I was wondering how do you guys come up with surnames?
I randomise all my names for my story :oops: Even the first names. Mostly because I have no creativity when it comes to stuff like that. I really like randomising names actually. Sometimes I'll get a name which I don't love at first but decide to stick with it for that character and it actually turns into one which I love and can't imagine that character being called anything else (if that makes sense)
wickedjr89 wrote:
I was wondering how do you guys come up with surnames?
I often struggle - the ones I tink of are always completely inappropriate - I once almost made a trailer-park family with the surname Fitzgerald. Then I realised that was ridiculous!
Mostly I cycle through names of friends, celebs I like, roads I've lived on, people I knew at school etc. until I find something that flows nicely with the first name. That's actually how I came up with my legacy idea - I used the name Monroe for a family and thought to myself, maybe this is Marilyn's sister. Ooooh - what if she really HAD a sister.....
Sometimes though I play the EA game and relate it to their personality. Call a nature lover XXXX Woods, a grimpy sim XXXXX Crotchet or a handy sim XXXXXX Sparks.
I also try to avoid single syllable names if its a legacy or something where I'm going to have to pick out loads of baby names. This is because I think that it reduces your options, I personally think that a one syllable first name rarely works rhythmically with a one syllable surname - there are exceptions but most syllable patterns run on fine with a surname of two or more syllables.
I was wondering how do you guys come up with surnames? I can come up with first names out the wazoo, I love names and am rather obsessed . I'll have a list of names in mind for a sim I create and when I make them the sim will end up screaming at me at some point "THAT IS MY NAME!" lol. Last names though can stump me, I google common surnames and come up with a list of a few thousand (on a link) and just run through it to find one that fits generally. Last names never yell at me. :?
Hey there! For me, I just open up the phone book and randomly point at a name. LOL. If the name is too weird I'll pick another. I'm so not original. Haha.
@Everyone: Sorry I haven't been around in a few days, been working my socks off. I'm exhausted and so behind on working on my next chapter. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. And since its pouring rain out it's making me exhausted. *Looks out window* Omg its now SNOWING *Curls into fetal position and cries*
Hey there! For me, I just open up the phone book and randomly point at a name. LOL. If the name is too weird I'll pick another. I'm so not original. Haha.
@Everyone: Sorry I haven't been around in a few days, been working my socks off. I'm exhausted and so behind on working on my next chapter. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. And since its pouring rain out it's making me exhausted. *Looks out window* Omg its now SNOWING *Curls into fetal position and cries*
For names, right now, I just go with ones that might sound good and sometimes I get out my baby name book, too.
amandralynn - It was so nice yesterday (except the wind) with a temp of around 75. However, today it drops and tomorrow it snows. Boo! I'm with you!
*flops in chair after getting home from work* One down, three to go!
With regard to surnames, I find that lists help me. Here's a great Wikipedia page of List of Lists.
For a legacy you might choose an unusual gemstone for a surname, and then use other gemstones as first names. So you might have Chrysocolla as the surname with maybe the parents called Opal and Jasper. Their children could be Jade, Ruby, and Amber, etc etc.
Another great resource is Yafnag - the Fantasy Name Generator. I've used that a lot for character names for my stories. You don't have to use the entirety of a name; just part of an interesting one could work. An added bonus is that you get names from it that could work as either first or last names. Just keep refreshing until you have enough!
Here's a question I'm struggling with an answer to lately. How do you guys measure time? Do you make it up? I'm so logic and almost so exact that when a sim gets pregnant, I want to say (because of the game) that she had her baby in 3 days. The baby aged up in 2 days. However, because it just sounds so ludicrous at the same time, it's hard for me to feel like it's ok.
I read so many other stories of how 1 day is 3 months (IE: pregnancy). It jumps so fast that nothing much happens. How do you fill in all that time? I mean, nothing exciting happened in that 3 month time period? No one got promotions? I guess I just need some ideas of how to handle it. I'm not that good at making things up. LOL! TIA!
I read so many other stories of how 1 day is 3 months (IE: pregnancy). It jumps so fast that nothing much happens. How do you fill in all that time? I mean, nothing exciting happened in that 3 month time period? No one got promotions?
