was mostly for Father's Day, a holiday I tend to fret over constantly)
@Jes2G Alice & Kev was the first Sims story I read. I hold it dear in my heart.
It was my first too! I had never heard of people writing stories with the game until then. I’ll have to go to your site and see what you said about it.
I'm actually still amazed and glad readers like that chapter.
I was worried that since I'm not a middle-aged father of two, I wouldn't get the tone right (and it was mostly for Father's Day, a holiday I tend to fret over constantly)
It was super beautiful. The way you write Dennis really made him come alive for me.
And, as a special reason to celebrate, this story was completed today!
I loved reading it so much. The family is endearing, the drama is compelling, and we get to see real growth and development among the characters. Plus, it includes many of my favorite pre-mades from Windenburg.
We're celebrating it this week in "It's Done!," so please swing on by to join the celebration!
Since we were talking about Alice & Kev recently on my blog and also on here, I would love to discuss firsts with everyone.
What were some of the first SimLit stories you read? If applicable, How did they inspire you to write also?
Also firsts for the writers... What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
What were some of the first SimLit stories you read? If applicable, How did they inspire you to write also?
The first I ever read was @Rorygilmore34 's Legacies of the Sims It was my first experience with SimLit, and made me realize "Okay, wow. Other people use their sims to tell stories... but they also write them down?! Cool!" I started writing Dust to Dust like a week or two later
What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
I was extremely nervous because I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I also had poked around and saw that the majority of stories seemed to be game-based, so I feared my plot-driven story would be weird or out of place and no one would read it. But I kept remembering that the first SimLit I read was also plot-based, so that helped remind me that it was "okay" haha.
I'd go back and tell myself "calm down and have fun!" (That's advice I could still use today, actually )
What were some of the first SimLit stories you read? If applicable, How did they inspire you to write also?
The first I ever read was @Rorygilmore34 's Legacies of the Sims It was my first experience with SimLit, and made me realize "Okay, wow. Other people use their sims to tell stories... but they also write them down?! Cool!" I started writing Dust to Dust like a week or two later
What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
I was extremely nervous because I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I also had poked around and saw that the majority of stories seemed to be game-based, so I feared my plot-driven story would be weird or out of place and no one would read it. But I kept remembering that the first SimLit I read was also plot-based, so that helped remind me that it was "okay" haha.
I'd go back and tell myself "calm down and have fun!" (That's advice I could still use today, actually )
The first SimLit story I ever read was Alice and Kev. I didn’t even know people did that with the game. I played in a silo back then and only visited the forums when I needed help lol. It was such a wonderful little story, I was inspired to create my own homeless Sim and play through Alice’s challenge. Only, my Sim’s challenges were worse because Alice and Kev was written before Seasons came out! My poor frozen Sim LOL. Anyway, I briefly considered writing a story, but I didn’t feel it was necessary because Alice and Kev was so good and I didn’t feel I could do better. That was the end of my SimLit experience until TS4 came out! Some kind of way I got it in my head to do a legacy challenge. I had heard of them in the latter part of my TS3 days, but it seemed too hard and restrictive for me. When TS4 came out, I decided to check it out, and somehow it didn’t seem so bad anymore. The ONLY reason I decided to write a story was to keep myself interested in the challenge because I knew I would get tired of it and quit. I guess I was a bit naive, being a fan of writing and all. I didn’t factor in falling in love with storytelling in this way, and voila!
When I first starting writing Pruett Family Legacy, I guess I’ll say I was excited. It was new, and I had no idea what was going to happen or how long it would actually take. It took me 17 months and 5 days to do, so if I could go back and give myself advice, I would say, “You’re going to be at this for at least a year and a half…no need to rush! Slow down and don’t put pressure on yourself.”
What were some of the first SimLit stories you read? If applicable, How did they inspire you to write also?
The first SimLit story I read was on Tumblr, and was an amazing Sci-Fi story by Nenpysims. Do yourself a favour and check it out when you get a chance, the link I provided takes you to the start of the story.
