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Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge

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  • ShadamiShadami Posts: 4,353 Member
    Not sure I'll be doing my story in poetry form xD it's just something I'm doing.
  • breckenridgebreckenridge Posts: 44 Member
    Well, I wrote it. 689 words. I'll get it down, but you're going to miss those 89 words.

    It's actually very sweet.
    My newest chapter-based simlit: Cutback.”
  • breckenridgebreckenridge Posts: 44 Member
    I did it. But I had to cut the part about the bird sanctuary! I loved that paragraph. Now: CC and pix. Wish me luck.
    My newest chapter-based simlit: Cutback.”
  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    edited April 2019
    Well, I wrote it. 689 words. I'll get it down, but you're going to miss those 89 words.

    It's actually very sweet.

    I promise to stick with 800 for the most part <3 And I look forward to reading it.
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • ShadamiShadami Posts: 4,353 Member
    I keep having to remind myself that it's only day 4 and it's okay that I have zero ideas yet... >.<
  • InfraGreenInfraGreen Posts: 6,693 Member
    Shadami wrote: »
    I keep having to remind myself that it's only day 4 and it's okay that I have zero ideas yet... >.<

    Join me with "okay but HOW?" for my idea. 600 words is choking me, but in a good way I suppose. ;)
    A thousand bared teeth, a thousand bowed heads

    outrun / blog / tunglr
  • AudreyFldAudreyFld Posts: 6,695 Member
    @Shadami wrote: »
    I keep having to remind myself that it's only day 4 and it's okay that I have zero ideas yet... >.<
    Me too. #TheStruggleIsReal
  • CementCement Posts: 3,505 Member
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    Shadami wrote: »
    I keep having to remind myself that it's only day 4 and it's okay that I have zero ideas yet... >.<

    Join me with "okay but HOW?" for my idea. 600 words is choking me, but in a good way I suppose. ;)

    mmm yes choke me word limit daddy

    *cough*

    Still not an idea in sight :pensive:
  • ShadamiShadami Posts: 4,353 Member
    edited April 2019
    Can I brainstorm in here? XD
    Like:
    I was pondering doing a breakup idea. Fool to date them in the first place. Heartbreak story. But it would better to have skills at position g. Which i do not have. I base game really. Almost no mods/cc

    Then I was thinking taking it literally and doing a hunchback of Notre Dame esque true jester/fool... But zero idea for a story to go with it.

    I have basically scrapped both of these ideas so far. But if it gets others who are stuck to have wheels turning. Please feel free to use these. XD
  • breckenridgebreckenridge Posts: 44 Member
    The hardest part for me was that in 600 words it had to be a COMPLETE story: beginning, middle, character development, plus the brutal mic-drop ending that will leave the reader with an open jaw furious that it's only a short story. (That's the best part of writing them, coming up with those M. Night Shamala twists).

    As for advice, I'll offer some (unsolicited). It's fool month. So, start by thinking about who the fool is. Can there be more than one fool? What if the foolish thing isn't really foolish at all but accidentally or secretly brilliant? What if the reader has to decide who the fool is? What if it's not so clear cut?

    Here's an idea I was kicking around but ultimately discarded when I came up with a better one (which is hard to illustrate but whatever). I'm releasing it to all for inspiration. Just imagine your mood has gotten very light-blue all of a sudden. Two men get locked in a store overnight. Maybe they’re brothers, friends, exes, I never developed them. They spend the whole night arguing, bringing up old slights, etc but ultimately come to a deeper understanding. It’s basically a brief character study. In the morning, when the guard comes and lets them out, he shows them it was unlocked the whole time. They were just too wrapped up in themselves to notice. Sure, they feel foolish. But maybe a little grateful too?

    Shadami,

    I don’t have an idea for your second Hunchback one, but the first should be easy enough to get started. Start with the characters and work backward. From what you wrote, it seems like she got dumped. She’s calling herself a fool for dating him, after all. But of course, this is fool month. So it wouldn’t be a story if she were the only fool, would it? For example: Imagine he left her to motorcycle across the country with this new biker girl he just met. He couldn’t be bothered with her. He wanted nothing at all to do with her, ever since their last, tearful breakup fight when he humiliated her. To make matters worse, she started sobbing and spilled her drink all over his motorcycle jacket! Of course she was frantically pawing at it with a towel while he sat there and sulked. Now it’s the next day. She hasn’t even cleaned her room she’s so sad. Finally, she figures she’s ready to get out of bed. She’s cleaning when he calls her cell. He can’t find the key to his bike anywhere! It’s lost, probably at the bar he went to last night. Has she seen it? This is CLASSIC, Alex, she thinks. In that moment, she just checks out. She picks up the towel she used to dry him off and out tumbles the little silver key right onto the floor. She’s looking right at it. “I really have to go, Alex,” she tells him before hanging up. “And no, I haven’t seen it at all.”