Well, I guess if you think about real life in general then as a rule nothing much does happen in three months! There may be the occasional interesting thing here and there which would be noteworthy, but a way to handle this might be to ponder the following question:
"What would [ X ] Sim be writing in his/her diary for this time period?"
Kids would just be going to school, doing homework, playing etc. Parents would be working, maybe one might get a raise or promotion, or another might meet up with an old schoolfriend they've not seen in ages, but the average daily life of most people is just that: average. You've considered your Sim's diary, now consider your own. Look back through it (if you keep one; if not, try to remember the past three months of your life) and see what happened to you.
Most readers would, I think, instinctively get the fact that Not Much Happens, because they know it from their own lives. You could pepper a few bits and pieces in here and there: lunch dates with friends, playdates for the kids, maybe a minor mishap here and there, such as a minor accident in the car or the panic of a kid losing the front door key they've been entrusted with. But, overall, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
I'm getting around the time difference by having the baby in another game save (same couple) and saving it to the bin. It'll be introduced into the main game save when it's time to be born
@nerogaffling- Sorry names escape you like they do! I have a baby name book but I also mostly use baby name websites. My favorites are nameberry.com and behindthename.com.
@lotstar2703- I think it makes sense. I don't think I could ever do that though lol. If I create a sim in CAS I think about what they will be like and their backstory, and then find a name that fits them. If they are born in game I name the baby something the parents would name them.
@sneakysnoo- I'm actually related to Woods and Sparks on my dad's side! Lol. And the answer does help. Thanks!
@Amandralynn- Sorry the weather sucks there . I don't have a phone book but there is a site that has 50,000 surnames listed from most to least common in the US. O.O It's a lot but just randomly searching through it can help sometimes.
@ReyaStarck- Thanks for the links! I'll check them out .
@lovesstorms- I have my sims lifespans set in a way that 1 year=4 sim days, so 1 day is 3 months. The lifespan needed to be set long to do it but once we got that option I was in love with it. I mention the time as appropriate but...I guess I just do the best I can and I don't think that's any help. Lol sorry. And like ReyaStarck said not much tends to happen in 3 months so I don't worry about it so much.
Hi everyone! I've read most of the this thread and I absolutely love it. I've found some really great tips.
My only tip I can think of is to just write and let the story flow because you can always go back and edit it to make it work. At times I find myself trying to force the story and to make sure it works. This usually leads me to stop writing and get stuck.
Sorry MunnieSims, Someone ate all the cookies... lol
As for the time frame; I don't really have one, because MY Sims have some glitched where the age span says they never grow up... but it's not like just the supernaturals, two of my humans have it, my alien, an ex-vampire, one of the werewolves, it's not consistent; so I just age them when it feels right in the story or looks about right in that time of their life.
Here's a question I'm struggling with an answer to lately. How do you guys measure time? Do you make it up? I'm so logic and almost so exact that when a sim gets pregnant, I want to say (because of the game) that she had her baby in 3 days. The baby aged up in 2 days. However, because it just sounds so ludicrous at the same time, it's hard for me to feel like it's ok.
I read so many other stories of how 1 day is 3 months (IE: pregnancy). It jumps so fast that nothing much happens. How do you fill in all that time? I mean, nothing exciting happened in that 3 month time period? No one got promotions? I guess I just need some ideas of how to handle it. I'm not that good at making things up. LOL! TIA!
I like to use days=days then week=jump. The thing about a day being months is that if you, say, don't talk to a friend for a few days then you haven't spoken to them in months. Too much needed to be established in days.
So my original legacy was a day is a day then a week is five years. Its a HUGE jump...but mathematically it worked and I adjusted my lifespans to match.
Baby 3 days = about 2 years = 2 yrs old
Toddler 5 days= about 3.5 years= 5 1/2 yrs old
Child 10 days = about 7.5 years= 13 yrs old
Teen 11 days = about 8 years= 21 yrs old
Young Adult 21 days= 15 years = 36 yrs old
Adult 21 days= 15 years = 51 yrs old
Elder 19 days = about 13.5 years = 64.5 yrs old
Then when seasons came out I had to adjust things again.
