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Post by laura on Mar 22, 2010 10:34:02 GMT -5
I was just picking ahead at a storyline for LH, when I realized a very important and shocking difference between my Sims writing, and my "real" writing. I wanted to share this with you all, since probably only Sims writers would understand the difference here. I guess since I tend to consider my Sims writing "play writing", I'm freer with it. I take it less seriously, but I'm also less concerned about my characters and what people might think about them. I'm braver. I've often found myself protecting my "real" characters from being too weird, too bad, too damaged, for fear that people won't like them, but then it dawns on me that maybe people like my LH characters *because* they're weird and bad and damaged. I mean, who are everyone's favorites: Jodie, Bella, Max, Summer, April...? In a storyline I'm working on for LH right now, I've realized that I'm about to "go there" in two ways that I've shielded myself from going in my novel. And at the same time, these are two of the very same topics that I've confronted as possibilities for my novel and declined, for fear of what people would think, or for fear of not being able to pull it off. So there's this freedom I'm giving myself in my Sims writing that I'm not allowing myself in my "real" writing. I have 100-something characters in LH, and I guess that permits me to be as free with them as I like. I mean, if nobody likes a certain character because of some writing choice I've made or trait I've given them, then no big deal, I've got plenty more. But in my novel, or any random short story, for example, I've got maybe two or three main characters, so it's scary to think I might make a wrong choice there, when there aren't so many "spares" left over for people to like. But at the same time, keeping those two or three characters safe also makes them ordinary, and ordinary is the last thing someone wants to read a story about. So now I know, and knowledge is power, right? What do you all think? How do you give yourself permission to "go there" ?
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Post by thelunarfox on Mar 22, 2010 11:08:44 GMT -5
Wow, Laura. What an insight. I think that's an amazingly important discovery.
Thinking on my own favorite characters from LH, yeah, the ones with the biggest flaws are the biggest draw for me. Remember most recently on Jodie's update, how you said you enjoyed writing her and you wondered what that said about you? Well there were quite a few people, me included, who said we could completely relate to her. So what does that say about us, lol?
I think the thing is that we're bombarded with images and suggestions of how we're supposed to look and behave, so when a character comes through like Max or Jodie or April, many of us probably go, "OMG! That's like me!" Or if we don't identify, we probably live vicariously through your writings, lol.
It's also a good question. I don't really have separate writing (and when I do you know it, lol).
I think this is also part of the self confidence thing. Henri is the character I have coming up who I really need to lay things out for. He's going to be my Michael this time around, but I can't be squeamish when it comes to his portrayal. I have to be bold and honest, and at the same time make sure to step out of the way so that those days I like him and those days I don't like him don't show.
How am I going to do that? How am I going to "go there?" I've got no freakin' clue! I'll probably sneak up on it, write around it, and then pounce it head on. It won't be expecting a head on attack, I bet.
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Post by laura on Mar 22, 2010 14:04:53 GMT -5
Agreed! A lot of different versions of writers' block, however it shows up, seems to stem from loss of confidence. This has also been a very interesting and important discovery lately! Stepping out of the way is a good key, I think. Especially since in the early stages of writing (which most Sim writing has never been read by outside eyes at the time it's released) the only person to make judgment on a character or situation is the writer. Ha, I love your writing sneak attack! I can't wait to read it!
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Post by raquelaroden on Mar 22, 2010 15:57:48 GMT -5
Wow, Laura--what an amazing topic! I've read some of LH, so I've seen a little of what you've done with some of the characters (though it is mostly the early stuff, so far). I certainly haven't gone there yet. It's so hard, because you want your characters to be likeable and appealing, but people do heartbreaking and horrible things sometimes. You craft characters that you love, and I think it must be like telling a parent to sit back and let their children make mistakes so they will learn. I hope I can go there soon...for now I'll just cower and watch better writers do it....
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Post by applevalley on Mar 22, 2010 16:22:41 GMT -5
I thought about this a few days ago while updating my hubby on my sim's lives. I realized that I had heavily invested a lot of writing into the the sims with flawed lives and glossed over the other ones, I mean, no one wants to read about the boring dull family that is perfectly happy with each other, their jobs and life choices all the time.
With LH, it's interesting that you feel freer writing for them. It also helps that you're not pressured to create a storyline that would potentially be edited and published. Who knows, perhaps you could take some of your LH storylines and tweak them into short stories and try submitting those. It would open you up to exposing the other side of your writing to that free nature, but at the very core, the short story is still LHs and like you said-you have plenty of spares.
I tend to go there with both of my writing-writing about things that are difficult and not black and white but various shades of grey yellow and pink. However, I also write a ton of different things from short stories for children to erotica to biblical based stories to young adult paranormal stories to poems to general short ramblings based on a quick idea, so I have a medium for however far I want to "go there" . It works for me since I'm able to move from one project to the other with ease based on what I desire to write that day-or what is calling out to me.
Also, most times I don't even fool myself with the notion that I can control what I write-I know good and well that my characters are in control. They are the ones that dictate which direction the story goes, which choice is made and how far out there they go. Some characters simply don't "go there" others "go there" so often that they have an address there.
