Post by themctavishams on Jan 3, 2011 0:51:55 GMT -5
Okay so I won't have time to post this tomorrow morning. It's almost 1am here, so I hope that's okay.. here goes nothing! (Prepare for some wordy-wordage... >.< )
1. Sunrise in Corpus Christi, 2. Under Armour, 3. The Diet Coke test - 6400 ISO - Nikon D7000, 4. Periwinkle Blue, 5. Tacos, 6. Christmas Pretzels, 7. December 7th 2010 Goddess of Legend (Goddess Summoning #7) by P.C. Cast, 8. Untitled, 9. Cuba Gallery: Italy / Venice / Rialto Canal / natural light / vintage / night / photography, 10. 1951 Winnie the Pooh book, 11. Harry Potter Series (explore), 12. Stack of Disney
...::pants:: yeah, Van... I totally know what you mean with the conversion there.
Name: Christi
Where do you work: I work for a company that manufactures their own brand of athletic uniforms, and we signed on with Under Armour in ’09… I work in that branch. It includes lots and lots and lots and lots of emails every day, but it’s fun.
Favorite Drink: Diet Coke. And yes, I can pass a Coke vs. Pepsi test. Even a Diet one. No lie.
Favorite Color: Today it was periwinkle. I love all different colors… I am a COLOR person
Favorite Food: ANYTHING MEXICAN!!! Or Indian. I couldn’t decide between the two, but I just had Chicken Mahkani yesterday, and now I’m craving enchiladas, so Mexican wins
Favorite Dessert: Chocolate covered pretzels – (those are ones I made, btw… I cheated a bit because they didn’t come up on the first page but my friend Matt takes gorgeous shots.)
Currently Reading: Goddess of Legend by P.C. Cast. It’s taking me a while to get into it, but I loved her Goddess of Spring and Goddess of the Rose books, so I’m working my way through.
Hobbies? (Other than writing): Scrapbooking
Dream Vacation: Went with Venice as well, so Van, we can go together! Lol. I’d also love to see Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Spain… um, well, let’s just say I’d love to see THE ENTIRE WORLD and everyone in it ^_^
Favorite Childhood Book: Winnie the Pooh!
Favorite Book Today: Harry Potters-es.
One thing that can always make me happy: Disney movies. Anything Disney. Except for Watcher in the Woods because that scared the shhhhizznit outta me when I was a kid. ::shivers::
And now for the long-answer questions. And long-answers are LOOOOOOOOONG. FYI.
What do you eat/drink while writing?
Usually I don’t really eat anything, since I want to keep my hands at the keyboard as much as possible. I am rarely without liquid refreshment, though… which is usually in the form of Diet Coke or perhaps Diet Barqs (Root Beer), or in most cases, water. I get thirsty. I think I’m part camel.
Do you use Maxis pre-made sims, original sims, sims based on other sources (TV, movies, books, other games), or some combination of these? Why?
I don’t think I have EVER used a Maxis pre-made :X So, all those fanfics about the Grunts, and Bella, and the Goths… I’ve never once played them. I think I may have gone into Mortimer Goth’s house the first day I loaded up the game, but once I realized the story was almost made for you to have poor Cassandra’s heart broken, I kicked out of there and went to the Pleasants. Once I realized that the mother was BOUND to come home with the maid there, and Daniel hitting on her… I kicked out of there and then started up CAS and never looked back. That’s not to say I have anything against them, I don’t. I’ve just always liked creating my own characters and finding out what THEY want. I have used CUSTOM sims before as characters (like Dr. Cindy Schriber)
which I got from LianaSims2 here I can’t remember if she’s Tianie or Giselle. They look similar in facial structure, and since I always CC my sims up and change their skintones and stuff, I’m not sure which one she is. I just know she’s custom lol. But no, for the most part, I make my own
Do you have one character that frustrates you more than any of the others?
Hector is pretty frustrating… His facial features don’t like to do what I want them, and he is a very outgoing sim, so he’s constantly gun-pointing “hey there!” and stuff. He’s just harder to work with. When I freeze him though, he’s much easier! Oh… and note to those working with a household: Never freeze all the adults with the freezer clock when the kids are on their own. The social worker WILL come and pick them up.
Do you usually create backstories for your characters?
