One question now: If you have multiple parallel storylines timewise - say, kid 1 is going behind his parent's back about meeting a girl, while kid 2 campaigns for a dog, and these 2 happen at the same time (and are more komplex than just that, with multiple involved characters, and connecting issues, and all that, and perhaps there's more than 2 and more like 6 or 7) - how do you keep track of THAT?!
@miss_eulenauge I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I think it may be difficult to run parallel storylines if you're not staging your settings/stories or playing a bit ahead of your posts. With playing and then posting, there's not much opportunity to manage your settings because you don't know how interesting things will be.
I have a running list of events/topics/things I want to cover. It's very simple and I check them off as I go through them. As an example with arbitrary strikethroughs, and without a screenshot, it looks kind of like this:
Deli - meets Zach (new romantic interest)
Deli - bonfire with Cabe (original romantic interest)
Dysis - studying (can she save her academic life)
Dysis - father gives unsolicited life advice
Deli - realization about Cabe
E - ***
Asher - ***
Dysis - academic life ends (failure? success?)
Group - park/date/event
Aster - ***
Lots of things go on at once or around the same time, so I generally list them in an order that allows me to transition from sim to sim to hopefully keep things fresh and not 100% focus on the same stuff. But the events I list have already happened - it's just a question of what order I want to tell them in. I'm also not sure if I get the order/focus right because some of my sims are far more popular than others (who get me absolutely no reactions when I post ). If I notice that a group of the storylines is too depressing or whimsical or too something else, then I might break it up with something of a different tone to hopefully avoid beating the same themes to death or at least that's the intention, my execution could be lacking.
@_sims_Yimi That's a great excel chart. I'm curious about why you color code events. Do you want to make sure that you have a variety of types (for example, a balance of romantic/bad/etc.) and find that's an easy way to do that?
@haneul just a quick reaction before bed: Oh the question was at everyone, I just thought of it while replying to yimi! Sorry
Thank you for the advice - it's very good, and I will reply as soon as I have time, but for now I will go to bed. Ugh. Been awake for 18,5 hours?! Oh god. I may hate myself tomorrow.
I didn't mean to happen them really at the same time, more -like you did in your chart- parallel. Say, on one SimDay 10am something happens with kid 2, and then at 1pm kid 1 meets his girlfriend, and so on. So that these storylines are both going on simultaneously and I have to keep switching around between them instead of finishing one first.
Does that make sense?
@_sims_Yimi Wow, that excel looks great! I just have a word-document and the occasional hand-written or drawn note on how things will go. I usually keep most of the plotting in my head and arrange the events there. I have a fairly good memory on storytelling stuff (and a not-so-good one when it comes to some everyday things ), so that helps I guess.
As for parallel plots, I might draw like parallel timelines and put short descriptions of the events that happen to each character in them. Not sure if I've done that physically or just in my head. I remember a couple of mind map -style things I've done and they've looked like a mess but they're just for me so as long as I can figure them out and sort them out in writing it's fine.
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)
@miss_eulenauge I hope you were able to get some rest and thanks for your comments on my sims' kid's room from before.
I think I understand what you're saying about parallel storylines. I have an unusual memory, so when it comes to managing my sims' schedules in-game I only think about it. I don't write anything down. But, at some point, I think it's helpful to have another tool (like an excel sheet, a list, notes on paper, etc.) to aid with structure. I structure my storylines after playing. @_sims_Yimi uses excel to timeline events beforehand. So maybe coming up with a schedule, like you mentioned once before, would help? Sim A gets this time, Sim B this time, etc.
I don't exactly do that because I don't like rigid schedules, but I do at least consider how my sims will spend their time a few days in advance. Generally, I have them travel to other lots often (almost every sim day) based on the goals I set for each one and their school/work schedules/the calendar. When the children are at school, I often travel with the older sims/their parents, so mom and dad can run errands, go on dates, etc. If an underage sim has an A grade in school, I may have them take a vacation day or get a parent to write an excuse note, so that they can continue doing things at home or on other lots.
A lot of authors in this thread seem to have stories that are very separate from gameplay, though, so I'm curious to hear their perspectives because mine is gameplay-based and I label myself a legacy player (even though I don't actually have a "legacy" with heirs and such). As a gameplay-based player with aging on and not playing with long lifespans, this is an example of how I think about things (while writing nothing down):
Thursday:
12 am - 4 am: Asher (the patriarch) should finish work, sort out the unfinished business around the house, and make money to pay $50k - $80k bills; if the situation at home in San Myshuno is fine, his eldest daughter still living at home may travel to do her active career in Sulani or just wander around Sulani
4 am - 8 am: back at home lot in time for the garden to grow, other sims to wake up/get ready etc., Asher should write an excuse note for child 3 to skip school .
9 am - 2/3 pm: Asher and child 3 spend the day together; (based on previous whims) he takes her somewhere to teach her about her family history/growing up/self-acceptance, and then takes her out for ice cream [storyline-wise/thematically: this may play into child 1's identity issues and parents trying not to have those same things happen with child 3]
3 pm - 8 pm: child 2 (who is a teenager) does a small broadcast from a local neighbor spot to satisfy her agent; others do homework/domestic stuff [storyline-wise/thematically: this may play into child 2's privilege/horrifically busy schedule/pressure as a teen]
8 pm - 12 am: child 2 does an event and participates in singing contest at the Japanese-style karaoke place in San Myshuno [storyline-wise/thematically: this may play into child 2's privilege/horrifically busy schedule/pressure as a teen].
Friday:
12 am - 4 am: same as Thursday.
4 am - 8 am: same as Thursday, except all children intend to go to school.
9 am - 2/3 pm: Adelise (the matriarch) investigates potential home improvements/how to make the home more Eco-friendly, and goes to (or hosts) brunch with relatives
3 pm - 10 pm: child 2 publishes ***, does work for agent, does homework and does(or just plans) an event where she publicly discusses her future plans; Asher publishes ***, child 3 and 4 do their work, then get out and explore the neighborhood with friends [storyline-wise/thematically: award show preparation and child 2's passion/hellish schedule]
10 pm - 12 am: child 2 photo shoot.
Most other days will be just as hectic, but I try to have one day a week where my sims do whatever autonomously to see what they can get up to on their own. The game isn't so fast-paced that I feel the need to have every sim be productive at every second even though I don't play on long lifespans.
ETA: There isn't enough time in RL or in-game for me to manage 8 sims with deep backgrounds, storylines, and independent friend networks. 3-5 feels like the sweet spot for me. Anything over that is pushing it. 8 for me is simply unworkable.
