Writers block: I no longer have it.

[strangetomato]

The writing bug bit me hard today. It's nice to be back in that mode, since I haven't really been there for a while. I'd get short spurts of creativity, but I feel more back in a routine with it now, which is nice. I'm picking away at parts of the next couple of chapters all at once, and it's coming together pretty well.

... and I may or may not have just written a conversation between Johnny and Ripp where they compare penis stats. *snicker* What is WRONG with me?

Ehh... I'm not ashamed. It's funny. (And it's not like they haven't gone there already.) But yeah, I actually deliberated over what they would be, in specific measurements. Character development just went to the next level.

Comments

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

I wish I could borrow some of the writing bug! I'm working on the Round Robin, and I'd rather not tell it commentary style, but unless I get inspired in the next few hours, I'm just going to have to abandon story mode.

If you don't include those specific stats in the story or a drabble or something now, you do realize I shall keep bugging you until you do, right? XD

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Do you have a deadline for that? You could always wait and see if if it'll come to you... Or maybe just impose a story on it, instead of following the action of the game. That's what I'd do. That's what I probably will do. For me, The game doesn't usually spell out enough in itself to make a story.

No, you'll get them. They compare notes. :P Ripp knows his down to the precise eigth of an inch (of course). I actually have several guys in my life who have told me theirs in that precise level of detail. I often wonder if I have a sign on my forehead that says, "tell me your penis size." *snicker* I just surround myself with very open people, I guess.

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

I'm actually late at this point. You're supposed to post in 3 weeks after you the heir, and its been longer than that for me. XD laridian, void of electricity at this point, has actually told people to message me to remind me I haven't posted yet! So, with her on my ass, I kinda need to get this done. :P

Well......that's not a sign you really want on your head, is it? XD Eigth of an inch....oh lord, Ripp, get a hobby that doesn't have to do with sex!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Wow. Laridian means business, doesn't she? I'll keep that in mind when my turn comes. Good luck with it!

No, not really. *snicker* I'm pretty immune to it at this point. I have some very TMI people in my life.

Why on earth would Ripp need a new hobby? This one is so satisfying and it's mostly free too (though he does have to buy about 754526435 boxes of condoms). You know he kept measuring until he got the very best measurement too. :P

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy your writers block is gone, for entirely selfish reasons. I've missed your story a lot. :)

Haha, we both chuckled a lot about the penis stats conversation. The more silly JRO stuff like that is always good for a laugh.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm very happy too. I'm picking away at a bunch of different storylines now. I had hoped that posting a chapter would do that.

Heheh. Yeah, I get a kick out of that stuff too, obviously. And it's not just complete silliness. I think the conversation reveals a lot about the characters (though maybe things we already know). Ripp has been tormented by the thought that Johnny's might be bigger for some time now (forever?), so I figured he'd eventually just find out.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

There was a time when I was around 15 that I had the writing bug constantly. I could throw out 2,000+ words in no time at all. And I LOVED it. Over the years my writing has become a lot more sporadic. It sometimes takes me MONTHS to finish a one-shot. And I can no longer write anything novel-like.

Lol the penis boys. I kind of think that Johnny'd be bigger, but Ripp's would be thicker and Ophelia's would be the largest of all.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it comes and goes, doesn't it? I used to write pages and pages for this story (most of which can't be used anymore because I changed the direction of the story), but now I've mostly been shooting the scenes first and then forcing out the text afterwards. I don't mind that, but I prefer working from the text first. I end up changing minor details, but it's easier when I have it roughed out.

I used to write a lot like that and fell out of it for years. Doing this story has gotten me back into it, which is great.

How did you KNOW?! *snicker* You're especially right about Ophelia's penis. Well, her figurative penis is probably pretty big, anyway.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I'd love to get my writing bug to just stay for good, but I think a lot of the problem is that it now has to share room with the drawing bug. I didn't start drawing for fun until my mid-teens and in the beginning I was really bad so I used writing as a creative outlet more. Now it seems to be the other way around.

And I know about their penises because I have seen them all. Also, because OPHELIA ALWAYS WINS.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

LOL - that's perfect! XD This made me laugh SO HARD.

I used to flip flop back and forth between the drawing and the writing bug too, but the drawing bug has sadly left me almost entirely. *sigh* I think I'm going to try to focus on writing for a while instead, but I hope it does come back eventually.

