Ripples and Branches

[orikes]

A couple of weeks ago, De brought up the idea of talking about our plots and characters. It was an intriguing idea, so I said I would write something up. This was extremely easier said than done. It was kind of like trying to catch fish in the middle of a rushing river with just my bare hands.



First off, it felt strange attempting to sit down and actually explain and quantify my methods and goals when it comes to plotting and characterization. While I consider myself a relatively educated person, I've never had any formal training as a writer. I never took any creative writing courses in high school or college. Because of that, it makes me feel a bit like I'm a big faker when it comes to even discussing this stuff. I know that not every successful writer has formal education for writing, but it still makes me hesitate to spout my mouth off.

Since I don't have a writing background, one thing that seriously influences the way I handle the Pseudo Legacy is my experience with role-playing games. I think this needs to be clarified up front to explain how my brain works in regards to all of this.

In addition to table-top games, I spent many years lost in text-based online games. These were mostly MUSHes, but they could also be called MUX, MUCK, MOO, and so on. I played in almost any type of setting you could imagine - modern horror, historical fantasy, super hero, post-apocalyptic dystopia, cyberpunk, and so on. You name it, I probably made a character there at least once.

To anyone who's ever experienced 'role-players' on a massively multiplayer role-playing game like World of Warcraft or Everquest, please let me clarify that most of what I did was NOTHING like the 'thee and thou' type of role-player you'll see in those games. When it was at its best, my experience with these games was essentially cooperative, real time storytelling where each person was the 'author' of one character in the scene. When you got the right group of people together, the story was king and all else paled in comparison. I had the privilege of taking part in some amazing storytelling done in these games with some truly talented people.

So what does any of this have to do with writing my sims stories?

Well, when you're in a role-playing game, you have to act and react in relation to the overall story the game master presents. The actions the various characters take can and do influence the outcome of the story. While there might be a loose script in the background for what's happening, what the characters do is integral to the whole process. Things may go exactly the way expected, or they could take a sudden left turn that no one anticipated. This is exactly how I treat my sims.

I usually have a general idea of what's going on or where I want to head with a particular storyline, but I leave enough room to let my sims tell me what they want and let them change the storyline. This is one of the reasons why I really can't plan too far ahead, or why my plot ideas are only very loosely kept ideas.

To illustrate one old example that I can talk about without spoilers (unless you haven't read Chapter Three) let's talk about Brody's relationship with Heather. I've mentioned this before, but this was never planned. It all started because I decided to have a heir poll and I never realized that people wouldn't vote the way I wanted them to.

See, I wanted Brody as heir. Brody was my favorite of the generation by a very small margin. Micah comes in a very close second, but I knew I didn't want him as heir since I'd already had three out of four sims be popularity among the legacy couples. I liked Persephone well enough, but I'm not a fan of family sims. Brody was my choice, but I'd decided I wanted to do a poll. They always seemed like such fun when I read about them in other legacies. Yeah. Right.

Anyway, as anyone who has seen how polls actually work at Boolprop, the prettiest sim got voted heir and I ended up with Persephone as heir. Since I have to turn EVERYTHING into a plot development, this meant I needed to do something to deal with the fact that I wanted Brody as heir, but he couldn't have it. My initial idea was to have him named heir but have the woman he chose to marry betray him since she would be secretly working for Kirstial. I was even briefly considering killing him off. I wasn't sure I could go through with it, but I was thinking about it. Either way, I went so far as to start perusing the dormies and townies to find a red head that would work for my purposes.

While this was all still in the infant stages of plot development, I moved Brody into a dorm at Sim State. I was quite amused to see that two of the dormies moving in with him were Heather and Tamara. Completely on their own, they utterly changed my plotline. Tamara kept trying to get cozy with Brody while Heather and he became best friends almost overnight. As a result, Tamara and Heather started fighting. Then suddenly Brody and Heather autonomously flirted and he fell in love.

This was not in the plan. I suppose I could have had Heather, with her bitterness towards Zoey, working for Kirstial and used her instead. With her animosity towards Tamara, though, that really wasn't a viable option. On top of that, there was just something so perfect about Brody and Heather as a couple. I'd already put out the fact that Brody was considered exceptionally attractive, but was completely unaware of his affect on the women around him. Then there was Heather and her self-doubt at her own worth now that she was a zombie. After all, how could someone like Brody ever really care for her romantically? Shouldn't she just be happy with his friendship? Why did she want more?

