@lisabee2 Ooh, celebratory ice cream?! (Also, I've never tried Blue Moon ice cream, but the picture alone is making me wanna try!)
Also, doesn't surprise me that the vote was so close! These stories were really awesome and all so different! And once more, let me thank you for reviving this challenge! You do so much to help make our community heard, and it means the world
Do the cool kids say "da bomb" anymore??? Cause if they did they would call Blue Moon DA BOMB! I have only had it in Michigan at an adorable ice cream shop in the tourist town on Lake Michingan where I grew up. This will be the first year I have not gone home in August to visit and get a cone of blue moon while there. I will miss it terribly.
Hey @divanthesimmer (and anyone else who needs to hear it), you write because there's some deeper truth inside of you that you want to share, but isn't ready to come out yet. Nobody save the blissfully self-unaware ever puts a story out into the world feeling it's perfect; no creative work is really ever done. But you're writing for the right reasons, to hash something out for yourself and maybe form a meaningful connection with other people, and writing vulnerable statements like the one you just made is the crucial first step towards that. IMO. So know you're not alone in this, even if you're seeing people in different stages of their journey.
Blogging is an interesting platform because unlike a published work, one can easily go back and compare the earlier and later posts, so that the evolution of the author's style is on full display. It's a refreshing and honest route where the goal may not necessarily be perfection, but to showcase improvement and change in a way that can inspire others to share their own imperfect stories.
Also, I know you already know this, but a reminder. You don't wrote a 100-chapter story. You write one chapter at a time. You actually probably already knew all of the above, but I'm having a blast yelling overarching statements into the void.
I'm new, so this is the first I'm hearing about @lisabee2's and @InfraGreen's experiences, which sound frustrating. I don't know what to say except you both seem like a wonderful presence in the community; I'm glad you both stayed long enough to welcome a new crop of authors.
On the topic of vulnerability, I'm still coping with the fact that trying to forge my own path instead of sticking with established approaches means I have to put massive amounts of effort into developing something new, for every piece, effort that often goes unnoticed. It isn't true that most great stories have already been told. It's that the current popular archetypes of story have undergone thousands of years of improvement, morphing them into something that most modern writers can only mildly improve or update for a modern audience. The first time an idea is introduced, it's going to look rough and amateur compared to the concepts that have been polished over millennia. Many people experience this. For me, it's been the defining aspect of my work, hobby and professional, and like I said, it's an ongoing battle to cope with looking rough and amateur while also dumping unjustifiable amounts of brainpower into something maybe two people read, because my work doesn't have the benefit of being similar enough to another work to share its established audience. But I'm happy for those two people if reading it makes them feel less alone.
I don't need advice or support regarding the above; the solution is to wait and put myself out there, and I'm allowed to feel a bit frustrated in the interim. Speaking of! There's an update that completely changes the meaning of Grey Wedding, one that I considered too dark/heavy to post on this thread. If you're in the mood, though: Option 3.
SimLit is an interesting genre because the fictional characters have agency outside the author's heads. I'd like to do what I can to extend the genre's reach, if part of that means promoting existing authors and producing content that appeals to readers outside the community. (Part of me wants to share my grammar and usage training to those who want it, but only if solicited. It's quite rude for a newcomer to barge in and moan about pleonasm and 'that' vs. 'which' and the difference between en- and em-dashes and ellipsis overuse. Maybe that's something for the future once I get my sea legs here.) So thanks once again, @lisabee2, for putting together! Your good intentions, and the good intentions of others, have made this a competition that manages to avoid all the toxic parts of what competition entails. I hope it grows to the point where more people see that.
I love you. And I can't even express how your writing has saved me these past few months.
Also, I especially love your semicolons. Sometimes, when reading quickly, I skip over them, and I say aloud, shouldn't there be a semi-colon there? And I look back, and lo and behold, there is the beautiful semi-colon winking at me. And that makes my day! Long live the semi-colon!
I'll be back later to join in on the building-community conversation soon.... just wanted to relieve my heart of its overflow of adoration for Dolly and her brave writing!
First, let me point out it was NOT a landslide by any means .. at one point we had a 4 way tie for first!
One of the things that Jo -aka SoulGal07 - does very well is get her story AND the challenge (aka you) out there.