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Post by laura on Mar 22, 2010 16:23:01 GMT -5
Rachel, you're very right, real people *are* heartbreaking and horrible and cruel, sometimes even to the people they love the most. It doesn't always make them supervillains, and it's not always very easy to notice because the cruelties might be small or very subtle. It's such an important thing (for me) to remember about writing a well-rounded character. And looking back on things, I think it's a big part of how my first attempted novel ended up failing. It was a beautifully-written work about a bunch of people who were adorable, well off, and nice to each other all the time, lol! Where's the story in that? This is great! I'm stocking up on all kinds of notes to myself this week. I'll have to write up a blog entry about them all.
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Post by laura on Mar 22, 2010 16:27:27 GMT -5
Apple, lol, you snuck in there I actually have written a short story based on a LH storyline, and I'm polishing it up for submission soon. I'm very curious to see what people might think of it. LMAO @ have an address there! I suspect that I might have a couple characters of my own at that residence too!
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Post by thelunarfox on Mar 22, 2010 17:00:07 GMT -5
People are mean and hurtful without meaning to be sometimes. (And sometimes meaning to be.) Maybe it's a good idea to think back on those moments you don't want to think about. Like, I once made my mother cry. I've never been rebellious (in fact-- what's the exact opposite of rebellious?), but something I said hurt her, and I felt like such a jerk. I sort of hold onto memories like that kinda like the way artists use photographs as references.
You do craft characters you love, so I think the key is to learn to love them like you probably will your children (or like you do if you have children). Hopefully you'll learn to love those flaws in them too.
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Post by blackcat on Mar 22, 2010 18:44:54 GMT -5
Laura, this makes so much sense. I can see a parallel in that, when I just go out with my camera, I take all kinds of experimental photos and do things with composition, lighting, etc that you're not 'supposed' to do... but when my sister asked me to take photos for her wedding, I followed all the 'rules' to the letter - firstly because there was so much resting on it, and secondly because I knew these photos would be around a long time and seen by a lot of people, so I wanted them to be as good as possible. Only I wonder if they were actually better for my lack of experimentation?
I had a thought regarding what you said about the number of characters... I wonder if this is why, in general, the longest-running tv shows are the ones with an ensemble cast rather than one or two star characters?
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Post by laura on Mar 24, 2010 9:40:20 GMT -5
Lunar, lol, I also hold onto memories and experiences for story reference! It always feels so cheap though. Every time hubby and I, or one of my friends or family have a spat, you'd better believe I'm taking notes I also try to think about my characters like family members. I often think of them like siblings - there's love, and there's that bind, but they maintain their own responsibility for the course their life takes. I think there's more investment than that between a parent and child. Blackcat, that's a good example! It's such a hard line to maintain. I do think ensemble casts are able to draw a larger viewer/readership. Very true. Simply because the chances are higher of finding a character you can resonate with.
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Post by mdpthatsme on Mar 28, 2010 21:41:24 GMT -5
From an evaluation of a high school filled with depressed and bored kids, I learned that character/reader relationship is a very important element of a story. Kids read the stories they read because they felt connection with the character's life, situation, or environment. Therefore, I believe it is best to "go there." Weird, wacky, crazy, bad, evil...they are the best characters because you can get out of your "normal" zone to make them. For my stories there's a difference to character writing. In regular prose, there are detail descriptions of not just them, but facial expressions and habits. In the Sims stories, I leave out a lot of that description because I think it's kind of redundant to show them in a picture then describe what they look like...maybe it's just me... Laura: I have 200+ characters all with backgrounds, pasts, present detailed occupations, and futures...deaths permitted and planned...and that's just in the plain prose. I use my characters and their jobs, hobbies, and whatever else involving them to connect to other characters in form of a plot. It's a great mechanical use. If you take one character out, the whole pyramid falls down. (Let me make clear that not all 200+ characters are involved in this pyramid...I could put them all up there, but that pyramid would be unstable and probably Genus World Record size. Too much for this brain of mine.) You may have two or three main characters, but do you, in your novel and random short stories, have side (minor) characters? They are a great source of comic relief or whispering discussions at a luncheon to get more information about rumors and the setting. Great insight nonetheless.
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Post by Stacy on Apr 9, 2010 15:32:31 GMT -5
I love you guys. I have to admit that I was not socialized as a child, really - my husband claims I was raised by wolves. So I sort of "go there" all the time myself without realizing it and that gets me in trouble, lol. I picked up a book at the bookstore last night - I've only read the intro and a bit of the first chapter, but so far it seems to address this issue. It's titled something like "Breathing Life Into Your Characters" and talks about how you have to go behind your socialized mask and get to know your shadow and your faults so you can put them into your characters and make them more real. On that note - no, I have not set anyone's house on fire.
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Post by mdpthatsme on Apr 9, 2010 19:56:56 GMT -5
Yes...we were beginning to worry about if we needed to look out for houses burning down.
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Post by thelunarfox on Apr 9, 2010 23:43:31 GMT -5
On that note - no, I have not set anyone's house on fire. LOL! That's good news. Good to see you again. I think that's a good point. Knowing yourself and your faults helps a lot. Being that conscious of yourself is important and can only help you when you write. That being said, of course, I have no faults that I can see. ;D
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