Well, this was all well and good, but it didn't really address the fact that I had a plot I had to get back on track. On a whim, I decided I didn't want to use any of the dormies or NPCs (I had considered the red haired girl in a grey skirt suit or the red haired gardener chick), so I created Deena in CAS. For some reason, it felt easier using Deena as an unrepentant bad guy than taking an existing sim and using them.

Now, considering how intense Brody and Heather's relationship was once they admitted their feelings to one another, there was no way Deena would be able to seduce him away from her without help. Brody had already proven that he was really rather clueless about his affect on women and as far as he was concerned, Heather was the perfect woman. What more could he want? So, Deena turned to the love potion for help.

This whole plot also helped me develop Persephone into the heir I needed her to be. As I said, I'm not really a fan of family sims. Up until this storyline, Persephone had been a sweet and nice girl who was mostly level-headed but impetuous about falling in love. Of all three siblings, she understood the importance of the carrying on the legacy. Even if she didn't know the specifics, she had that hint of second sight that let her know there was something vitally important about making sure the legacy carried on. That said, she had no personal ambition for herself in regards to taking over the legacy, so she was perfectly content to let Brody be heir. At least until Brody fell in love with a zombie.

It was an interesting challenge to take a likable character and keep them likable while giving them an unpopular opinion. In Persephone's mind, Brody was failing in his duty to the legacy by choosing a zombie as his wife. Children are the lifeblood of a legacy and zombies can't have children. No matter how nice Heather was, there was no way she could be a legacy spouse. So when Deena showed up, she seemed like the answer to Persephone's prayers.

If Deena had been trying to seduce Micah away from Genesis, Persephone would have picked up on the wrongness of it almost right away. Instead, Persephone was so relieved that Brody had stopped seeing 'that zombie' that she didn't see the signs that things weren't what they should be. By the time she started picking up on things, the stubbornness that's almost a genetic Legacina trait kicked into high gear and she was firmly entrenched in her boat traveling up the river of denial.

Ultimately, it's all a ripple effect. I take a small idea, a plot nugget, and drop it into the sea that my sims exist in and see what happens from there. In many ways, it's a game of 'what if'. What if this happens? How do these characters handle it? So many of my plots have started that away and the ripples then branch outward. Yeah, I know I'm mixing my metaphors, but it's my head. It's a jumbled place.

What if Brody is named heir, but is betrayed by his fiance?
What if the weather gets broken by an experiment gone wrong?
What if they get the wrong child when they try and rescue Brody's child?
What if the kids try and track something down and get in over their heads?
What if Elijah gets a quest to restore the seasons?
What if Ian falls in love with a woman for all the wrong reasons?

If you know who your characters are and you let them be who they are in game, these questions are easy to answer and simply lead to more questions that fill in the story along the way.

In other words, I'm making it up as I go. :)

Comments

[ndainye.livejournal.com]

This is really interesting, I'm glad you wrote it up :)

I think, when using this type of medium, that it's somewhat important to allow the characters a bit more wiggle room. It's certainly more fun, if occasionally frustrating, for me when they do things I wasn't expecting. I do know that there are plenty of people that play their game based of a script for the story that they want to tell, and while I do like that type of story telling, it's nice to see the characters taking control as well.

I think many of us make it up as we go :)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I've seen stories where things are almost completely scripted and I've seen others that are all free will. I've read both types that work. For me, though, I think I have to go a little more middle of the road.

While some of the little surprises they throw me get swept under a rug (like Brody and Genesis hopping in the sack when he first moved into the greek house), others become major plot arcs (Aeric and Venus wanting to be together as a couple).

[honorkid54.livejournal.com]

It makes me smile looking at how far back the family goes. =D

I love incorporating plot and cliffhangers, but only what could tie into the storyline. I had tons of characters and plot events going on, but I'm tying it up again so the story will begin to make more sense. Too little plot is a no-no for me, but too much just makes and overdone; too much sugar is sour. I want it to be a captivating plot, but I also want to eliminate anything that won't contribute to the Story. A lot of it I have planned, For example, I already know how the story is going to end, who's going to be the "immortal guide" (Like Brody and Heather, Or Denise's Amelia, Now her son), who's going to die, and the Epilogue. I know how certain Fairytale Modernizations are going to be done, like Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty, and of Course, Alice in Wonderland, which is my favorite.