This month I was glad to see Cathy, Charlii Mai, Laura, Amanda, Rae, Angela and Mena promoing in FB and/or twitter (not to forget two lovely simmers who promo'd even tho they did not submit this month - Luke and Divan). So FAB! (Sorry I hope I did not miss any that I saw out there).
Harnessing the power of social media is important. We cannot expect them to come if they do not know about it.
Let us also not forget that some who have larger reading audiences are sharing with their audiences and therefore increasing exposure to those who may not have as large of a readers base (I imagine many have gained new readers). You know a lot of bloggers guard their reader's lists with a wary eye!
So you see getting the placement banner is gravy on some already FAB potatoes. All are winners.
Just today I was tagged in this tweet "I've recently stumbled across a very interesting website by @lisabeesims1. It has some great writings from our fellow Simmers. There's even a monthly writing challenge! When you get a minute, check it out. Enjoy! #Writing #Sims4" You will note that this is not about ME being wonderful ..it is about YOU being wonderful and it is about Simlit being wonderful! BTW TY Mena for bringing this to Jack's eye AND I do hope he will pop in with a magical treat.
When I set out on this journey I had high hopes to bring Simlit back into the light AND WE are doing it .. let's not give up now!
I fully agree with all of this. This is what it's all about - doing something you're passionate about and doing it with people who are as passionate as you about the same thing. I don't have friends or family outside this amazing community who play this game or share my love of reading and writing. To have such a warm, welcoming community who shares my interests (all of YOU guys), means the world to me. This IS my second family.
I want to take a moment and thank @lisabee2 for bringing this awesome challenge back, everyone else for being so supportive through your comments here and on my blog and thank you @CathyTea for introducing me to Simlit, getting me to play The Sims 4 and always being such a supportive, caring and wonderful friend. May this challenge get bigger and better and be around for a long time!
First, let me point out it was NOT a landslide by any means .. at one point we had a 4 way tie for first!
One of the things that Jo -aka SoulGal07 - does very well is get her story AND the challenge (aka you) out there.
This month I was glad to see Cathy, Charlii Mai, Laura, Amanda, Rae, Angela and Mena promoing in FB and/or twitter (not to forget two lovely simmers who promo'd even tho they did not submit this month - Luke and Divan). So FAB! (Sorry I hope I did not miss any that I saw out there).
Harnessing the power of social media is important. We cannot expect them to come if they do not know about it.
Let us also not forget that some who have larger reading audiences are sharing with their audiences and therefore increasing exposure to those who may not have as large of a readers base (I imagine many have gained new readers). You know a lot of bloggers guard their reader's lists with a wary eye!
So you see getting the placement banner is gravy on some already FAB potatoes. All are winners.
Just today I was tagged in this tweet "I've recently stumbled across a very interesting website by @lisabeesims1. It has some great writings from our fellow Simmers. There's even a monthly writing challenge! When you get a minute, check it out. Enjoy! #Writing #Sims4" You will note that this is not about ME being wonderful ..it is about YOU being wonderful and it is about Simlit being wonderful! BTW TY Mena for bringing this to Jack's eye AND I do hope he will pop in with a magical treat.
When I set out on this journey I had high hopes to bring Simlit back into the light AND WE are doing it .. let's not give up now!
I fully agree with all of this. This is what it's all about - doing something you're passionate about and doing it with people who are as passionate as you about the same thing. I don't have friends or family outside this amazing community who play this game or share my love of reading and writing. To have such a warm, welcoming community who shares my interests (all of YOU guys), means the world to me. This IS my second family.
I want to take a moment and thank @lisabee2 for bringing this awesome challenge back, everyone else for being so supportive through your comments here and on my blog
and thank you @CathyTea for introducing me to Simlit, getting me to play The Sims 4 and always being such a supportive, caring and wonderful friend. May this challenge get bigger and better and be around for a long time!
I also would thank @CathyTea and @mastressalita who were my mentors and BUTT kickers when needed and darling @VIRTUALEE who got me started in the first place. #justpayingitforward
A few years ago, (has it been that long now?), I was a total newbie and didn't even know what SimLit was. I was introduced to it by @CathyTea in The Pen Pal Project. I created a blogger site, and didn't even know how to post photos on here. Anyway, I enjoyed that challenge very much, and it is still active today on the forums, so check it out. So many good stories on there. Then, I finished that and I wanted to do another challenge and saw the Murkland challenge by @Brennachan - I was one of the first ones to try that challenge, along with @lisabee2 . There were a lot of us doing that challenge and there was also a Facebook Group. If you are looking for a wonderful challenge with a lot of group support, I highly recommend The Murkland Challenge. We had so much fun and there was so much support from that group, that I felt really happy doing that challenge and just kept blogging.
