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CathyTea

A post will show up on your home page. I do most of my updates as posts.

I use pages for the table of contents and other topics that I want to show up separate in my navigation bar at the top of the page.

Currently my pages are Goofy Love Table of Contents, Other Stories (which is a list of all my other stories), Tables of Contents for all my other Stories, What I'm Reading and This Week in SimLit.

So, for starters, I suggest just doing a post. After you have a few posts, you can create a page that links to those posts, if you need a Table of Contents, but it will probably be a few days before you need that.

CathyTea

DavidMCSessy wrote: »

Hello!

Not that anyone's asking, but I guess I am from the "New" storytellers. I have posted my first official story last year in September, but I'm been doing multiple stories in pictures before that.

Hi! Love your new avatar! Oh! Check out the SimmerReview--they're looking for submissions!

DavidMCSessy

@CathyTea Woop, thanks! I just made up something quickly to have until I get some inspiration to create some new TWW assests.

Oh, I'll check it out!

friendsfan367

i need to go back in game. i can't rember kaydens last name. i wonder if that makes me a bad writer.

CathyTea

friendsfan367 wrote: »

i need to go back in game. i can't rember kaydens last name. i wonder if that makes me a bad writer.

I forget names all the time! Sometimes, I'll just describe them as "the guy with the mohawk" until I get the name. Sometimes, I'll write something like, "So, we learned that this guy, whom we called Timmy all along, is actually named Tommy."

friendsfan367

CathyTea wrote: »

friendsfan367 wrote: »

i need to go back in game. i can't rember kaydens last name. i wonder if that makes me a bad writer.

I forget names all the time! Sometimes, I'll just describe them as "the guy with the mohawk" until I get the name. Sometimes, I'll write something like, "So, we learned that this guy, whom we called Timmy all along, is actually named Tommy."

owww you made my neck hurt.from laughing.

VanityHigh

Oh I'm the same with names! I'm doing an outline of a new story I'm doing similar to my Murder Most Plum story and it was full of "the blonde one", "the kid", "old lady" and "hat guy" cause I can never remember their names.

I've noticed I keep getting the in game spelling of my founders husband wrong as well and can never remember if it's Bryce or Brice too

SummerFalls

Hi! Today in terms of novel wise, it went okay. I managed to list down everything I had in terms of plot and then everything I needed to build on. However, I just can't find the right beginning for my novel and I'm afraid that if I don't find the perfect one, the entire novel will become really boring.
In terms of Sim Stories, I'm going to be writing a new update soon after I watch this latest episode of Game of Thrones (hopefully it's better this week)

SummerFalls

Oh! I'm the same with names too! But, I'll just make up a random name unless their important to the story in which I'd then have to load the Sims up while writing the new chapter just to find the name!

friendsfan367

SummerFalls wrote: »

Oh! I'm the same with names too! But, I'll just make up a random name unless their important to the story in which I'd then have to load the Sims up while writing the new chapter just to find the name!

cathtea spoiled me during my first legacy. inever had to rember names or generations since she did all that. this time i want to write to see if ican make it intresting.

CathyTea

SummerFalls wrote: »

Hi! Today in terms of novel wise, it went okay. I managed to list down everything I had in terms of plot and then everything I needed to build on. However, I just can't find the right beginning for my novel and I'm afraid that if I don't find the perfect one, the entire novel will become really boring.
In terms of Sim Stories, I'm going to be writing a new update soon after I watch this latest episode of Game of Thrones (hopefully it's better this week)

John Keeble, whom I studied with in grad school, loved to say that "the first sentence sets the capacity for the piece."

I like to think of the first sentence as a vehicle: is it a VW bug? A truck? A train? A jet? A spaceship or time portal? The kind of first sentence will help the reader understand what to expect.

For my fiction, so many of my first sentences come from a feeling or an image. In fact, I do very little plotting. I usually start with a feeling or image (like an open door on a second floor or a pine branch across a cloud-spattered sky), and then entire works spins out from there.

So... if you already know where you want to go... you could consider thinking about the feeling, mood, and other types of expectations you want the reader to have. Sometimes, this is where daydreaming really comes in handy!

Another trick I always tell myself is that I can scrap the first sentence I write and come up with a new one! This takes the pressure off so I can be a little more free, creatively.

aroseinbloom

I'm lurking while at a bbq. I love this. And...it makes me want to write even more

CathyTea

SweetNotSalty wrote: »

@CathyTea You amaze me! I love every Discussion you make! I'm such a fan. I'm going to have many many many, and even more many questions for my upcoming story!

Too soon to ask one?
When posting screenshots, should we just adjust the picture to blend with all the others, or should we have a set dimension for every photo? Have any suggestions?

Thanks, Salty!

I tend to be really standard and boring with my screenshots--I set them all to 660 x 402, centered. At first I wanted to have different sizes, some left-aligned, some right-aligned, but then I realized that if I did that, it would make it harder if I changed themes--not all themes will work well with different alignments.

