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Post by raquelaroden on Jan 10, 2010 17:21:14 GMT -5
So, I nearly wrote myself into a very bad situation in the last chapter (Chapter 5)! It's particularly surprising because I planned out the chapter weeks and weeks ago, and it never occurred to me that this particular thing was problematic (I'm being so cagey because I'm trying not to spoil anything for those who aren't caught up on the story). It wasn't until the next day that I realized I'd written something that probably made little sense....I'd forgotten the way that we'd expect the American judicial system to work! But....I figured a way out of it that actually gives my story even more depth, I think. And so many of those leaving comments have given me yet another way to go with the problem I wrote myself into....and it should be so much fun to write!
So, if you ever find yourself thinking "Wow that raquelaroden sure knows how to write a tightly-plotted story" (and I'm pretty sure no one will ever think this, but just in case)--please remember that half the time, I write myself into strange corners and have to do quite a few crazy things to get myself back out of them! But it's still a lot of fun, and I am so inspired by everyone who reads and comments.
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Post by raquelaroden on Feb 21, 2010 14:25:00 GMT -5
Argh. Argh! Why didn't they package the male adult Sims with decent skins?! I may not ever show Nick or Sean shirtless, because I'm intimidated by skin mods and hacks.
I'm working with some pics, and I basically airbrushed in some nipples on Sean, just to see if I could--and I think it works....but I'm just worried that I can't do it consistently. And he has no ab definition to speak of....so now I'm just going to whine about it for a bit. Sorry.
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Post by rad on Feb 21, 2010 15:30:02 GMT -5
Could you body shape them to make them more muscular? Wouldn't solve the Ken-doll skin but might give them better abs.
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Post by raquelaroden on Feb 21, 2010 15:39:23 GMT -5
Rad: They're both working out pretty much every play session, but their abs are strangely...absent.
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Post by raquelaroden on Feb 22, 2010 7:09:21 GMT -5
So I'm finally seeing the way things will go mystery-wise in France...but I'm stalling out on how it should go personal life-wise for Ed. There are several ways it could go, and without giving much away, I think I can safely admit that I'm scared to make any of my main set of characters have major character flaws. Or major moral lapses.
But something will have to be done. There's just no way around it.
But in my defense, it's pretty difficult to have a major moral lapse when you can't even show your main men shirtless.... (ok, so I know that's not true--but still).
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Post by raquelaroden on Feb 23, 2010 19:20:43 GMT -5
I did some major work to the overarching storyline--filled in a lot of gaps to see how it would work out. I know some things will probably change, but I like how the main mystery will be resolved, so far...I might be able to think of something better, but we'll see.
There are two significant things I can't seem to resolve, though:
1. Who should Ed favor? Nick, or Sean? I've written them both as desirable, and I'm still not sure who she'll end up with, ultimately. The reason I don't already know this is because I only have a very general idea of their personalities and quirks--I get a better sense of who they are and the nature of their chemistry (or lack thereof) with Ed whenever I actually sit down to write the story. So I'm still pretty clueless on this score.
2. When I resolve the mystery of Ed's brother, should that be the end of the series? Part of me says yes. All stories (even series) have to come to some end, and that's a good way to end things. I keep telling myself that if I miss the story, I can always start a new series--I have had two other mystery series ideas floating in my head for a while, and it might be fun to explore them.
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Post by rad on Feb 24, 2010 3:23:14 GMT -5
1. Both.
2. It depends... I'd have thought question 1 could only be resolved at the end of the whole thing, but question 2 not neccessarily. It could be interesting to see the brother's response and maybe even involvement (if he's still alive). The agency could carry on after all.
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Post by raquelaroden on Feb 24, 2010 6:49:26 GMT -5
Rad: LOL at both--I want her to have both too.....I've almost resigned myself to simply waiting to see how well she gets along with Nick when she starts really getting to know him. Right now my head is full of Sean.
There will certainly be things that would be interesting to carry on past the resolution of her brother's case....particularly since a few other things will come to light....
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Post by raquelaroden on May 8, 2010 7:47:22 GMT -5
Blargh.
So, I've written and taken photos for the next update, but I'm sitting on it for a little bit. After I wrote it, I felt really dissatisfied with it--the dialogue seemed off, the way the information was presented didn't seem to flow, etc.
Part of me worries that my dissatisfaction stems from the fact that something kinda important is going to happen, and that no matter how I present it, I'll always wonder if I should have done it another, better way.
I'm going to think on it while I'm doing some mindless work today, and that should help. I'll probably have it ready to go tonight.
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Post by raquelaroden on Jun 12, 2010 13:19:07 GMT -5
So...my story might take on a darker...and more adult tone. Someday. And I'm wondering if I'll need to stop advertising it on Boolprop if that's the case. While I was first becoming comfortable with sharing my story online, I was content to play by the Boolprop rules governing content....but some things in my story might be more realistically expressed if I'm not concerned about the story's sex and violence rating being a bit too high for the PG-13 crowd. I'm not really in it for the numbers, so I guess I don't really need to advertise it anymore. People who already read it can find it...and I guess I could give out a warning that I'm going to be moving it off the Boolprop thread? I don't know.