    The trick is to “Gift of the Magi” the story. Have you read that? It’s great. No one’s happy in the end. Each has something the other wants. But in the end, it’s always just barely out of reach. Or, the villain wasn’t who you thought it was all along. Who holds a motorcycle key hostage over a breakup?

    Now I’m thinking I should I have written the motorcycle one. But mine’s done. It’s your seed now.
    My newest chapter-based simlit: Cutback.”
  • CharliimaiCharliimai Posts: 1,773 Member
    @lisabee2 Thank you for changing my entry. I have now added the banner to the The wind that blew story and removed it from At first sight.


    Just noticed that the link you posted to the story takes you to the wordpress log-in page. Here is the correct one:

    https://rainbowplumbob.wordpress.com/the-wind-that-blew/


    cSXsPD.jpg

    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)


  • Qnshr5Qnshr5 Posts: 459 Member
    Looking at definitions for the theme words and then idioms about fools helped me get an idea for a story. Also, there are song titles, lyrics, phrases from books or movies with the word "fool" or "foolish" that might help get the wheels spinning.

    @Shadami I also looked at fairy tales and fables that were about fools to get ideas. In your jester idea, there were tales that were about the person that is supposed to be stupid, but is actually really clever and the supposed smart character is actually the fool. You could create a story where the jester is a genius pretending to be a fool who entertains a king/lord who thinks s/he's the smartest person in the room but is actually an idiot (kind of an emperor's new clothes or 🐸🐸🐸🐸 in boots). If you don't have the mods/cc/packs to create an older time period, you could update the story to an entertainer and rich guy or assistant and their boss. Sometimes the "jester" saves the "king" from their folly and sometimes they let them fall. These tales are not only blatant but short so they're worth looking into even just to see how to get in a complete story in a small space. For me, seeing how foolishness works in a more obvious (but often clever) way helped me understand the more modern and subtler takes on these ideas.
    7YZVoCi.png
  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    edited April 2019
    @Charliimai .. fixed it ... I am still a rank noob when it comes to the Forum

    @Shadami @InfraGreen @AudreyFld @Cement @Qnshr5 @breckenridge

    I love seeing the banter in here about where the words .. fool .. foolish .. folly can take you. I adore fairy tales and they are rife with tales of quests that could only be seen as folly when the price one pays is meted out ... I think of Capt Ahab and the great white whale. His narrow visioned quest is def folly.

    One does not necessarily need to be a fool to be caught in folly.

    They just don't have the foresight to see what the future holds. In the movie Princess Bride, I think of the Spaniard who give his whole life to seek revenge for his father. Even to his own detriment... a noble quest or folly?

    Children often personify folly .. in actions and attitudes they LOVE .. no, they embrace folly. I have a little granddaughter who is determined to find as much folly as she can daily. My question to her is always the same; "LeLe honey you are surprised by this (result)? What did you THINK was going to happen?" AND TEENS LOL we don't even need to go there!

    That being said we are all prone to folly .. it a human condition <3 One does not have to recreate a Homer Simpson to come up with a fool who lives in their folly :)

    You guys can do it. <3

    Today I read a fab poem by @CathyTea (not an entry to this challenge - but an example of using few words to tell a big story) .. in just over 70 words she introduced me to a man and his quest .. showed me the depth of his pain and brought another sufferer alongside him to share life together (and we assume to be a support to one another) and in the end we are left with the vision of 2 wounded men together facing a dark world of agony and loss BUT SOMEHOW she leaves us with HOPE! AND she did it in the form of poetry (still told a short story) I am in awe!

    I am submitting my story tomorrow ... (I should be in working on it now) My protagonist is caught in folly and the world around her sees her as a fool. Maybe after you read it you will agree with the world BUT maybe not too :) and doing it in 226 words (at the moment) and in the form of a first-person narrative.
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • CharliimaiCharliimai Posts: 1,773 Member
    @Shadami I'm enjoying the brainstorming. I found the Topic is quite challenging and although I have nothing to add story idea wise. I can only tell you whatI did. Don't think of it as Simlit just concentrate on the story that wants to be written. The Sims content you have is there to compliment your words. If I find i'm missing content that portrays a certain scene I let the readers imagination do it for me. Just have fun with it, Don't stress. my best idea's come when i'm just enjoying the process.
    cSXsPD.jpg

    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)


  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    Well said @Charliimai
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    I love this. I have written my short story and am just doing the screenshots now. Should be up this weekend. Talk about trimming words - Yikes! Had to go from over 800 to 600 - now that was a challenge! Found ideas to cut words, for instance using contractions, like using I'm instead of I am.

    The actual "theme" for this month was a challenge for me, too, but I did some research and came up with something that I hope everyone will enjoy. I don't know if I have ever written a short story before, especially with a word limit. Anyway, I LOVE all the sharing and will share more once my story is up :)
  • ShadamiShadami Posts: 4,353 Member
    Thanks everyone. :3 I'm gonna try to tackle this again today and see where I get! :)
  • katrinasforestkatrinasforest Posts: 1,002 Member
    @lisabee2 Okay, got the screencaps taken and the story is posted. Word count is 593.