So - finally have time to reply! Thank you so much for all the long answers
@_sims_Yimi You're right about the stereotypes, that can help! Although I always try to add a fun twist - like the badboy who actually lives with his granny in a small garden house... But you're right about them getting a background later, I think that'll apply to the kids. It's enough if they come from a not-totally-bland house, fleshing out the actual characters can come later.
I absolutely love that spreadsheet - I think I told you that already! I think after this comment I'll send you a PM asking about more details to all your spreadsheets, to perhaps do something similar once I fully understand how they work
Lol. Agree on writing it all down! I have a clipboard to use at work, that has loads of work-related stuff (so I can leave it lying around at my desk without it looking like not-work-stuff) and underneath about 50 post-its with Sims notes and then I always carry around more post-its and my phone for notes The tricky thing is to transfer stuff from these post-its and not forget all the good ideas on there
@haneul Again I think I already said that, but you're right that stuff happening exactly at the same time is difficult. It'll be more interweaving, just like for you, with every kid having different stuff going on.
Thank you for sharing your "running list"! I think I had so much difficulty keeping track of my ideas because currently they aren't sorted into one cohesive timeline, just a post-it for each kid with notes on what might happen, but then several kids are involved in the same plots and it's a total mess
Then from these post-its, I usually pull 2-3 "issues" to feature every update - but then I usually have less and have a better idea of the timing. Thank you for the ideas on getting Sims out of the house, that's something I definitely need to work on! Also thank you for sharing your schedules, that was super super helpful as well. I think I need more of that "sorted-out-ness". How do you manage to do so much in one day? If I want something to be finished by 1pm, I can be certain it'll at least take till 3pm...
On managing 8 Sims: That's a really good point, I hadn't even considered that. I think it'll get easier once the two eldest kids move out, but that's some time away. The toddlers don't have too much story yet, but still. I'll think about how I could get some of the kids out of the house for a while... But all my fun ideas! I really need to sort these timelines out.
Whew. In case you have any more advice...
@RipuAncestor Wish I had more of a good memory anywhere! But I guess I have been over-filling my head with facts... Thank you for sharing your "system" anyway Good idea with the parallel timelines, thank you!
@haneul Part of it is because I like to colour-code everything (I’m weird like that 😂) and part of it is so I can make sure that there’s not all the same “type” of event for too long, yes. It’s easy to lose track of how dark my story gets, or how many lore dumps I write in there, because there’s week-long pauses in between chapters. But I don’t want to have too many chapters with just romance or just reveals or just bad things happening, because it might cause reader’s fatigue for people that binge it. Like never-ending rollercoaster loopings. You need straight rails in between. Comparing colours is an easy way to keep track of that. 😊
I don’t think I can comment on your timetable (because I’m not a gameplay-driven writer), but dividing time between your cast equally might help with connecting with them, yes. How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background? (This might be a fun question for everyone, actually- I'll make it bold )
@RipuAncestor Thank you! A lot of it is in my head too, and only written out past bullet points when the chapter itself gets written. Do you ever forget things that you wanted to put in, and find out later that you forgot about it?
@miss_eulenauge Sure! PM away 😊 oooooh, I empathise with the work notes struggle so much. I have a giant notebook at work and a smaller one for sims, but I keep writing in the work one by accident because the ideas just keep coming. Once I was taking notes for a meeting, and halfway down the page it said “made decision X, plan by Y, find more medieval clothes for Arthur” in the same breath. It took me a moment to even realise 🤣
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
A really good question. Yes, I do have certain characters I really like and feel like giving more airtime to but I made a decision to make my story a rotational one so that does restrain me because they have to wait their turn before they feature again. However, a lot of my main characters often ending up appearing in each other's chapters.
Another bit of inside the workings of Sim 66: Every chapter features a main character as the focus and the next chapter focusses on one of the others. After 7 game days have been played of the last character to enter the story, I introduce a new one. That might be someone mentioned in the story before who gets promoted to main character or it might be someone completely new. So the Sneedleys were the last characters to enter the story and I've played 6 game days of them...we're due a new character very soon. I've worked out who that's going to be.
@_sims_Yimi great question! More reactions coming later (at work currently ) How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
I try to give everyone time, but since I have more going on than "Screentime" available, they get pushed into the Background anyways. But at the same time I'll try to figure out what it is that bugs me about them, and how to Draw them back into the story. Eg for one of my characters, I really liked her as a kid, but somehow lost that connection as she grew up. And a few weeks ago, I noticed that her Outfit was really bugging me. I still liked the story and the intention behind it, but the items I chose (before I got into CC)... Just No
So luckily I was writing an update at the time, already screenshotted, so I worked her getting some pocket money and then going shopping into it to explain the sudden influx of pretty clothes, and then I gave her a makeover
Another one was just super flat and had no character at all, no goals in life, no story, no voice, nothing beyond "He likes fishing". But I managed to work him into a future storylines, and that little bit of color to his character, and subsequently thinking about how to introduce that character development in little tidbits already allowed me to like writing about him much better 😊
As for characters I like... I like them all. I have favourites, but I like them all. I can't seem to make people unlikeable
@_sims_Yimi Everything you said about why you color-code makes sense and is smart. At just a glance, you can get an accurate sense of what types of events you have. Impressive.
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
Great question as others have already noticed. I'm curious about your response too.
In short, I write more for characters I like to write for and I don't care about giving my characters equal time.
I like every character I write for, but with my particular flavor of gameplay-based approach, it doesn't make sense for me to give equal time. I care about narratives and character development, but I also try to approach my characters as a journalist or historian would (as opposed to approaching them as a director or producer would). I may plan events, but I don't stage things and I think that I would have to begin staging various scenarios and forcing development if I wanted each character to have equal time. Now, even if an event is planned for A, if something interesting happens to B at the event, I'll focus on writing about B instead of A. I don't want to change that and I never set out to give each character equal coverage.
I don't like the image of me pushing any of my characters to the background (because I like all of them), and I'm a journalist/historian not a director so that's not what I see myself doing. They come forward on their own, but if I were to give everyone equal time, my story would never progress. I also don't think it's possible to play a household like that with (somewhat) normal aging on. Even though my pace is already slow (like 50+ posts on a single life stage for a single generation slow), I could probably literally list 100 things that I want to cover and hope to cover, but haven't yet. There's just no time or space for me to have more main characters. I try to give each character some time, but I have no qualms if the split is drastically uneven.