So one week was one season, therefore about three months ish. Then a year was a year BUT it jumps after to about 5 years.
and my lifespands are now
Baby = 7 days
Toddler = 21 days
(so they would have their first Snowflake day as a baby or a toddler)
Child = 28
Teen= 28
YA = 70
Adult= 70
Elder= 28
Its not really a perfect years system anymore, since it was more important to me that every age get to experience every season.
The other thing is...if I were writing a more story/drama it would matter to me more. BUT I am doing the comedy commentary style...and I just say that they are used to how time works in their sim world!
My Blog story with the challenge of my own design! Click and see!
Thanks everyone! I have a lot to ponder about. Being a wishacy, it's a little harder to do big jumps, but I'll think about it and see what I can do. I'm in the editing portion of my next chapter and I just needed some guidance.
I know for my Uni chapter, she graduated within the 4 weeks and I tried to make it sound natural. I think no matter what I choose as long as it continues to sound natural, then it should work.
whoa whoa whoa! I've only been absent for about three days and i'm already four whole pages behind! What's going on here?
Firstly:
I was wondering how do you guys come up with surnames? I can come up with first names out the wazoo, I love names and am rather obsessed . I'll have a list of names in mind for a sim I create and when I make them the sim will end up screaming at me at some point "THAT IS MY NAME!" lol. Last names though can stump me, I google common surnames and come up with a list of a few thousand (on a link) and just run through it to find one that fits generally. Last names never yell at me.
I just google surnames. I'm really really unimaginative with my names but i have a thing for alliterative names; two characters I had (in separate stories) were called Tristan Turner and Jolene Jones. I think it's kinda cute or something - but in reality I just punched "common American surnames" into wikipedia and whatever came up i just used.
I'm good with first names though - there's always some meaning behind the first name for me because that way i feel more connected to the character or something.
@Amandralynn it's snowing? Oh god - that sucks (In April?) i hope you have time to chill out after all that hard work - it can be such a killer sometimes.
Here's a question I'm struggling with an answer to lately. How do you guys measure time? Do you make it up?
I measure using real time. If someone is pregnant then it's nine months, it's a whole year between birthdays etc, but i know this answer probably isn't much help because I don't do legacies - most of my stories take place over a period of months, not a lifetime
Ahh good to see the cookies popping up again!
I have been so busy over the last few days so sorry for not stopping by - it's starting to get "hot" in Ireland, and I use the term lightly because our summers never go much higher than thirty Celsius. So today I hung out in the city and went to the zoo and took the train to this cute little village and had coffee and then walked around in the sun for a while - but I am EXHAUSTED. I'm going to read some stories that i need to catch up on now and then go to bed *phew*
Here's a question I'm struggling with an answer to lately. How do you guys measure time? Do you make it up? I'm so logic and almost so exact that when a sim gets pregnant, I want to say (because of the game) that she had her baby in 3 days. The baby aged up in 2 days. However, because it just sounds so ludicrous at the same time, it's hard for me to feel like it's ok.
I read so many other stories of how 1 day is 3 months (IE: pregnancy). It jumps so fast that nothing much happens. How do you fill in all that time? I mean, nothing exciting happened in that 3 month time period? No one got promotions? I guess I just need some ideas of how to handle it. I'm not that good at making things up. LOL! TIA!
I like to write in real time but I generally don't have a "set" amount of years to days. I kinda just think vaguely that 1 day=1 year due to the lifespan of 90 days but it's not something I stick to since there are things wrong with that (the biggest being pregnancy would be 3 years... poor pregnant sim). But when 'm writing I usually don't play day by day, I'll just take photos whenever and fill in the time later.
@lotstar2703- I think it makes sense. I don't think I could ever do that though lol. If I create a sim in CAS I think about what they will be like and their backstory, and then find a name that fits them. If they are born in game I name the baby something the parents would name them.
I get what you mean, it's weird for me since I didn't think I would be able to do it either, but I was surprised at how fitting some of the names I got turned out to be. If I really hate a name or it doesn't fit I'll rerandomise of course, but overall randomising always goes well for me so it's just what I do (plus I love sitting there on behindthename and randomising)
Oh my I didn't even know behindthename had a randomizer! I love behindthename but never paid enough attention to the top of the page lol. I'll have to play with it now .