    Everybody Needs a Fool... Sometimes

    Let me know if I'm missing anything or need to do anything else. :)
    Watch me mash together Sims and Pokémon to tell a story about battling glitches in Penny Saves Paldea. Updated every other Thursday.
  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    @lisabee2 Okay, got the screencaps taken and the story is posted. Word count is 593.

    Everybody Needs a Fool... Sometimes

    Let me know if I'm missing anything or need to do anything else. :)

    Everything was awesome .. I read it <3 It is Elliot's good fortune to have a fool like him around.
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    SoulGal7 wrote: »
    I love this. I have written my short story and am just doing the screenshots now. Should be up this weekend. Talk about trimming words - Yikes! Had to go from over 800 to 600 - now that was a challenge! Found ideas to cut words, for instance using contractions, like using I'm instead of I am.

    The actual "theme" for this month was a challenge for me, too, but I did some research and came up with something that I hope everyone will enjoy. I don't know if I have ever written a short story before, especially with a word limit. Anyway, I LOVE all the sharing and will share more once my story is up :)

    I love your stories and I am certain it will be fab.
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    My just for fun submission ... brought it in at 229 words and 7 screenies

    A Short Story: Cracked Potz Folly

    kzUTFoN.jpg
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • PallystylePallystyle Posts: 2,415 Member
    Hello, I had a question I didn't see asked or answered as I looked through here,(I'm tired today so I may be blind and just not seeing it). I was wondering if the story could be told as a poem or in a poetic type way?
    My Sims 4 Creations= Click Here ;) Find me on origin at Pallystyle
    My Murkland Challenge Adventures: Click Here

  • lisabee2lisabee2 Posts: 3,708 Member
    Pallystyle wrote: »
    Hello, I had a question I didn't see asked or answered as I looked through here,(I'm tired today so I may be blind and just not seeing it). I was wondering if the story could be told as a poem or in a poetic type way?

    Yes @Pallystyle your short story can take any literary form you wish! <3<3
    SebEwnF.jpg
    LisabeeSims
    New readers can visit here first: In-a-NUTSHELL
    #EAgamechanger
  • PallystylePallystyle Posts: 2,415 Member
    lisabee2 wrote: »
    Pallystyle wrote: »
    Hello, I had a question I didn't see asked or answered as I looked through here,(I'm tired today so I may be blind and just not seeing it). I was wondering if the story could be told as a poem or in a poetic type way?

    Yes @Pallystyle your short story can take any literary form you wish! <3<3

    Yay! Then I should have an entry for this month. I have an idea and should be able to make it work!
    My Sims 4 Creations= Click Here ;) Find me on origin at Pallystyle
    My Murkland Challenge Adventures: Click Here

  • CathyTeaCathyTea Posts: 23,088 Member
    lisabee2 wrote: »

    Today I read a fab poem by @CathyTea (not an entry to this challenge - but an example of using few words to tell a big story) .. in just over 70 words she introduced me to a man and his quest .. showed me the depth of his pain and brought another sufferer alongside him to share life together (and we assume to be a support to one another) and in the end we are left with the vision of 2 wounded men together facing a dark world of agony and loss BUT SOMEHOW she leaves us with HOPE! AND she did it in the form of poetry (still told a short story) I am in awe!

    I am submitting my story tomorrow ... (I should be in working on it now) My protagonist is caught in folly and the world around her sees her as a fool. Maybe after you read it you will agree with the world BUT maybe not too :) and doing it in 226 words (at the moment) and in the form of a first-person narrative.

    Aw, thanks for the call-out to my poem, @lisabee2 ! Along with @Shadami and @Ashubii , I'm taking part in GloPoWriMo this month -- oh, man! It's so fun! And it's not too late to join at all! I def don't think of myself as a poet at all (fiction is my native tongue), but in a lot of ways, that opens me up to be able to experiment and experience something brand new! My poems this year are not SimLit (they're based in Elder Scrolls Online. A friend and I are co-writing an Elder Scrolls novel, and it's taking me a long time to internalize the game and game-lore, so I thought writing ESO-based poems would help! And it seems to be!), but last year, I did use Sims to illustrate most of the poems I wrote. @Shadami 's poems are Sims-based. I'm in love with them. You can really get to know a character (or Sim) intimately when they share themselves through poetry.

    As for the 600 word limit: When I was in grad school, one of our profs challenged us with weekly papers which could be NO MORE than two pages, 12 pt. Times font. That's around 600 words. His rationale was this: Beginning writers need to be prompted to write more. Advanced writers need experience writing less.

    So it is actually an advanced exercise for experienced writers to write a full story in 600 words.

    Wrote mine yesterday. Had to trim so much and leave so much unsaid! But heck. Who needs articles and adjectives?
    Cathy Tea's SimLit Anthology

    Do you also play The Elder Scrolls Online? You can find me there as CathyTea, too!
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