I agree with the idea that an even division may help readers connect with each character more evenly, but I don't care to have readers do that. The thought actually never crossed my mind. For me, I think maybe I need to highlight a certain aspect of that character's personality a bit more or a bit less because maybe I screwed up the balance, but I've never thought to make it the same as another character's. I've always seen them as being unique and requiring different things. Personality-wise, I also really dislike rigid structures and round numbers, because they often feel imprecise, forced, and unnatural to me (it's a personality quirk), so I don't strive for that kind of balance in my writing.
To be fair, though, my characters are also rather unlikable at first, which is also bad for having readers connect, but I just accept that as a loss for me for now.
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
That's...a bit of a tough one.
I do my best to give most characters some decent amount of lines. Even then, I generally have another way of showing which characters I like, and which ones I don't care for so much:
The ones I like are more likely to survive to the end of the story.
Otherwise, it helps to designate roles to any characters you write for, simlit or otherwise. Some examples may be:
Protagonist
Deuteragonist
Voice of reason
Love interest (I try not to use this one very often, but if I do, I attempt to expand that character. Or else it just falls flat)
Comic Relief (these are vital, I believe; without these, you run the risk of a story becoming too dark and unenjoyable. Then again, you can get rid of such a character to signal that a story is going to get darker)
Universal Punching Bag (this could probably be considered more of an offshoot of comic relief, with more slapstick)
Mascot (can be a pet, or a small child, or anything to that effect)
If you designate roles, and try to wedge in scenes throughout the story specifically for them (something along the lines of 'Meanwhile...'), then surely you can figure out how best to distribute screentime to you characters.
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
I write whatever POV tells my readers what I want them to hear. I hate some of my lot and hate writing as them even more, but if getting in their head is what the story needs next? Ugh, fine. Sometimes, writing for characters I loathe is a really good lesson. The lesson being, don't make any more horrible characters, Snuffy.
@_sims_Yimi What do you do? Don't keep us all in suspense!
How do you manage to do so much in one day? If I want something to be finished by 1pm, I can be certain it'll at least take till 3pm.
@miss_eulenauge Sometimes things run overtime or start late and when that happens, I'm generally okay with it. My schedules/plans aren't executed perfectly. Other than that, I'm not sure, but I do have a tendency to micromanage my sims and use the pause button frequently so that I can watch them all. I have some occult sims in my game too, which makes it easier because I can focus on them when the others are sleeping. My sims also tend to have active careers or use the work from home option for their careers, which adds flexibility. I don't use things that I consider overpowered like the never weary reward trait or other traits that eliminate needs, but those traits are also an option too for getting more time.
@everyone thank you for the long comments, they were super interesting! Only replying to haneul right now, because the days just don't have enough hours
@haneul That's interesting! I wonder of putting on the journalist lens would work with my style of writing&playing too. Lately I've been staging a lot, mostly because I had to do the text and get the screenshots independently (playing at night at home after everything is prepped, writing on the way to work and in the breaks).
I agree on slow stories. (And you're very smart to add main characters gradually, when you have capacity to, instead of throwing 6 kids in and then hoping you as writer can cope with the amount of Sims. )
Helping readers connect with the characters, adjusting the post lengths to fit their attention span etc... I always find that such a weird thought. I tell the story that wants to be told. I honestly never even think about readers
There's friends like you guys and the people in the challenge thread, who read my updates and give feedback once in a while, and whose opinion I value. "Readers" who want the story handed on a silver platter are somehow different and mit something I consider when writing. I guess there's readers too whose opinions I would value, but I don't ever notice them so far, so... This would probably different if I had it on a blog already, but we'll see.
I also read your story, and forgot to comment there somewhere!
Honestly, I liked your characters pretty well. I mean Asher's kind of a j*rk (I tried, that word is blocked by the forums), and I don't understand him. But then again I'm not good with people like... him. I'm curious why he is like that, what his story is, why he is this way in terms of character. But I guess your story is about the kids, and this mystery is beneficial to their plot and character development so I don't expect to find out anytime soon.
But Adeline was kind of nice? I mean we don't really know much about what's going on in her thoughts, how she *is*, and only what we can see. [Makes sense since you see yourself as journalist.] But she had some nice moments with her girls, and seems to care about them. She needs to do more Asher Damage Control though!
Oh and I love the thing with Aster and him only "immortalizing" Vampires through portraits. Although logically it should be the other way around, since the vampires are actually immortal already???
The other kids... Deli I really sympathize with. I love how you always say "sensitive to sun", "unique condition", etc. I love her storyline. And, echoing what I said above about Adelise, we know what's going on inside her, and how she feels, what she thinks. And for me at least that's the thing that makes me really connect to a character.
Dysis I also like, and know fairly well. I found it pretty ironic how she was envious of Deli and the other way around! For some reason I don't feel like I know her as well as Deli, she did get introspection too! Huh.
Then there's Dawn, I like her, she's the eldest, but honestly I can't remember much else about her (Please don't feel offended, I was reading with a giant sleep deficit, mostly at 4am while eating breakfast before early shift, so...)
And Darius again we don't really know. He's just this Simstagram rich kid, which is fair, but we don't know what he thinks, what he struggles with...
And I think I missed a kid. Sorry.
Overall, I want to crawl into the Heads of your characters and See what's going on there. Their thoughts, plans, worries, opinions on eg Asher that they wouldn't voice, just all that. Listen to them talk about such stuff, see what they write in their diaries... But I totally understand too if that's just not your style of writing and I have to wait for answers
Oh, and little elmire I adore already. For one, she's a toddler, but also from her character. Good Job shaking off these overbearing parents and their expectations!!! Curious to see what she'll be like.
Also, now I'm dying to know who the kid 1, 2 and 3 from your schedule are. I thought it was an old one, but it doesn't seem like it. Oh well, that's self-inflicted pain I guess
@RipuAncestor Thank you! A lot of it is in my head too, and only written out past bullet points when the chapter itself gets written. Do you ever forget things that you wanted to put in, and find out later that you forgot about it?
Oh yeah, I do forget. Sometimes it really bugs me, so I try to write the things I like the most down at least. One of the reasons I do so much planning in my head is that I plan my stories the best in situations where I don't really have much of a chance to write. Mainly biking, rollerblading and in the sauna . Or when I'm going to sleep. Then I usually make a quick note to my phone's calendar so it alerts me the next day and I can write it down properly.
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
I try to make the characters I know will be the focus of the story interesting for me to write so I won't mind writing any of them and giving them the attention they deserve. I write story-driven Simlit, so I approach the whole thing like a book or a TV series and try to think when giving a specific character screentime serves the story or is good for pacing etc. I don't think I have much of a problem pushing my favourites aside for a while to give others attention, but I will miss writing some characters if I need to take a break from their story. Right now I'm missing Novak and Vanja from Tango a lot, but there's a reason why I've let their story happen in the background (mainly because it is very slow-going at the moment despite the semi-exciting thing they're doing, and because I am going to tie them back into the other characters' story arcs soon), so I've held myself back from writing them pointlessly so the other story stuff can progress to the point they are relevant again.