Oh yes. Like, constantly. I can’t introduce a character without knowing at least SOMETHING about their past. Sometimes they end up adding more to it, but they at least have to have a REASON for being in my story, just like in RL… your past brings you to the present. A big one that people have been surprised about in the past: Maritza.
She was not supposed to make it past the scenes in Twikki. Her original role was just to throw a monkey-wrench in the whole Colton-loves-Claire fiasco, and then fade into the distance. I had originally thought about what she was doing there in the first place, and I came up with her story about why she was so forward. Her scene with Colton after his (..ahem..) shower was never actually in the plans, but I needed someone to clue Colton (the dolt) in on the fact that he was in love with Claire. This picture was what spawned Maritza’s story about her parents.
And once Colton called her out and showed her a little respect, her character just grew for me. I love the relationship she has with Colton as his best friend, not afraid to slap him when he needs it, always there for him to talk to. She’s a great character, and I couldn’t wait to bring her back. I’m really glad I did, because everyone’s fallen in love with her as much as I have.
How long does it usually take you to prepare a story update?
HA! Ahahahahaaa!!!... yeah. Um, well, I guess that all depends. Usually (‘usually’ being like, four months ago)… usually it takes me about a week to write and edit it, and anywhere from a day to three days to get the pictures done and posted. I was running on a pretty steady schedule for a while, about every week and a half to two weeks lead time on chapters. Now? I don’t know. I think it’s just been busy ever since September when I found out about my mom… I took all my “me” time to devote to being with her and helping her when she needed me to. I am hoping that in January my schedule will resume back its normal pace. If it doesn’t, I may scream.
Here is a typical update process (in Twitter form!) of how I prepare them:
And there you have it. JSYK, I didn’t actually tweet these… this was an experiment. I think half of you would unfollow me if I did do this lol
Can you give us any hints about what is coming up in your stories? (Oh, come on...)
I can give you the video I made for Christmas… lol. I don’t feel like making another one. Go ahead and make some guesses!! Doesn’t mean I’ll answer them ((click the link to get to the video... not sure how to embed in here))
How far do you plan storylines in advance?
Oh man. Well, right now I’ve already got generation D pretty much planned out… so what does that tell you? And I also know what generation E’s names will most likely be (although I always end up changing them). But for the most part, I keep those plots in the back of my mind. Right now I’m focusing more on Spanish Lullaby to get that caught up so that we can resume with the McT’s. I’m trying to clip-clop them so that they’ll get to where they should be.
Were you ever surprised at a character's popularity among your fanbase?
Yes! Carlos EXPLODED onto the scene… I never expected him to be such a central character. I was adamant for my original plan for Christiana. She was supposed to have just a one-night stand with him, have a baby, and move on. The guy I had originally planned for her was this one:
His name is Conall and he’s from Ireland; fresh off the boat. I had even started a character study of him a while back. I may still use him in the future, because I just love his features, but he’s patient; Carlos has clearly claimed Christiana as “his” and same with her, so I’m going to follow that. I know it sounds weird; talking like the characters have “told” me these things, but it’s true. They have a voice. Some are much louder than others, too.
How do you like to handle romantic relationships in your story? Do you have a general approach, or is the approach tailored to the characters?
LOL Oh they are very much tailored to the characters. But let’s back up. I am, first and foremost, a Romantic. I love mushy gushy love stories that are sweet enough to rot your teeth. I love angst and torture and tension between them, too. You can bet money on pretty much any Romantic/Comedy movie will be one of my favorites for a while, and have a good chance at making me cry. I used to know “While You Were Sleeping” line-for-line and I would recite it to myself at night to make myself fall asleep when I was 14. Seriously. Don’t mess with the Romantic.
That being said, when I write romance, I am writing for ROMANCE. I want to become published in this genre, and hopefully someday that will happen. So once I pulled my stuff from TSR and put it on LJ, I decided “no holds barred”. Claire and Colton’s love story was a huge step for me, to put that out there and let it carry me how I wanted it to go.
I have a bazillion romantic ideas rolling around in my head for different stories. I don’t ever want to be someone that is “predictable” in her story telling or writing, and hopefully I’m not. But the basic recipe, the one that is used over and over, time and time again as a foundation for any romance between two characters is simple:
Okay, so it sounds really hokey that way, but put it to a classic, like… okay, Ever After, with Drew Barrymore: Drew meets Prince Henry in the courtyard. Prince Henry is attracted to Drew. Conflict: she tells him the wrong name, and uh, was dressing out of her station. Heat builds, Drew continues to see her Prince. Heat reaches boiling point – they kiss at the gypsy camp. Conflict arises; badass Anjelica Houston finds out and lashes Drew. Prince finds out Drew is just a servant, and he’s furious. Someone doubts: She is heartbroken and sold to another owner. Someone saves the bubble: Prince comes to rescue her and proposes by slipping the glass slipper on her foot. Everything is better. The end.
