Does anyone else find the game helps with writer's block?
Yes! Totally!
A lot of this is the way I play and write. Most of my stories are game-play or Sim driven. So, often, I'll just get in there and play around and take a bunch of photos. Then, I'll see what story emerges either from the characters or from the events.
For the chapter I just posted, I was a little stumped initially, because (like a ton of my work) it's not really about anything... It introduces characters. It adds a few pennies into the political plot pot. It meanders about life and what makes a good life (which is my all-time favorite thing to write about). But I was very unsure how to write anything past the first paragraph and the last.
So I just gathered up the screenshots I had, but them in some sort of order, and then I was able to write around them. What I'm happy about is that one of the main perspective characters hardly even shows up in the screenshots--so a lot of the screenshots happen as if they're from her POV. If I'd written first, it wouldn't have come out this way, for I would have taken the shots that included her to illustrate the story. The way it turned out is that the screenshots are sort of complementary to the story, rather than particularly illustrating it, with the exception of the few that introduce actual plot elements. Nevertheless, in the writing of it, the screenshots were essential in getting me to find the ideas that I wanted to present.
Since I just published it, I have no idea if it works! I might be a complete flop! I'll read it sometime tomorrow or the next few days to see if I think it works or not (and I'd love to hear your evaluations!). What I love about a blog is that I leave all my experiments up there, whether they work or not, so I can learn.
Can you think of a way to relate that image to your story?
Maybe not exactly like that. If anything, I relate it in the opposite sense ("Keep Door Open"). To give an example:
In Arc 4, Shark has thrown Sinbad out of the house, and refuses to speak to Dennis. (At the end of Arc 3, he discovers that the two of them used to be criminals) He essentially tries to shut the door on that chapter of his life.
Sinbad, having nowhere to go, ends up sneaking into his old home (no one lives there anymore, because of events in Arc 3). Quickly, though, he's found by someone who offers shelter.
Here, I think of the phrase "When one door closes, another door opens." Essentially, Sinbad has been kicked out of his current home, and out of Shark's life (The door that closed). Soon, though, he finds a new life with two other men willing to take him in (The door that opened).
It's a most serendipitous event, too: The man who finds Sinbad? He's his older half-brother! (Though obviously neither of them know this at the time)
Meanwhile, Shark is still trying to shut the door on those he cared about (the only one who isn't shut out is Sagebear). However, this doesn't really do him any good. He opens up, realizes why his father hid the truth from him, and opens that door again.
So I guess the picture has a mostly symbolic, loosely related sense to Chronicles.
It relates so much to the theme of Thirty Sims at Three Rivers!
In Three Rivers, each Sim is in the process of opening that door.
Imagine the door with the "closed" sign leading to all those things we're told not to look at: feelings and emotions; fears; subconscious and unconscious; secrets; internal pressures, and so on.
Some of the Sims (like Sim #1) found that the door blew upon due to the pressure that had built up over years of trying to keep it tightly closed. He's having to try to learn how to leave with it open, at least a crack.
Some of the Sims, like Geoffrey Landgraab, have been keeping the door closed on secrets and their heart--now, as they approach mid-life, they're finding that they need to let some of the secrets out, and they need to venture to open their hearts.
Some, like Janet Fuchs, have lived with that door always open to themselves, living lives of deep inquiry, honesty, and authenticity.
It really relates to each Sim in the story, in one way or another.
I have ideas about how this powerful symbol relates to each of your stories, and I'm excited to hear your responses--then, let's talk about it!
@friendsfan367 Is there a cheat or a mod you can use without starting over again? I know in TS3 I use NRAAS Careers and Master Controller mods and that helps me just click on someone and change their career. Without the mod, you can also type "testingcheatsenabledtrue" and then shift click on the mailbox to change any active Sim's career. I would imagine TS4 has an option for something like that... maybe.
@friendsfan367 Is there a cheat or a mod you can use without starting over again? I know in TS3 I use NRAAS Careers and Master Controller mods and that helps me just click on someone and change their career. Without the mod, you can also type "testingcheatsenabledtrue" and then shift click on the mailbox to change any active Sim's career. I would imagine TS4 has an option for something like that... maybe.
