this is so helpful! thanks a lot!

I have a tip for everyone:
In all their Pleasantview stories, Angela always gets what she wants and Lilith is abused. That's completely overdone. I think more people who write stories about them should make them equal, because I kind of view Lilith as someone who thinks her life is wayyy worse than it actually is. ._.

What a great thread and very organized too. I thought each tip was right on the money and well thought out. So, kudos to you Lifa!

I just wanted to comment further on what someone posted on page 3.



All writers fear obscurity. Basically, you write and you want feedback. And that's totally natural. In real life, it's easy to hand someone what you wrote and get instant feedback.

But the internet is a different entity. Someone actually made a study about this (believe it or not), and what they found was that - "In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action." (Source: Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute )

So, the 1% the poster mentioned who commented on his/her stories just reflected what happens naturally in the internet world, and shouldn't serve to discourage one from writing and sharing his/her stories.

agreed

I have to admit that I've never written a Sims story, because I'm intimidated by the technical challenge of taking the pictures and then posting the story online. I'm not worried about my story writing skills. I'm a regular contributor to a couple of Star Trek (the original series) fansites, and I know my writing skills are good.

I have to say one thing that wasn't mentioned here and that is this:

If you're going to write a story, keep yourself out of it as much as possible. What I mean is that you, as the author, shouldn't be explaining anything to your audience. Let the characters and the plot do the explaining for you.

I'll give you an example from a Legacy Story I read a while back. The author starts something like this:

"This is Leah. She's a Romance Sim with a Family Aspiration, and I made her using custom content I found at XYZ website. This is her first day on her new lot, and I used furniture that I recently downloaded from ABC website."

"She meets a boy named Jack, and her best friend is named Susan. Susan is my best friend's Simself."

And then here comes the dialog:

Leah: I met a boy named Jack. He is so Hawt.
Susan: Wow, that's really neat.

(and so forth and so on, ad infinitum). So what you have here isn't really a story. It's more like someone noodling around pretending like they're writing a story.

Here's what they *should* have done:

IF it's in first person:

My name is Leah Sim, and this is my story. On the day I turned 21, I found out that my grandfather had left me a large piece of land and 5,000 simoleans. The only problem was, that the piece of land he left me was in a place called Pleasantview, a town I'd never even heard of before.

And so forth and so on....another example:

I didn't have a whole lot of money to spend, so I bought the bare essentials I needed to survive and build a small bathroom so at least I'd have some privacy when I showered. On my first day there, I met a boy named Jack, and we hit it off right away.
Later, I told my friend Susan that I thought he was "hawt", as the saying goes.

I mean, it's not really that hard. But it does help if you write your story out ahead of the game.

Here's my two cents on the topic of writing a good sim story. I know a lot of people like to plan ahead by writing the chapter first and then taking the photographs to match up their actions and dialogue, but for me it's been a completely different case.

I first play the game, capture the shots as the scenes I want to happen in my head play out and only then do I write out the chapter. It's good to have a general idea of what you want to have happen in the chapter overall, however planning it out to the last detail, doesnt work for everyone. Usually I'm sure of what the beginning and end will be, but fill in the middle as I play with my sims characters.

For writing the story, I think its really important to find your own writing style. Find something that you're comfortable with (whether its first or third person narrative).

One of the bigger issues I think a lot of people have when writing sims 2 stories is that a lot get really confused when writing dialogue. Personally, rather than seeing someone write the dialogue as:

Jane: Hi, my name is Jane.

It seems to flow more when written as:

Jane shook Amanda's hand and introduced herself. "Hi, my name is Jane."

Its easier to read that way and seems less choppy. If you're worried about people not knowing which of your characters said what in the dialogue, add in an action every now and then, such as:

"She was hit by a car. They've taken her to the hospital."

Amanda let out a gasp and stared at Jane. "Is she going to be okay?"

Jane sighed, "I'm not sure but we should meet them there."


Once you get used to writing dialogue like that, it'll come more naturally to you so that you wont have to worry about confusing people as to who is talking and who isnt.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself! Don't feel pressure to write just to please everyone and don't live completely off of the comments people give you. Although it is nice to recieve comments, don't be discouraged if there arent too many people leaving some behind. Most likely there are people who are silent readers that don't have the time to leave you one. If there are comments leaving you contructive critism, you should definitely pay attention to those. If they are willing to help you improve your story, why not? Just don't get too caught up in pleasing everyone to a point where you lose touch with your own writing style. Remember, let the constructive critism improve it, but don't let it completely alter it.