Again, I am so very grateful to all of you who are so helpful!! :-o I hate to come in here and not say anything, but it is really late. I'll try to get on tomorrow. Just wanted to share that I have my next chapter up! Thanks so much to those who read and comment! I appreciate it so very much!!
Anyway, I have a question for all you folks who use Wordpress, is there a way to disable the thing where you have to approve comments before they show up? Because I had five comments which I didn't realise I had because I wasn't aware I had to approve them in my dashboard :oops: Is there a way to turn that off so all comments show up automatically? Because I know I'll forget to approve comments (absent-minded is definitely one of my traits) and they'll sit there forever unread by me.
Anyway, I have a question for all you folks who use Wordpress, is there a way to disable the thing where you have to approve comments before they show up? Because I had five comments which I didn't realise I had because I wasn't aware I had to approve them in my dashboard :oops: Is there a way to turn that off so all comments show up automatically? Because I know I'll forget to approve comments (absent-minded is definitely one of my traits) and they'll sit there forever unread by me.
Why yes, there is a way, and I tend to forget also, so that's okay you are not alone.
I took a screenshot because I am lazy also, and didn't want to just type it all out and then confuse people.
I just hope it helped... If not I can TRY to do a step by step... but I suck at that.
I've got my seasons set for 15 days for each season and have to work from that with the lifespans.
I've got the baby stage set for 60 days.
Toddler is 120 days
Child stage is supposed to last 360 days,but I can't get it that long without cheating the aging meter in Master Controller.
Kid stage lasts for 180 days and it's when they got teen sprites.
Teen and Young Adult is from 720 up to 1080 days and covers teen and young adult stages with the young adult sprites.
Adults can get about 1440 days and have adult sprites.
Elders can get 360 days or more on average and get elder sprites.
I reset the age meters for child,young adult,adult and elder stages because of having Seasons and playing multiple households.
Comments
I randomise all my names for my story :oops: Even the first names. Mostly because I have no creativity when it comes to stuff like that. I really like randomising names actually. Sometimes I'll get a name which I don't love at first but decide to stick with it for that character and it actually turns into one which I love and can't imagine that character being called anything else
I often struggle - the ones I tink of are always completely inappropriate - I once almost made a trailer-park family with the surname Fitzgerald. Then I realised that was ridiculous!
Mostly I cycle through names of friends, celebs I like, roads I've lived on, people I knew at school etc. until I find something that flows nicely with the first name. That's actually how I came up with my legacy idea - I used the name Monroe for a family and thought to myself, maybe this is Marilyn's sister. Ooooh - what if she really HAD a sister.....
Sometimes though I play the EA game and relate it to their personality. Call a nature lover XXXX Woods, a grimpy sim XXXXX Crotchet or a handy sim XXXXXX Sparks.
I also try to avoid single syllable names if its a legacy or something where I'm going to have to pick out loads of baby names. This is because I think that it reduces your options, I personally think that a one syllable first name rarely works rhythmically with a one syllable surname - there are exceptions but most syllable patterns run on fine with a surname of two or more syllables.
WOW! That was a long answer - hope it helps
Hey there!
@Everyone: Sorry I haven't been around in a few days, been working my socks off. I'm exhausted and so behind on working on my next chapter. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. And since its pouring rain out it's making me exhausted. *Looks out window* Omg its now SNOWING *Curls into fetal position and cries*
For names, right now, I just go with ones that might sound good and sometimes I get out my baby name book, too.
amandralynn - It was so nice yesterday (except the wind) with a temp of around 75. However, today it drops and tomorrow it snows. Boo! I'm with you!
Seeking a Cure for PSC
From Lifehack.org - 20 Things About Highly Creative People
Simblr
With regard to surnames, I find that lists help me. Here's a great Wikipedia page of List of Lists.
For a legacy you might choose an unusual gemstone for a surname, and then use other gemstones as first names. So you might have Chrysocolla as the surname with maybe the parents called Opal and Jasper. Their children could be Jade, Ruby, and Amber, etc etc.
Another great resource is Yafnag - the Fantasy Name Generator. I've used that a lot for character names for my stories. You don't have to use the entirety of a name; just part of an interesting one could work. An added bonus is that you get names from it that could work as either first or last names. Just keep refreshing until you have enough!
