Even if I'm not thinking about the dialogue of a story I'm working on, or thinking about, builds that I need for those stories. I used to just go download a lot if I needed something, but as my building skills progress I'm building more and more of my own lots. That's a big reason why right now it takes so long to get a chapter or Under The Tartosan Sun or Schemes & Dreams done. But while I'm working on the build I'm also thinking about how it fits into the current storyline and future ones, which in turn gets me thinking about the dialogue and story progression. I could call it a vicious cycle, but I enjoy it so much it's simply part of the creative process for me.
I'm not much of a builder either, but I'm currently thinking about how I'll design the palace for my royal story. It will be lots of fun since I'll have an excuse for using all the most expensive furniture/items/etc. I know I could download something from the Gallery, but I have a specific design in mind, plus I find it easier to navigate my own builds.
while I'm working on the build I'm also thinking about how it fits into the current storyline and future ones, which in turn gets me thinking about the dialogue and story progression. I could call it a vicious cycle, but I enjoy it so much it's simply part of the creative process for me.
Yes! I do this too. Working on creating the physical space where a scene or segment of the story is going to take place really helps me think about what is going to happen, what is going to be said, and even how the characters are going to develop. When I work on non-simlit stories as well, I sometimes draw out maps of rooms or buildings in the story for the same reason. Working with my hands is a big part of how my brain works on creative ideas.
@DeidreMahariel What usually happens if I can't write an idea down is I keep thinking it over constantly until I can write it down. It's actually a blessing when it happens because the storyline has been through multiple edits by the time I get where I can 'record' it and I'm that much further ahead in the writing process. Once that idea is in my head I can't let it go easily. Sometimes it happens, but more often than not I pick up fairly close to where I dropped it. Where I get in trouble is when I write it down and then accidentally delete the file or forget to click save.
Ooo! This is also a lot like me. Especially "Once that idea is in my head I can't let it go easily." Often I have to write down scenes that I'm pretty sure I won't be using, just to remove them from my head so that other scenes can start forming. A scene that forms in my head (often dialogue) while I'm doing things other than writing, will usually just keep playing over and over until I get it written down, like an audio file on loop mode. It actually blocks other scenes from occurring to me until I write it and get it out of the way.
Do you ever get brilliant idea for a story/twist/plot in places where you least expect? For example in shower? at work? at store? And if you do, do you trust your memory, or write it down in phone or something?
And related question, what is your "funniest" place to be hit by inspiration?
Uhm, that's a difficult one... I actually don't remember exactly where I was when having the ideas about the plot twists in my stories, it was quite random.
Anyway, in general I tend to think the most about my story later during the same day I played/wrote something related to that story, and then my focus goes down in the next days until I have the time to return back to writing. So I would say that most of my ideas emerge the moment I leave the computer after playing/writing something to do anything else (house chores, groceries etc...). Often I also start the game again later in the same day because I had the idea of a short scene I absolutely want to add, and I feel frustrated because I didn't think about it already two hours earlier when I started playing, and then I don't touch the game for a week or so. During work days instead, public transport is another place where I really leave thoughts wandering, also about my stories.
Luckily I don't think much about the follow-ups of my story when at work, for most of the time I need to be quite focused and being distracted by other stuff would really make me waste a lot of time.
Also, in general when I like an idea I then manage to remember it without noting it immediately. I rarely took notes, and when I do it is because I got some idea about how to write a certain paragraph in a more catchy way, and not because I have some new scene or turning point in mind.
You can follow the Legacy Miller from my blog and the forum thread, *Chapter 8.18 posted on the 23th of April 2024*
@GlacierSnow Oh god, the dialogue loops! (I tend to get specific phrases/sentences/hypothetical conversations "stuck" on repeat in my head in general, writing-related or otherwise.) There's a very specific dialogue between two characters (one of whom does not exist yet), that I'm nowhere near working into the story and probably won't be for a very long time, that's been living rent-free in my mind for days at present, constantly undergoing revisions. I should probably follow your lead and just write it down to get it out.
@HermioneSims I'm happy to see a fellow no-note taker! Sometimes I try to, but for the most part I don't forget ideas that I like or am considering using -- I usually just wait until those ideas mesh together into a scene to actually put it in writing.