I was fresh out of writing 50k words during NaNo for my fantasy novel, but I was kind of stuck, so while reading this story I decided to try and "Reverse Engineer" a world set in the same world as my fantasy novel, just thousands of years in the future. With that spark of inspiration, Ironbound was born. It's also worth noting that Nakaia's race was a creation of Nenpy, and I was able to use her in my story with her permission.
What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
All of the above? I wasn't all that confident in my own writing at the time, so I was kind of terrified to hit the publish button. But you cannot learn to fly without first falling, so I took a deep breath and hit the publish button anyway. I was expecting instant results, either people would love it or hate it, but I got nothing... But here's the thing I would tell myself and newbie writers, patience. The notes/likes/comments will come if you continue to write with passion. If you believe in your story, if you believe in the world and the characters that you have created, just keep writing and the note/likes and comments will come.
I was expecting instant results, either people would love it or hate it, but I got nothing... But here's the thing I would tell myself and newbie writers, patience. The notes/likes/comments will come if you continue to write with passion. If you believe in your story, if you believe in the world and the characters that you have created, just keep writing and the note/likes and comments will come.
I remember when I discovered Ironbound... I think you were already something like 30 chapters into it? I was BLOWN AWAY!
Oh, what a happy summer I had when I read a few chapters of Ironbound every morning! It really helped me through a difficult time--I'd wake up out-of-sorts, focus by making breakfast, playing piano, and drinking coffee, then read a few chapters of Ironbound and get completely pulled into the world, and then, my mind would be working in harmony, and the rest of the day would go so smoothly!
That was a real treat for me and a treasured reading memory!
I was expecting instant results, either people would love it or hate it, but I got nothing... But here's the thing I would tell myself and newbie writers, patience. The notes/likes/comments will come if you continue to write with passion. If you believe in your story, if you believe in the world and the characters that you have created, just keep writing and the note/likes and comments will come.
I remember when I discovered Ironbound... I think you were already something like 30 chapters into it? I was BLOWN AWAY!
Oh, what a happy summer I had when I read a few chapters of Ironbound every morning! It really helped me through a difficult time--I'd wake up out-of-sorts, focus by making breakfast, playing piano, and drinking coffee, then read a few chapters of Ironbound and get completely pulled into the world, and then, my mind would be working in harmony, and the rest of the day would go so smoothly!
That was a real treat for me and a treasured reading memory!
Awww! Thank you for the kind words!
I am kind of in that difficult time now, all out-of-sorts. I want to get back to that place, where I feel that sense of harmony myself, work just destroys me and I need a change. I hope that with a new job (a desk job) I can find myself (my creative self) again and give Ironbound and my other stories the justice that they deserve.
I was expecting instant results, either people would love it or hate it, but I got nothing... But here's the thing I would tell myself and newbie writers, patience. The notes/likes/comments will come if you continue to write with passion. If you believe in your story, if you believe in the world and the characters that you have created, just keep writing and the note/likes and comments will come.
I remember when I discovered Ironbound... I think you were already something like 30 chapters into it? I was BLOWN AWAY!
Oh, what a happy summer I had when I read a few chapters of Ironbound every morning! It really helped me through a difficult time--I'd wake up out-of-sorts, focus by making breakfast, playing piano, and drinking coffee, then read a few chapters of Ironbound and get completely pulled into the world, and then, my mind would be working in harmony, and the rest of the day would go so smoothly!
That was a real treat for me and a treasured reading memory!
Awww! Thank you for the kind words!
I am kind of in that difficult time now, all out-of-sorts. I want to get back to that place, where I feel that sense of harmony myself, work just destroys me and I need a change. I hope that with a new job (a desk job) I can find myself (my creative self) again and give Ironbound and my other stories the justice that they deserve.
or you could have jes curse you.that worked for me. til tonight i spent a month writing angry and sad now i have writers block lol.
I hope so, too, Munter! Your creativity deserves to be nurtured through a stimulating and supportive environment!
i like how supportive we are here. i have a few people outside the game reading my blog but they never read the whole thing just certain posts and then the commentsaren't related to the story. so i love that people here read it.