I read so many other stories of how 1 day is 3 months (IE: pregnancy). It jumps so fast that nothing much happens. How do you fill in all that time? I mean, nothing exciting happened in that 3 month time period? No one got promotions? I guess I just need some ideas of how to handle it.
Seeking a Cure for PSC
From Lifehack.org - 20 Things About Highly Creative People
Simblr
"What would [ X ] Sim be writing in his/her diary for this time period?"
Kids would just be going to school, doing homework, playing etc. Parents would be working, maybe one might get a raise or promotion, or another might meet up with an old schoolfriend they've not seen in ages, but the average daily life of most people is just that: average. You've considered your Sim's diary, now consider your own. Look back through it (if you keep one; if not, try to remember the past three months of your life) and see what happened to you.
Most readers would, I think, instinctively get the fact that Not Much Happens, because they know it from their own lives. You could pepper a few bits and pieces in here and there: lunch dates with friends, playdates for the kids, maybe a minor mishap here and there, such as a minor accident in the car or the panic of a kid losing the front door key they've been entrusted with. But, overall, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
I'm getting around the time difference by having the baby in another game save (same couple) and saving it to the bin. It'll be introduced into the main game save when it's time to be born
@lotstar2703- I think it makes sense.
@sneakysnoo- I'm actually related to Woods and Sparks on my dad's side! Lol. And the answer does help.
@Amandralynn- Sorry the weather sucks there
@ReyaStarck- Thanks for the links! I'll check them out
@lovesstorms- I have my sims lifespans set in a way that 1 year=4 sim days, so 1 day is 3 months. The lifespan needed to be set long to do it but once we got that option I was in love with it. I mention the time as appropriate but...I guess I just do the best I can and I don't think that's any help. Lol sorry. And like ReyaStarck said not much tends to happen in 3 months so I don't worry about it so much.
My Simblr http://wickedjr89gaming.tumblr.com/
My only tip I can think of is to just write and let the story flow because you can always go back and edit it to make it work. At times I find myself trying to force the story and to make sure it works. This usually leads me to stop writing and get stuck.
Oh and about those cookies....
As for the time frame; I don't really have one, because MY Sims have some glitched where the age span says they never grow up... but it's not like just the supernaturals, two of my humans have it, my alien, an ex-vampire, one of the werewolves, it's not consistent; so I just age them when it feels right in the story or looks about right in that time of their life.
YOU GUYS PROMISED ME COOKIES!!!!!!!
Munnie Smash
Lol
...... but seriously about those cookies.....
I like to use days=days then week=jump. The thing about a day being months is that if you, say, don't talk to a friend for a few days then you haven't spoken to them in months. Too much needed to be established in days.
So my original legacy was a day is a day then a week is five years. Its a HUGE jump...but mathematically it worked and I adjusted my lifespans to match.
Baby 3 days = about 2 years = 2 yrs old
Toddler 5 days= about 3.5 years= 5 1/2 yrs old
Child 10 days = about 7.5 years= 13 yrs old
Teen 11 days = about 8 years= 21 yrs old
Young Adult 21 days= 15 years = 36 yrs old
Adult 21 days= 15 years = 51 yrs old
Elder 19 days = about 13.5 years = 64.5 yrs old
Then when seasons came out I had to adjust things again.
So one week was one season, therefore about three months ish. Then a year was a year BUT it jumps after to about 5 years.
and my lifespands are now
Baby = 7 days
Toddler = 21 days
(so they would have their first Snowflake day as a baby or a toddler)
Child = 28
Teen= 28
YA = 70
Adult= 70
Elder= 28
Its not really a perfect years system anymore, since it was more important to me that every age get to experience every season.
The other thing is...if I were writing a more story/drama it would matter to me more. BUT I am doing the comedy commentary style...and I just say that they are used to how time works in their sim world!
I know for my Uni chapter, she graduated within the 4 weeks and I tried to make it sound natural. I think no matter what I choose as long as it continues to sound natural, then it should work.
::::scrambles to find more cookies::::
Seeking a Cure for PSC
From Lifehack.org - 20 Things About Highly Creative People
Simblr
Cookies! *takes a cookie*
My Simblr http://wickedjr89gaming.tumblr.com/
As for ages, I went through this whole thing and did calculations:
I completely ignore the weeks because those can't be changed.