I just need to start doodling again. I think I'd get back into it. You never lose the ability to draw, but you only get better through practise.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

:D

It always kind of seems like one dominates over the other. It's hard to be on equal terms as a writer and a drawer. One always seems to kind of be the strongest pull.

I'd love to see some doodles from you. I'm so fond of looking at artwork of any kind. Plus you've already got two different drawn versions of the trio (mine and your SO's), might as well add your own take on them, eh? ^_^

[showercapfrog.livejournal.com]

ROFL.

I love this picture. That is all!

(Also, huzzah for lack of writer's block. I keep getting sporadic bursts of inspiration followed by long droughts of blocking.

And I think I have your sign "tell me your penis size", only men tend to tell me it in really obscure metaphors so I have no idea wtf they're talking about until later...)

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you got over it. The same thing happens to me, you just want to write all of the sudden, and you do. *nods*

I never thought about THAT particular aspect of it. I assume Johnny's would be longer, considering how lanky/slim he is, but Ripp is experienced...

I feel dirty now. Thanks a lot, ST. :P

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's great when that happens. It makes me happy.

I've always had an idea about it in the back of my mind, actually, along with other details about physical appearance and all that, but I never really nailed it down to specifics. And now I have. :P

Well, Ripp would argue that it's ALL about technique anyway, and he'll definitely stick by that line if Johnny wins. And Johnny is supposed to be quite a bit taller... but that doesn't always mean anything.

Heheh. No problem. I'm always here to pull your mind into the gutter. You're welcome. :P

[hviw.livejournal.com]

Penis stats. those are two words I've never seen adjacent before.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, if only I could say that... alas, I hear that sort of thing all the time.

Actually, Ripp's exact words are "cock stats," which is so much more eloquent, right?

[dragancaor.livejournal.com]

Writers block dislodgement has to be the best feeling ever. Unless its in the middle of the night & your muse wont let you go back to sleep & then you hate it while you wait for the caffeine to kick in... heh...

I thought my character bios were indepth. You win. XD

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I know! It's like taking ex-lax for the brain. And hey - if you wake up with a great idea, getting it out is the right thing to do, as inconvenient as that may seem. You did the right thing.

W00t! After you spend so much time with a character, the level of detail can become frightening... but I love thinking all this stuff through, especially if it will be useful for a scene. This will be worth it for the laugh.

[simfinite.livejournal.com]

Hooray! I'm so glad you feel that way... And apparently I'm rhyming. You have no idea how excited I am for this scene! But in all seriousness, I admire the amount of thought you put into each character. It's amazing!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Rhyming is fun! Fun for everyone. :D

Heheh. I think it'll be good for a laugh. And thank you. :) After a while, it becomes easier to write them, because I know so much about them, and I know exactly how they'll react. It pays off that way (and the writer nerd in me is endlessly entertained by thinking these things through).

[tanathir.livejournal.com]

Let me get my initial reaction out of the way before any serious commenting:

LOL PENIS


There.

Ahem. Glad to hear you have the writing bug back. I've been frustratingly stuck on my fic in another fandom for YEARS, so I know how writer's block feels. It's like, this hugely strong desire to write, but the words won't come or if they do, they don't feel right. And plot ideas? Oh, man. It is so hard sticking to a preplanned plot. Example: my fanfic is in the Matrix fandom and I wrote a large part of it before the sequels were released so now I'm struggling to fit my fanon in with the trilogy canon. Ugh, the life of a writer!

Still I have to get back to the beginning of your storyline, and I'm dreading it a little because I'm a huge sap who wants happiness in everything which is why I usually don't read story-based Sim things at all. (LOL runon sentence) I enjoy talking with you about the way you've developed these characters. What's cool is, with these Maxis-made characters, people can develop them in so many ways.

Allow me to guess a few things:

Ripp = Romance Sim?
Johnny = Knowledge Sim?
Ophelia = Fortune or Knowledge Sim?

Ripp is larger than average and thicker, Johnny is longer. Ophelia beats them all in length and girth. XD

I found a downloadable Ripp, and I need to get my game functioning again so I can have fun with him myself! Take that as dirty or innocent as you want...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

LOL PENIS - what more do you really need to say? Penises are funny, and every conversation eventually degrades to talking about naughty bits and bodily functions... at least that's been my experience.

