So that's what the story is about...

[strangetomato]

Overheard behind a bookcase in a house on Bay View Drive, Belladonna Cove:



"...True enough. Some things are just personal. But we had to do the right thing to safeguard everyone against that source of evil. I'd hate for Jocosta to have died in vain."

"Dear sister, how I miss her."

"And I as well."

"Well, nevermind. That's a story for another day."


"Yes. This one's about Bella. The mystery behind her disappearance."

"And Strangetown. Aliens. The sims who hate them and the sims who love them. Or those foolhardy enough to do both!"

"About death. And Death's son."

"And the terrible consequences of meddling with mortality. And about flowers. Don't forget flowers."

"I thought it was mostly about sex?"

"No, really it's about identity. And family. And love. Aren't all stories worth telling really about that when it all boils down to it?"

"Yes, but now we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we?"

"Yes, indeed, sister. All in good time."








Note: I was revisiting what I'd already written for the long-suffering Chapter Thirty-Five (part four) of Strangetown, Here We Come (the damn thing is actually written if I can ever get pics for it), and I'd forgotten all about this little snippet here with the sisters breaking the fourth wall to discuss what, if anything, the story is actually about.

What do you think? Did they nail it?

My vote's on "I thought it was mostly about sex?" ;)

Comments

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Hah! Sounds about right. :) I think it's REALLY really about telling the story of several different characters all at once, who are all linked together in one way or another.

I actually started rereading Strangetown, Here We Come earlier this summer/autumn, but I didn't finish. I should pick it back up. The idea of a new chapter is very exciting, if you indeed find the time to shoot the pictures...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I like that. There are a lot of things that happen because of all those subtle connections between the characters and many of the best plot payoffs would be (will be?) the result of those pieces coming together and everything falling into place.

I'm not sure it started that way (actually I'm pretty sure it did NOT), but it happened into that as the story became more of a snowballing ensemble thing over time. Also explains how it got more difficult to "push" along, to follow that metaphor. :P

Really? :) That's great. The beginning must seen so different now. I've been going back over parts of it, too. I think I really need to read it from start to finish, just so I have it all straight in my own head, if I'm going to move forward with it.

Sadly, the images are not just a matter of finding the time right now, as I'm still unable to get my game to run. :( I've been trying to resolve my graphics card/driver/game issues these last couple of days, but no luck so far.

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really enjoy stories that have 'everything falling into place'. And big epic stories, too. I've been reading all five books (so far) in the A Song of Ice and Fire series over the past year, so. :P

The beginning is really different, it's simpler and feels more like actual ingame stuff, if that makes sense? I like both that and how the story developed into something bigger, it's like it evolved and grew up, along with its central characters. :)

What sorts of troubles are you having with your game? I don't know if I can help, but I can try to offer suggestions, at least?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan of that, too. It's something to aim for when writing, for sure. I don't think what I have planned for my story pays off to that extent (not everything falls into place), but some things come together in what I hope will be a surprising and satisfying way.

I've been meaning to read that one. Do you recommend it? I have to admit being a little put off by some reviews saying it's a bit too dude-centric (dick lit? :P). I don't mind a focus on male characters as long as some care is also given to the female characters. How do you feel about that in that series?

In the beginning, I had a direction for the story and then I really played it out and documented it, so it was much more informed by gameplay. Later, I lead with the text a lot more. I do like both ways of doing things in different ways. The former can really provide some nice surprises and shape the story, which helps in the early stages, I think. Also, reading the first couple of chapters reminds me that I had written it in a way that looked ahead to my future plans, if that makes sense. Both Ripp's and Nervous's stories hinted at things to come.

My game troubles remain as they were in this post. I have since patched my game, updated my graphics card drivers, and attempted to update directX, but that gave a message saying I'm already up to date. I'm at a bit of a loss.

ETA: I'm PMing you details on my directX 9 compatibilty troubles.

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

You tease. :) I'm really wanting to know where the plot goes... Ugh, I really need to reread, though, I've forgotten a lot of details.

