"The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to bloggers, to promote the blogging sites we love and support."
Accepting the nomination comes with these conditions:
1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog.
3. Nominate 5-11 bloggers whom you feel deserve this award and have fewer than or equal to 3,000 followers.
4. Answer 11 questions posted by the nominator, and ask your nominees 11 questions.
1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog.
3. Nominate 5-11 bloggers whom you feel deserve this award and have fewer than or equal to 3,000 followers.
4. Answer 11 questions posted by the nominator, and ask your nominees 11 questions.
Now that Step 1 is done, onto the much more important Step 2. Thank you, Beth and Gayl, for the nomination. For anyone reading this who hasn't checked out their amazing saga, you are missing out and need to start reading it pronto. Not only are both writers exceptionally talented with both the words and visuals, but their collaborative effort is a winning combination. They're also kind, supportive, and brilliant individuals who have been major sources of support for me in the years I've been posting stories. So, for both the nod and everything you do, thank you both. Keep being awesome. :)
And now for Step 3... hmm. Many of the stories and authors I've been following have been quiet lately. Real life happens, other interests happen, and there's nothing wrong with moving on. Many other authors I follow have already been nominated for this award. So, I'm going to go for a few that are not officially cancelled as far as I'm aware. Some have been updated recently, some haven't, but all of them deserve it:
Adie for The Cavalho Legacy
Ekho for Kingdom of Marlowe
Katdelval for Witch
MedleyMisty for Surreal Darkness
Mimus for Empire of Meliora
Morgaine2005 for The Chronicles of Albion
Penelope for Dragging Blue Lake
Scribbles for The Elven Heritage Legacy
Winter for In Verona
Aaaaand Step 4. First off, the answers to Beth and Gayl's questions:
1. Do you have characters you really dislike? Did you start out disliking them?
Heheh... yeah, I do. Some of them were by design completely unlikeable, like Norwan or Domingo. That was the role they were supposed to fill, so yeah, I always disliked them. Others kind of grew into their repulsiveness. Ietrin comes to mind there; he was only a baby when the story started, so who knew he'd grow up to be such a piece of shit.
Conversely, there have also been characters that I figured I'd hate, but who ended up growing on me: Roderick, Laralita, Elarys, Deian.
2. Do you plot your stories or just let them happen?
Umm... I guess the best answer to that is... yes? With a theoretically endless story like Naroni, it's impossible to plan out the whole thing, nor do I think I'd want to plan what will probably end up being a sixty-some-year saga (I still think the "right" way--or at least the most full-circle way--to end Naroni would be with Severin's death). For individual storylines, I plan the general idea, but sometimes other things sneak their way in there and I go with it--most recently, Yvanette and Sevvie's spying game, which had never occurred to me before I got was about halfway done writing the post.
So, I guess I sort of plot, but not to the point that I would plot a self-contained novel.
3. How do you deal with writer's block if you experience it?
Depends on what I'm working on. With Naroni... it's my "keep writing" project. Sort of a productivity grindstone. I don't always feel it, and a lot of times I'll be thinking "this post is crap" and hit the publish button anyway. Just kind of "soldier on".
With my novel... well, I probably treat it as more delicate than it actually is. When I'm not feeling it, I usually just take a step back. If it goes on too long, I'll go back and read earlier passages and see if I can find the logical next step.
4. If you've ever tried writing with someone, how did it work out?
Not too well. I'm a bit of a control freak.
5. Do you use fantasy objects like the weather controller in your Sims stories and if so, how?
The weather controller is a must! Ever since I installed Seasons, it seems the game always wants to rain except when I need it to. So, it's good to have that bit of control. I also use InSim for general keeping Sims in line purposes, as well as InTeen in the event that I need it (though I haven't used it in the story since the university started up... but that will change soon, actually).
6. Has a character changed on you? If so, how do you handle it?
Ye-ep. Probably the one that comes to mind is Rona. She started out as this girl who was desperate to get married and almost didn't care who it was, but... thing is, she was already in love and didn't know it, which was why she started singing such a different tune when Aspen got sent away. But I didn't realize just how firmly she'd change after that. She does tend to be kind of a volatile character overall. She's the sort who has to get her way, but isn't always sure what her way is.
Laralita's another one. I thought she'd go to her grave being her old vapid self, but when Roderick died, it just didn't feel natural for her to continue on like that.
7. Do you tend to get lost in building the world and let the story lapse? If so, how do you deal with it, or is that a feature and not a bug?
On paper, maybe. I have a lot of spreadsheets despite the fact that I really only need the master one. I have a lot of stats that will never hit the internet. But so far, I haven't found this has distracted from the actual writing.
As for the neighborhood in the game... eh, honestly, it's gotten to the point where I have so many lots that I have to put new ones where they fit rather than where they would be if I were to make an actual map. I also have next to no neighborhood deco, since we'd never see it anyway and I need the space for lots. But I love seeing pictures of other people's neighborhoods, and I can understand how getting the neighborhood right would help creatively.
8. How do you deal with posing?
I used to be more into posing, but I got kind of lazy, plus I ran into some game issues on my old computer. So, these days, I mainly just use in-game interactions. Usually chatting. But... eh, I'm okay with that for now.
9. Do you process your shots in Photoshop or a similar graphics program?
Not usually. I just crop them to the size I like in Paint.Net. I'll occasionally color in some glaring mesh gap, but usually I just shrug off any clipping, knowing that most of my readers are also Simmers who get that that happens with the game sometimes.
10. How long does it take to write and post a chapter?
Well, usually the longest part is debating whether or not to sit down and do it. But once I get going, it usually won't take more than an hour, hour and a half for writing, less than that for shooting depending on how many pictures I need. It helps that most of my posts are pretty short.
11. If you had to spend an afternoon doing the most boring thing you can imagine, which of your characters would you force to spend it with you?
That's a tough one! On one hand, I wouldn't want to subject a character I liked to unnecessary boredom. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to spend a whole afternoon with a character I didn't like.
I guess I'd have to go with Lonriad (the younger). I think he'd find a way to make just about anything fun, or at least make me laugh trying.
Now, to question my nominees! Should they choose to answer, of course. Hmm...
1. What is your opinion on conventional writing "rules" (e.g. minimal adverb use)?
2. How do you choose clothing and hairstyles for your Sims? Is it more important that they reflect their environment or situation, or their personalities and ambitions?
3. Do you refer to your Sims' in-game aspirations and personalities when developing their characters, especially when it comes to born-in-game Sims whose personalities you didn't get to customize?
4. Similar to the above, when it comes to love interests, do you allow in-game chemistry to influence which Sims get together? Or do they get with whoever you want them with, whether the game likes it or not?
5. If you were to start your story again, are there any major changes you'd make right off the bat? If so, what are they?
6. Are there any books, films, shows, games, or even other Sims stories that you think have influenced your work?
7. What are your favorite character names? Do any of your characters have names you dislike?
8. Do you listen to music while writing or creating visuals? If so, what kind of music, and why do you feel it helps you personally?
9. Are any of your characters based, however loosely, on people you know in real life?
10. If you can answer without venturing into spoiler territory, which of your characters do you think have the best chance of overcoming their personal hurdles? Are there any that you fear may be doomed?
11. Does anyone you know in real life read your story? If so, how do you feel about that?