@friendsfan367 Is there a cheat or a mod you can use without starting over again? I know in TS3 I use NRAAS Careers and Master Controller mods and that helps me just click on someone and change their career. Without the mod, you can also type "testingcheatsenabledtrue" and then shift click on the mailbox to change any active Sim's career. I would imagine TS4 has an option for something like that... maybe.
I have taken all my Han Bak pics for the prologue and just adore how photogenic Hanuel Cho is so far. Ever have sims you just love to take unneeded pics for just so you have them? He's now one of them for me lol.
I just can't not love that smile.
Han even looks great mad!
Han is even pretty in his non-Gumiho form.
Maybe its just creator bias but I had to share.
Oh and extra shot when they all sat down because the rock chair was too close.
Musical chairs is so annoying but at least I know Eun Jeong agrees with that lovely facepalm. Yay!
@JLBDreamer Such gorgeous Sims! He reminds me a little bit of Elder Wolff--similar smile!
And just tonight I was taking screenshots of a Sim that I find so incredibly photogenic! I adore her! She's part of a Townie family that I moved into a home for Three Rivers. One of her moms was the featured Sim of the last chapter, and as I was playing the family, I kept finding my eyes drawn to this girl--she makes the best faces! She's a teen with only one trait, too--and I've always found missing-trait Sims to be a little special... I posted a pic of her yesterday.
Anyway, I'm super excited about your story. I'm already daydreaming up plots and scenarios! LOL! Helps that your Sims are so gorgeous and that you've found such perfect CC.
@CathyTea Thanks so much! Just remember the historical stuff will mostly be in flashback segments and the bulk is in the modern day. Of course Han will generally be in Han Bak though so if you like how he looks in it then you have that to look at.
Oh I just went back and looked at your screen she's very pretty! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that with certain Sims. I do that with Romy too actually. lol.
I hope I can live up the expectations! Everyone has received it so well in concept stage it makes me a little nervous.
Hi! I'm a bit tired (I was at a sports camp, teaching kids for a couple of days and it's pretty tiring) but I'll try to say something here! About that awesome picture @MedleyMisty found... I guess for my story it fits in a way because I feel like when I started planning this story I kind of debated whether to even start writing it because I wasn't sure if other people would find it worthwhile since it IS very much just my interests and the occasional writing experiment thrown together so in a way I had to open some doors in my mind before I decided that yeah, I believe in it enough to start writing.
And content-wise my story does maybe deal with the opening of doors too. Especially Tad seems to be crossing many invisible boundaries that he knows he isn't supposed to cross often for reasons that only make sense to him and others like him. And Amelia is also constantly having to confront her fear of death even though she wants to just keep it hidden and un-confronted in the back of her mind, behind a door that should be closed in her opinion. And they are both occasionally stumbling on the thresholds.
Also as of the writer's block: yeah, I feel like the game helps, especially with getting to know the characters and writing some nice everyday stuff for me. If a Sim does something that gives me an idea for a plot or a character moment, I'll store it away for later or use it right away, depending on the situation. Sometimes when I'm not exactly sure how I should set up the scene I'll go into the game and take pics that relate to the scene I'm supposed to be writing. Usually I'm able to get the writing flowing after that.
My Sims stories: The Fey of Life - fairytales in life are few and far between (Forum thread HERE) The Chrysanthemum Tango - a story about life, death, magic, and how to be a good landlady (Forum thread HERE) Forget-Me-Not - some things just refuse to stay buried; an Ambrosia Challenge story (Forum thread HERE)
To answer my own question, what made me decide to write or what inspired my story, honestly, there are a few answers. 1) I really enjoyed reading SimLit and decided to jump in on the bandwagon, 2) I really wanted to write a mystery series because I enjoy mystery/crime stories, shows, & movies, and 3) to stretch myself as a writer. I find the Sims is constantly keeping me on my toes in regards to my writing, helping me hone my craft and my skills, providing a platform to try new ideas and new writing styles, and helping me share my writing with the world to get feedback and constructive criticism.
What inspires Kass's story? I tend to go through the alphabet with chapter titles and that helps direct and inspire the story a bit. Occasionally a piece of music I'm listening to helps - a.k.a. So This is Love and Just the Way You Look Tonight.
Honestly, the game mostly inspires her story. I like to have an idea in mind when I go into the game but I let the game dictate a lot of the story flow and plot... which is why sometimes I get side tracked with other awesome game moments and veer away from the story.