Okay? See? Don’t you believe me yet? Try it with Beauty and the Beast: Belle meets Beast. Beast likes Belle. Conflict: Beast roars loud and scares Belle away. Heat builds: She tends his dog-bitten wounds and they flirt for days and days. Heat reaches boiling point: They go to a ball and he dances with her. Conflict arises: He shows her the mirror and she sees her father – she needs to find him! Someone doubts: He doubts she will come back for him, thinks he’s lost her. The bubble bursts: The flower is wilting, there’s no time left, he’s gonna die!! Someone saves the bubble: Belle saves Beast by saying she loves him. Everything is better. The end.
Okay. I’m done now But have fun applying that recipe to all sorts of other stories and romances… it’s amazing how many actually fall into that pattern.
Open for more questions... I hope I did this right!!
1. Sunrise in Corpus Christi, 2. Under Armour, 3. The Diet Coke test - 6400 ISO - Nikon D7000, 4. Periwinkle Blue, 5. Tacos, 6. Christmas Pretzels, 7. December 7th 2010 Goddess of Legend (Goddess Summoning #7) by P.C. Cast, 8. Untitled, 9. Cuba Gallery: Italy / Venice / Rialto Canal / natural light / vintage / night / photography, 10. 1951 Winnie the Pooh book, 11. Harry Potter Series (explore), 12. Stack of Disney
...::pants:: yeah, Van... I totally know what you mean with the conversion there.
Name: Christi
Where do you work: I work for a company that manufactures their own brand of athletic uniforms, and we signed on with Under Armour in ’09… I work in that branch. It includes lots and lots and lots and lots of emails every day, but it’s fun.
Favorite Drink: Diet Coke. And yes, I can pass a Coke vs. Pepsi test. Even a Diet one. No lie.
Favorite Color: Today it was periwinkle. I love all different colors… I am a COLOR person
Favorite Food: ANYTHING MEXICAN!!! Or Indian. I couldn’t decide between the two, but I just had Chicken Mahkani yesterday, and now I’m craving enchiladas, so Mexican wins
Favorite Dessert: Chocolate covered pretzels – (those are ones I made, btw… I cheated a bit because they didn’t come up on the first page but my friend Matt takes gorgeous shots.)
Currently Reading: Goddess of Legend by P.C. Cast. It’s taking me a while to get into it, but I loved her Goddess of Spring and Goddess of the Rose books, so I’m working my way through.
Hobbies? (Other than writing): Scrapbooking
Dream Vacation: Went with Venice as well, so Van, we can go together! Lol. I’d also love to see Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Spain… um, well, let’s just say I’d love to see THE ENTIRE WORLD and everyone in it ^_^
Favorite Childhood Book: Winnie the Pooh!
Favorite Book Today: Harry Potters-es.
One thing that can always make me happy: Disney movies. Anything Disney. Except for Watcher in the Woods because that scared the shhhhizznit outta me when I was a kid. ::shivers::
And now for the long-answer questions. And long-answers are LOOOOOOOOONG. FYI.
What do you eat/drink while writing?
Usually I don’t really eat anything, since I want to keep my hands at the keyboard as much as possible. I am rarely without liquid refreshment, though… which is usually in the form of Diet Coke or perhaps Diet Barqs (Root Beer), or in most cases, water. I get thirsty. I think I’m part camel.
Do you use Maxis pre-made sims, original sims, sims based on other sources (TV, movies, books, other games), or some combination of these? Why?
I don’t think I have EVER used a Maxis pre-made :X So, all those fanfics about the Grunts, and Bella, and the Goths… I’ve never once played them. I think I may have gone into Mortimer Goth’s house the first day I loaded up the game, but once I realized the story was almost made for you to have poor Cassandra’s heart broken, I kicked out of there and went to the Pleasants. Once I realized that the mother was BOUND to come home with the maid there, and Daniel hitting on her… I kicked out of there and then started up CAS and never looked back. That’s not to say I have anything against them, I don’t. I’ve just always liked creating my own characters and finding out what THEY want. I have used CUSTOM sims before as characters (like Dr. Cindy Schriber)
which I got from LianaSims2 here I can’t remember if she’s Tianie or Giselle. They look similar in facial structure, and since I always CC my sims up and change their skintones and stuff, I’m not sure which one she is. I just know she’s custom lol. But no, for the most part, I make my own
Do you have one character that frustrates you more than any of the others?