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Post by Stacy on Jun 12, 2010 16:51:07 GMT -5
So...my story might take on a darker...and more adult tone. Someday. And I'm wondering if I'll need to stop advertising it on Boolprop if that's the case. While I was first becoming comfortable with sharing my story online, I was content to play by the Boolprop rules governing content....but some things in my story might be more realistically expressed if I'm not concerned about the story's sex and violence rating being a bit too high for the PG-13 crowd. I'm not really in it for the numbers, so I guess I don't really need to advertise it anymore. People who already read it can find it...and I guess I could give out a warning that I'm going to be moving it off the Boolprop thread? I don't know. I've been thinking about this too, with 10. Since Valley got moved to the Sims 3 Stories forum, my traffic from Boolprop has really dropped off. How much traffic do you get from there? If you did care about the numbers you could start advertising it on simstorytellers on LJ, where adult content is pretty much a given. I'd like more people to see it because it rocks and also at the moment I think I'm still the only person who's posted a Sims 3 story on there, so that's why I suggested it. But yeah, I think a post explaining things on the thread would be a good idea if you decide to stop advertising on Boolprop.
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Post by thelunarfox on Jun 12, 2010 23:09:25 GMT -5
More adult tone? Yay!
I don't know why, but I didn't realize that Boolprop has a PG-13 restriction. I'm not a big fan of any sorts of restrictions. It's hard for a story to grow when you have to hold back.
Plus, you've got readers now. I'm sure all of those people will understand.
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Post by raquelaroden on Jul 1, 2010 5:51:51 GMT -5
Well, I've done it--I posted a message on Boolprop to let readers know that I'd be taking the thread down in a few weeks. I'll still be posting chapters there for my WYD challenge, so I don't feel like I'm totally jumping ship. Still...it seems like a big and important step, and I'm really excited about what it will allow me to do with the story. Thanks for the input, advice, and support on this issue, my friends.
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tesseracta
Full Member
5th Dimensional Spaz
Posts: 122
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Post by tesseracta on Jul 1, 2010 14:00:17 GMT -5
No matter where you decide to advertise, life will be good so long as there is more Edith Prescott in the future. ^_^
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Post by raquelaroden on Aug 13, 2010 6:17:47 GMT -5
I have gone over to the dark side.......and downloaded several mods, etc. (thanks to Tesseracta's patient and kind help), and.......
Sean has nipples! And abs!
That is all.
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tesseracta
Full Member
5th Dimensional Spaz
Posts: 122
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Post by tesseracta on Aug 13, 2010 12:40:20 GMT -5
PICS!
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Post by mountainshade1 on Aug 14, 2010 9:16:12 GMT -5
"Sean has nipples! And abs!"
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Post by raquelaroden on Aug 14, 2010 11:50:11 GMT -5
lol! Tesseracta and Shadey, you two are too funny.
Oh, there will be pics. I will likely engage in a few picture-taking sessions (I really liked Illandrya's contrast post she did when she was playing around with new skins for her Veronika Storm characters).
But it really is marvelous! I'm soooo happy with it right now.
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Post by raquelaroden on Sept 18, 2010 19:56:53 GMT -5
So....I'm still trying to figure out my approach to the scenes where I'm describing romantic or sexual encounters. I'm not entirely happy with the scene in my most recent chapter ( Chapter 7. Sean's Room), but I console myself by writing it off as practice. Everything is practice. I think I need to do more research. Read stories with such scenes and see what are good examples of the kind of romantic/sexual scene I want. I think that's part of my problem--I'm really not sure what I want. If you asked me, I think I'd say I wanted something honest. But it's really, really difficult to write that.... I think I get tripped up when it comes to writing about what's happening, rather than what Ed is feeling. For some reason, I think I always go to what she's feeling....and maybe it would be better if I'd go for what is happening. But that makes the prude in me cringe....I don't know. I'll have to think about it some more. At least the research is fun.
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Post by thelunarfox on Sept 19, 2010 10:42:14 GMT -5
Rachel, lol! Yeah, that is the dilemma. Actually, it's one I still face myself when a love scene pops up.
So actually, what I do is try to avoid it by mashing both ways together. I limit what's going on to tactile touches, nothing graphic. Like where are his hands or what are her fingers feeling. I really think I do focus on the hands more than anything else. Somehow they're sensual without being overt.
And then I think about what they must be thinking about or feeling and let that seep in too. Sometimes I do stop and ponder for a bit and actually think, "But what are they FEELING?" I bet I look funny with my pervy pondering face on.
Oh and for fun, I write love scenes to loosen myself up as a warm up. I just let it fly. I think that's part of how I got the Kyrene and Alex chapter.
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