Actually, feedback on this in particular would be great. From those of you who have read and/or are caught up with KCLKF and KFLL, do you think I'm taking too long to get to the "meat of the mystery?" I've enjoyed telling side tales and trying to develop my characters and really develop Kass, and I'm a stickler for tying up loose ends, but sometimes I feel like I'm taking too long. I get really caught up in telling one character's story and I feel like I need to invest in it and tell more. Perhaps this is the downside to game-driven stories because I feel the endless possibilities and I have a visual to remind me. Thoughts? Advice?
@RipuAncestor I love NanoWrimo. I wrote a text-based version of Kass's story last year with some major differences and managed to complete it in time. I tend to get stuck around the third week. I enjoy fantasy and sci-fi but I have yet to really complete a work in those genres (although my fantasy novel is actually 3/4's done and my sci-fi one is about 1/8th done). I really like your fantasy-whimsy writing style. I haven't attempted to yet in The Sims... well, I guess, that isn't a whole truth, since Kass encounters supernaturals and I have a whole thing planned for that in the future. The Book Thief is on my list of must-reads.
@rednenemon I think the prompts blog post idea is a neat way to get started with writing the Sims. I've typically avoided prompts because I feel too boxed in, but now having participated in the Short Story Challenge and other things, I'm finding that prompts challenge me and get me thinking outside the box, and they help greatly when I'm faced with writer's block. I've got a whole list of writing prompts over on Pinterest that I should probably use and/or try someday which brings me to @CathyTea's point about why she got started.
I'm thinking about using some of my Pinterest prompts to come up with my own 30 Days of Simming (though it probably won't be 30 days straight). Sometimes I pin pictures as writing prompts and other times I pin actual prompts and sometimes I just pin quotes or dialogue lines I think would be interesting to write about, and I really need to do something with them. The Sims would be the perfect way to start. Who knows? I might actually get some ideas for my other writing platforms.
*Edited to add the part about character investment*
Guh! She's so much fun! (Her default everyday outfit includes an awesome fedora! )
@CathyTea Me too! About the publishing that is. I adore fedoras! I have a bit of a love affair with the 20s & 30s and the Noir period. Looking forward to reading more of your story. Love the green tips btw!
I have taken all my Han Bak pics for the prologue and just adore how photogenic Hanuel Cho is so far. Ever have sims you just love to take unneeded pics for just so you have them? He's now one of them for me lol.
I just can't not love that smile.
Han even looks great mad!
Han is even pretty in his non-Gumiho form.
Maybe its just creator bias but I had to share.
Oh and extra shot when they all sat down because the rock chair was too close.
Musical chairs is so annoying but at least I know Eun Jeong agrees with that lovely facepalm. Yay!
Love your pictures @JLBDreamer. I'm looking forward to reading your story. I agree with @CathyTea though - gorgeous Sims!
i had always seen legacies in sims 3 because a few friends had done them. so when 4 came out i camped out over in the legacy mega thread. which caused 3 things to happens , increased intrest in writing a bunch of sopratic updates on what my current family was up too. note they died a lot too.
and the best thing i met cathtea .so now not only do i write but because my intrest stuck i have the lounge.
Does anyone else find the game helps with writer's block?
Yes! Totally!
A lot of this is the way I play and write. Most of my stories are game-play or Sim driven. So, often, I'll just get in there and play around and take a bunch of photos. Then, I'll see what story emerges either from the characters or from the events.
For the chapter I just posted, I was a little stumped initially, because (like a ton of my work) it's not really about anything... It introduces characters. It adds a few pennies into the political plot pot. It meanders about life and what makes a good life (which is my all-time favorite thing to write about). But I was very unsure how to write anything past the first paragraph and the last.
So I just gathered up the screenshots I had, but them in some sort of order, and then I was able to write around them. What I'm happy about is that one of the main perspective characters hardly even shows up in the screenshots--so a lot of the screenshots happen as if they're from her POV. If I'd written first, it wouldn't have come out this way, for I would have taken the shots that included her to illustrate the story. The way it turned out is that the screenshots are sort of complementary to the story, rather than particularly illustrating it, with the exception of the few that introduce actual plot elements. Nevertheless, in the writing of it, the screenshots were essential in getting me to find the ideas that I wanted to present.