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 agree on slow stories. (And you're very smart to add main characters gradually, when you have capacity to, instead of throwing 6 kids in and then hoping you as writer can cope with the amount of Sims. )
@miss_eulenauge Oh, but I had 8 characters in a household before and 5 of them were toddlers at the same time... and as you astutely noticed when you read my legacy (thanks so much ), some of them were hardly featured at all. As a result of being overwhelmed by 8, I reduced the household size a bit. Originally, having 8 felt okay, at least until the 5 youngest became young adults in university with different jobs and extracurriculars. Honestly, though, now that I've played with a smaller household for a while, I kind of miss the chaos, and even though I didn't explore or explain every character's story in-depth or even much at all in some cases, I also miss having other characters around who just had a different feel to them. Ironically, in some ways, it's also working out for me that their stories weren't explored when they were younger, because there's a little of that as a storyline now (e.g., you're doing this? Why were you so quiet and private when you were a kid at home?).
Thanks again for your comments on my legacy. Everyone here has inspired me to try some different things, and I haven't decided what exactly it is I'm going to try, but one aspect is probably just writing better. That's the goal - how to properly achieve it is where the difficulty is.
Anyway, I'll respond to your specific comments in the spoiler.
Honestly, I liked your characters pretty well. I mean Asher's kind of a j*rk (I tried, that word is blocked by the forums), and I don't understand him. But then again I'm not good with people like... him. I'm curious why he is like that, what his story is, why he is this way in terms of character. But I guess your story is about the kids, and this mystery is beneficial to their plot and character development so I don't expect to find out anytime soon.
Now that there are fewer people in the house, I've been able to focus on Asher's personality more. He's still obnoxious, but he's not nearly as bad as he used to be. It's not 100% my intention for him to be a mystery. On one hand I have issues that I'm working on fixing with pacing in my story (maybe I need longer chapters or more frequent chapters so that I can get to more), so I haven't revealed as much as I would like, but on the other hand, Asher genuinely never (or almost never) shows certain aspects of himself in front of others for various reasons some of which are caused by EA's code/the mechanics of the game and others somewhat by happenstance.
But Adeline was kind of nice? I mean we don't really know much about what's going on in her thoughts, how she *is*, and only what we can see. [Makes sense since you see yourself as journalist.] But she had some nice moments with her girls, and seems to care about them. She needs to do more Asher Damage Control though!
Hopefully, Adelise will be explained more soon. I have many things that I want to explain about her and Asher, but I've always cut those things because they were too long or I have otherwise just failed at working them into the storyline. They would be like flashbacks (they mostly happened in game, but before the current generation was born). When I said that my characters weren't really likeable, I did mean her - she's not hiding any secrets where she's mean, but fundamentally, I'm not sure that she has a personality that will resonate well with readers. Maybe… but as she appears now, no, I definitely don't think so. Only Deli, and to a lesser extent, Dysis do (which seems to be exactly how you read my legacy too). Adelise is rich, so she's not outwardly struggling or doing anything else that might make people feel for her. Generally she's nice to her kids, but that's pretty basic and the short chapters that have featured her haven't shown her in the best light - they've either been silly or just kind of whatever. Even if I reveal more about her, I'm not sure that a reader's lukewarm attitude/indifference will change, but I'll have fun, so I want to see what happens with it.
Overall, I want to crawl into the Heads of your characters and See what's going on there. Their thoughts, plans, worries, opinions on eg Asher that they wouldn't voice, just all that. Listen to them talk about such stuff, see what they write in their diaries... But I totally understand too if that's just not your style of writing and I have to wait for answers
That's good to know.
Sometimes skipping details is my style, but not always. There's also been a general failure of execution on my part. But, with Elmire, I've been able to do better because her chapters are newer. I have a better idea of how I want to write and present my characters now. I do like depth (a lot!) and I feel more comfortable doing more of it because I'm not as concerned about it being negatively received. I started introducing Elmire's character from before she was born, so hopefully there will be a lot for people to think about without there being too much.
There are a lot of interesting questions in this thread that I have unfortunately only seen right now.
I just resumed my story after a break.
My story is a kind of Plot Driven, but under the influence of what happens randomly in the game. Right now, so many crazy things are happening when I open my game to take pictures. This means that it is difficult to stay focused on the plot, while at the same time making the game fun and lively.
I assume that a lot of what is on my mind has already been debated.
I will spend some time reading the answers and keeping an eye on what questions arise next time.
@MonaSolstraale don't shy away from asking questions that are on your mind anyway! Answers can always change as people gain more experience with writing. And even if they don't, new people might pitch in with fresh perspectives 😊
I'll throw in a new one. No idea if this has been asked already but do you guys make seasonal specials? Like Halloween specials, or Valentines, or Xmas specials? Or do you keep writing as-is?
I usually skip Xmas but last year I did little things around Halloween and Valentines. My story is very tense and serious for long stretches of time, so being able to break free from that and just do silly things for a bit is a lot of fun. 😊
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
What a good question!
As a writer, I usually don't - but then again my writing style is just day-to-day (and also I have only been going since May, which excludes any major events like these ) To be honest, I didn't even think about it before. But now that you asked, I might!
As a reader, I like to read them, but also I simply like content... I don't really care much about these holidays in RL too so that might impact it. It's very sweet to see presents and family-bonding and cute clothes in the story, but I'd like a family outing just as well I think.
Oh, but since I actually read yours @_sims_Yimi - I remember this interlude with the dance poses! Did you mean that? It was nice to see the two happy, and very cute, but the connection to any RL holidays isn't one that holds much weight for me. But I can imagine others would really enjoy these too, so...
@MonaSolstraale we've in the past "re-used" / publicly answered old questions and then reacted to these answers again, or you can bring a new question. Nice to have you here in any case!
Hi @_sims_Yimi Thank you for the question and thank you for your invitation
I usually conduct all season parties and I love the seasons and the weather in the game. I also love to make my Sims happy when they accomplish the goals associated with a seasonal party.
In my current story, I play in some old saves from before the Seasons were released. It's way too complicated to have to think of seasons in that story, so I constantly have "summer".
It has no bearing on the themes of history that already unfold somewhere between reality and fiction.
