Making a Scene: Part 6

READ PART 1 HERE

READ PART 2 HERE

READ PART 3 HERE

READ PART 4 HERE

READ PART 5 HERE

Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked about many different components that go into a strong scene. Today, I’m going to wrap this series up with a few ideas on how we can use these element. I’ll show how we can put them together to create powerful scenes in our stories.

Putting a Scene Together

It all starts with conflict. That’s the key element in every scene. It’s the reason the scene exists in the first place, so it makes sense to build our scenes around it. When you sit down and plan a scene, start by identifying the central conflict that’s going to occur.

Summertime was originally published by Secret Cravings Publishing. It is no longer in print.

To illustrate, I’ve pulled a short scene out from one of my novels, Summertime. The story — set in 1914 — is about Linn Sparks, a young woman from a small town in Kansas who’s become a stage star in San Francisco. For personal reasons, she’s come back to Brookfield, her home town, for a few days. She hates the town and everything in it.

The scene I’m sharing takes place early in the story, shortly after Linn arrives in town. Her underlying need is acceptance, although she doesn’t fully understand that. Her goal is to conduct her business and return to San Francisco as quickly as possible. In this scene — as with others in the story — Linn is intent on showing herself as superior to the “simple folks” in Brookfield. 

As the scene begins, she’s rented a wagon and is driving toward her parents’ farm.

In planning the scene, I’m going to start by looking at the conflict that will happen. This conflict comes when the scene question is answered.

Here, the scene question is “Will Linn reach her parents’ farm without problem?” The answer is “No, and she’s going to have a disagreeable encounter with a former friend, Polly Washburn.” This forms the central conflict of the scene.

Here’s the point at which the encounter happens:

“Why, Linnie Mae Sparks! Is that really you?”

This is the central conflict, a sudden change that disrupts Linn’s intentions. It’s a single line of dialogue that upsets Linn for a lot of reasons, although I don’t spell them all out. In reading the complete scene in the novel’s context, readers can understand Linn’s feelings.

Next, we want to consider any warning signs that occur. These are slight changes in a scene that alert our main character — and the reader — that something is about to happen. Maybe your character sees a man approach. Maybe there’s a knock on the door. Maybe there’s a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder just before rain begins to fall.

In my scene, Polly’s appearance takes Linn by surprise, so instead of a warning, I kept Linn busy tending to another problem. She’s having a bit of an argument with a stubborn mule. I show that something is about to change by abruptly breaking off Linn’s dialogue with the critter.

“Now, listen, you stubborn old thing, I’ve got a notion to send you to the glue pits if you—”

Now, we’ve identified the central conflict and change in the scene, and we know how we’ll prepare the reader. Next we need to consider how our point-of-view character will react. When things happen, there’s an immediate response.

In my scene, Linn whirls around to face her former friend.  Here’s the reaction I wrote for her:

At the sound of the squealing voice, Linn let go of the mule and whirled around.

We’ve now taken three big steps toward creating a satisfying scene:

1. We’ve alerted the reader that something is about to happen.
2. We’ve introduced a source of conflict and change.
3. We’ve shown our character’s immediate reaction.

Basically, we’ve written the middle of our scene. But scenes have beginnings and endings, too. So, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s a good idea to consider when, where, and how our scene will begin.

Generally, we open a new scene with a quick “status” — showing who’s there, where they are, and essentially “setting the stage” for the reader. Here’s the way I opened the scene with Linn and Polly:

A short time later, she climbed aboard a rented wagon, lifted the reins in her hands, and slapped them over the mule’s broad back. 

That’s the beginning. What about the ending? Just when and how should a scene end? Scenes come to an end when they’ve served their purpose. I had several reasons for writing this particular scene. I needed to introduce Polly to the story, show Linn’s negative attitude toward the people of Brookfield, and, in general, make Linn as uncomfortable as I could. Once I’d accomplished those goals, it was time to end the scene with Linn driving away:

Looking straight ahead, she took hold of the thick leather reins. The old mule must have sensed Linn’s desire to move on. The wagon lurched forward. 

In between the beginning and the end, a lot of things can happen within a scene — in addition to the central conflict in the middle. Usually, there’s a specific action — often a line of dialogue — that “brings the scene to life”. I think of it as the point where a director might yell, “Action!” while making a film.

The scene with Linn begins with her slapping the reins over the mule’s back. To bring it more fully to life, I also gave her a few words to speak:

“Go on, there! Get up!”

Before we go on, let’s make a little map of the scene structure so far:

1. We’ve set the stage for the reader.
2. We’ve brought the scene to life.
3. As we approach the middle of the scene, we’ve alerted the reader that something will happen.
4. We’ve introduced conflict and answered the scene question.
5. We’ve shown our character’s immediate reaction.
6. We’ve marked the point where the scene will end.

There’s still a bit missing though.