Since I just published it, I have no idea if it works! I might be a complete flop! I'll read it sometime tomorrow or the next few days to see if I think it works or not (and I'd love to hear your evaluations!). What I love about a blog is that I leave all my experiments up there, whether they work or not, so I can learn.
***ramble, ramble... must be getting late...***
What makes a good life... I feel like I could ramble on and on and on about that topic and endlessly write about it in my stories. I have a tendency to lean toward writing about darker, more secretive, mysterious, and painful things, but I do like good-natured fun, joy, simple little things that make us happy, and beauty in the everyday and I search for moments like this in my game and story-writing in general. I like a balance.
One of the things I enjoyed about writing Ayesha's story recently (and I don't think you've gotten that far, @CathyTea, so I'll try not to add spoilers), while the chapter was particularly painful for the character, I managed moments of beauty - in a simple cup of tea, in the description of the wood walls, and the memories of her past intertwined with the beauty of a garden at night time.
Your screenshots in first person sound interesting. I might have to try that sometime in game/story writing. Screenshots can enhance the story, especially when done right.
I agree with you about leaving things up on the blog so you can learn. I definitely think I've improved from my beginning and I'm hoping to keep learning and honing my craft.
Will post more later. Gotta get ready to go to work.
But I wanted to share this real quick.
Last night we were walking around, and I saw this door.
Can you think of a way to relate that image to your story?
YES! This is so Kass. She can't leave a mystery alone, or a question for that matter. She has to know the answer. It doesn't matter if it's private or someone else doesn't want to share. Like the door in your image, she just can't keep it closed. She has a way of getting people to open up to her, even if she sometimes tries to play it like it doesn't matter. She has an overly curious mind and that sends her into a boatload of trouble. Some of this has already been revealed in my story, and some of it is to come. Great image.
In regards to me, well, I can't keep the door closed if I tried. I have way too many ideas overflowing for my own good. Sometimes I have to force myself to "power down" temporarily so I can finish chores, do homework, or finish some other kind of work. It's hard because I love all my characters and want to spend a lot of time with them getting them just right.
Recently, I've been working on CFT instead of Kass and I'm finding I've got to balance it because I'm spending too much time with Rachel Colt and the Rackets. I enjoy Rachel's character, but it's the Rackets who have me fascinated right now.
I've also been working on my version of Bella Goth, Jocasta Bachelor, and that whole back story and how it intertwines with Kass's. Guess that's a bit of a spoiler/preview... though not really.
@AdamsEve1231 Yay! I love NaNo too. I've been doing it every year since 2010 and it's always a lot of fun. So far I've always managed to get the word goal done but haven't actually finished the stories for all of those. So now I have several nearly finished novels lying around and I'm sloooooowly trying to work on them. Also I personally don't mind if stories take their time to get to know the characters. So far in your story there has been enough other things happening that I really don't feel like it's dragging on before getting to the actual mystery. Especially since your characters are the kinds of characters I like getting to know well.
My Sims stories: The Fey of Life - fairytales in life are few and far between (Forum thread HERE) The Chrysanthemum Tango - a story about life, death, magic, and how to be a good landlady (Forum thread HERE) Forget-Me-Not - some things just refuse to stay buried; an Ambrosia Challenge story (Forum thread HERE)
I'm getting closer guys! I have all screens ready and am working on the second draft.
I'll share some more of my preview screens.
The prologue involves the Great Aunt telling Leanna (who is the legacy founder) the legend of their ancestor in an effort to prepare her for her responsibility in the future but her parents are not too pleased and she only comes away thinking its a legend. The Han bak shots are showing the story of their ancestor imprisoning the Kumiho as its told so I've added a filter to separate the two in the post. It will make more sense when it comes together.
@CathyTea Thanks so much! Just remember the historical stuff will mostly be in flashback segments and the bulk is in the modern day. Of course Han will generally be in Han Bak though so if you like how he looks in it then you have that to look at.
Oh I just went back and looked at your screen she's very pretty! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that with certain Sims. I do that with Romy too actually. lol.
I hope I can live up the expectations! Everyone has received it so well in concept stage it makes me a little nervous.