I do feel like there's a lot of focus on outlining, writing/organizing notes, flowcharts, etc. (which of course are very valuable tools that are essential to a lot of writers!), but I tend to limit myself or struggle to connect the dots when I use those methods. The exception to my note-taking aversion is character building. I can write a character profile left, right, and center with every minute detail of their life down to the color of underwear they wore on their 19th birthday. Can't bullet point a plotline to save my life.
@DeidreMahariel Sounds like you have very much the same experience as I do regarding the... uh... "voices in our heads". Conversations, paragraphs, phrases, even single words, get stuck on repeat in my head. Sometimes causing serious (or even dangerous) problems when I need to be paying attention to something in the real world. Conversations with people in real life can be hard if I've also got an imaginary conversation running on loop inside my brain. And I often get "writer's block" on the part of the story I actually need to be working on, because of some scene that is unrelated that is jamming up the flow with its non-stop loop. For me, writing it down usually makes it stop though, and I'm able to then focus on what I need to focus on, story-wise or in real life (at least until the next loop starts). I save them all in a special file in case I do eventually want to use part of them. An added plus. So you might give that a try and see if it works for you. Good luck!
@GlacierSnow Mine is at least polite enough to quiet up when I'm actively talking to someone; I'm so sorry! It sort of is a blessing and a curse -- I appreciate the free revision time when I can work through the structure of a sentence I'm stuck on over and over, but it's less amusing when something meaningless or just, a completely ordinary phrase that I said or heard someone say, ends up stuck in there.
Actually, something I'll also mention, because I just caught myself doing it. I'm a frustratingly slow writer because my process is... write sentence, reread sentence, revise sentence; write half of second sentence, reread first sentence, revise first sentence, continue writing second sentence, forget where train of thought of second sentence was going, rewrite second sentence entirely; write third sentence, revise first sentence.... until the paragraph is finished and I decide I hate it all.
@DeidreMahariel What usually happens if I can't write an idea down is I keep thinking it over constantly until I can write it down. It's actually a blessing when it happens because the storyline has been through multiple edits by the time I get where I can 'record' it and I'm that much further ahead in the writing process. Once that idea is in my head I can't let it go easily. Sometimes it happens, but more often than not I pick up fairly close to where I dropped it. Where I get in trouble is when I write it down and then accidentally delete the file or forget to click save.
Ooo! This is also a lot like me. Especially "Once that idea is in my head I can't let it go easily." Often I have to write down scenes that I'm pretty sure I won't be using, just to remove them from my head so that other scenes can start forming. A scene that forms in my head (often dialogue) while I'm doing things other than writing, will usually just keep playing over and over until I get it written down, like an audio file on loop mode. It actually blocks other scenes from occurring to me until I write it and get it out of the way.
When I decide that a scene or storyline I'm working on isn't going to make the cut I just have to focus on another one and that's what gets the first one out of my head. Writing it down helps sometimes, but it depends on how close it was to making the cut. If it was really close writing it down doesn't always help get it out of my head.
Even if I'm not thinking about the dialogue of a story I'm working on, or thinking about, builds that I need for those stories. I used to just go download a lot if I needed something, but as my building skills progress I'm building more and more of my own lots. That's a big reason why right now it takes so long to get a chapter or Under The Tartosan Sun or Schemes & Dreams done. But while I'm working on the build I'm also thinking about how it fits into the current storyline and future ones, which in turn gets me thinking about the dialogue and story progression. I could call it a vicious cycle, but I enjoy it so much it's simply part of the creative process for me.
I'm not much of a builder either, but I'm currently thinking about how I'll design the palace for my royal story. It will be lots of fun since I'll have an excuse for using all the most expensive furniture/items/etc. I know I could download something from the Gallery, but I have a specific design in mind, plus I find it easier to navigate my own builds.
I wasn't much of a builder until recently. I've always been a compulsive redecorator though. The creative process of writing is what made the biggest difference in turning me into a builder. I never used to consider myself to be all that creative, but I'm finding out that I am, and I've really enjoyed discovering this side of myself. I've found the best cure for a writers block is to go build something for that story.
