G'day. My name is Bethgael. I am going to go into some of the details on what can make a good story. I'll have some help of course.
Everyone say "Hi" to Reno. Reno, say "Hi" to the people.
Now, before I go any further, I am going to say a massive "Thankyou" to purple_paws at Mod The Sims 2 for the school poster custom content, some of which were very apt for this tutorial.
Thankyou, massively.
It has been said that every person has a novel in them. I don't know if this is true, but if so, there are many novels that should stay just where they are: within the person. Anyone who writes out of a cynical desire to be noticed, or for fame and fortune, should be aware that most writers get none of the above.
Having said that, if you constantly have images in your head and a story in your heart--if you are the sort of person who wants to write, who has to write, who needs to write, then you are a writer. Sure, you may not have the requisite skillset--yet. But then, that's what this article is about.
Why is it, I wonder, that people expect overnight success when it comes to writing, like anyone who isn't published--yet--is an automatic failure as a writer? Does anyone expect someone who starts painting to produce a masterpiece overnight--or someone who is learning a musical instrument to get to concert standard without hours and hours of lessons and practice first? Or an athlete to get to the Olympics within the first week of taking up running?
Writing is an art, and a craft. It's 5% talent and 95% hard work. And it requires knowledge of the written word--something that is completely learnable, if anyone sets their mind to it. But don't expect the first thing you plonk out to be a work of genius. Even Anne Rice needs to edit (whatever she may claim).
Writing is competitive, but I won't buy into that. There is room for everyone. Go for it.
It should be noted that I don't consider myself an expert on the exchange, especially as most of my stories are posted off it. In RL, though, I am a writer by trade, and it can be frustrating and sad sometimes to see some excellent storylines that are difficult to read because of, for example, no editing of typos:
pepple writn like this all the timei can see howit canbe eadierfor some to seebut oldtimers likemefindithard2read.
L337sp33k falls into this category, too. All very well for SMSing, but for stories? People. Communication, it's not.
Or, sometimes, people with excellent grammar whose stories read like the back of a cereal box. Or the cereal. Sad, but true.
For example:
"Susie Sim got a new house. Then she built a bedroom and bought some stuff. She decorated it in pink. Then she met a townie called Goopy and they did woo-hoo. They liked to woo-hoo a lot. Then they had a baby. They named the baby Harry. Harry was so cute they decided to have another baby. Lots of woo-hoo again."
So, in this tutorial, as well as looking at story basics (how to make a story people will like to read) I'll cover some basic grammar and punctuation and how to use the camera interface, as well as some tricks and tips.
I am not a great Sim photographer, but hopefully the tips will help.
It should also be noted that stories are subjective, like art. And eye candy. What is one person's cool banana is another person's iced coffee. I happen to like Reno, others prefer Aragorn or Buffy. You know how it is. Stories are intensely personal to some people, others just want to tell their online friends how their Legacy Challenge went.
It's All Good.
For the purposes of this tutorial, I have presumed that the reader has never written a story using the Sims 2, and writes like the example I gave. So more advanced users and writers may just find themselves going "duh" occasionally. Or often. I'm sure we'll try and keep you amused somehow.
The first part is story construction--a section that applies to all writing, not just for the Sims 2.
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