I did notice the hints about things to come when rereading, though, especially with Nervous. :) Ah, surprises... I think I've become so controlling that I don't allow the game to surprise me anymore. I don't really play that much anymore either, I seem to spend more time doing makeovers and taking lots of pictures. Sometimes I think about giving TS3 another go, but the thought of learning all I need to know to get the game to run nicely and not do dumb things, and then potentially getting too sucked in and as addicted as I have been/sort of still am to TS2... it's too scary.

I'm really surprised that people think A Song of Ice and Fire is too dude-centric. It has a LOT of major female characters/female point of views, close to or equal to the number of major male characters. Well written ones, too, and varied, and they all have their different struggles, good points and bad points. That's true of the male characters too, of course. The character writing is just really well done, in my opinion.

And while the world in the books is both extremely sexist and classist, that's sort of the point - the author is pointing out how incredibly flawed and unfair this system is, both in his own world and in our own, both past and present. I absolutely recommend the books. :) And I'd be interested to see what you think of them! Just to warn you, though, there's a lot of fairly graphic descriptions of very bad things happening to people. It's not a nice world.

I don't know if you've seen or glanced at the TV series. While it's good, I like the books much better. There's less random sex scenes in them, too. Silly HBO.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

(Finally answering this... :P Please don't mind me and my super outdated replies.)

If I don't manage to get back into posting the story, I plan to post my plot outline for those who want to know where it was going. It'll probably seem incredibly zany when written in summary form, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. Well, ideally I won't need to post it, but I'm trying to be realistic here.

I love playing Sims 3, but for now it's a very different experience. It doesn't tug on my fannish strings the same way and so I'm not in storytelling mode as much. I play a completely vanilla game right now. I don't use any hacks or cc. I might get a few of the eye and skin defaults at some point, and maybe one of the story progression hacks. I don't even care that much that it's flawed and all that. I'm just playing.

I hear you on getting "sucked in." While intense fan immersion is a wonderful experience in some ways, I also fear it a little. One, I don't have as much time to spare now, and also I worry about the way my Sims 2 obsession mirrored/shadowed the development of my last major depressive episode. I think escaping into a game is made more appealing during times like that, but it isn't what drives the love of the game (or show/book/whatever fannish thing). Still, the association makes me wary, as it would.

I've heard that defense of A Song of Ice and Fire, too, so I was wondering which to believe. Ultimately, it's one of those things you need to read to decide for yourself, but it's not a light read. XD I really respect your opinion, so that sounds good to me. I'm all for showing things in a negative light if that is a commentary or, you know, it serves to make it real. I don't mind it being gritty and such if the characters are written with care. Thanks for the recommendation. :) I might get it on my Kobo e-reader for easy parental reading.

We only have Netflix right now, but I hope to take the first season of that out of the library (the SO is interested, but only in the show, not the books). Too true about HBO, but then again I don't really have a huge problem with random sex scenes. :P

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Posting the plot outline is a really good idea. It would be hugely appreciated by your fans, I'm sure, if you're unable to finish the story otherwise. But I'd be super-happy just to see another chapter or even an in-universe short story or two, too. ;)

Sims 2 (and other fannish obsessions of mine) has certainly been a way to escape reality. Mostly in a fairly harmless way, but sometimes it's been too much and it just eats up time that I feel like I should have spent in more productive and, frankly, healthy ways. While I've never had anything as serious as your depression, I have struggled with pretty bad anxiety in the past, and my mental health has been somewhat unstable ever since then. So having that little world to escape into and just relax completely with is very pleasant, but there has to be a certain balance. Spending too much time on it comes with a big dose of guilt, and that's not good for a stressed mind. So yeah, I'm wary for much the same reason.