I too have the dialogue loops in my mind before I've even decided on where the plot should head. The current chapter I'm writing involves Summer Holiday watching an old black and white movie on TV and I had this idea to write the dialogue for it in the style of a movie made in the late 1940s; being Summer she had to be watching a tear jerker of a melodrama so there's a lot of hokeyness in the lines.
I wasn't much of a builder until recently. I've always been a compulsive redecorator though. The creative process of writing is what made the biggest difference in turning me into a builder. I never used to consider myself to be all that creative, but I'm finding out that I am, and I've really enjoyed discovering this side of myself. I've found the best cure for a writers block is to go build something for that story.
I've seen a lot of your builds and interior decorations...they're great.
I wasn't much of a builder until recently. I've always been a compulsive redecorator though. The creative process of writing is what made the biggest difference in turning me into a builder. I never used to consider myself to be all that creative, but I'm finding out that I am, and I've really enjoyed discovering this side of myself. I've found the best cure for a writers block is to go build something for that story.
I've seen a lot of your builds and interior decorations...they're great.
Thank you so much.โค๏ธ Seriously, becoming a SimLit writer has unlocked a creative side I never knew I had. It's not just limited to writing, the building things is new too. I love exploring this and sharing it. Hopefully I can help someone else find that creative spark that they didn't know they had or had been afraid to reveal.
> @Ellupelluellu said: > questions, again. Maybe a bit silly this time, but I genuinely like to know. :) > > Do you ever get brilliant idea for a story/twist/plot in places where you least expect? For example in shower? at work? at store? And if you do, do you trust your memory, or write it down in phone or something? > And related question, what is your "funniest" place to be hit by inspiration?
im a bit late to answering this question, but i have to say i'm the same way as many of the answers people have already given -- i'm rarely ever NOT thinking about my story, so inspiration can hit my at any place, any time. some places where i'm most often thinking about it, though, are places where my mind's not occupied by anything else, like in the shower, in bed, and especially at work. i stock produce, so while my hands are pretty busy, my mind is almost completely vacant, so it's a fantastic place to let all the disjointed ideas roll.
I love how much everyone is thinking about their story constantly. all of the time. never stopping. It must be normal for writers to do so because I'm exactly the same as the rest of you - I'm thinking about it every time I don't have to think about anything else, it's the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night.
I get so much inspiration when I'm out in nature. I'm very lucky that I live in a place that has some beautiful scenery so every day I walk for an hour and I think and think and think all about my characters and what they're going to do and say to each other next. I came up with the idea for Lucky Girl when I was neck deep in the Irish Sea last summer. I was visiting my parents and my mam and I decided to head down for a swim because the water was at it warmest I'd be all year. That's the place that the story starts!
I listen to music too, and music from the era the story is set in (the early 2010s) often helps to put me back in that time an access some feelings I used to have when I was around the same age as my protagonist. I also just talk to my friends! Everyone has things that happened to them when they were teenagers that they think about still, and I'm often fascinated by what those things are and why they still think about them now, like, the way that people are so impacted by these small moments. I also had a very dramatic, very tumultuous teen and early adulthood so sometimes I literally just draw on my own experiences. I'll never make things exactly the same, but I tap into the feelings that certain events brought up in me and use those to inspire a new scene. What better place to find inspo than in yourself, I guess!
I don't think I've ever been hit my inspiration in an especially funny place hahaha - at least not that I can think of. During a massage? Under a bridge? On the phone to my best friend? The dancefloor at a wedding? Everywhere I've been for the last eight months I've had my characters with me
@hellohannah2 This is what I liked the most about your story, the way it speaks to everyone's teenhood and in more complex a way than most teenhood stories which cover getting a boyfriend and giving up your entire personality to suit everyone else. It was really refreshing. Just thinking back to when I actually had a full emotional range and occasionally went outside for leisure instead of just to go to work. XD I mean I don't really LIKE thinking back to teenhood because it was...awful. But you know!
@hellohannah2 Evie is so relatable. My story is nothing like her's but we share a common bond of being people orientated and having a troubled and troubling relationship with alcohol. That is the common ground where we connect and then it all evolves from there.
