@CathyTea that sounds like a good idea! Composing's super fun! I composed a dance number for a show I was in this year. It was a pretty awful show, but at least the audience liked the dance number!
yep, it feels great! I return tomorrow, actually. Not that excited because I have a music course tomorrow and theory is not my favourite thing. At least it's not part of my major!
I'm a little bit jealous of music theory! Will you be doing composing, too?
you know you teach in college . they probably have a music theory class.
True that! Probably hard to take the class while my other job's going on, but when I retire from the one job, I should take some music theory and composition, right?
that would be awesome.
i love it now i'm helping plan your retirement.
jes has to record a audio book for her pruett story when she retires.
LOL! Jes has a lot more years to go than me! Though, since she could make a fortune from that audio book, maybe she could consider it sooner!
@CathyTea that sounds like a good idea! Composing's super fun! I composed a dance number for a show I was in this year. It was a pretty awful show, but at least the audience liked the dance number!
Hey everyone, popping in to say that i am almost done with my chapter! I sort of stopped writing for a week or so because I actually got a ps4 for christmas and I've been playing Life is Strange xD.
I just finished taking all the screenshots for this chapter and I'm halfway done writing it.
I am starting to feel slightly overwhelmed with this story though. To all the simlit writers out there with large casts.....how do you make sure to give every character their fair share of the story?
I have 12 characters and I sometimes feel like I am only giving big storylines to 3-4 characters. What should I do?
@Acarb90 I think it's fine to focus on the three-four characters that really demand their stories be told. For readers, since many are also following a lot of other stories (at least I speak for myself), it can be a bit hard to follow huge casts!
If you do decide to tell the large cast's story, here are a few thoughts:
1) Consider, every now and then, offering recaps. @cecerose0208 is doing recaps right now with her rotation (which has a very large cast--and my two favorites are not central characters, so I sort of fangirl squeal whenever they steal into the story!), and it helps me so much to keep everyone and everything straight.
2) Consider having a Who's Who or a Meet the Cast page, so that readers can refer to it if they get confused.
3) Think of some strategy that works for you... Once, I toyed with the idea of a cafe story. The in-between chapters would be in the cafe, and then we'd follow out one of the customers, and that person would be the one that the story would focus on next.
4) Think about writing short little interludes that could nearly stand-alone--for example, you could have short stories or diary entries or blogs or phone conversations, so that we get to know each character.
For my stories with large casts, I tend to just follow the ones I currently enjoy writing about and playing, trusting that enjoyment and engagement to help me discover the stories...
That's actually a really good idea!
I love doing flashbacks so maybe I can do a few chapters focusing on characters here and there. I am planning on ending season 1 soon so I think I can do them before going onto season 2 (which will take place in the summer btw for everyone who wants an escape from this winter mess)
Also congrats on the writer's lounge hitting 1 million!
@CathyTea Oh yes, that's an awesome combination. I would love to be able to play the cello. Which instrument do you prefer? I play the piano and sing, but I do lots of stuff with the keyboard too (although that's technically similar to the piano) , as shown in the Friends of Foes them tune. Here's the link. It's part of the promo, so please excuse the narration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iek8d0APqZQ
yep, it feels great! I return tomorrow, actually. Not that excited because I have a music course tomorrow and theory is not my favourite thing. At least it's not part of my major!
I'm a little bit jealous of music theory! Will you be doing composing, too?
you know you teach in college . they probably have a music theory class.
True that! Probably hard to take the class while my other job's going on, but when I retire from the one job, I should take some music theory and composition, right?
that would be awesome.
i love it now i'm helping plan your retirement.
jes has to record a audio book for her pruett story when she retires.
LOL! Jes has a lot more years to go than me! Though, since she could make a fortune from that audio book, maybe she could consider it sooner!
i know i've heard her recording voice. not the one she used for sg but the one she uses at work. its easy on the ears so even though i had no idea what she was talking about it was interesting.
@CathyTea thanks. So you used to compose? Awesome! I've not met many people who compose for fun!
I was kind of pressured into composing for the show, because some people found my 'working progresses' on my computer while I was out, plugged them into the sound system and started dancing to them!
@CathyTea Oh yes, that's an awesome combination. I would love to be able to play the cello. Which instrument do you prefer? I play the piano and sing, but I do lots of stuff with the keyboard too (although that's technically similar to the piano) , as shown in the Friends of Foes them tune. Here's the link. It's part of the promo, so please excuse the narration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iek8d0APqZQ
Aaaah! That is so cool! I love the narration and the voices! You have an awesome voice! Yeah, keyboard is cool!
So, I love cello the most!
