@AkramA - I think it's interesting that you read slowly. I, on the other hand, love to binge read. That way I can get lost in the story. It does eat up a lot of time for sure but with good stories, it's time well spent. I will also reread chapters if it's been to long since I last left a particular story or if it's been a long time since a new chapter was posted.
I also love the diversity of this group. We can certainly learn from each other! So looking forward to discussions once everyone is caught up.
@AudreyFld I know that for me it all depends on the story (whether I can binge or not). And it doesn't even have to do with how much I enjoy the story... Length and how easy the chapters are to read is a huge factor for me!
@CitizenErased14 - Chapter length is something I worry about in my story. But you bring up an interesting point about how easy they are to read. What makes something easy vs not easy to read? Is it chapter length, the way it is presented on the page, the number of relevant pictures, or simply how well it is written - which could be a number of things such as grammar, punctuation, keeping with one POV (I am working hard on that) or paragraphs that are too long, unnecessary dialogue, etc... It is probably all of the above!
Ooh interesting. Length definitely matter, longer one is usually intimidating. I would think language and writing proficiency is one of them. For a non english speaker like me, vocabulary definitely one, those who use fancy word usually stun me and made me have to look at google for the definition. Also for me Font also matter, if you're using font that have a tail in it, like in times new roman or other roman and gothic font, it's going to be harder to look at. Calibri is the easiest to read for me because it had a round look unlike arial that are too sharp.
@AudreyFld and I am also a binge reader! However, with some stories I do have to take breaks because of formatting. @AkramA Big blocks of text with no breaks are daunting, and scientifically are unappealing to look at. Typography is actually really important when blogging or writing. Here is a website with a lot of good examples for everyone, including studies on what type of fonts work, what is discouraging to readers, ect https://www.adpushup.com/blog/how-typography-affects-readers/
I dont know about @CitizenErased14 but when I talk how easy or hard something is to read, it has a lot to do with writing style. Grammar, spelling and typos all contribute to that. Chapter length doesn't change how easy something is to read for me, it just changes how many chapters I have time to read in one sitting. A novel is around 75,000 to 120,000 words on average. The average chapter in a novel is 2,500 to 5,000 words. This is all just a reference point for ya'll, there is no wrong length for a chapter here, especially since everyone has a different commitment to and expectation for their simlit.
Yeah, for me, length is only one part of it (though I do find very lengthy chapters a bit daunting, I'll admit!) Like @Arrowleaf said, most of it has to do with grammar and spelling and things like that. Also sometimes it's overwhelming when there's too much text between screenshots. Or if so many things happen/so many characters are mentioned in a single chapter that I get confused
It doesn't mean I don't like reading chapters that are lengthy or have a lot of text or a lot of events/characters, mind you! I enjoy things that are complex, for the most part!
It just means my brain needs more of a break after I've read a chapter like that, rather than immediately jumping to the next one I need time to let it simmer in my brain
@Arrowleaf - Wow! The typography article was very interesting. I know, as a reader, that some layouts are indeed discouraging even when the story is good and it makes me not want to finish reading it.
When I think more about this, I remembered that on my kindle reader, I have options to change the way the page is structured to make it easier to read for me. Shorter lines, different typefaces and font sizes, line spacing and even background and font colors. So this is definitely a great "easy or not to read" definition. The article breaks it down nicely. Gives me something to think about!
Also, @AudreyFld did you pick out some pictures and text that you'd want for the siggy?
No I haven't. Ugh. Let me think about it. I may need to go into game and grab some pics. Thinking pretty much like everyone else and having pictures of the main characters.
@CitizenErased14 - I know what you mean about getting introduced to too many characters at a time. Sometimes it's hard to keep who's who straight because you don't get to develop a relationship with them.
Also, @AudreyFld did you pick out some pictures and text that you'd want for the siggy?
No I haven't. Ugh. Let me think about it. I may need to go into game and grab some pics. Thinking pretty much like everyone else and having pictures of the main characters.
No problem. If youre going to take multiple pictures of the cast that you want in the siggy, can you do them against a solid backdrop? Like against a solid colored wall. I can photoshop a background in easier that way. If you are only doing one picture with the whole cast in it, the background doesnt matter
@Arrowleaf
That's an interesting article, although I doubt it when it says someone like comic sans non-ironically
Did anybody read from wordpress readers? I've never been in love with it's font because of the tail thingy. I wonder if there's a way to change the font on that. At first I didn't know but since I read the article I know it had to do with san-serif and serif.