And that's what this group is. Supportive and fun and why I enjoy coming here and sharing and of course for @lisabee2 's zest for Simlit. And that's what this is about, doing something that you love, getting support, challenging yourself, having fun and being encouraged. It's not about winning, because just by writing, we are all winners getting the word out about SimLit.
Much thanks and appreciation to @divanthesimmer@lisabee2 and @SoulGal7 for the shout-outs! It's been a joy to have been part of creating a welcoming, inclusive, supportive, and encouraging community. That's really my goal for every community I'm part of, and what's been especially rewarding this time is to see how these efforts are becoming sustainable, since they've been embraced by so many members! All three of you have made extra measures to welcome and encourage others, as have so many participants here.
I'm not as active on the Sims Forums these days, so it's really encouraging to me to see what what we worked hard to establish is continuing!
@lisabee2 What you're doing here is so great--and it's been wonderful to see how enthusiastic and supporting all the participants are.
I also want to give a big shout-out to my online sis @friendsfan367 who keeps the community going, too!
@lisabee2 Oh, my gosh, that ice cream looks amazing! I thought nothing could beat lavender ice cream, but looks like it's coming close! ^_^
Sorry I went quiet a bit, but I wanted to dig through my bookmarks. I found this page seven years ago. I'm glad the author still hasn't taken it down, because I still re-read it every once in a while when I'm starting to let everyone else's opinion of my work (or, more often, their silence on my work) sway my love of telling stories: http://corrinejackson.com/wordpress/2010/02/14/tough-love-for-writers/
Mild language warning, but here's the highlight: "When you are writing, the experience belongs to you. The exhilaration and obsession and frenzy to put words to screen: All yours. The experience of reading the finished work belongs to others, but you have sole and proprietary custody of the rest."
(For anyone who's not familiar, a literary agent is a person who pitches your novel to publishers, but getting one to take you on as a client is done through a process called querying--sending a one-page letter that hopefully makes your book sound interesting enough that the agent wants to read the full manuscript. So while it's not the exact same experience as blogging and seeking an audience directly, the long periods of silence are definitely relatable.)
@Dollyllama108 I actually think you're at an advantage if your stories aren't similar to other people's stuff. When I'm in the mood for a particular author's work, I just read their work. I read new authors when I want something new.
There's so many toxic ideas in the writing community I absorbed over the years that I'm just now undoing in my head. The biggest was the idea that, "If your story was really good, it would rise to the top, because everyone would love it." But that's not how tastes work. There is nothing everybody loves. It's about finding your audience. Actually I'm very curious to read your other ending to the Grey Wedding, because I love dark stuff. Erm, in case that wasn't obvious from my Johnny Zest story... ^_^;;
Anyway, I know this reply has gotten long, but just wanted to end on saying we're all in this together, and I love the group here.
Watch me mash together Sims and Pokémon to tell a story about battling glitches in Penny Saves Paldea. Updated every other Thursday.
@katrinasforest It's all true! But sometimes the uncertainty can be annoying because it's hard to determine whether you put out a solid piece of work that slipped through the cracks or your writing is actually bad. It's also the worst for new writers! Like the experience of putting your voice out there isn't humbling enough!
@CathyTea And I appreciate you! I have to work up the energy revive the workshop thread at some point; we need to get everyone excited about semicolons and then get comfortable enough with the rules for them to not be special anymore.
@lisabee2 I think maybe "lit" is the new "da bomb," at least with respect to maintaining the metaphor. But hey, bring it back! Not that the ice cream doesn't deserve a less melty descriptor.
Catastrophe Theory: If, through loose ends, we could resume/Unrav'ling defects from the loom/And soften as the shuttle mends---/Then save for me a few loose ends! Haunted: Picture Oscar Wilde dating Willy Wonka, also Oscar Wilde is still dead
@Dollyllama108 Yeah, all I can say is be honest with yourself and read like a maniac. You'll be able to see when you're making improvements, whether you have the numbers behind it or not. I think writing, like many arts, is one of those things where the better you get, you more you realize you can still learn. And stats are heavily skewed by what happens to be popular at the time.