I used to read a bunch of stories on the old TS2 story exchange. I can't remember which one was the very first one, but the first one that got me into sim stories was Jfed142's Simhaven Legacy (archived here if you look for Jfed in the list). I loved the idea of reading other's stories instantly, since I always saw the game as a storytelling device - the ease of finding them all on TS2 story exchange was fantastic. I spent many happy days reading through the stories in the album form
One thing that I remember about my favourite TS2 stories is that they were all hilarious. I remember that influencing me when I first started writing simlit myself, I was striving for humour. Not sure when that changed! Also, all of the TS2 stories I loved were legacy stories that strayed from the rules at least a bit - can definitely see an influence there!
I'm enjoying hearing how people started this journey!
First simlit story I read was Care Wren's apocalypse challenge Wren's Nest. I love that story! She's a builder and that's what I was first on the boards. I used to participate in the builders challenges in Sims 3 and that translated into doing the same thing for sims 4. She advertised her story over there and it opened a whole new world to me. Being a writer, I took to it naturally. I must confess writing simlit is way easier than building. I'm not very good at it even though it's my first sim creative love. I don't have time to build now but I'm fine with that.
I was confused how to approach writing simlit. I started with a builders story but that fizzled quickly. I didn't like the characters. Then I did a straight legacy, but again, there's not enough drama for me to sink my teeth into. Once I started the Amazon challenge, I was hooked. That challenge had so much drama built in that it carried me for a long time.
My advice? Write what you love. That's the only way to keep going. And don't worry about readers. Please yourself first. That's what happened with Day & Knight. Its story themes are controversial and not everyone will embrace what I'm writing about. But I didn't care. The story had to be written. It's my least popular story even though it's gaining momentum. I know it's because some readers are put off by the content but it's been the most rewarding story for me to write since I started. That's what will drive you to keep a story going. Your passion.
Comments
Excellent suggestion!
Story Blog | Forum Discussion
I'm actually still amazed and glad readers like that chapter.
Part One(Complete 9/24/16) /Part Two(on hold)/Short Stories(on hold)/Twinbrook 1996(on hold)/Ten Crystal Hearts (on hold)
I own the TS3 Store as of 12/11/16 (sort of. It's complicated)
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
It was my first too! I had never heard of people writing stories with the game until then. I’ll have to go to your site and see what you said about it.
http://www.jes2gstories.com/welcome-home/
It was super beautiful. The way you write Dennis really made him come alive for me.
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
@Jes2G I read your short story! It was beautiful!
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
Thank you!
thank you. i don't talk abut those 2 chapters a lot because its not something i would do but it came from noels fear not from anger.
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
And, as a special reason to celebrate, this story was completed today!
I loved reading it so much. The family is endearing, the drama is compelling, and we get to see real growth and development among the characters. Plus, it includes many of my favorite pre-mades from Windenburg.
We're celebrating it this week in "It's Done!," so please swing on by to join the celebration!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
SimLit Celebration #4
Since we were talking about Alice & Kev recently on my blog and also on here, I would love to discuss firsts with everyone.
What were some of the first SimLit stories you read? If applicable, How did they inspire you to write also?
Also firsts for the writers...
What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
This Week's Mentioned Stories:
Alice and Kev
@Rorygilmore34's Legacies of the Sims
Nenpysims' Legacy
@Munterbacon's Ironbound
Jfed142's Simhaven Legacy
@Carewren123's Wren's Nest
GreenLady555's The Gravity of Being Green
Rageinthemachine's Dominion and Metamorphosis
@InfraGreen's Eight Cicadas
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
The first I ever read was @Rorygilmore34 's Legacies of the Sims
What was it like when you first started writing SimLit? Were you nervous, excited, hesitant, hopeful, etc? If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself (and newbie writers)?
I was extremely nervous because I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I also had poked around and saw that the majority of stories seemed to be game-based, so I feared my plot-driven story would be weird or out of place and no one would read it. But I kept remembering that the first SimLit I read was also plot-based, so that helped remind me that it was "okay" haha.