@CitizenErased14
I always get self-conscious about if people are getting too much character. But I love having a lot of character in a story. I probably ended up introducing the same character over and over every chapter, hoping that they know which character it is that I'm talking about. I also do the "Previously on" since I almost never fully introduce my secondary character and using it to make sure they remember which character that was from the previous chapter
I'm loving this conversation. I think that readability is a huge factor in how long it takes me to binge read a story. I am all about binge reading.
Sometimes font can be an issue, but it really doesn't matter to me. Something I've noticed that deterred me in the past though is the background color of the screen. I can't handle it if it's too bright, a weird color, or doesn't contrast enough with the writing.
In terms of screenshots, I also struggle when the screenshots don't match the written story. So I'd prefer less screenshots and more words of that's what makes more sense.
And that reminds me, the number of words in a given sentence or paragraph make a difference for me. If it's more than five or six lines, visually it just weighs a lot.
It's something to think about because some people read on a computer screen, some people read on their phone, some people waiting on a tablet. So you end up with a chapter that can visually appear three different ways. It's something I like about WordPress, so I get a chance to preview what my posts look like on the three different mediums.
Once we're all caught up with each other's stories, I'd love to have an story by story in-depth discussion about this. Or at least for my story. I'm sure there are things I could do to immediately improve the look of my story, and I bet you guys could help with that.
I probably shouldn't be on this forum if I wanted to fall asleep it's always hard to have different timeline from everyone, haha
@cecerose0208 I also had problems with color, I don't even like any background at all but white or at least a lighter color background.Definitely couldn't wait on the specific story discussion, but catching up is very hard, hehe.
That's a really cool article, @Arrowleaf :O And wowies, I'm late to the party here but I agree with what's been said about formatting and such. I get kind of upset whenever I don't have a screenshot per paragraph or so, since I found my earlier chapters sort of overwhelming. I'm definitely there with the huge text vomit crowd (hehe, oops).
For me, what makes things hard to read is definitely grammar and/or spacing. If I can understand what the passage means under a few tries, it's fine for me, though it takes me a little longer to finish. When too much dialogue is too squished up in a paragraph, I find it hard to read since I usually speed read through paragraphs and take time to read dialogue. (Is that weird? I like to read dialogue in the imaginary way they talk.) I also like immersing myself in the story.
On the topic of character introduction, I get kinda worried about that myself. Generally if they look similar, I tend to forget who's who unless they have some sort of iconic thing in their appearance (moles, tattoos) or if their personality is strikingly different from whoever it is they look like. I get kinda nervous about my sims since I think some of mine look too similar to each other due to the usual way I make my sims. I like having a lot of background guys, so I hope they don't often throw you off with their chatter.
I'm pretty blind so I prefer having larger font sizes when I'm reading something for a long period of time, so I usually make things bigger when I read things for entertainment. Sometimes I turn on Dark Reader so I could change the background to black when my eyes are tired.
@AkramA I read some stories on reader, but I prefer going to the actual site instead since the reader tends to fight me when my internet drops midway. I wasn't aware you can change the font on it
And @cecerose0208, that sounds like a good idea, a discussion about how stories appear on different platforms. Pages sometimes look better on a computer screen than a mobile screen, that's for sure.
Since we're on the topic of fonts... What's everyone's favorite font when reading? Or just a favorite font in general?
I'm a lover of reading things in 12pt Times New Roman for most things, though. It's pretty boring and basic, but I really like how dependable it is. I'm also fond of Tahoma and Segoe UI. One of my top favorites is "Roadway," which is the typeface for street signs, so this font:
I don't have a favorite font, I just need it to not be old Baskerville or something that has Curly Q's on every capital letter and lowercase y & g, LOL.
This is a really good discussion already. I tend to have way more words than pictures. I actually felt like some of my earlier posts had too many pictures. But maybe of my balance is gone too far the other way recently. It's certainly something to think about for the post I'm going to write today.
@Arrowleaf
That's an interesting article, although I doubt it when it says someone like comic sans non-ironically
Did anybody read from wordpress readers? I've never been in love with it's font because of the tail thingy. I wonder if there's a way to change the font on that. At first I didn't know but since I read the article I know it had to do with san-serif and serif.
@CitizenErased14
I always get self-conscious about if people are getting too much character. But I love having a lot of character in a story. I probably ended up introducing the same character over and over every chapter, hoping that they know which character it is that I'm talking about. I also do the "Previously on" since I almost never fully introduce my secondary character and using it to make sure they remember which character that was from the previous chapter
I love the way you are recapping what happened in the previous episode. That helps keep the context of the story.