@miss_eulenauge Thank you for your kindness
It was actually you who got me on the trail of this thread after we wrote together regarding WP links. I was looking for a comment and voila, now I'm here
@_sims_Yimi I have seasons in my game and my sims celebrate holidays, but they rarely line up with the RL calendar, so they don't work out as proper seasonal specials. I do have spooky day things coming up, though, so maybe I can line things up this time, but it won't be a full-blown special.
Regardless, I enjoy it when other people do this. It's fun to see characters in a different context. I'm also glad to see a question giving this thread some more life.
I have been collecting the questions that were asked in this whole thread into a Google Doc, and am *very* slowly making my way through and answering them for myself, but also posting my answers here so we can then talk about what we think.
If this is something you're interested in - here you go. I'm caught up until page 44, and it's 8 pages of questions currently, so quite a piece of work.
Oh yeah, and as always - please be aware of the fact that if you are logged into a google account with your offline name and then access a Google Doc shared online, that Offline Name will be visible. Be careful about your data and in doubt, please log out first or (like me) have a separate account under a pen name for stuff like this.
Oh, and for everyone: I have another question! I have written my story here on the forums for a while, but wasn't really satisfied. Bad writing, plot holes, really lackluster character development, loose ends... I basically wrote myself into a corner and had no motivation at all to continue. But I've been setting up a blog (hi @_sims_Yimi - almost done! I'll leave you a comment when it's public ) So I have decided not to simply transfer the updates and continue, but to start new - based on the old story and on the characters, but without worrying about continuity and loose ends that are almost impossible to tie in and such.
Now I've spent my lunch break writing an intro for that, and went off on a whole tangent telling about that story reboot. I really don't know if that's TMI for readers. You know? I feel like it's relevant for the story that these Sims have a history already, that there was that predecessor story - but at the same time, I don't know if that's just something "real SimLit authors" should keep to themselves, just saying "so guys, here's story!" And I worry that people would go and read the old stuff if I tell them it's there (even though I also said it's not intended as continuation and I did this specifically to not have to worry about continuity...) What do you think?
Or, more generally speaking: How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
It sounds like a huge amount of work and I will definitely look into the document when I have time.
I think it's so nice to be able to share thoughts about the creative process with others and that's why I was so happy when I saw this thread.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
I think a brief introduction to the prehistory might be a good idea because it might explain a little more about your protagonists' personality. We are all a product of our past and it affects our thoughts and actions in the time we live right now. This is what creates a personality.
I myself have resumed an old story that was once shared in the Danish Sims Forum and it is both a joy and a battle.
It's a joy to see how much I've learned about pictures, tips and tricks in the almost four years that have passed.
It's a battle when the unforeseen in the game goes in and changes my idea and my script.
I love to be inspired by chance.
I have shared a little bit about the thoughts around resuming the story in an introduction, but otherwise it is not something I discuss in the story.
@miss_eulenauge Whoah, you made a Google Doc? That's awesome! Also wow, that's a lot of questions we've asked here.
Do you guys make seasonal specials?
I've had some holiday-themed chapters in all my stories, but they're always, always at the wrong time, so no? I guess. There was one time I almost timed a Snowflake Day -chapter around the appropriate holidays, but even that wasn't completely timely. My Sims do celebrate some things, though.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
I like hearing about other people's creative processes, and sometimes I've shared a bit of mine. Especially here, I guess. I do that because I think it's a neat thing to share and it's fun. Also maybe talking about your creative process can help with understanding it better. Usually I have a short author's note at the end of each chapter where I may share like a word or two of behind-the-scenes things. I also think I had a sort of introduction post for Forget-Me-Not because I was extra unsure about even starting that story, and I felt that helped at the time.
I've sometimes thought about writing a sort of behind-the-scenes post for a celebratory moment or something. I just posted my 100th post on The Chrysanthemum Tango so I guess that might be a good one. But I didn't realise it was the 100th post until I'd posted it and haven't actually planned everything so we'll see.
Post edited by RipuAncestor on
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)
No. I don't have Seasons for....reasons. I'm following the chronological year of 1966 at the moment and the story is currently at May 10th. I skipped St Valentine's Day and I generally ignore the one off day holidays. Next big community one would be Halloween. and I don't have Spooky Stuff either. I haven't made plans yet.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
When I started the only history I shared with the readers were right at the start in the "Meet The Characters" chapter. Since then I've received a lot of feedback from my readers where they make observations about what's going on in Sim 66 or ask questions and I now engage with answering them and showing a bit of the creative process. That's a part of writing I really like; engaging with the readers.
As this is set in an historical time period the backstory can be found in a history book of the era. I might do more in-depth biographies of the characters if there's demand for them from the readers.
One idea I've toyed with is doing a "The Fashions of Sim 66" chapter or thread showing all the outfits of the main characters, premades and other background or supporting characters. Since the amount of 1960s era cc has increased a lot in recent months and with the addition of fingernails and toenails I've done a lot of makeovers to increase authenticity which might be nice to feature but not in the main story.
One idea I've toyed with is doing a "The Fashions of Sim 66" chapter or thread showing all the outfits of the main characters, premades and other background or supporting characters. Since the amount of 1960s era cc has increased a lot in recent months and with the addition of fingernails and toenails I've done a lot of makeovers to increase authenticity which might be nice to feature but not in the main story.
That sounds so cool!
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)
Comments
@miss_eulenauge I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I think it may be difficult to run parallel storylines if you're not staging your settings/stories or playing a bit ahead of your posts. With playing and then posting, there's not much opportunity to manage your settings because you don't know how interesting things will be.
I have a running list of events/topics/things I want to cover. It's very simple and I check them off as I go through them. As an example with arbitrary strikethroughs, and without a screenshot, it looks kind of like this:
Lots of things go on at once or around the same time, so I generally list them in an order that allows me to transition from sim to sim to hopefully keep things fresh and not 100% focus on the same stuff. But the events I list have already happened - it's just a question of what order I want to tell them in. I'm also not sure if I get the order/focus right because some of my sims are far more popular than others (who get me absolutely no reactions when I post
@_sims_Yimi That's a great excel chart. I'm curious about why you color code events. Do you want to make sure that you have a variety of types (for example, a balance of romantic/bad/etc.) and find that's an easy way to do that?
Thank you for the advice - it's very good, and I will reply as soon as I have time, but for now I will go to bed. Ugh. Been awake for 18,5 hours?! Oh god. I may hate myself tomorrow.
I didn't mean to happen them really at the same time, more -like you did in your chart- parallel. Say, on one SimDay 10am something happens with kid 2, and then at 1pm kid 1 meets his girlfriend, and so on. So that these storylines are both going on simultaneously and I have to keep switching around between them instead of finishing one first.