As someone who doesn't think about her story constantly and who doesn't relate to many characters in others' stories, I think that having different thoughts and not being able to relate are okay too. I love @hellohannah2 's Lucky Girl even though it's all very alien to me. I honestly get something from almost all SimLit that's shared.
I have a somewhat unusual memory and I'm sensitive to different influences, so I try to keep my thoughts properly separated. That's probably weird, but I don't always want the media I consume, other hobbies, or my work to influence my SimLit, so I'm careful about the circumstances under which I work on my legacy. Now, I'm thinking about it more because I don't like the upcoming part, which is a transitional chapter, and I haven't decided what to do. Because I'm gameplay-driven, I refuse to just make something interesting up even though I'm working with very little for this particular part. I'm trying to find an angle with what I have that's not just giving up and succumbing to dumping random screenshots that are edited to imitate ReShade (I don't even have many decent screenshots for this ).
@haneul Not being able to relate to character(s) is completely fine. The reason why diversity is so important in media is not just because people want to see traits they see in themselves being represented (which is of course very important), but it's also essential to see characters who come from completely different walks of life, react to situations differently then you would, and to listen to their voices and stories even if you have seemingly nothing in common with them aside from the thread of "being human."
Most of my favorite characters are nothing like me, or may even have personalities that I wouldn't "get along" with if I met them in person... it reminds me to be more compassionate towards people who I might clash with in real life.
I wish you the best of luck with your current block and hope you find a way to work through it that feels satisfying to you! There really is no "right" away to create a story, so I love to see how differently people approach their creative process.
I find that my characters are often like me in certain ways, just because that's what I'm familiar with and therefore feel I can write it better. Although most of my stories end up featuring twin girls somewhere, and I'm not a twin so It's mainly because I like the challenge of dealing with multiples (which is being seriously tested with this new infants update ) and I find girls' names easier to come up with than boy ones.
I totally relate to Evie from @hellohannah2 's Lucky Girl story in a lot of ways, but I don't in other ways.
Random question... how do people make pictures clickable/linkable? I've wanted to know for ages but never thought to ask
@Lucy_Henley Oh, that one's easy! You take a picture that you have and link it via the Image URL. I usually upload them on wordpress or imgur first:
The code looks like this:
[ img]IMAGE URL[ /img]
Then you copy the webpage you want it to link to, highlight the image url in your post and, while it's selected, click on the url button and paste the link there.
@_sims_Yimi Thank you! I will bear that in mind for when I finally get round to doing my next chapter for the Mastersons. I'm pretty attached to my "infants test save" right now! My current infants have just a few days left till they become toddlers, so once they *are* toddlers I'll go back to the Mastersons. I need to get Caroline to finally hold a meeting for her "Spellcasters Unite" club, she started the club ages ago and they still haven't had a single meeting
Do you ever get brilliant idea for a story/twist/plot in places where you least expect? For example in shower? at work? at store? And if you do, do you trust your memory, or write it down in phone or something?
I think about my stories a lot, although not all the time. In the beginning it was constantly on my mind, but I'm busy with my BSc thesis so I've had to put the story on the back-burner for a while.
The place I get most inspired is when I talk to my writer friends on Discord and we discuss our stories. Sometimes someone will ask a question about the plot, and the answer just pops into my head, and I'll write it down immediately so I have it for later. But I also get ideas before I fall asleep or in the shower or any other place I let my mind wander. I'm not good at coming up with ideas on demand, unless it's by being asked a question, so I can only really work purposefully on editing, not on inspiration. I also have ADHD so I have learned to never trust my memory, so I always make sure to note things down because it could be gone 4 seconds later ๐
Warning for everyone that post-new-patch, some people are having issues that are physically changing the shapes of their sim's facial features. I know you all probably know to back up before a patch but just a reminder to definitely do it. I'm not gonna update my game for a while I think.
- This is also happening to vanilla games with no mods, custom presets or custom sliders which is why I'm mentioning it!
- The changes these people experienced aren't too jarring to some of you, but IDK how badly others have been affected. Apparently some people are experiencing the same with body shapes as well, so that's...fun.
Comments
I'm not much of a builder either, but I'm currently thinking about how I'll design the palace for my royal story. It will be lots of fun since I'll have an excuse for using all the most expensive furniture/items/etc. I know I could download something from the Gallery, but I have a specific design in mind, plus I find it easier to navigate my own builds.
