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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 17, 2009 17:13:28 GMT -5
Whether it's in Sims or just a general story, what kind of writing style do you use? Is it the main character talking? Third person done by the writer? Or in mostly Sims stories, talking to the Sim.
I generally do a mix between the examples I showed, I don't make a habit of talking to characters [Especially in a mean way], but I don't really make a habit of the others. Sometimes it's good to have more than one style, especially if you find one isn't pleasing the crowd if you have one. At times I think writing with my main character is very helpful, but at times I just like to point out what's happening myself, then lastly I like to have a little interaction with my character.
How about you?
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Post by raquelaroden on Sept 17, 2009 17:52:40 GMT -5
When it comes to my legacy story, I use third person omniscient point of view, so that I don't have to "hand over the reins" for each new heir. For my non-legacy story, I'm using first person. I think the first person voice is the most natural way for me to think about my non-legacy story, because it is a mystery. It allows the reader to puzzle through the mystery along with the main character.
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Post by Monday Morning on Sept 17, 2009 20:50:25 GMT -5
I tend to stick to third person limited point of view. I like being able to only see into the character's mind when telling my story. If, lets say, I'm writing for a character, I'll only "hear" their thoughts, and will have them guess at what the other characters involved are thinking. I rely on body language to tell my characters what the others are feeling. Sometimes words can be too cheesy--"Oh, smoochy-poo"--when all she might have needed was a hand brushed lightly across her cheek. I do switch between characters to give my readers different perspectives, but then I still only "hear" the current character's thoughts and feelings. When I express thought, I do it two ways: First, if my character is standing about, watching people pass by, I may write something like this-- "She stood off to the side, watching as each person passed by, lost in their own worlds. She thought they were silly, feeble beings that were headed straight down the road to heart-ache. Like she had, and so many others before her." Or, if I want to really get inside of her head, I may do this-- "She stood off to the side, watching as each person passed by, lost in their own worlds. How silly they look. Don't they realize they'll just end up broken hearted, like me? she thought, stuffing the fake engagement ring in her pocket." It just depends on the moment. I do both through out my writing.
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Post by girlyesterday on Sept 19, 2009 4:14:12 GMT -5
It really depends on the story. I don't have a particular writing style or POV. I go with a few factors:
a) genre b) character voice / character type c) target audience (age group)
Say I was writing specifically for teens, a lot of teen books I've read favour the first person perspective whereas a lot of adult books favour the third person and some rare books favour the second person. I read a novel recently that used the second person and it was done extremely well, which is tricky given that it uses a lot of "You beckoned to me from where you sat, your lips curled in a half smile." putting the reader firmly inside the pages of the book.
I do occasionally and have in the past used this format:
Liam was taken aback by Sarah's declaration.
LIAM: I ... I don't know what to say. SARAH: Tell me you feel the same way and we'll call it even.
The laugh that bubbled from his throat ended in a coughing fit.
Not sure what style that is called but I refer to it as the 'comic style'.
The only style I never ever do is commentary style. I've never really been engaged by that sort of thing.
Again, I think it's just down to personal preference for most people and with sim stories, it just depends on what kind of sim story a person is wanting to write, plotty or commentary style.
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Post by Stacy on Sept 19, 2009 15:01:09 GMT -5
My legacies are nearly 100% dialogue.
The one chapter each I did of an apoc and a non-challenge Sims 2 story were first person.
Valley is third person limited and I think that it works really well for me.
I honestly don't make any conscious decisions. Heh - I'm like the Joker in the Dark Knight. I just do things.
I just started writing Morning and it came out as third person limited and it worked and so I stayed with it.
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Post by MASchlabach on Sept 20, 2009 2:49:59 GMT -5
I do switch between characters to give my readers different perspectives, but then I still only "hear" the current character's thoughts and feelings. I guess my current style would be first person - past tense, as it is my main character (Melody) sitting down to pour out her angst. I did have one entry that was a rather cynical commentary on real estate listings, the tone appropriate for Dee. There was also a later entry where she gave a mini commentary about her roommate, switching to present tense. Not sure what that would fall under. However, my most recent post was from the perspective of Zach, her roommate. That came about because I realized that if I only told the story from Dee's point of view, it would be far more limited than what I was going for. In trying to differentiate between the two, I drastically changed the style of writing, as would happen in real life. Now that was an exercise that should have been assigned in creative writing! But in the end, it did far more than I originally expected to flesh out the character development!
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Post by dbloveshermac on Sept 22, 2009 20:01:38 GMT -5
My natural inclination is third person omniscient. I enjoy reading first person narratives, so I should probably push myself to write that way sometimes. Some of the most intriguing novels I've read have used multiple first person narratives or multiple third person limited narratives. I especially enjoyed The Sound and the Fury, although it was not an easy read. I would like to try a multi first person story one day when I am more up to the task.