I might try TS3 again with your no/absolutely minimal-CC approach and just *play* it, but at the moment I have several other, non-sims games I like to do that with, so my game-meter is pretty much full. :)

I'm very curious about what your opinion of ASOIAF would be now. :) One of the criticisms I've heard is that, if you're writing about a fantasy world that you can make into whatever you want, why would you make one that is so sexist? But you wouldn't be able to tell a story which involves women overcoming and dealing with sexism without sexism being present. Not saying the books are perfect, one could easily find various issues if looking for them, but I feel there's much more good stuff than bad. So I do hope you give them a try. :)

Hah! Yeah, it's not so much sex scenes I mind, I just wish there wasn't a 10:1 naked lady:naked dude ratio. :P

I'll respond to your PM later. :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I want to continue it, but it's hard to say for sure that I will finish it. I'm going to try to commit myself to getting it to at least the end of chapter 36, which would have a lot of things happening and is a major turning point in the story. It'd sort of be a weird place to leave it hanging again, but better than ending off in the middle of a side story chapter, which just seems less satisfying.

If I can do that (and damn it, I will, even if it is just text), then I'll probably share all the plans I had for the rest of the story for anyone that wants to know. Or maybe I'll get my momentum back a little, and keep it going. We'll see. :)

I couldn't agree more with what you said about there being infinite ways to take this story structure and these premade characters and direct them, and the description here is really meant to be specifically about my version of it. I love that about sim stories.

And even this one story has had so many different directions planned at different points that have changed, some due to gameplay, some rethought as the characters developed. The fact that it's not fully planned out is why I even have to ask myself this question. What IS this about, anyway? What exactly am I trying to get at with it? It's interesting to think about.

Thank you for the kind words. :) There's no better feeling than hearing that you've managed to entertain people with your storytelling.

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

I recently reread the story too! *flails* I agree with the ever flawless Cordials, they got it right. Although sex plays a very, very large role in it. :P

Did you ever share your Jocasta? She was so pretty.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah? Thanks, Josh. I'm always surprised to hear that someone new has read it or someone went back to read it again. It just makes me happy to know it can still provide someone with entertainment. :)

Haha! That's my self-depricating side speaking, maybe? It's really just a soap opera with gratuitous sex. :P And hey, in some ways that's exactly what it is. I don't want to be too lofty about it.

No, I don't believe I ever did share her. I have a number of sims I should really share. Jocasta was a blend of Bella and the Cordials (mostly Kimberly, because she's more unique). I'm convinced that any sim based on Pleasantview Bella will end up beautiful.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

Wow, I also just finished rereading S,HWC... and apparently everyone else did too... it must be fate.

I'm really excited to see this! I love this story so much, and I'm so glad to see that it's not dead.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

You're kidding me, right? Wow, I can't believe you've all reread it. That's so encouraging. Now I really want to make an honest effort to get it moving again, instead of having it float in this limbo of being not quite dead (in my mind, anyway) but not quite alive either.

Thank you. :)

[peni griffin (from livejournal.com)]

You don't absolutely have to have pictures, you know; or if you do need some to make your points, you don't need to have as many as you have in the past. Most simbloggers use too many of them, and the weight of getting and organizing them slows them down and eventually prevents them from getting through the long, hard middle of the story, which is hard enough to do (believe me!) in text-only.

You write the story the way you need to write it; but you're allowed to go around the impenetrable thicket, or fly over it on the broomstick, instead of chopping your way straight through it. And if you can't experiment here, where can you do it?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

That's certainly food for thought, and thank you for the vote of confidence that the story could possibly stand on text alone.

I think it's always a dicey proposition for a sim story to be presented as text-only, and for any story to drastically change its medium in the middle of the story (unless it is just briefly, for effect). The combination of text and images is really the heart of what makes it a sim story, and many storytellers lean just as heavily on the images as the text (some more so) as the core of their storytelling. In my case, I've used the images as the the main storytelling tool in more than one instance.

That said, I do agree with what you're saying for myself. Very much so. I had moved too far into using sets and posed images and it was weighing me down. I enjoy stories that do this (many to great effect, as with Simtopi or Skell's Fortune and Romance), but I don't have the time or inclination to even attempt to do that anymore. I'm going to make a move back to using a more simplified approach to images and hand the responsibility of providing those details back to the text.

Thank you for your input. :) It's been very helpful.