A lot of it is planned as I go along, but I like to have a basic idea of what's going to happen.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

It's very easy to go overboard with plot, especially with the built in ensemble cast you get in a legacy. The trick is learning which plot threads to pick up and run with and which to let be.

[docnerd.livejournal.com]

It's interesting how you tie your gaming into your plotting. I've never done anything like that, so I tend to plot more like I do with my fiction, and play the rest of it by ear. I mean, I've had what I just did with Cassidy planned out since about November of last year. The stuff I've got coming up in the next few generations, I've had planned since around the same time--except the things with Archie, which I've crafted around him as a character. For me, it's as much fitting the characters into what I've already planned as it is forming the plot around them.

I know people talk about writing themselves "blank checks," but I don't think I've really done that--I know exactly where I'm headed and exactly what I need to do, at least for all of the big stuff. Raven's prophecies aren't so much a "blank check" as a roadmap.

It's interesting to see how you developed Brody and Persephone. The two of them and Micah are really great characters, and totally different from each other.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I do have some stuff loosely planned out way in advance. Ian's story was decided on back in January, I think. Maybe February. Most of what's coming up in the next update (whenever I get it finished) was thought out back then as well. Loosely, though. I end up changing and adapting a lot as I go. Most of what I do is probably more like what you've done with Archie. Taken something you were given in game and running with it.

Mmm. Archie.

*cough*

I think the gen three kids (Brody, Micah and Persephone) were where I really started getting into the storyline aspect. There was some of that with Zoey and Vic, but those three were where it really started taking off.

[ahrubyblue.livejournal.com]

A ripple effect. I like that. I usually think of it as a butterfly effect or get some sort of visual of entwining vines or something. Either way, the process lends itself to organic comparisons (which I think is interesting in and of itself). One part grows out from the next and into another.
I truly think that your gaming experience is a great asset to you in this (tying plot and character together and using the sorts of questions you listed to get you from one place to the next). When I first learned that you were into gaming I had a little "Aha!" moment. I think it has a lot to do with what makes your stories so captivating, above and beyond your other skills.

Basically all of this boils down to, "You're pretty damn talented and I like reading about your thought process." :)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

You're makin' me blush, Ruby!

Butterfly effect is another good metaphor. It's definitely an organic process with everything growing out of everything else. It's all a matter of what effect an event will have and how the sims react and change to that event.

[leaths.livejournal.com]

I really do enjoy reading about your thought process. Mostly because I feel like I'm flailing around like one of those fish you were trying to catch, so hearing the thoughts of others often gives me ideas of how to better focus my story.

I particularly like your "what if" type planning. Me, I tend to go with "why." Ok, that just happened, so why. I think I like your way better. It seems more proactive while my why's are more reactive.

All of the talk about Brody and Heather make me want to go back and reread those chapters. I just might when I have a good block of free time.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I do a little bit of the 'why' type of thing. When Christian cheated on Zoey with Tamara, I had to come up with the why for that. Same with Aeric and Venus falling for one another. Even those end up as a 'What if', though.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I'm really loving all these thoughts people are writing up at the moment. It is so interesting to me to see how others approach their stories, and the surprises the game throws at us all.

I've been planning on doing something similar about one of my story-lines for well over a month now. Looks like I'll be in good company.

[dgjamie.livejournal.com]

This was interesting to see. Boolprop heir polls seem to have a habit of selecting heiresses rather than heirs from the little I've seen. I'm sure if you'd put one up for Generation 4 Miranda would have been a shoe-in.

Lately I've noticed about my own writing that my characterization grows out of the plot I've been planning rather than the other way around, as it seems to do for you. I find it gives me more direction and credibility than trying to 'assign' character traits would, so I'm intrigued about your own 'reading' of your sims.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know Miranda would have won a poll in a heartbeat. Heck, Stacie did a poll for Whedonberry and Drusilla, the least developed child of the generation, won based on looks alone. The heirship should have gone to Derri or Dean based on the development of the character, but the 'masses' chose the prettiest one.

Hmmm. It'd be another slippery fish to try and quantify how I come to develop the personalities of my sims. It might be worth writing up, though.