What's everyone's favorite font when reading? Or just a favorite font in general?
I love how simple Calibri is but my favorite is Century Gothic all the way, hehe. I don't like times new roman because it reminds me of paperwork hehe.
@Cement
I always avoid my character to become too similar. I use the cartoon technic as a way round for that. I always use exactly same hairstyle so no matter what their outfit their hairstyle would always be the same. They also need to have a colo coded clothing, so they would be distinct to each other.
Also, I'm one of those writers who prefer indirect speech and I almost never use dialogue. But I know people like dialogue especially in sims but it's always hard for me to relate into sims life that made it hard to know what they're supposed to say.
@AudreyFld
Hey, thanks! Recapping also made me remember what I wrote in the past. I'm so absentminded I forgot even the one I wrote myself.
I do like the simpler fonts. I worry that mine is too small and tried to make it bigger and then it was too big. I struggle with that on blogger. I also prefer plain backgrounds. I like that my iPad has a nightime setting which helps when reading at night - which I do a lot.
I also dislike reading a story on the Wordpress reader. I prefer the actual site. It seems easier to read. (hah - easier to read again).
It's confusing when two or more characters are too similar in appearance. Sims tend to look the same in pictures. So sometimes it's hard to know who is who. I don't mind clutter sims, as long as the camera is obviously focused on the main sim.
@AudreyFld you're so right about that! In my story one of the fathers looks so much like his son. It makes me glad there's only one boy in the family. I had to cut his hair in order to try to make them look at least a little bit different.
Re: Similar-looking sims... OMG I feel that way about my Rosebrooks They used to look more diverse and now they all look so similar! (But also attractive? So it balances out, right? )
I'm glad everyone found the link to be helpful ^_^
I don't have a favorite font, per say, but I like Times New Roman and Ariel a lot for regular writing. I also like Benny's for header or titles, I think it's pretty. :]
I find that as long as the author gives each sim an aesthetic I can tell them apart. I also like using other people's sims in my game (though currently I am not) because every one has their own style to sim making, so when you mix in other creator's sims, it helps keep everyone diverse.
I'm thinking that I definitely am going to start using other people Subs it was stories. Once all of the pre-mades that come in the game grow old, I'll probably ask other people to give me Sims to marry my Sims off to. That way the gene pool stays diverse.
Comments
I also love the diversity of this group. We can certainly learn from each other! So looking forward to discussions once everyone is caught up.
Sims 4 Comic Legacy
I dont know about @CitizenErased14 but when I talk how easy or hard something is to read, it has a lot to do with writing style. Grammar, spelling and typos all contribute to that. Chapter length doesn't change how easy something is to read for me, it just changes how many chapters I have time to read in one sitting. A novel is around 75,000 to 120,000 words on average. The average chapter in a novel is 2,500 to 5,000 words. This is all just a reference point for ya'll, there is no wrong length for a chapter here, especially since everyone has a different commitment to and expectation for their simlit.
The Landon Legacy Wordpress // Forums|
Chasing Rainbows: Wordpress // Forums
The Landon Legacy Wordpress // Forums|
Chasing Rainbows: Wordpress // Forums
It doesn't mean I don't like reading chapters that are lengthy or have a lot of text or a lot of events/characters, mind you! I enjoy things that are complex, for the most part!
It just means my brain needs more of a break after I've read a chapter like that, rather than immediately jumping to the next one
When I think more about this, I remembered that on my kindle reader, I have options to change the way the page is structured to make it easier to read for me. Shorter lines, different typefaces and font sizes, line spacing and even background and font colors. So this is definitely a great "easy or not to read" definition. The article breaks it down nicely. Gives me something to think about!
No I haven't. Ugh. Let me think about it. I may need to go into game and grab some pics. Thinking pretty much like everyone else and having pictures of the main characters.
No problem. If youre going to take multiple pictures of the cast that you want in the siggy, can you do them against a solid backdrop? Like against a solid colored wall. I can photoshop a background in easier that way. If you are only doing one picture with the whole cast in it, the background doesnt matter
The Landon Legacy Wordpress // Forums|
Chasing Rainbows: Wordpress // Forums
That's an interesting article, although I doubt it when it says someone like comic sans non-ironically
Did anybody read from wordpress readers? I've never been in love with it's font because of the tail thingy. I wonder if there's a way to change the font on that. At first I didn't know but since I read the article I know it had to do with san-serif and serif.