Yes! I do this too. Working on creating the physical space where a scene or segment of the story is going to take place really helps me think about what is going to happen, what is going to be said, and even how the characters are going to develop. When I work on non-simlit stories as well, I sometimes draw out maps of rooms or buildings in the story for the same reason. Working with my hands is a big part of how my brain works on creative ideas.
Ooo! This is also a lot like me. Especially "Once that idea is in my head I can't let it go easily." Often I have to write down scenes that I'm pretty sure I won't be using, just to remove them from my head so that other scenes can start forming. A scene that forms in my head (often dialogue) while I'm doing things other than writing, will usually just keep playing over and over until I get it written down, like an audio file on loop mode. It actually blocks other scenes from occurring to me until I write it and get it out of the way.
And related question, what is your "funniest" place to be hit by inspiration?
Uhm, that's a difficult one... I actually don't remember exactly where I was when having the ideas about the plot twists in my stories, it was quite random.
Anyway, in general I tend to think the most about my story later during the same day I played/wrote something related to that story, and then my focus goes down in the next days until I have the time to return back to writing. So I would say that most of my ideas emerge the moment I leave the computer after playing/writing something to do anything else (house chores, groceries etc...). Often I also start the game again later in the same day because I had the idea of a short scene I absolutely want to add, and I feel frustrated because I didn't think about it already two hours earlier when I started playing, and then I don't touch the game for a week or so. During work days instead, public transport is another place where I really leave thoughts wandering, also about my stories.
Luckily I don't think much about the follow-ups of my story when at work, for most of the time I need to be quite focused and being distracted by other stuff would really make me waste a lot of time.
Also, in general when I like an idea I then manage to remember it without noting it immediately. I rarely took notes, and when I do it is because I got some idea about how to write a certain paragraph in a more catchy way, and not because I have some new scene or turning point in mind.
@HermioneSims I'm happy to see a fellow no-note taker! Sometimes I try to, but for the most part I don't forget ideas that I like or am considering using -- I usually just wait until those ideas mesh together into a scene to actually put it in writing.
I do feel like there's a lot of focus on outlining, writing/organizing notes, flowcharts, etc. (which of course are very valuable tools that are essential to a lot of writers!), but I tend to limit myself or struggle to connect the dots when I use those methods. The exception to my note-taking aversion is character building. I can write a character profile left, right, and center with every minute detail of their life down to the color of underwear they wore on their 19th birthday. Can't bullet point a plotline to save my life.
Forum Thread - Blog Chapter Selection
Actually, something I'll also mention, because I just caught myself doing it. I'm a frustratingly slow writer because my process is... write sentence, reread sentence, revise sentence; write half of second sentence, reread first sentence, revise first sentence, continue writing second sentence, forget where train of thought of second sentence was going, rewrite second sentence entirely; write third sentence, revise first sentence.... until the paragraph is finished and I decide I hate it all.
Forum Thread - Blog Chapter Selection
When I decide that a scene or storyline I'm working on isn't going to make the cut I just have to focus on another one and that's what gets the first one out of my head. Writing it down helps sometimes, but it depends on how close it was to making the cut. If it was really close writing it down doesn't always help get it out of my head.
I wasn't much of a builder until recently. I've always been a compulsive redecorator though. The creative process of writing is what made the biggest difference in turning me into a builder. I never used to consider myself to be all that creative, but I'm finding out that I am, and I've really enjoyed discovering this side of myself. I've found the best cure for a writers block is to go build something for that 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
I've seen a lot of your builds and interior decorations...they're great.
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
Thank you so much.โค๏ธ Seriously, becoming a SimLit writer has unlocked a creative side I never knew I had. It's not just limited to writing, the building things is new too. I love exploring this and sharing it. Hopefully I can help someone else find that creative spark that they didn't know they had or had been afraid to reveal.
> questions, again. Maybe a bit silly this time, but I genuinely like to know. :)
>
> Do you ever get brilliant idea for a story/twist/plot in places where you least expect? For example in shower? at work? at store? And if you do, do you trust your memory, or write it down in phone or something?