Does that make sense?
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
As for parallel plots, I might draw like parallel timelines and put short descriptions of the events that happen to each character in them. Not sure if I've done that physically or just in my head. I remember a couple of mind map -style things I've done and they've looked like a mess but they're just for me so as long as I can figure them out and sort them out in writing it's fine.
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 think I understand what you're saying about parallel storylines. I have an unusual memory, so when it comes to managing my sims' schedules in-game I only think about it. I don't write anything down. But, at some point, I think it's helpful to have another tool (like an excel sheet, a list, notes on paper, etc.) to aid with structure. I structure my storylines after playing. @_sims_Yimi uses excel to timeline events beforehand. So maybe coming up with a schedule, like you mentioned once before, would help? Sim A gets this time, Sim B this time, etc.
I don't exactly do that because I don't like rigid schedules, but I do at least consider how my sims will spend their time a few days in advance. Generally, I have them travel to other lots often (almost every sim day) based on the goals I set for each one and their school/work schedules/the calendar. When the children are at school, I often travel with the older sims/their parents, so mom and dad can run errands, go on dates, etc. If an underage sim has an A grade in school, I may have them take a vacation day or get a parent to write an excuse note, so that they can continue doing things at home or on other lots.
A lot of authors in this thread seem to have stories that are very separate from gameplay, though, so I'm curious to hear their perspectives because mine is gameplay-based and I label myself a legacy player (even though I don't actually have a "legacy" with heirs and such). As a gameplay-based player with aging on and not playing with long lifespans, this is an example of how I think about things (while writing nothing down):
Thursday:
Friday:
Most other days will be just as hectic, but I try to have one day a week where my sims do whatever autonomously to see what they can get up to on their own. The game isn't so fast-paced that I feel the need to have every sim be productive at every second even though I don't play on long lifespans.
ETA: There isn't enough time in RL or in-game for me to manage 8 sims with deep backgrounds, storylines, and independent friend networks. 3-5 feels like the sweet spot for me. Anything over that is pushing it. 8 for me is simply unworkable.
@_sims_Yimi You're right about the stereotypes, that can help! Although I always try to add a fun twist - like the badboy who actually lives with his granny in a small garden house...
I absolutely love that spreadsheet - I think I told you that already! I think after this comment I'll send you a PM asking about more details to all your spreadsheets, to perhaps do something similar once I fully understand how they work
Lol. Agree on writing it all down! I have a clipboard to use at work, that has loads of work-related stuff (so I can leave it lying around at my desk without it looking like not-work-stuff) and underneath about 50 post-its with Sims notes
@haneul Again I think I already said that, but you're right that stuff happening exactly at the same time is difficult. It'll be more interweaving, just like for you, with every kid having different stuff going on.
Thank you for sharing your "running list"! I think I had so much difficulty keeping track of my ideas because currently they aren't sorted into one cohesive timeline, just a post-it for each kid with notes on what might happen, but then several kids are involved in the same plots and it's a total mess
Then from these post-its, I usually pull 2-3 "issues" to feature every update - but then I usually have less and have a better idea of the timing. Thank you for the ideas on getting Sims out of the house, that's something I definitely need to work on!
On managing 8 Sims: That's a really good point, I hadn't even considered that. I think it'll get easier once the two eldest kids move out, but that's some time away. The toddlers don't have too much story yet, but still. I'll think about how I could get some of the kids out of the house for a while... But all my fun ideas! I really need to sort these timelines out.
Whew. In case you have any more advice...
@RipuAncestor Wish I had more of a good memory anywhere! But I guess I have been over-filling my head with facts...
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
I don’t think I can comment on your timetable (because I’m not a gameplay-driven writer), but dividing time between your cast equally might help with connecting with them, yes. How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background? (This might be a fun question for everyone, actually- I'll make it bold )
@RipuAncestor Thank you! A lot of it is in my head too, and only written out past bullet points when the chapter itself gets written. Do you ever forget things that you wanted to put in, and find out later that you forgot about it?
@miss_eulenauge Sure! PM away 😊 oooooh, I empathise with the work notes struggle so much. I have a giant notebook at work and a smaller one for sims, but I keep writing in the work one by accident because the ideas just keep coming. Once I was taking notes for a meeting, and halfway down the page it said “made decision X, plan by Y, find more medieval clothes for Arthur” in the same breath. It took me a moment to even realise 🤣
A really good question. Yes, I do have certain characters I really like and feel like giving more airtime to but I made a decision to make my story a rotational one so that does restrain me because they have to wait their turn before they feature again. However, a lot of my main characters often ending up appearing in each other's chapters.
Another bit of inside the workings of Sim 66: Every chapter features a main character as the focus and the next chapter focusses on one of the others. After 7 game days have been played of the last character to enter the story, I introduce a new one. That might be someone mentioned in the story before who gets promoted to main character or it might be someone completely new. So the Sneedleys were the last characters to enter the story and I've played 6 game days of them...we're due a new character very soon. I've worked out who that's going to be.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
How do you deal with characters that you like to write for more than others? Do you try to keep it equal and give everyone time to shine, or do you focus on the ones you like most and push the rest more to the background?
I try to give everyone time, but since I have more going on than "Screentime" available, they get pushed into the Background anyways. But at the same time I'll try to figure out what it is that bugs me about them, and how to Draw them back into the story. Eg for one of my characters, I really liked her as a kid, but somehow lost that connection as she grew up. And a few weeks ago, I noticed that her Outfit was really bugging me. I still liked the story and the intention behind it, but the items I chose (before I got into CC)... Just No
So luckily I was writing an update at the time, already screenshotted, so I worked her getting some pocket money and then going shopping into it to explain the sudden influx of pretty clothes, and then I gave her a makeover
Another one was just super flat and had no character at all, no goals in life, no story, no voice, nothing beyond "He likes fishing". But I managed to work him into a future storylines, and that little bit of color to his character, and subsequently thinking about how to introduce that character development in little tidbits already allowed me to like writing about him much better 😊
As for characters I like... I like them all. I have favourites, but I like them all. I can't seem to make people unlikeable
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
Great question as others have already noticed. I'm curious about your response too.
In short, I write more for characters I like to write for and I don't care about giving my characters equal time.
I like every character I write for, but with my particular flavor of gameplay-based approach, it doesn't make sense for me to give equal time. I care about narratives and character development, but I also try to approach my characters as a journalist or historian would (as opposed to approaching them as a director or producer would). I may plan events, but I don't stage things and I think that I would have to begin staging various scenarios and forcing development if I wanted each character to have equal time. Now, even if an event is planned for A, if something interesting happens to B at the event, I'll focus on writing about B instead of A. I don't want to change that and I never set out to give each character equal coverage.