@CitizenErased14
I always get self-conscious about if people are getting too much character. But I love having a lot of character in a story. I probably ended up introducing the same character over and over every chapter, hoping that they know which character it is that I'm talking about. I also do the "Previously on" since I almost never fully introduce my secondary character and using it to make sure they remember which character that was from the previous chapter
Sims 4 Comic Legacy
Sometimes font can be an issue, but it really doesn't matter to me. Something I've noticed that deterred me in the past though is the background color of the screen. I can't handle it if it's too bright, a weird color, or doesn't contrast enough with the writing.
In terms of screenshots, I also struggle when the screenshots don't match the written story. So I'd prefer less screenshots and more words of that's what makes more sense.
And that reminds me, the number of words in a given sentence or paragraph make a difference for me. If it's more than five or six lines, visually it just weighs a lot.
It's something to think about because some people read on a computer screen, some people read on their phone, some people waiting on a tablet. So you end up with a chapter that can visually appear three different ways. It's something I like about WordPress, so I get a chance to preview what my posts look like on the three different mediums.
Once we're all caught up with each other's stories, I'd love to have an story by story in-depth discussion about this. Or at least for my story. I'm sure there are things I could do to immediately improve the look of my story, and I bet you guys could help with that.
@cecerose0208 I also had problems with color, I don't even like any background at all but white or at least a lighter color background.Definitely couldn't wait on the specific story discussion, but catching up is very hard, hehe.
Sims 4 Comic Legacy
For me, what makes things hard to read is definitely grammar and/or spacing. If I can understand what the passage means under a few tries, it's fine for me, though it takes me a little longer to finish. When too much dialogue is too squished up in a paragraph, I find it hard to read since I usually speed read through paragraphs and take time to read dialogue. (Is that weird? I like to read dialogue in the imaginary way they talk.) I also like immersing myself in the story.
On the topic of character introduction, I get kinda worried about that myself. Generally if they look similar, I tend to forget who's who unless they have some sort of iconic thing in their appearance (moles, tattoos) or if their personality is strikingly different from whoever it is they look like. I get kinda nervous about my sims since I think some of mine look too similar to each other due to the usual way I make my sims. I like having a lot of background guys, so I hope they don't often throw you off with their chatter.
I'm pretty blind so I prefer having larger font sizes when I'm reading something for a long period of time, so I usually make things bigger when I read things for entertainment. Sometimes I turn on Dark Reader so I could change the background to black when my eyes are tired.
@AkramA I read some stories on reader, but I prefer going to the actual site instead since the reader tends to fight me when my internet drops midway. I wasn't aware you can change the font on it
And @cecerose0208, that sounds like a good idea, a discussion about how stories appear on different platforms. Pages sometimes look better on a computer screen than a mobile screen, that's for sure.
Since we're on the topic of fonts... What's everyone's favorite font when reading? Or just a favorite font in general?
I'm a lover of reading things in 12pt Times New Roman for most things, though.
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This is a really good discussion already. I tend to have way more words than pictures. I actually felt like some of my earlier posts had too many pictures. But maybe of my balance is gone too far the other way recently. It's certainly something to think about for the post I'm going to write today.
I love the way you are recapping what happened in the previous episode. That helps keep the context of the story.
What's everyone's favorite font when reading? Or just a favorite font in general?
I love how simple Calibri is but my favorite is Century Gothic all the way, hehe. I don't like times new roman because it reminds me of paperwork hehe.
@Cement
I always avoid my character to become too similar. I use the cartoon technic as a way round for that. I always use exactly same hairstyle so no matter what their outfit their hairstyle would always be the same. They also need to have a colo coded clothing, so they would be distinct to each other.
Also, I'm one of those writers who prefer indirect speech and I almost never use dialogue. But I know people like dialogue especially in sims but it's always hard for me to relate into sims life that made it hard to know what they're supposed to say.
@AudreyFld
Hey, thanks! Recapping also made me remember what I wrote in the past. I'm so absentminded I forgot even the one I wrote myself.
Sims 4 Comic Legacy
I also dislike reading a story on the Wordpress reader. I prefer the actual site. It seems easier to read. (hah - easier to read again).
I don't have a favorite font, per say, but I like Times New Roman and Ariel a lot for regular writing. I also like Benny's for header or titles, I think it's pretty. :]
I find that as long as the author gives each sim an aesthetic I can tell them apart. I also like using other people's sims in my game (though currently I am not) because every one has their own style to sim making, so when you mix in other creator's sims, it helps keep everyone diverse.
The Landon Legacy Wordpress // Forums|
Chasing Rainbows: Wordpress // Forums