> And related question, what is your "funniest" place to be hit by inspiration?
im a bit late to answering this question, but i have to say i'm the same way as many of the answers people have already given -- i'm rarely ever NOT thinking about my story, so inspiration can hit my at any place, any time. some places where i'm most often thinking about it, though, are places where my mind's not occupied by anything else, like in the shower, in bed, and especially at work. i stock produce, so while my hands are pretty busy, my mind is almost completely vacant, so it's a fantastic place to let all the disjointed ideas roll.
I get so much inspiration when I'm out in nature. I'm very lucky that I live in a place that has some beautiful scenery so every day I walk for an hour and I think and think and think all about my characters and what they're going to do and say to each other next. I came up with the idea for Lucky Girl when I was neck deep in the Irish Sea last summer. I was visiting my parents and my mam and I decided to head down for a swim because the water was at it warmest I'd be all year. That's the place that the story starts!
I listen to music too, and music from the era the story is set in (the early 2010s) often helps to put me back in that time an access some feelings I used to have when I was around the same age as my protagonist. I also just talk to my friends! Everyone has things that happened to them when they were teenagers that they think about still, and I'm often fascinated by what those things are and why they still think about them now, like, the way that people are so impacted by these small moments. I also had a very dramatic, very tumultuous teen and early adulthood so sometimes I literally just draw on my own experiences. I'll never make things exactly the same, but I tap into the feelings that certain events brought up in me and use those to inspire a new scene. What better place to find inspo than in yourself, I guess!
I don't think I've ever been hit my inspiration in an especially funny place hahaha - at least not that I can think of. During a massage? Under a bridge? On the phone to my best friend? The dancefloor at a wedding? Everywhere I've been for the last eight months I've had my characters with me
I have a somewhat unusual memory and I'm sensitive to different influences, so I try to keep my thoughts properly separated. That's probably weird, but I don't always want the media I consume, other hobbies, or my work to influence my SimLit, so I'm careful about the circumstances under which I work on my legacy. Now, I'm thinking about it more because I don't like the upcoming part, which is a transitional chapter, and I haven't decided what to do. Because I'm gameplay-driven, I refuse to just make something interesting up even though I'm working with very little for this particular part. I'm trying to find an angle with what I have that's not just giving up and succumbing to dumping random screenshots that are edited to imitate ReShade (I don't even have many decent screenshots for this
Most of my favorite characters are nothing like me, or may even have personalities that I wouldn't "get along" with if I met them in person... it reminds me to be more compassionate towards people who I might clash with in real life.
I wish you the best of luck with your current block and hope you find a way to work through it that feels satisfying to you! There really is no "right" away to create a story, so I love to see how differently people approach their creative process.
Forum Thread - Blog Chapter Selection
I totally relate to Evie from @hellohannah2 's Lucky Girl story in a lot of ways, but I don't in other ways.
Random question... how do people make pictures clickable/linkable? I've wanted to know for ages but never thought to ask
The code looks like this:
[ img]IMAGE URL[ /img]
Then you copy the webpage you want it to link to, highlight the image url in your post and, while it's selected, click on the url button and paste the link there.
The code would then look like this:
[ url="WEBSITE LINK"][ img]IMAGE URL[ /img][ /url]
I think about my stories a lot, although not all the time. In the beginning it was constantly on my mind, but I'm busy with my BSc thesis so I've had to put the story on the back-burner for a while.
The place I get most inspired is when I talk to my writer friends on Discord and we discuss our stories. Sometimes someone will ask a question about the plot, and the answer just pops into my head, and I'll write it down immediately so I have it for later. But I also get ideas before I fall asleep or in the shower or any other place I let my mind wander. I'm not good at coming up with ideas on demand, unless it's by being asked a question, so I can only really work purposefully on editing, not on inspiration. I also have ADHD so I have learned to never trust my memory, so I always make sure to note things down because it could be gone 4 seconds later ๐
- This is also happening to vanilla games with no mods, custom presets or custom sliders which is why I'm mentioning it!
- The changes these people experienced aren't too jarring to some of you, but IDK how badly others have been affected. Apparently some people are experiencing the same with body shapes as well, so that's...fun.