Days in a Year - 28
Months in a Year - 4
Seasons in a Year - 4
Days in a Month - 7
7 days/month
4 months/year
75 years total (average life span)
7 days/season
Age Chart in Sim Days:
1 Year is 28 Sim days
1 month is 7 days
1 Season is 7 days
Age: Max 300 months, 2100 Sim days
Life State
Months, Days, Real Time in Years, Cumulative Age
Baby
4, 28, 1, 1
Toddler
16, 112, 4, 5
Child
24, 168, 6, 11
Teen
28, 196, 7, 18
Young Adult
88, 616, 22, 40
Adult
80, 560, 20, 60
Elder
60, 420, 15, 75
Pregnancy
3, 21
All Seasons - 28 days
Summer - 7
Winter - 7
Spring - 7
Fall - 7
My Simblr http://wickedjr89gaming.tumblr.com/
:Takes a cookie and savors it slowly:
Firstly:
I just google surnames. I'm really really unimaginative with my names but i have a thing for alliterative names; two characters I had (in separate stories) were called Tristan Turner and Jolene Jones. I think it's kinda cute or something - but in reality I just punched "common American surnames" into wikipedia and whatever came up i just used.
I'm good with first names though - there's always some meaning behind the first name for me because that way i feel more connected to the character or something.
@Amandralynn it's snowing? Oh god - that sucks (In April?) i hope you have time to chill out after all that hard work - it can be such a killer sometimes.
I measure using real time. If someone is pregnant then it's nine months, it's a whole year between birthdays etc, but i know this answer probably isn't much help because I don't do legacies - most of my stories take place over a period of months, not a lifetime
Ahh good to see the cookies popping up again!
I have been so busy over the last few days so sorry for not stopping by - it's starting to get "hot" in Ireland, and I use the term lightly because our summers never go much higher than thirty Celsius. So today I hung out in the city and went to the zoo and took the train to this cute little village and had coffee and then walked around in the sun for a while - but I am EXHAUSTED. I'm going to read some stories that i need to catch up on now and then go to bed *phew*
I like to write in real time but I generally don't have a "set" amount of years to days. I kinda just think vaguely that 1 day=1 year due to the lifespan of 90 days but it's not something I stick to since there are things wrong with that (the biggest being pregnancy would be 3 years... poor pregnant sim). But when 'm writing I usually don't play day by day, I'll just take photos whenever and fill in the time later.
I get what you mean, it's weird for me since I didn't think I would be able to do it either, but I was surprised at how fitting some of the names I got turned out to be. If I really hate a name or it doesn't fit I'll rerandomise of course, but overall randomising always goes well for me so it's just what I do (plus I love sitting there on behindthename and randomising)
OH, and I see cookies! *nomnomnom* :thumbup:
My Simblr http://wickedjr89gaming.tumblr.com/
1.19 - A Honeymoon and Baby Bumps
Seeking a Cure for PSC
From Lifehack.org - 20 Things About Highly Creative People
Simblr
Anyway, I have a question for all you folks who use Wordpress, is there a way to disable the thing where you have to approve comments before they show up? Because I had five comments which I didn't realise I had because I wasn't aware I had to approve them in my dashboard :oops: Is there a way to turn that off so all comments show up automatically? Because I know I'll forget to approve comments (absent-minded is definitely one of my traits) and they'll sit there forever unread by me.
Why yes, there is a way, and I tend to forget also, so that's okay you are not alone.
I took a screenshot because I am lazy also, and didn't want to just type it all out and then confuse people.
I just hope it helped... If not I can TRY to do a step by step... but I suck at that.
I've got the baby stage set for 60 days.
Toddler is 120 days
Child stage is supposed to last 360 days,but I can't get it that long without cheating the aging meter in Master Controller.
Kid stage lasts for 180 days and it's when they got teen sprites.
Teen and Young Adult is from 720 up to 1080 days and covers teen and young adult stages with the young adult sprites.
Adults can get about 1440 days and have adult sprites.
Elders can get 360 days or more on average and get elder sprites.
I reset the age meters for child,young adult,adult and elder stages because of having Seasons and playing multiple households.