I was 50 when I started to play! I'd wanted to play as a child, but it wasn't offered in band, so I took up the trombone instead! LOL!
The cello is so challenging--but also so rewarding! I feel I'm just now able to play with fairly consistent good sound--and I simply love it so, so much! It's like a work-out and also like sound therapy, since the vibrations move through the body--even through the spaces in the bones! Truly awesome!
I've been playing piano all my life, pretty much. I don't adore the instrument the way I adore the cello, but it's a part of my life, and since I'm a more skilled pianist than cellist, the piano provides a great way to explore great music! My disciplined practice time goes towards the cello, but when Jim makes breakfast, I play piano, working through repertoire I want to explore. Right now, I'm on Beethoven's fifth sonata (opus 14, #1). It's in c minor, which is one of my favorite keys!
@CathyTea Ahh another person who likes the classics! Me too! In fact, I was known in my early years to only like the music in minor key! - I was a bit miserable that way.
Oh wow, I can imagine you play with lots of emotion. That's quite special and it's something you can't train for, you just have to feel it. I have been playing the piano a lot lately with my eyes closed, because I find it helps me to think about things more clearly (I use the piano to do a lot of my thinking - I know, it probably sounds weird) Do you do a lot of your thinking when playing? Sorry, I'm asking too many questions about music. It's rare to find someone as passionate about it as you are.
@CathyTea Ahh another person who likes the classics! Me too! In fact, I was known in my early years to only like the music in minor key! - I was a bit miserable that way.
Oh wow, I can imagine you play with lots of emotion. That's quite special and it's something you can't train for, you just have to feel it. I have been playing the piano a lot lately with my eyes closed, because I find it helps me to think about things more clearly (I use the piano to do a lot of my thinking - I know, it probably sounds weird) Do you do a lot of your thinking when playing? Sorry, I'm asking too many questions about music. It's rare to find someone as passionate about it as you are.
Oh, yes. I always use music for thinking!
With cello, I'll often review the screenshots for my next chapter I'm going to draft--a corner of my mind weaves the story while I play! And with piano, if I've got something troubling me, then playing always brings the insights I need! Lately, with piano, I've gotten swept up into the music, so thoughts stop and the music carries me along--I just love that sensation, don't you?
We should include @Pegasus143 in our conversation, too, for she's a passionate musician! As is @Meggles who hasn't been around lately--but you might know her on Twitter!
How about the rest of you? What non-writing activities (playing music, doing yoga, washing dishes, walking, riding bikes, and so on) do you use to activate your creativity and help you work out your stories?
@CathyTea in response to your post to Acarab09 . How could you do a recap of my (current 7 gen) story?
I'd probably do it generation by generation--I did that for my legacy. I wrote "Get to Know the Sims of Gen __" It was a way for me to remember who was who, and a way that readers could look back on it to remind themselves. I think a generational overview of your characters would be really good and interesting!
speaking of music...If I'm going to have a Whose Who of Gens... (at least it gives me an excuse to upload ghosts)-I have an idea which involves a a song from Matt's Favourite play Godspell..but except for Elizabeth and Cora I have no idea what to have the other "sing"
@MadameLee Not sure if I've understood this correctly, but Elizabeth and Cora are singing the song from Godspell, but you're unsure what the other characters in the legacy should sing?
Hmm, I'll have a little think and get back to you. I'm really enjoying these Matt video's you're sharing by the way.
@MadameLee Not sure if I've understood this correctly, but Elizabeth and Cora are singing the song from Godspell, but you're unsure what the other characters in the legacy should sing?
Hmm, I'll have a little think and get back to you. I'm really enjoying these Matt video's you're sharing by the way.
@simscognito no I mean several of the Swanson heiresses sing parts of the Godspell prologue (I only have an idea of what Cora&Elizabeth should sing from it).. Well Selene->Martin Luther version (God Almighty has made our rulers made/God Almighty/made our people bad!"
@MadameLee Not sure if I've understood this correctly, but Elizabeth and Cora are singing the song from Godspell, but you're unsure what the other characters in the legacy should sing?
Hmm, I'll have a little think and get back to you. I'm really enjoying these Matt video's you're sharing by the way.
@simscognito no I mean several of the Swanson heiresses sing parts of the Godspell prologue (I only have an idea of what Cora&Elizabeth should sing from it).. Well Selene->Martin Luther version (God Almighty has made our rulers made/God Almighty/made our people bad!"
in case anyone wondering what I'm up too--I'm writing a very lengthy detailed of my Swanson story (doing a rewrite) for my team member who actually had movie- writing experience he at his home (he told me)-that he has what's the movie called that has "You build it and they will come?" script at his house someplace
@CathyTea neither John or the other J character (which Matt actually played himself in the one version of Godspell which his siblings and some friends were also were in) show up in the prologue.