As we progress through a scene, characters move about. We introduce new characters. From time to time, we also need to share our POV character’s thoughts and feelings. In the early part of a scene, especially, we need to provide any information the reader needs in order to understand what’s happening. This information can also provide description and characterization. It may also introduce other elements of conflict.

In writing this scene, remember, I wanted to make Linn as uncomfortable as possible. So, I added that very stubborn mule, and worked in a little backstory information about her and her glamorous life in San Francisco.

Had she forgotten how to handle a buckboard? She hadn’t driven one in years. In San Francisco, she paid a kindly older gentleman to transport her about town in a fine, open carriage.

Later in the scene, when Polly appears, I needed to give her a proper introduction and quick description:

Like Brookfield itself, Polly had not changed an iota. Well, maybe she looked a trifle older, and maybe she’d added a few pounds to her skinny frame, but she still wore her mousy-brown hair in that loose bun at the back of her neck, and she still dressed in those simple shirt-waisted frocks.  Although she and Polly had once been the best of friends, with one look, Linn knew the two of them no longer had anything in common. No doubt Polly was married now, probably had a houseful of noisy children, and spent her days cooking, cleaning and tending to farm chores.

Working in backstory, descriptive information, and internal elements is an important aspect of scene-writing, but next to the central conflict, the most important consideration is what the character decides or does as a result of the conflict. Scenes are built on cause-and-effect relationships. Here, Polly’s appearance causes Linn to take action. This is a critical point in a scene because this decision or action moves the story forward.

Here’s how I presented this point in Linn’s scene:

“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush right now.” She gave Polly a little wave, waggling her fingers in that affected manner she’d adopted since being on stage. With a swish of her long skirts, Linn climbed aboard the wagon again.

So far,  you’ve only read the scene in a very jumbled up version as I’ve highlighted different scene elements. When you read the complete scene, you’ll notice places where I’ve “filled in” additional bits of information to create a smooth, continuous flow from one element to the next.

In writing a scene, I like to keep this little checklist in mind. It’s the same structure I listed before with a few more points added:

1. Status – setting the stage for the reader
2. Action – bringing the scene to life
3. Function – providing information the reader might need
4. Warning – alerting the reader that change and conflict is coming
5. Central conflict – answering the scene question
6. Reaction – showing the character’s immediate response
7. Effect – showing how the change will affect the character
8. Response – presenting the character’s decision or action
9. Ending – closing the scene and preparing to move on

Now, I’ll share the completed scene.

A short time later, she climbed aboard a rented wagon, lifted the reins in her hands, and slapped them over the mule’s broad back. 

Nothing happened.  

Had she forgotten how to handle a buckboard? She hadn’t driven one in years. In San Francisco, she paid a kindly older gentleman to transport her about town in a fine, open carriage. 

“Go on, there! Get up!” Linn flicked the reins again, her frustration mounting. Silently, she willed the stubborn animal to pick up its feet and move. When the mule finally took a few steps, Linn let out a breath.

But the obstinate creature made it only a scant twenty yards before stopping once again. 

“I swear…” Linn groaned and threw down the reins. If all else fails, Linnie, give the critter a piece of your mind. Recalling the advice her father had once given, she jumped from the wagon, landing with a slight thud on the dusty street. Glancing down to her calfskin boots, she frowned at the dirt and scuffs. She’d be an absolute wreck by the time she got away from this Godforsaken town. She marched around and grabbed hold of the mule’s halter and gave it a good tug. 

“Now, listen, you stubborn old thing, I’ve got a notion to send you to the glue pits if you—”

“Why, Linnie Mae Sparks! Is that really you?”

At the sound of the squealing voice, Linn let go of the mule and whirled around. As she’d done with Joe Trumbull, she quickly put her most professional smile upon her face. Always show a smile, she’d learned. It put people at ease, drew them in, and needless to say, it resulted in more ticket sales.

Only that was in San Francisco.

This was Brookfield. 

No theater. No ticket sales. And no need for any superficial smiles. 

She frowned at the mule again. “It’s Polly Washburn,” she muttered under her breath. Linn turned back as the young woman hurried across the street. 

Like Brookfield itself, Polly had not changed an iota. Well, maybe she looked a trifle older, and maybe she’d added a few pounds to her skinny frame, but she still wore her mousy-brown hair in that loose bun at the back of her neck, and she still dressed in those simple shirt-waisted frocks.  Although she and Polly had once been the best of friends, with one look, Linn knew the two of them no longer had anything in common. No doubt Polly was married now, probably had a houseful of noisy children, and spent her days cooking, cleaning and tending to farm chores. Linn shuddered at the thought.

Who was it Polly had mooned over back in high school? Billy McGregor? One of the Loonsfoot boys? It didn’t matter, and Linn didn’t care to waste any time finding out.

“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush right now.” She gave Polly a little wave, waggling her fingers in that affected manner she’d adopted since being on stage. With a swish of her long skirts, Linn climbed aboard the wagon again. Looking straight ahead, she took hold of the thick leather reins. The old mule must have sensed Linn’s desire to move on. The wagon lurched forward.