Oh, I meant to pop back in yesterday to reply to this--got a bit busy! I'd say that, while I can certainly understand writer's anxiety, there's no need to feel worried! I'm sure we'll love everything you write! Your other work is so high quality and so engaging and enjoyable. Just write the way you want it, relaxing and enjoying your story, and we will love it!
Comments
Yes! Totally!
A lot of this is the way I play and write. Most of my stories are game-play or Sim driven. So, often, I'll just get in there and play around and take a bunch of photos. Then, I'll see what story emerges either from the characters or from the events.
For the chapter I just posted, I was a little stumped initially, because (like a ton of my work) it's not really about anything... It introduces characters. It adds a few pennies into the political plot pot. It meanders about life and what makes a good life (which is my all-time favorite thing to write about). But I was very unsure how to write anything past the first paragraph and the last.
So I just gathered up the screenshots I had, but them in some sort of order, and then I was able to write around them. What I'm happy about is that one of the main perspective characters hardly even shows up in the screenshots--so a lot of the screenshots happen as if they're from her POV. If I'd written first, it wouldn't have come out this way, for I would have taken the shots that included her to illustrate the story. The way it turned out is that the screenshots are sort of complementary to the story, rather than particularly illustrating it, with the exception of the few that introduce actual plot elements. Nevertheless, in the writing of it, the screenshots were essential in getting me to find the ideas that I wanted to present.
Since I just published it, I have no idea if it works! I might be a complete flop! I'll read it sometime tomorrow or the next few days to see if I think it works or not (and I'd love to hear your evaluations!). What I love about a blog is that I leave all my experiments up there, whether they work or not, so I can learn.
***ramble, ramble... must be getting late...***
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
But I wanted to share this real quick.
Last night we were walking around, and I saw this door.
Can you think of a way to relate that image to your story?
Maybe not exactly like that. If anything, I relate it in the opposite sense ("Keep Door Open"). To give an example:
Sinbad, having nowhere to go, ends up sneaking into his old home (no one lives there anymore, because of events in Arc 3). Quickly, though, he's found by someone who offers shelter.
Here, I think of the phrase "When one door closes, another door opens." Essentially, Sinbad has been kicked out of his current home, and out of Shark's life (The door that closed). Soon, though, he finds a new life with two other men willing to take him in (The door that opened).
It's a most serendipitous event, too: The man who finds Sinbad? He's his older half-brother! (Though obviously neither of them know this at the time)
Meanwhile, Shark is still trying to shut the door on those he cared about (the only one who isn't shut out is Sagebear). However, this doesn't really do him any good. He opens up, realizes why his father hid the truth from him, and opens that door again.
So I guess the picture has a mostly symbolic, loosely related sense to Chronicles.
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)
It relates so much to the theme of Thirty Sims at Three Rivers!
In Three Rivers, each Sim is in the process of opening that door.
Imagine the door with the "closed" sign leading to all those things we're told not to look at: feelings and emotions; fears; subconscious and unconscious; secrets; internal pressures, and so on.
Some of the Sims (like Sim #1) found that the door blew upon due to the pressure that had built up over years of trying to keep it tightly closed. He's having to try to learn how to leave with it open, at least a crack.
Some of the Sims, like Geoffrey Landgraab, have been keeping the door closed on secrets and their heart--now, as they approach mid-life, they're finding that they need to let some of the secrets out, and they need to venture to open their hearts.
Some, like Janet Fuchs, have lived with that door always open to themselves, living lives of deep inquiry, honesty, and authenticity.
It really relates to each Sim in the story, in one way or another.
I have ideas about how this powerful symbol relates to each of your stories, and I'm excited to hear your responses--then, let's talk about it!
Great image, @MedleyMisty !
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
cathtea don't pull your hair out dr lauren is important to the benders.
just in case people are new to my starting over when it hit double digits cathtea said she would pull her hair out.
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
Starting over is half the fun, right, @friendsfan367 ?
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
yes.
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
I have taken all my Han Bak pics for the prologue and just adore how photogenic Hanuel Cho is so far. Ever have sims you just love to take unneeded pics for just so you have them? He's now one of them for me lol.
I just can't not love that smile.
Han even looks great mad!
Han is even pretty in his non-Gumiho form.
Maybe its just creator bias but I had to share.
Oh and extra shot when they all sat down because the rock chair was too close.