@SoulGal7 Aw, thank you so much! She's different from a lot of other characters I've written, but now I want to write more about her. ^_^
Looking forward to reading the next pieces from both of you!
Watch me mash together Sims and Pokémon to tell a story about battling glitches in Penny Saves Paldea. Updated every other Thursday.
I dropped my laptop and messed it up so now it crashes when trying to use cats and dogs so the story I had for July's theme is no more since it pretty much relied on being able to create pets. I'm disappointed but managed to write something else. I'm not too sure how well it fits the theme but I'm hopeful that it being a magical experience for the sim is enough.
Ok, the impossible may have just happened. I just wrote my entry for the challenge and it's not almost midnight. Now... if I could just get the screenshots done this week.
Hey y'all, I did an entry based on my legacy: July: A Kind Of Magic
I'm entering as a Veteran as I may not have done this before, but since I've been writing since 2016 I don't feel comfortable calling myself a novice. Enjoy!
Hey Simmers, guess who is dropping off the link to her short story challenge and not in the eleventh hour. I am really proud of myself and of this particular work.... Hope you guys enjoy it!
Hey y'all, I did an entry based on my legacy: July: A Kind Of Magic
I'm entering as a Veteran as I may not have done this before, but since I've been writing since 2016 I don't feel comfortable calling myself a novice. Enjoy!
Ok, the impossible may have just happened. I just wrote my entry for the challenge and it's not almost midnight. Now... if I could just get the screenshots done this week.
2 whole words to spare?? LOL You got the screenshots done and they are wonderful too
Ok, the impossible may have just happened. I just wrote my entry for the challenge and it's not almost midnight. Now... if I could just get the screenshots done this week.
2 whole words to spare?? LOL You got the screenshots done and they are wonderful too
Thank you. I'm extremely proud of my screenshots for this entry.
Hey hey! Some of you may recognize me from twitter but when @lisabeesims1 announced the revival of this challenge in March, I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of when I had the time. Fortunately, I’ve been granted the gift of time and find that ironically funny as I make my first official entry for July. I’ve been blogging on and off for a long time but since it’s been about a year, I put myself in the Novice category to exercise my way into veteran. I’m most excited to get ANY feedback and happy to see the sim literature is still thriving! Since I’m still a bit new on these forums, I’ll be reaching out for a bit of help with posting the link, cheers to reading and writing with the sims, I’m home :) *Sips to read* -J2J
Comments
Do the cool kids say "da bomb" anymore??? Cause if they did they would call Blue Moon DA BOMB! I have only had it in Michigan at an adorable ice cream shop in the tourist town on Lake Michingan where I grew up. This will be the first year I have not gone home in August to visit and get a cone of blue moon while there. I will miss it terribly.
LisabeeSims
New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
#EAgamechanger
I love you. And I can't even express how your writing has saved me these past few months.
Also, I especially love your semicolons. Sometimes, when reading quickly, I skip over them, and I say aloud, shouldn't there be a semi-colon there? And I look back, and lo and behold, there is the beautiful semi-colon winking at me. And that makes my day! Long live the semi-colon!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Much thanks and appreciation to @divanthesimmer @lisabee2 and @SoulGal7 for the shout-outs!
I'm not as active on the Sims Forums these days, so it's really encouraging to me to see what what we worked hard to establish is continuing!
@lisabee2 What you're doing here is so great--and it's been wonderful to see how enthusiastic and supporting all the participants are.
I also want to give a big shout-out to my online sis @friendsfan367 who keeps the community going, too!
Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
Sorry I went quiet a bit, but I wanted to dig through my bookmarks. I found this page seven years ago. I'm glad the author still hasn't taken it down, because I still re-read it every once in a while when I'm starting to let everyone else's opinion of my work (or, more often, their silence on my work) sway my love of telling stories: http://corrinejackson.com/wordpress/2010/02/14/tough-love-for-writers/
Mild language warning, but here's the highlight: "When you are writing, the experience belongs to you. The exhilaration and obsession and frenzy to put words to screen: All yours. The experience of reading the finished work belongs to others, but you have sole and proprietary custody of the rest."