I don't like the image of me pushing any of my characters to the background (because I like all of them), and I'm a journalist/historian not a director
I agree with the idea that an even division may help readers connect with each character more evenly, but I don't care to have readers do that.
To be fair, though, my characters are also rather unlikable at first, which is also bad for having readers connect, but I just accept that as a loss for me for now.
That's...a bit of a tough one.
I do my best to give most characters some decent amount of lines. Even then, I generally have another way of showing which characters I like, and which ones I don't care for so much:
Otherwise, it helps to designate roles to any characters you write for, simlit or otherwise. Some examples may be:
Deuteragonist
Voice of reason
Love interest (I try not to use this one very often, but if I do, I attempt to expand that character. Or else it just falls flat)
Comic Relief (these are vital, I believe; without these, you run the risk of a story becoming too dark and unenjoyable. Then again, you can get rid of such a character to signal that a story is going to get darker)
Universal Punching Bag (this could probably be considered more of an offshoot of comic relief, with more slapstick)
Mascot (can be a pet, or a small child, or anything to that effect)
If you designate roles, and try to wedge in scenes throughout the story specifically for them (something along the lines of 'Meanwhile...'), then surely you can figure out how best to distribute screentime to you characters.
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)
I write whatever POV tells my readers what I want them to hear. I hate some of my lot and hate writing as them even more, but if getting in their head is what the story needs next? Ugh, fine. Sometimes, writing for characters I loathe is a really good lesson. The lesson being, don't make any more horrible characters, Snuffy.
@_sims_Yimi What do you do? Don't keep us all in suspense!
@miss_eulenauge Sometimes things run overtime or start late and when that happens, I'm generally okay with it. My schedules/plans aren't executed perfectly. Other than that, I'm not sure, but I do have a tendency to micromanage my sims and use the pause button frequently so that I can watch them all. I have some occult sims in my game too, which makes it easier because I can focus on them when the others are sleeping. My sims also tend to have active careers or use the work from home option for their careers, which adds flexibility. I don't use things that I consider overpowered like the never weary reward trait or other traits that eliminate needs, but those traits are also an option too for getting more time.
@haneul That's interesting! I wonder of putting on the journalist lens would work with my style of writing&playing too. Lately I've been staging a lot, mostly because I had to do the text and get the screenshots independently (playing at night at home after everything is prepped, writing on the way to work and in the breaks).
I agree on slow stories. (And you're very smart to add main characters gradually, when you have capacity to, instead of throwing 6 kids in and then hoping you as writer can cope with the amount of Sims.
Helping readers connect with the characters, adjusting the post lengths to fit their attention span etc... I always find that such a weird thought. I tell the story that wants to be told. I honestly never even think about readers
There's friends like you guys and the people in the challenge thread, who read my updates and give feedback once in a while, and whose opinion I value. "Readers" who want the story handed on a silver platter are somehow different and mit something I consider when writing. I guess there's readers too whose opinions I would value, but I don't ever notice them so far, so... This would probably different if I had it on a blog already, but we'll see.
I also read your story, and forgot to comment there somewhere!
But Adeline was kind of nice? I mean we don't really know much about what's going on in her thoughts, how she *is*, and only what we can see. [Makes sense since you see yourself as journalist.] But she had some nice moments with her girls, and seems to care about them. She needs to do more Asher Damage Control though!
Oh and I love the thing with Aster and him only "immortalizing" Vampires through portraits. Although logically it should be the other way around, since the vampires are actually immortal already???
The other kids... Deli I really sympathize with. I love how you always say "sensitive to sun", "unique condition", etc. I love her storyline. And, echoing what I said above about Adelise, we know what's going on inside her, and how she feels, what she thinks. And for me at least that's the thing that makes me really connect to a character.
Dysis I also like, and know fairly well. I found it pretty ironic how she was envious of Deli and the other way around! For some reason I don't feel like I know her as well as Deli, she did get introspection too! Huh.
Then there's Dawn, I like her, she's the eldest, but honestly I can't remember much else about her
And Darius again we don't really know. He's just this Simstagram rich kid, which is fair, but we don't know what he thinks, what he struggles with...
And I think I missed a kid. Sorry.
Overall, I want to crawl into the Heads of your characters and See what's going on there. Their thoughts, plans, worries, opinions on eg Asher that they wouldn't voice, just all that. Listen to them talk about such stuff, see what they write in their diaries... But I totally understand too if that's just not your style of writing and I have to wait for answers
Oh, and little elmire I adore already. For one, she's a toddler, but also from her character. Good Job shaking off these overbearing parents and their expectations!!! Curious to see what she'll be like.
Also, now I'm dying to know who the kid 1, 2 and 3 from your schedule are. I thought it was an old one, but it doesn't seem like it. Oh well, that's self-inflicted pain I guess
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
I try to make the characters I know will be the focus of the story interesting for me to write so I won't mind writing any of them and giving them the attention they deserve. I write story-driven Simlit, so I approach the whole thing like a book or a TV series and try to think when giving a specific character screentime serves the story or is good for pacing etc. I don't think I have much of a problem pushing my favourites aside for a while to give others attention, but I will miss writing some characters if I need to take a break from their story. Right now I'm missing Novak and Vanja from Tango a lot, but there's a reason why I've let their story happen in the background (mainly because it is very slow-going at the moment despite the semi-exciting thing they're doing, and because I am going to tie them back into the other characters' story arcs soon), so I've held myself back from writing them pointlessly so the other story stuff can progress to the point they are relevant again.
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)
Thanks again for your comments on my legacy. Everyone here has inspired me to try some different things, and I haven't decided what exactly it is I'm going to try, but one aspect is probably just writing better. That's the goal - how to properly achieve it is where the difficulty is.
Anyway, I'll respond to your specific comments in the spoiler.
Hopefully, Adelise will be explained more soon. I have many things that I want to explain about her and Asher, but I've always cut those things because they were too long or I have otherwise just failed at working them into the storyline. They would be like flashbacks (they mostly happened in game, but before the current generation was born). When I said that my characters weren't really likeable, I did mean her - she's not hiding any secrets where she's mean, but fundamentally, I'm not sure that she has a personality that will resonate well with readers. Maybe… but as she appears now, no, I definitely don't think so. Only Deli, and to a lesser extent, Dysis do (which seems to be exactly how you read my legacy too). Adelise is rich, so she's not outwardly struggling or doing anything else that might make people feel for her. Generally she's nice to her kids, but that's pretty basic and the short chapters that have featured her haven't shown her in the best light - they've either been silly or just kind of whatever. Even if I reveal more about her, I'm not sure that a reader's lukewarm attitude/indifference will change, but I'll have fun, so I want to see what happens with it.