Writer's block is awful. You can force it, but you end up writing pages and pages of pure shit, so it's discouraging. I love getting so inspired that you end up scribbling feverishly on napkins. I'm in that mode again now and it's great.

The preplanned plot thing doesn't always work. I've changed my plot for this sim story a million times. At the end it will be funny to reveal all the things that might have happened. You'll LOL.

Ugh. It must suck to have to try to match your fanon up with newly written canon. Any series that's not completed must be hard on fan writers that way. The only fanfiction I ever really got into was for another videogame, FFVI, and that just ended at the end of the game, so that wasn't an issue. I did drop a long multi-chapter fic somewhere in the middle, though, because it fizzled out (and well, my computer crashed and I lost several chapters that I had no desire to re-write). I'm determined to not do that with this story.

Yeah, it's not all going to be happiness in this story. But even though I like to put the characters through the wringer (and not everyone will even make it out alive), I'm a sucker for a happy ending too.

That is very cool. The game just provides a starting point, so it's very open to interpretation. I like the structure that exists there, since I love working within confines like that (I'm like that with art too), but it's also very open.

Well, you have Ripp right, and what else could he be? :P But Johnny is popularity, and Ophelia is family. With secondary aspirations, they are:

Ripp: romance, family (poor guy is messed up)
Johnny: popularity, family (most of the Curious clan is family)
Ophelia: family, knowledge

Heheh. I like your theories, but you'll see what I came up with. I wouldn't want to give it all away. :P But yeah, Ophelia's (detachable?) penis would beat everyone. No question.

Was that the LL30 Ripp? I think she has an interesting take on him there. (And once you have the genetic structure, you could change him back to the more typical appearance.)

Ripp likes any sort of fun, so I'm sure he'll be thrilled.

[tanathir.livejournal.com]

I have a theory that when you have women talking together for long enough, the topic WILL turn to menstruation. Same applies to other bodily functions, but something about bleeding from the crotch gives it this unique phenomenon.

I think what would help me is to start my paper journal again. Just the act of writing with a good pencil or pen can jump-start the creativity. And yeah, revising fanon after canon changes is tough. Fortunately I set my fic before the series of movies and I can easily enough maneuver around canon.

Not to say that strife and suffering in a story is bad, I just prefer to read happier things. The world is sucky enough; I don't need to add to it reading fiction for recreation. Your story looks good enough to break my pattern, though. <3

Hah, that suits Ripp perfectly! He wants the romance, but deep down he also wants some kiddos. I wouldn't have guessed that about the others, though.

I found a teen Ripp extracted from the game on the exchange, so he has the original correct genetic structure. I also found a Johnny and Pollination Technician (not PT Smith but the original PT that abducts you) which has led me to think of a story of my own. Gotta get my downloads sorted out so my game loads, then I can tweak everyone's genetics and stats and actually start the story.

Now to decide if I want to start Ripp out as a teen and put him through college, or just age him in CAS...

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Yay for no more writer's block! Sometimes I don't get actual writer's block as much as I get disinterested in something. Like I can write about something else with no trouble, but can't think up a thing to write about another project. Sigh. I wonder if that's a normal phenomenon. Another thing I do is I'll think of an idea in the middle of doing something... like cooking... and have to go write it down AT THAT MOMENT or it's gone. My husband thinks I'm insane that I have to stop the "important" things to go write down something (and it's usually in some kind of shorthand that no one else but me could understand.) Meh... he just doesn't get it I suppose. ;)

Anyway I'm so entertained by your story that I'm glad the words are flowing for you!

Can't wait for the penis stats conversation too. :D I must say, I have the "new" crammyboy cock in my game (the newer one with more realistic sizes) and I give my alien guys some extra length. :D I figure they would either be larger or smaller than regular, average male humans and I choose to make them larger. ;)

[muslemura.livejournal.com]

Yay for unblocked creativity :D That's always wonderful :)

And I'm also looking forward to the penis conversation - so very Ripp-like *lol*

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

See that right there...THAT is why I love your work and just reading your blog. You're hysterical. :D And you're always surprising me and so are the comments. :)


You also make me want to get back on my legacy and fate legacy ASAP. :D I really want to get back on that, I just had life stuff that got in the way. :)