@MadameLee wow! Are you and your friend going to turn the legacy into a film? That's so cool! I can certainly imagine this as a drama! I really liked the different styles you explored. I personally loved Swan's dress (I think that's her name - last name at least) I really love the patchy dress. I've even used that dress on one of my sims. I also love the military uniform you have for Henry and the other soldiers. Is that cc? I like Jane's outfit, it's very flattering on her.
@everyone do you have a favourite sims 4 costume that you use on your sims? I notice I use the cardigan a lot. It's the one that Henry, my avi, is wearing.
@MadameLee wow! Are you and your friend going to turn the legacy into a film? That's so cool! I can certainly imagine this as a drama! I really liked the different styles you explored. I personally loved Swan's dress (I think that's her name - last name at least) I really love the patchy dress. I've even used that dress on one of my sims. I also love the military uniform you have for Henry and the other soldiers. Is that cc? I like Jane's outfit, it's very flattering on her.
@everyone do you have a favourite sims 4 costume that you use on your sims? I notice I use the cardigan a lot. It's the one that Henry, my avi, is wearing.
Not really. Maybe one of Claude's?
So, another question:
Have any of you used the controlling-pets mod for your story(ies) or do you let them do their thing and then write around?
Comments
LOL! Jes has a lot more years to go than me! Though, since she could make a fortune from that audio book, maybe she could consider it sooner!
That's so neat!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
That's actually a really good idea!
I love doing flashbacks so maybe I can do a few chapters focusing on characters here and there. I am planning on ending season 1 soon so I think I can do them before going onto season 2 (which will take place in the summer btw
Also congrats on the writer's lounge hitting 1 million!
i know i've heard her recording voice. not the one she used for sg but the one she uses at work. its easy on the ears so even though i had no idea what she was talking about it was interesting.
I was kind of pressured into composing for the show, because some people found my 'working progresses' on my computer while I was out, plugged them into the sound system and started dancing to them!
Aaaah! That is so cool! I love the narration and the voices! You have an awesome voice!
So, I love cello the most!
The cello is so challenging--but also so rewarding! I feel I'm just now able to play with fairly consistent good sound--and I simply love it so, so much! It's like a work-out and also like sound therapy, since the vibrations move through the body--even through the spaces in the bones! Truly awesome!
I've been playing piano all my life, pretty much. I don't adore the instrument the way I adore the cello, but it's a part of my life, and since I'm a more skilled pianist than cellist, the piano provides a great way to explore great music!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Oh wow, I can imagine you play with lots of emotion. That's quite special and it's something you can't train for, you just have to feel it. I have been playing the piano a lot lately with my eyes closed, because I find it helps me to think about things more clearly (I use the piano to do a lot of my thinking - I know, it probably sounds weird)
Oh, yes. I always use music for thinking!
With cello, I'll often review the screenshots for my next chapter I'm going to draft--a corner of my mind weaves the story while I play! And with piano, if I've got something troubling me, then playing always brings the insights I need! Lately, with piano, I've gotten swept up into the music, so thoughts stop and the music carries me along--I just love that sensation, don't you?
We should include @Pegasus143 in our conversation, too, for she's a passionate musician! As is @Meggles who hasn't been around lately--but you might know her on Twitter!
How about the rest of you? What non-writing activities (playing music, doing yoga, washing dishes, walking, riding bikes, and so on) do you use to activate your creativity and help you work out your stories?
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
I'd probably do it generation by generation--I did that for my legacy. I wrote "Get to Know the Sims of Gen __" It was a way for me to remember who was who, and a way that readers could look back on it to remind themselves. I think a generational overview of your characters would be really good and interesting!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
here's the link:
Hmm, I'll have a little think and get back to you.
@simscognito no I mean several of the Swanson heiresses sing parts of the Godspell prologue (I only have an idea of what Cora&Elizabeth should sing from it).. Well Selene->Martin Luther version (God Almighty has made our rulers made/God Almighty/made our people bad!"
btw- what I have for Elizabeth&Cora is basically Leonardo Da Vinci&Edward Gibbon lyrics (sung in the video by "Reg" and "Hatter":
Guh! This is kind of brilliant and very whacky!
Who sings John the Baptist's part?
(I also adore Godspell! And Matt is very funny.)
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
@everyone do you have a favourite sims 4 costume that you use on your sims? I notice I use the cardigan a lot. It's the one that Henry, my avi, is wearing.
Not really. Maybe one of Claude's?
So, another question:
Have any of you used the controlling-pets mod for your story(ies) or do you let them do their thing and then write around?