Musical chairs is so annoying but at least I know Eun Jeong agrees with that lovely facepalm. Yay!
And just tonight I was taking screenshots of a Sim that I find so incredibly photogenic! I adore her! She's part of a Townie family that I moved into a home for Three Rivers. One of her moms was the featured Sim of the last chapter, and as I was playing the family, I kept finding my eyes drawn to this girl--she makes the best faces! She's a teen with only one trait, too--and I've always found missing-trait Sims to be a little special... I posted a pic of her yesterday.
Anyway, I'm super excited about your story. I'm already daydreaming up plots and scenarios! LOL! Helps that your Sims are so gorgeous and that you've found such perfect CC.
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Oh I just went back and looked at your screen she's very pretty! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that with certain Sims. I do that with Romy too actually. lol.
I hope I can live up the expectations! Everyone has received it so well in concept stage it makes me a little nervous.
And content-wise my story does maybe deal with the opening of doors too. Especially Tad seems to be crossing many invisible boundaries that he knows he isn't supposed to cross often for reasons that only make sense to him and others like him. And Amelia is also constantly having to confront her fear of death even though she wants to just keep it hidden and un-confronted in the back of her mind, behind a door that should be closed in her opinion. And they are both occasionally stumbling on the thresholds.
Also as of the writer's block: yeah, I feel like the game helps, especially with getting to know the characters and writing some nice everyday stuff for me. If a Sim does something that gives me an idea for a plot or a character moment, I'll store it away for later or use it right away, depending on the situation. Sometimes when I'm not exactly sure how I should set up the scene I'll go into the game and take pics that relate to the scene I'm supposed to be writing. Usually I'm able to get the writing flowing after that.
The Fey of Life - fairytales in life are few and far between (Forum thread HERE)
The Chrysanthemum Tango - a story about life, death, magic, and how to be a good landlady (Forum thread HERE)
Forget-Me-Not - some things just refuse to stay buried; an Ambrosia Challenge story (Forum thread HERE)
To answer my own question, what made me decide to write or what inspired my story, honestly, there are a few answers. 1) I really enjoyed reading SimLit and decided to jump in on the bandwagon, 2) I really wanted to write a mystery series because I enjoy mystery/crime stories, shows, & movies, and 3) to stretch myself as a writer. I find the Sims is constantly keeping me on my toes in regards to my writing, helping me hone my craft and my skills, providing a platform to try new ideas and new writing styles, and helping me share my writing with the world to get feedback and constructive criticism.
What inspires Kass's story? I tend to go through the alphabet with chapter titles and that helps direct and inspire the story a bit. Occasionally a piece of music I'm listening to helps - a.k.a. So This is Love and Just the Way You Look Tonight.
Honestly, the game mostly inspires her story. I like to have an idea in mind when I go into the game but I let the game dictate a lot of the story flow and plot... which is why sometimes I get side tracked with other awesome game moments and veer away from the story.
Actually, feedback on this in particular would be great. From those of you who have read and/or are caught up with KCLKF and KFLL, do you think I'm taking too long to get to the "meat of the mystery?" I've enjoyed telling side tales and trying to develop my characters and really develop Kass, and I'm a stickler for tying up loose ends, but sometimes I feel like I'm taking too long. I get really caught up in telling one character's story and I feel like I need to invest in it and tell more. Perhaps this is the downside to game-driven stories because I feel the endless possibilities and I have a visual to remind me. Thoughts? Advice?
@RipuAncestor I love NanoWrimo. I wrote a text-based version of Kass's story last year with some major differences and managed to complete it in time. I tend to get stuck around the third week. I enjoy fantasy and sci-fi but I have yet to really complete a work in those genres (although my fantasy novel is actually 3/4's done and my sci-fi one is about 1/8th done). I really like your fantasy-whimsy writing style. I haven't attempted to yet in The Sims... well, I guess, that isn't a whole truth, since Kass encounters supernaturals and I have a whole thing planned for that in the future. The Book Thief is on my list of must-reads.
@rednenemon I think the prompts blog post idea is a neat way to get started with writing the Sims. I've typically avoided prompts because I feel too boxed in, but now having participated in the Short Story Challenge and other things, I'm finding that prompts challenge me and get me thinking outside the box, and they help greatly when I'm faced with writer's block. I've got a whole list of writing prompts over on Pinterest that I should probably use and/or try someday which brings me to @CathyTea's point about why she got started.