[dgjamie.livejournal.com]

I really do think that there's an element of girls voting chosing girls though, no matter what they look like. I polled for Gen 3, pretty casually but it was just to help me decide, because after Aria teenified and I decided that she was out the other three were on an extremely even plateau for me and I would have been happy with any of them as heir so I absolved myself of the decision. I hadn't figured out photobucket and picture posting yet, because I'm a bit slow with technology, and so I polled without pictures. Artemis being the only girl in the poll won, I'm sure without most people even knowing what she looked like. So I don't necessarily think it's entirely a beauty contest.

And didn't the exact same thing happen in Piratical when Ivy won the heir poll over Jack? It really seems to me that the girls tend to come out on top, probably because mostly it's girls voting.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

It is definitely a situation of girls voting for girls, but there's also the 'pretty' factor involved.

In Stacie's poll, she had Deanna up with Drusilla and the two boys. Dru had hair that obscured some of the more pronounced 'issues' with her face while Deanna's were more obvious. Deanna was FAR more developed than Dru, yet Dru won hands down. I think Deanna came in second with Derri and Dru coming in third and fourth. With Sarah's poll, I know Ivy won over Jack, but she also beat out Eddie and their other sister whose name I've forgotten.

If I ever do a poll again, it'll be an informal affair with people telling me their opinions rather than setting up an official poll.

[wtsims.livejournal.com]

You're more qualified than anyone to speak to your own writing process. Besides, fewer authors than you think have taken any formal classes, or gotten anything out of them. Trust me on this. (Also, the lead editor of one of the most well-known genre publishers in the country has a high school education...)

Anyhow. I've thought for a while that RP, especially MUSH RP, does a lot to teach one how to write (well, it can also not, but bad RP is another topic), and MUSH RP beyond that is really good background for Sim stories because it's got a similar feel. Although you technically have control of all the characters, letting them do what they want and responding to that is a lot like MUSHing in some ways. I no longer MUSH for various reasons but I will say that it definitely helped me hone my dialogue. It's not the only thing that helped me develop it but because MUSHing is mainly about human(ish) interaction it definitely was some of the best practice I could get. I was not surprised at all to find out you have a MU* background. :)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you MUSHed. :)

I MUSHed pretty much straight from 1994 to 2000 and then again pretty heavily between 2004 and 2006.

Let's see... PernMUSH, SYE: Indy by Night, Dragonsfire MOO, Shadowrun MUX, Aether, Nightscape, Crucible City, City by the Bay and a crap ton of others that were blips on the radar. I actually staffed on three of them (SYE, Aether, and CbtB).

When I initially started writing this up, it was turning into an essay on how MUSHing made me a decent writer. Getting in with the crew on Aether really pushed my skill since I got in with some amazing writers on that game. The whole hobby, at its best, is about cooperative writing. At it's worst.. well, there are reasons I don't MU* anymore. :)

[wtsims.livejournal.com]

I MU*ed from... early 90s until 2002. End date's easier to remember than start because of why I stopped... I miss RPing but I don't miss MU*ing. Most of the MU*s you list I was never on but Studebaker's player and I are friends and I played on SYE for a while. Depending on when and what sphere you staffed I may've known you then... but my only long-term character there was a Changeling and he was Changeling wiz then, so I doubt I was ever in your sphere. Misc. other chars that were brief because of not being able to break into RP with them or connect with the character or whatever. Oh, and for about a month I held a wizbit there, but I didn't have time to be FT codewiz so that didn't last. I did fix some broken code, though.

Cooperative writing is how I describe MU*ing too. Actually I usually say "real-time cooperative writing". :)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember someone who was brought on as codewiz, but wasn't around for too long. I was Jeep, the Were Admin. I actually met Studebaker in person years ago. I went out to Indianapolis and met a bunch of them from SYE. It was a bit of a mixed trip, but I don't regret taking it.

[smoothiesims.livejournal.com]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with making it up as you go. I think that sometimes the best story ideas come just from observing what your Sims do and you've talked about that quite a bit in this. Sometimes you think up something in your own head, and then they do something that makes you think of something else and you're like, "Ooh, that will actually work better."

I definitely feel for you about the poll, but at the same time I think that the results turned out one of your better plot points and helped to move the story along (though Brody definitely would've been a great heir). I don't do polls anymore for that reason, but sometimes they do good things for the story (if Nadine hadn't been heir, I wouldn't have Allegra or any of the plots surrounding her).

I really enjoyed reading this and wanted to let you know. ^_^ Definitely looking for more of this from you in the future.