(For anyone who's not familiar, a literary agent is a person who pitches your novel to publishers, but getting one to take you on as a client is done through a process called querying--sending a one-page letter that hopefully makes your book sound interesting enough that the agent wants to read the full manuscript. So while it's not the exact same experience as blogging and seeking an audience directly, the long periods of silence are definitely relatable.)
@Dollyllama108 I actually think you're at an advantage if your stories aren't similar to other people's stuff. When I'm in the mood for a particular author's work, I just read their work. I read new authors when I want something new.
There's so many toxic ideas in the writing community I absorbed over the years that I'm just now undoing in my head. The biggest was the idea that, "If your story was really good, it would rise to the top, because everyone would love it." But that's not how tastes work. There is nothing everybody loves. It's about finding your audience. Actually I'm very curious to read your other ending to the Grey Wedding, because I love dark stuff. Erm, in case that wasn't obvious from my Johnny Zest story... ^_^;;
Anyway, I know this reply has gotten long, but just wanted to end on saying we're all in this together, and I love the group here.
@CathyTea And I appreciate you! I have to work up the energy revive the workshop thread at some point; we need to get everyone excited about semicolons and then get comfortable enough with the rules for them to not be special anymore.
@lisabee2 I think maybe "lit" is the new "da bomb," at least with respect to maintaining the metaphor. But hey, bring it back! Not that the ice cream doesn't deserve a less melty descriptor.
Haunted: Picture Oscar Wilde dating Willy Wonka, also Oscar Wilde is still dead
@SoulGal7 Aw, thank you so much! She's different from a lot of other characters I've written, but now I want to write more about her. ^_^
Looking forward to reading the next pieces from both of you!
Hey. I gave you a follow and here's your story: https://laurawritesandgames.tumblr.com/post/186248804663/to-everyone-or-no-one
Check out my SimLit blog here: https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @divanthesimmer
Follow me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/divanthesimmer
Origin ID: divanthesimmer
You're welcome!
Check out my SimLit blog here: https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @divanthesimmer
Follow me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/divanthesimmer
Origin ID: divanthesimmer
Aww @divanthesimmer you are the sweetest .. *hops in to read @LauraAnneB 's story
LisabeeSims
New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
#EAgamechanger
https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/2019/07/14/what-is-magic-2/
HUGE shoutout to @CathyTea, who helped me upload my screenshots - I couldn't do this without her! I hope you like it.
Check out my SimLit blog here: https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @divanthesimmer
Follow me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/divanthesimmer
Origin ID: divanthesimmer
- While I Wait
Word count: 143Screenshots: 6
Read my Legacy story's or atttempt one of my Sims 4 challenges.
Charlii Mai's Blogs and Challenges
Read All of my Latest stories all in one place.
RainbowPlumbob (Wordpress)
Thank you - I'm glad you like it! I also really like everyone else's stories so far and I'm excited to read the next entries!
Check out my SimLit blog here: https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @divanthesimmer
Follow me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/divanthesimmer
Origin ID: divanthesimmer
McGinnis Legacy Forum Thread
AemaSimming's SimBlog
LisabeeSims
New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
#EAgamechanger
July: A Kind Of Magic
I'm entering as a Veteran as I may not have done this before, but since I've been writing since 2016 I don't feel comfortable calling myself a novice. Enjoy!
MSSSC July Submission: The Most Powerful of Magic
McGinnis Legacy Forum Thread
AemaSimming's SimBlog
Welcome ..
LisabeeSims
New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
#EAgamechanger
2 whole words to spare?? LOL You got the screenshots done and they are wonderful too
LisabeeSims
New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
#EAgamechanger
Thank you. I'm extremely proud of my screenshots for this entry.
McGinnis Legacy Forum Thread
AemaSimming's SimBlog
Some of you may recognize me from twitter but when @lisabeesims1 announced the revival of this challenge in March, I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of when I had the time. Fortunately, I’ve been granted the gift of time and find that ironically funny as I make my first official entry for July. I’ve been blogging on and off for a long time but since it’s been about a year, I put myself in the Novice category to exercise my way into veteran. I’m most excited to get ANY feedback and happy to see the sim literature is still thriving! Since I’m still a bit new on these forums, I’ll be reaching out for a bit of help with posting the link, cheers to reading and writing with the sims, I’m home :) *Sips to read* -J2J