I'm thinking about using some of my Pinterest prompts to come up with my own 30 Days of Simming (though it probably won't be 30 days straight). Sometimes I pin pictures as writing prompts and other times I pin actual prompts and sometimes I just pin quotes or dialogue lines I think would be interesting to write about, and I really need to do something with them. The Sims would be the perfect way to start. Who knows? I might actually get some ideas for my other writing platforms.
*Edited to add the part about character investment*
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
@CathyTea Me too!
Love your pictures @JLBDreamer. I'm looking forward to reading your story. I agree with @CathyTea though - gorgeous Sims!
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
i had always seen legacies in sims 3 because a few friends had done them. so when 4 came out i camped out over in the legacy mega thread. which caused 3 things to happens , increased intrest in writing a bunch of sopratic updates on what my current family was up too. note they died a lot too.
and the best thing i met cathtea .so now not only do i write but because my intrest stuck i have the lounge.
What makes a good life... I feel like I could ramble on and on and on about that topic and endlessly write about it in my stories. I have a tendency to lean toward writing about darker, more secretive, mysterious, and painful things, but I do like good-natured fun, joy, simple little things that make us happy, and beauty in the everyday and I search for moments like this in my game and story-writing in general. I like a balance.
One of the things I enjoyed about writing Ayesha's story recently (and I don't think you've gotten that far, @CathyTea, so I'll try not to add spoilers), while the chapter was particularly painful for the character, I managed moments of beauty - in a simple cup of tea, in the description of the wood walls, and the memories of her past intertwined with the beauty of a garden at night time.
Your screenshots in first person sound interesting. I might have to try that sometime in game/story writing. Screenshots can enhance the story, especially when done right.
I agree with you about leaving things up on the blog so you can learn. I definitely think I've improved from my beginning and I'm hoping to keep learning and honing my craft.
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
YES! This is so Kass. She can't leave a mystery alone, or a question for that matter. She has to know the answer. It doesn't matter if it's private or someone else doesn't want to share. Like the door in your image, she just can't keep it closed. She has a way of getting people to open up to her, even if she sometimes tries to play it like it doesn't matter. She has an overly curious mind and that sends her into a boatload of trouble. Some of this has already been revealed in my story, and some of it is to come. Great image.
In regards to me, well, I can't keep the door closed if I tried. I have way too many ideas overflowing for my own good. Sometimes I have to force myself to "power down" temporarily so I can finish chores, do homework, or finish some other kind of work. It's hard because I love all my characters and want to spend a lot of time with them getting them just right.
Recently, I've been working on CFT instead of Kass and I'm finding I've got to balance it because I'm spending too much time with Rachel Colt and the Rackets. I enjoy Rachel's character, but it's the Rackets who have me fascinated right now.
I've also been working on my version of Bella Goth, Jocasta Bachelor, and that whole back story and how it intertwines with Kass's. Guess that's a bit of a spoiler/preview... though not really.
Ramble done.
Find me elsewhere:
My EA App ID: livinasimminlife
Livin' A Simmin' Life Stories
My Worldbuilding Blog
Simblr
My Sims Pinterest
The Fey of Life - fairytales in life are few and far between (Forum thread HERE)
The Chrysanthemum Tango - a story about life, death, magic, and how to be a good landlady (Forum thread HERE)
Forget-Me-Not - some things just refuse to stay buried; an Ambrosia Challenge story (Forum thread HERE)
I'll share some more of my preview screens.
The prologue involves the Great Aunt telling Leanna (who is the legacy founder) the legend of their ancestor in an effort to prepare her for her responsibility in the future but her parents are not too pleased and she only comes away thinking its a legend. The Han bak shots are showing the story of their ancestor imprisoning the Kumiho as its told so I've added a filter to separate the two in the post. It will make more sense when it comes together.
but writing the story before the story gave me a minor case of writers block.
Run Down
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)
Oh, I meant to pop back in yesterday to reply to this--got a bit busy! I'd say that, while I can certainly understand writer's anxiety, there's no need to feel worried! I'm sure we'll love everything you write! Your other work is so high quality and so engaging and enjoyable. Just write the way you want it, relaxing and enjoying your story, and we will love it!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!