That's good to know.
Sometimes skipping details is my style, but not always.
I just resumed my story after a break.
My story is a kind of Plot Driven, but under the influence of what happens randomly in the game. Right now, so many crazy things are happening when I open my game to take pictures. This means that it is difficult to stay focused on the plot, while at the same time making the game fun and lively.
I assume that a lot of what is on my mind has already been debated.
I will spend some time reading the answers and keeping an eye on what questions arise next time.
I'll throw in a new one. No idea if this has been asked already but do you guys make seasonal specials? Like Halloween specials, or Valentines, or Xmas specials? Or do you keep writing as-is?
I usually skip Xmas but last year I did little things around Halloween and Valentines. My story is very tense and serious for long stretches of time, so being able to break free from that and just do silly things for a bit is a lot of fun. 😊
As a writer, I usually don't - but then again my writing style is just day-to-day (and also I have only been going since May, which excludes any major events like these
As a reader, I like to read them, but also I simply like content... I don't really care much about these holidays in RL too so that might impact it. It's very sweet to see presents and family-bonding and cute clothes in the story, but I'd like a family outing just as well I think.
Oh, but since I actually read yours @_sims_Yimi - I remember this interlude with the dance poses! Did you mean that? It was nice to see the two happy, and very cute, but the connection to any RL holidays isn't one that holds much weight for me. But I can imagine others would really enjoy these too, so...
@MonaSolstraale we've in the past "re-used" / publicly answered old questions and then reacted to these answers again, or you can bring a new question. Nice to have you here in any case!
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
I usually conduct all season parties and I love the seasons and the weather in the game. I also love to make my Sims happy when they accomplish the goals associated with a seasonal party.
In my current story, I play in some old saves from before the Seasons were released. It's way too complicated to have to think of seasons in that story, so I constantly have "summer".
It has no bearing on the themes of history that already unfold somewhere between reality and fiction.
@miss_eulenauge Thank you for your kindness
It was actually you who got me on the trail of this thread after we wrote together regarding WP links. I was looking for a comment and voila, now I'm here
Regardless, I enjoy it when other people do this. It's fun to see characters in a different context. I'm also glad to see a question giving this thread some more life.
I have been collecting the questions that were asked in this whole thread into a Google Doc, and am *very* slowly making my way through and answering them for myself, but also posting my answers here so we can then talk about what we think.
If this is something you're interested in - here you go.
Oh yeah, and as always - please be aware of the fact that if you are logged into a google account with your offline name and then access a Google Doc shared online, that Offline Name will be visible. Be careful about your data and in doubt, please log out first or (like me) have a separate account under a pen name for stuff like this.
Oh, and for everyone: I have another question! I have written my story here on the forums for a while, but wasn't really satisfied. Bad writing, plot holes, really lackluster character development, loose ends... I basically wrote myself into a corner and had no motivation at all to continue. But I've been setting up a blog (hi @_sims_Yimi - almost done! I'll leave you a comment when it's public
Now I've spent my lunch break writing an intro for that, and went off on a whole tangent telling about that story reboot. I really don't know if that's TMI for readers. You know? I feel like it's relevant for the story that these Sims have a history already, that there was that predecessor story - but at the same time, I don't know if that's just something "real SimLit authors" should keep to themselves, just saying "so guys, here's story!" And I worry that people would go and read the old stuff if I tell them it's there (even though I also said it's not intended as continuation and I did this specifically to not have to worry about continuity...) What do you think?
Or, more generally speaking: How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
I think it's so nice to be able to share thoughts about the creative process with others and that's why I was so happy when I saw this thread.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
I think a brief introduction to the prehistory might be a good idea because it might explain a little more about your protagonists' personality. We are all a product of our past and it affects our thoughts and actions in the time we live right now. This is what creates a personality.
I myself have resumed an old story that was once shared in the Danish Sims Forum and it is both a joy and a battle.
It's a joy to see how much I've learned about pictures, tips and tricks in the almost four years that have passed.
It's a battle when the unforeseen in the game goes in and changes my idea and my script.
I love to be inspired by chance.
I have shared a little bit about the thoughts around resuming the story in an introduction, but otherwise it is not something I discuss in the story.
Do you guys make seasonal specials?
I've had some holiday-themed chapters in all my stories, but they're always, always at the wrong time, so no? I guess. There was one time I almost timed a Snowflake Day -chapter around the appropriate holidays, but even that wasn't completely timely. My Sims do celebrate some things, though.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
I like hearing about other people's creative processes, and sometimes I've shared a bit of mine. Especially here, I guess. I do that because I think it's a neat thing to share and it's fun. Also maybe talking about your creative process can help with understanding it better. Usually I have a short author's note at the end of each chapter where I may share like a word or two of behind-the-scenes things. I also think I had a sort of introduction post for Forget-Me-Not because I was extra unsure about even starting that story, and I felt that helped at the time.
I've sometimes thought about writing a sort of behind-the-scenes post for a celebratory moment or something. I just posted my 100th post on The Chrysanthemum Tango so I guess that might be a good one. But I didn't realise it was the 100th post until I'd posted it and haven't actually planned everything so we'll see.
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)
No. I don't have Seasons for....reasons. I'm following the chronological year of 1966 at the moment and the story is currently at May 10th. I skipped St Valentine's Day and I generally ignore the one off day holidays. Next big community one would be Halloween. and I don't have Spooky Stuff either. I haven't made plans yet.
How much of your creative process and of the history of your story do you share with readers? Why? How do you share what you do? What are your thoughts?
When I started the only history I shared with the readers were right at the start in the "Meet The Characters" chapter. Since then I've received a lot of feedback from my readers where they make observations about what's going on in Sim 66 or ask questions and I now engage with answering them and showing a bit of the creative process. That's a part of writing I really like; engaging with the readers.
As this is set in an historical time period the backstory can be found in a history book of the era. I might do more in-depth biographies of the characters if there's demand for them from the readers.
One idea I've toyed with is doing a "The Fashions of Sim 66" chapter or thread showing all the outfits of the main characters, premades and other background or supporting characters. Since the amount of 1960s era cc has increased a lot in recent months and with the addition of fingernails and toenails I've done a lot of makeovers to increase authenticity which might be nice to feature but not in the main story.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
That sounds so cool!
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)