You might want to take a look through a variety of blogs to see styles that you like. (I've got a huge list on my "What I'm Reading Now" page.) Most bloggers are super nice and friendly, so if you see an approach you like and want to learn more about, you can ask the person here or at their blog.

Also, it's fun to experiment around! I did that in my early chapters--they look a mess, but I learned so much!

friendsfan367

aroseinbloom wrote: »

I'm lurking while at a bbq. I love this. And...it makes me want to write even more

i'm glad that everyone likes it. i learned something yesterday mention a idea to cathtea and it gets exicuted. i think we only talked about it for 30 minutes.

CathyTea

friendsfan367 wrote: »

aroseinbloom wrote: »

I'm lurking while at a bbq. I love this. And...it makes me want to write even more

i'm glad that everyone likes it. i learned something yesterday mention a idea to cathtea and it gets exicuted. i think we only talked about it for 30 minutes.

If that, right? I think you said, "Make it so," and I hopped on it! I do love a good idea, @friendsfan367 !

friendsfan367

CathyTea wrote: »

friendsfan367 wrote: »

aroseinbloom wrote: »

I'm lurking while at a bbq. I love this. And...it makes me want to write even more

i'm glad that everyone likes it. i learned something yesterday mention a idea to cathtea and it gets exicuted. i think we only talked about it for 30 minutes.

If that, right? I think you said, "Make it so," and I hopped on it! I do love a good idea, @friendsfan367 !

thats why were a good team i get the ideathen your the exucutioner .opps that might sound bad. but we got this done. i know i haven't been around much but my screenshots are still missing.

CathyTea

re. the screenshots, @friendsfan367 - were you able to find the Electronic Arts folder in your Documents folder?

DavidMCSessy

Dear @CathyTea, I love your reply to @SummerFalls!

I also think about the same stuff when I start writing, and I also worry about the same things. For me is like everyday is a new season, a new chapter for my story where everything starts all over and I just need to have the right beginning. I've spent minutes looking at the paper without even putting a letter on it.

Sometimes I get a line stuck in my head that I repeat all day, it's like my way talking to the characters. A line has helped me develop whole dialogues.

And there are just those moments in life when I see the sun peeking through the trees and I say to myself, "Oh, look! I can make Colleen stay in her garden and the sun rays can peek just like that."

It's all my quirky ways of staying inspired.

friendsfan367

CathyTea wrote: »

re. the screenshots, @friendsfan367 - were you able to find the Electronic Arts folder in your Documents folder?

ok i'm a i d i o t just found it.i was looking in the wrong place.i had to spellit since ea thinks its bad to call yourself one

CathyTea

DavidMCSessy wrote: »

Dear @CathyTea, I love your reply to @SummerFalls!

I also think about the same stuff when I start writing, and I also worry about the same things. For me is like everyday is a new season, a new chapter for my story where everything starts all over and I just need to have the right beginning. I've spent minutes looking at the paper without even putting a letter on it.

Sometimes I get a line stuck in my head that I repeat all day, it's like my way talking to the characters. A line has helped me develop whole dialogues.

And there are just those moments in life when I see the sun peeking through the trees and I say to myself, "Oh, look! I can make Colleen stay in her garden and the sun rays can peek just like that."

It's all my quirky ways of staying inspired.

You know, Marty--your first screenshots are always like that! I spend the most time looking at them, and as I do, it lets me know what to expect in terms of mood and feeling for the entire issue. You use your first screenshots like a first sentence, and they're always poetic.

DavidMCSessy

@CathyTea I want to achieve much more than just showing the title. I imagine all the sounds, nature buzzing with life, birds singing, dogs barking in the distance, frog songs...

I'd really love it if maybe people see more of it.

friendsfan367

my legacy story might be weird .i have pictures of the first day but i used a active career for my sims job where he did everything but work. the pictures remind me of a home movie my family took. in one shot were digging a pool but in the very next shot my brother and i are swimming in it.

SummerFalls

Thank you @CathyTea! I think I might just hold back away from the plotting for a couple of hours, write an actual beginning to my legacy story and give it some thought as to how the beginning of this story should go.

CathyTea

friendsfan367 wrote: »

my legacy story might be weird .i have pictures of the first day but i used a active career for my sims job where he did everything but work. the pictures remind me of a home movie my family took. in one shot were digging a pool but in the very next shot my brother and i are swimming in it.

Oh, the idea of a home movie feel would be great!

It's really neat when the legacy story has your own specific feel to it. There are so, so many legacies, and if they're all told the same way, it gets boring! But when each person puts their own approach, it can be really neat.

You've got such a great sense of humor, friendsfan, that I'd say, just go with that! Don't worry if it jumps around--that can be really fun and it can engage the reader, because we try to fill in all that's missing! Have fun with it, and your readers will have fun with it.

CathyTea

SummerFalls wrote: »

Thank you @CathyTea! I think I might just hold back away from the plotting for a couple of hours, write an actual beginning to my legacy story and give it some thought as to how the beginning of this story should go.

That sounds great! Give the creative process a little while to do its work.