Hector is pretty frustrating… His facial features don’t like to do what I want them, and he is a very outgoing sim, so he’s constantly gun-pointing “hey there!” and stuff. He’s just harder to work with. When I freeze him though, he’s much easier! Oh… and note to those working with a household: Never freeze all the adults with the freezer clock when the kids are on their own. The social worker WILL come and pick them up.
Do you usually create backstories for your characters?
Oh yes. Like, constantly. I can’t introduce a character without knowing at least SOMETHING about their past. Sometimes they end up adding more to it, but they at least have to have a REASON for being in my story, just like in RL… your past brings you to the present. A big one that people have been surprised about in the past: Maritza.
She was not supposed to make it past the scenes in Twikki. Her original role was just to throw a monkey-wrench in the whole Colton-loves-Claire fiasco, and then fade into the distance. I had originally thought about what she was doing there in the first place, and I came up with her story about why she was so forward. Her scene with Colton after his (..ahem..) shower was never actually in the plans, but I needed someone to clue Colton (the dolt) in on the fact that he was in love with Claire. This picture was what spawned Maritza’s story about her parents.
And once Colton called her out and showed her a little respect, her character just grew for me. I love the relationship she has with Colton as his best friend, not afraid to slap him when he needs it, always there for him to talk to. She’s a great character, and I couldn’t wait to bring her back. I’m really glad I did, because everyone’s fallen in love with her as much as I have.
How long does it usually take you to prepare a story update?
HA! Ahahahahaaa!!!... yeah. Um, well, I guess that all depends. Usually (‘usually’ being like, four months ago)… usually it takes me about a week to write and edit it, and anywhere from a day to three days to get the pictures done and posted. I was running on a pretty steady schedule for a while, about every week and a half to two weeks lead time on chapters. Now? I don’t know. I think it’s just been busy ever since September when I found out about my mom… I took all my “me” time to devote to being with her and helping her when she needed me to. I am hoping that in January my schedule will resume back its normal pace. If it doesn’t, I may scream.
Here is a typical update process (in Twitter form!) of how I prepare them:
Day after posting chapter XX:
- OMG mah pplz have so much to doooo. Must think on it. Which is better? Need chai latte.
- Just saw random person give me a face b/c I’m talking to myself in the car. She doesn’t know Colton’s rehearsing his lines.
- Just wrote all the dialogue down that I wanted for next chapter. Was boring. Need to fix it.
Day 2 after posting chapter XX:
- Wrote first three paragraphs of chapter while in bathroom at work. People think I ate the Chinese. I didn’t. XD
- Come home to find hubby made me dinner. Hooray! Extra writing time!
- Five hours later and I have about half done. Huzzah! It’s now 2am. I am sorta silly.
Day 3 after posting chapter XX:
- ZOMGnotimetowritetodaywaytoobusy!
Day 4 after posting chapter XX:
- FUCK this chapter sucks. Must rewrite half of it for it to make sense. ::mad Calvin cloud::
Day 5 after posting chapter XX:
- GAHH only a day more to finish writing. What was supposed to happen again?
- 3am on a Friday night… and I’m just about finished. Goodnight!
Day 6 after posting chapter XX:
- Just proof-read chapter xy to hubby. He snorted. I think it’s a keeper.
- Editing buddy is superb! She says it’s good to go. Time to sim.
- FUCK the computer just blew up on me!! >.<
- NO Christiana, LOOK AT THE EFFING PLAYER PLEASE!
- NOOOO! I just reviewed the pictures and half of them are crap-ola! - Dammit, starting up sims again…
Day 7 after posting chapter XX:
- Okay. Photos are edited (and re-edited…) and numbered… now time for photobucket, the bane of my existence.
- OK PHOTOBUCKET, ANY DAY NOW!