And lastly, for picture taking skills, search the internet! Don't be frustrated if there are directions given that you can't understand. If you ask people to help you understand it, a lot will be more than happy to help you. Play with the angles a bit and the actions you can force out of your sims! Really, once you get into it, it's a whole lot of fun. Try not to get too frustrated when a scene doesnt go your way.

Usually when that happens, I try to take a break from it and go back to it later. If you take breaks like that when having a bad writing or scene set-up day, you won't tear out your hair in anger - so try to relax and step back from it all when you're having a bad day!

Hope this helps someone out there trying to write or improve their writing skills.

Hello! History is not written simply. It is needed good vital history and your inspiration! And all, so simply. It is my method. When inspiration or muse is, then written easily.

All I care to know is, may I write R-rated and X-rated stories on this site? If not I'll take My stories elsewhere, thank you.

Modest00 - No, you may not... http://www.modthesims2.com/announce...ouncementid=131

You may, however, write such stories on our adult site, sexysims2.com

I always made Angela the bad one. Seemed always logical because she is spoiled while Lilith is nice one, she is just not understood.

wooot for that.

With me, I'd suggest keeping dialogue to a minimum - don't overdo it, you know? You can fill out the story by adding descriptions, pointing out small details. I find it really pulls you into the story. Use the 5 senses, it really adds depth if you're describing a scene.

I'll give an example (from one of mine, because it's too late to think right now.):

'Sara idly leant against the dark brown wood fence, staring across the asphalt front of the school to the hills beyond it, watching the eastern way – that lead to her home. The sun shone against her, warming her back through her red jumper. Sean spotted her the moment he opened the door that functioned as an exit from the school. An escape, maybe. The light shining against her caused one side of her face to be darkened in shadow. Sean smiled to himself slightly as he made his way down the small amount of steps – she was waiting for Ava.'

'The sky was a vibrant gold hue as the sun drew closer and closer to the cold horizon. Illuminating it like a phoenix in its final throes of fiery death before collapsing into ashes, where it would be reborn – a gentle, innocent chick, with its tranquil and oddly wise eyes staring straight through into your soul. She breathed in – letting the soft, cool scent of the breeze flow in and cleanse her lungs, her ears tingling with the sound of crickets.'

I hope I helped =]

I can make suggestion: If you make a neighborhood story, pick something other then Pleasantview. There is too many stories out there about it. I am not saying don't share it here, but there is plenty other Neighborhoods out there. Veronaville for example, How twisty can you make the original Shakespeare plays using you imagination. Or Strangetown, maybe in your imagination it is not strange at all. Or even better. Show how you made things go in Neighbor hood you made from scratch. it is always interesting to see how people play and how they turn things around in their game.

I am not saying don't write Pleasantview stories, no. Just not to be repetitive. In most cases every one make Lilith the bitch and Angela the angel. We know that. Wander around in your game, there is always something interesting and new.

I very much agree with what is said in the whole thing. Especially the cristicism part. I think people giving feedback is being pushed away and should be brought back to the light. I never leave a story un-reviewed unless it is a mere introduction to the story. Then I wait til the writer completes the first chapter.
I actually liked this so much that I told my favourite writers at Fanfiction to post the "Reader's Responsibilities" on their profile page. Thank you so much for this. I just hope people start paying attention to it. :P

I would like to offer an addition to the pictures section of your article.

Most people do not seem to know about the shift-a and shift-d camera controls in sims 3. The can be used to take pictures on an angle.
I feel you can make a shot more interesting to look at by using it.

I can not read your links for they will not open to the the page for me to read them and I tried twice to open them.

I see alot of stories where the author and the sim are aware of eachother, and sometimes the sim complains to them about their conditions, or the author shouts at their sim. I really think this is quite a bad idea, and people should avoid it, although it can be funny.

this thread is from the dinosaur era...

can I edit the whole story for example just chapter 1, along with the pictures??

When it comes to Sims story telling, I break the rules. For example, Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant truly love each other and I make their marriage work. Lilith reminds me of myself as a teen; lonely and feeling misunderstood. So I have her work these out with her sister and her parents. She becomes an artist and amazing mum. Boring? Dull? Maybe. But Lilith always running away gets old quick.