(Is the phrase "natural inclination" redundant? What would be an unnatural inclination? Hmmm)
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Post by blackdaisies on Sept 25, 2009 14:42:11 GMT -5
I do occasionally and have in the past used this format: Liam was taken aback by Sarah's declaration.
LIAM: I ... I don't know what to say. SARAH: Tell me you feel the same way and we'll call it even.
The laugh that bubbled from his throat ended in a coughing fit.Not sure what style that is called but I refer to it as the 'comic style'. That's the style I use for my story and I also refer to it as the comic style too. I have always thought of my story as a "comic book" where the majority of the story is told in pictures. I think it suits my story, but it doesn't give me much leeway to play around with writing technique.
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Post by thelunarfox on Sept 25, 2009 16:29:53 GMT -5
I honestly don't make any conscious decisions. Heh - I'm like the Joker in the Dark Knight. I just do things. Usually the same here. I rarely make a conscious decision about it, I just write it. Rarely have I looked back on a piece written in third person and thought it should be rewritten in first person. But that's not to say I haven't done it before just to see if a piece would work better. For Ruin, I've actually made a conscious decision that most stories told will most likely be in first person as if the characters were keeping secret journals of their experiences in the world-- at least in their heads.
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Post by simusing on Sept 26, 2009 13:12:10 GMT -5
I love to experiment with a variety of types of writing. I do a lot of the typical third person novel-style writing in other places, so with my sims pieces I tend to want to try out different things. I play with journalistic chronicling, first person diary style, comic captions, and whatever seems to best fit the piece.
I find that because of the visual element inherent to a sims story, that I do not need to provide the level of detailed description and scene painting that I do in other writing. I find that this freedom creates a nice platform for other styles of writing to emerge.
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Post by raquelaroden on Sept 26, 2009 13:55:56 GMT -5
Maribeth: I know what you mean about the visual element of using the Sims to tell stories--it was something I had to change about my story, because I'd spend all this time describing things that were described by the pictures. Now, if I'm setting a scene, I try to focus on things that can't always be conveyed by the pictures--scents, temperatures, textures, etc.
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Post by Stacy on Sept 26, 2009 14:17:18 GMT -5
I love to experiment with a variety of types of writing. I do a lot of the typical third person novel-style writing in other places, so with my sims pieces I tend to want to try out different things. I play with journalistic chronicling, first person diary style, comic captions, and whatever seems to best fit the piece. I find that because of the visual element inherent to a sims story, that I do not need to provide the level of detailed description and scene painting that I do in other writing. I find that this freedom creates a nice platform for other styles of writing to emerge. Ooh - what sort of non-Sims writing do you do? And yeah. I'm seriously considering attempting a non-Sims version of Valley when the Sims version is done, and I'm worried that pictures have spoiled me and I don't know if I'll be able to adequately convey what's in them in text. One of the reasons why I made this forum is the philosophy that's pretty much enforced by the iron hand of teenage peer pressure at other Sims story forums - that the pictures shouldn't matter and shouldn't have anything to do with the story. And they generally post on the Exchange where the story format is a slideshow of pictures with captions but they're like "I shouldn't have to look at the pictures." and....I'm going to stop ranting now. But yes, like Mela (or do you prefer blackdaisies on here?) I think of Sims stories as comic books or TV shows. For me personally, it's a visual medium.
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Post by simusing on Sept 28, 2009 18:51:44 GMT -5
Yup, to me it is a very visual medium as well.
As for a non-sims version of Valley, you should totally go for it. Your plot and characters are quite compelling, and I think it could work as pure text. I do adore the cinematic form you've created with the sims, but I think you could rework things to stylistically convey the visually imagery through your writing.
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Post by dbloveshermac on Oct 2, 2009 21:26:03 GMT -5
And yeah. I'm seriously considering attempting a non-Sims version of Valley when the Sims version is done, and I'm worried that pictures have spoiled me and I don't know if I'll be able to adequately convey what's in them in text. You should absolutely do it! I think you should team up with a gifted illustrator and have him or her do pen-and-ink portraits for a cast of characters page. If you find it turns into a long book, you could include small illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. Your writing conveys strong moods and cues the reader to all kinds of sensory experiences, so even though your use of images adds a wonderfully luscious aspect to Valley, I think your story can stand on its text.
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Post by heredoncove on Oct 11, 2009 17:36:22 GMT -5
I think I do third person limited point of view. I try to keep to what that character is feeling and thinking at the moment. Sometimes I will jump to another character and do the same but it has to be starting from a different point. I can't hop from one head to another in the same scene
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Post by rad on Oct 26, 2009 8:21:26 GMT -5
I'm finding it depends on the story. For legacies, I think anything goes. For my apocalypse story, I can't imagine it being told any other way than first person. For other stories I might write I may end up switching narrators or using very short amounts of text. I think you have to go with what feels best for your story and characters, as well as your own personal style.
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