I'd go back and tell myself "calm down and have fun!"
i do tell you calm down. lol.
When I first starting writing Pruett Family Legacy, I guess I’ll say I was excited. It was new, and I had no idea what was going to happen or how long it would actually take. It took me 17 months and 5 days to do, so if I could go back and give myself advice, I would say, “You’re going to be at this for at least a year and a half…no need to rush! Slow down and don’t put pressure on yourself.”
The first SimLit story I read was on Tumblr, and was an amazing Sci-Fi story by Nenpysims. Do yourself a favour and check it out when you get a chance, the link I provided takes you to the start of the story.
I was fresh out of writing 50k words during NaNo for my fantasy novel, but I was kind of stuck, so while reading this story I decided to try and "Reverse Engineer" a world set in the same world as my fantasy novel, just thousands of years in the future. With that spark of inspiration, Ironbound was born. It's also worth noting that Nakaia's race was a creation of Nenpy, and I was able to use her in my story with her permission.
All of the above? I wasn't all that confident in my own writing at the time, so I was kind of terrified to hit the publish button. But you cannot learn to fly without first falling, so I took a deep breath and hit the publish button anyway. I was expecting instant results, either people would love it or hate it, but I got nothing... But here's the thing I would tell myself and newbie writers, patience. The notes/likes/comments will come if you continue to write with passion. If you believe in your story, if you believe in the world and the characters that you have created, just keep writing and the note/likes and comments will come.
I remember when I discovered Ironbound... I think you were already something like 30 chapters into it? I was BLOWN AWAY!
Oh, what a happy summer I had when I read a few chapters of Ironbound every morning! It really helped me through a difficult time--I'd wake up out-of-sorts, focus by making breakfast, playing piano, and drinking coffee, then read a few chapters of Ironbound and get completely pulled into the world, and then, my mind would be working in harmony, and the rest of the day would go so smoothly!
That was a real treat for me and a treasured reading memory!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Awww! Thank you for the kind words!
I am kind of in that difficult time now, all out-of-sorts. I want to get back to that place, where I feel that sense of harmony myself, work just destroys me and I need a change. I hope that with a new job (a desk job) I can find myself (my creative self) again and give Ironbound and my other stories the justice that they deserve.
or you could have jes curse you.that worked for me. til tonight i spent a month writing angry and sad now i have writers block lol.
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
how does that work. my kindle isnt charged so i came back
i like how supportive we are here. i have a few people outside the game reading my blog but they never read the whole thing just certain posts and then the commentsaren't related to the story. so i love that people here read it.
okay whining over, sorry.
One thing that I remember about my favourite TS2 stories is that they were all hilarious. I remember that influencing me when I first started writing simlit myself, I was striving for humour. Not sure when that changed! Also, all of the TS2 stories I loved were legacy stories that strayed from the rules at least a bit - can definitely see an influence there!
Story Blog | Forum Discussion
First simlit story I read was Care Wren's apocalypse challenge Wren's Nest. I love that story! She's a builder and that's what I was first on the boards. I used to participate in the builders challenges in Sims 3 and that translated into doing the same thing for sims 4. She advertised her story over there and it opened a whole new world to me. Being a writer, I took to it naturally. I must confess writing simlit is way easier than building. I'm not very good at it even though it's my first sim creative love. I don't have time to build now but I'm fine with that.
I was confused how to approach writing simlit. I started with a builders story but that fizzled quickly. I didn't like the characters. Then I did a straight legacy, but again, there's not enough drama for me to sink my teeth into. Once I started the Amazon challenge, I was hooked. That challenge had so much drama built in that it carried me for a long time.
My advice? Write what you love. That's the only way to keep going. And don't worry about readers. Please yourself first. That's what happened with Day & Knight. Its story themes are controversial and not everyone will embrace what I'm writing about. But I didn't care. The story had to be written. It's my least popular story even though it's gaining momentum. I know it's because some readers are put off by the content but it's been the most rewarding story for me to write since I started. That's what will drive you to keep a story going. Your passion.