- Update! Chapter XY online now! Heresthelink.com
- I’m going to shower and change since I haven’t left my chair in 72 hours. Good thing I didn’t eat the Chinese. DDDX
And there you have it. JSYK, I didn’t actually tweet these… this was an experiment. I think half of you would unfollow me if I did do this lol
Can you give us any hints about what is coming up in your stories? (Oh, come on...)
I can give you the video I made for Christmas… lol. I don’t feel like making another one. Go ahead and make some guesses!! Doesn’t mean I’ll answer them ((click the link to get to the video... not sure how to embed in here))
How far do you plan storylines in advance?
Oh man. Well, right now I’ve already got generation D pretty much planned out… so what does that tell you? And I also know what generation E’s names will most likely be (although I always end up changing them). But for the most part, I keep those plots in the back of my mind. Right now I’m focusing more on Spanish Lullaby to get that caught up so that we can resume with the McT’s. I’m trying to clip-clop them so that they’ll get to where they should be.
Were you ever surprised at a character's popularity among your fanbase?
Yes! Carlos EXPLODED onto the scene… I never expected him to be such a central character. I was adamant for my original plan for Christiana. She was supposed to have just a one-night stand with him, have a baby, and move on. The guy I had originally planned for her was this one:
His name is Conall and he’s from Ireland; fresh off the boat. I had even started a character study of him a while back. I may still use him in the future, because I just love his features, but he’s patient; Carlos has clearly claimed Christiana as “his” and same with her, so I’m going to follow that. I know it sounds weird; talking like the characters have “told” me these things, but it’s true. They have a voice. Some are much louder than others, too.
How do you like to handle romantic relationships in your story? Do you have a general approach, or is the approach tailored to the characters?
LOL Oh they are very much tailored to the characters. But let’s back up. I am, first and foremost, a Romantic. I love mushy gushy love stories that are sweet enough to rot your teeth. I love angst and torture and tension between them, too. You can bet money on pretty much any Romantic/Comedy movie will be one of my favorites for a while, and have a good chance at making me cry. I used to know “While You Were Sleeping” line-for-line and I would recite it to myself at night to make myself fall asleep when I was 14. Seriously. Don’t mess with the Romantic.
That being said, when I write romance, I am writing for ROMANCE. I want to become published in this genre, and hopefully someday that will happen. So once I pulled my stuff from TSR and put it on LJ, I decided “no holds barred”. Claire and Colton’s love story was a huge step for me, to put that out there and let it carry me how I wanted it to go.
I have a bazillion romantic ideas rolling around in my head for different stories. I don’t ever want to be someone that is “predictable” in her story telling or writing, and hopefully I’m not. But the basic recipe, the one that is used over and over, time and time again as a foundation for any romance between two characters is simple:
Boy meets girl. Boy and girl are attracted. Conflict arises. Heat builds, however slow or fast the author wants it to. Heat reaches boiling point and first encounter/kiss is experienced. Conflict arises. Someone doubts. The bubble bursts. One of them saves the bubble. Everything is better. The end.
Okay, so it sounds really hokey that way, but put it to a classic, like… okay, Ever After, with Drew Barrymore: Drew meets Prince Henry in the courtyard. Prince Henry is attracted to Drew. Conflict: she tells him the wrong name, and uh, was dressing out of her station. Heat builds, Drew continues to see her Prince. Heat reaches boiling point – they kiss at the gypsy camp. Conflict arises; badass Anjelica Houston finds out and lashes Drew. Prince finds out Drew is just a servant, and he’s furious. Someone doubts: She is heartbroken and sold to another owner. Someone saves the bubble: Prince comes to rescue her and proposes by slipping the glass slipper on her foot. Everything is better. The end.
Okay? See? Don’t you believe me yet? Try it with Beauty and the Beast: Belle meets Beast. Beast likes Belle. Conflict: Beast roars loud and scares Belle away. Heat builds: She tends his dog-bitten wounds and they flirt for days and days. Heat reaches boiling point: They go to a ball and he dances with her. Conflict arises: He shows her the mirror and she sees her father – she needs to find him! Someone doubts: He doubts she will come back for him, thinks he’s lost her. The bubble bursts: The flower is wilting, there’s no time left, he’s gonna die!! Someone saves the bubble: Belle saves Beast by saying she loves him. Everything is better. The end.
Okay. I’m done now But have fun applying that recipe to all sorts of other stories and romances… it’s amazing how many actually fall into that pattern.
Open for more questions... I hope I did this right!!