Although this isn’t a long scene — barely over 500 words — it serves a definite purpose in the story. I hope by reviewing it here, you can see how I used the different elements of scene structure to put it together.

The scene structure list I shared above has become a useful guide for me in fiction-writing. By understanding the elements and how they work together, we can build scenes that accomplish our goals as storytellers.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this “Making a Scene” series. There’s much more that could be said about scene-writing. Understanding the essential elements will help you discover new ideas to use in your own stories.

Remember, every scene is different. You’re the author, so always trust your own judgments.

 

 

 

 

Characters: Sara Evans

Sara Foster Evans considers herself one of the luckiest women in the world. Her life couldn’t be more perfect, in her opinion. She met the love of her life was she was a young woman of 22, married him two years later, and together they raised two sons who have gone on to be successful, responsible young men.

From the start, Sara aspired to be a good wife to Edgar. She loves cooking and housekeeping — she’s very neat — and she’s always welcomed friends to their home.

After their first child, Michael, was born, Sara made up little stories to entertain him. Soon she was writing them down, gathering them into a book of children’s tales, and sharing them with others. Encouraged by the positive response her stories received, she continued writing. When their second son, Jonathan, came along, Sara’s book of stories grew larger still. She wrote of the boys’ adventures, their dreams for the future, and the love their family shared.

A popular woman’s magazine discovered Sara’s writings and offered her a position as a monthly feature writer. It was an ideal career for her. She was able to work at home, provide insights and inspiration to other families, and feel that she was making a valuable contribution to the world without having to sacrifice the time she spent with her family.

As her husband’s career with the NSSA advanced, Sara listened attentively to his accounts of rocket launches and space travel. She wrote Edgar’s official biography and also penned numerous articles about the special challenges they shared — the constant worries for his safety, the loneliness they endured while he was away on missions, and the difficulties he faced when it came time to retire from active flight duty.

Meanwhile, her imagination was creating new worlds based upon Edgar’s experiences in space. Sara turned her attention to the science fiction genre and was thrilled when her first novel — a young-adult story called The Alien from Toomootoo — became a best-seller. She now writes adult science fiction and has been nominated for several “Jupiter” awards.

Sara once dreamed of being rich and famous. She aspired to live in a large, luxurious home. In looking back, she now laughs at those dreams. In her opinion, she is rich, indeed. Even though they don’t have much money, Sara and Edgar have a good life, a strong marriage, and a love that never ends. As for that big house? No, thanks. The Evans could afford a bigger home, but Sara has no intention of ever leaving their house. It’s where they raised their family and where they now entertain the grandchildren Michael and his wife have given them. With Jonathan getting married soon, there will be more grandchildren to come.

It’s been a good life, and it’s only going to get better.

Aspiration: Mansion Baron

Traits: Active, Family-Oriented, Neat

Sara and Edgar Evans — as an adult couple– are available for download from the Gallery.

 

 

The Townie Project – Part 6: Who Killed Titania McTeague?

Part 1: First Thoughts

Part 2: Who is Sergio Romero?

Part 3: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

Part 4: What’s Your Style?

Part 5: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

At this point in my Townie Project, I had to face a dreadful reality. Even as I worked to assign occupational roles, personalities, and other background information to the townies in my unplayed bin, I knew I would lose some of them. Because of the game mechanics known as culling, townie sims would still appear and disappear at random. I could protect a few townies by placing them in what I call safe houses — that is, putting them onto a lot in the game — but that wasn’t a practical solution for all of the sims in my game.

Like it or not, I had to accept the fact that I would lose some townie sims. This soon lead to a little mystery in my game.

Who Killed Titania McTeague?

After playing several households in the game, I took a deep breath and checked my unplayed bin. I knew a few of the townies on my list would now be gone. I braced myself and prepared to see who the game had taken away.

A lot of my townies were elders. It was fairly easy to say good-bye to them knowing they’d most likely passed away from natural causes. I could imagine the townspeople recalling the deceased with fond memories. Old Arthur Jimenez, the lawyer, had gone to the great judgment in the sky. Dear old Miss Messer, the long-time art teacher at the elementary school would now be painting lovely pictures of heaven. Just as in real life, I quietly acknowledged each passing, paid my respects, and moved on.

But as I started reviewing the list of “missing townies”, I came across not only elders, but adults, and young adults, as well. Surely they hadn’t all been stricken by some fatal disease. They’d been in perfect health, so it obviously made no sense to mark them as deceased. Their disposition, I quickly realized, could be determined by their personal characteristics and role — at least in the case of Titania McTeague.

Supermodel Titania McTeague poses for the camera near Oasis Lake.

Titiania was actually a sim I’d created in CAS. I had made her and moved her in with another young adult female, Evangeline Adams. The two of them were supermodels, glamorous young women who’d achieved monetary success but had never found true love. They were both looking.

Together they would hit the bars and clubs of Willow Creek and Oasis Springs, and eventually Evangeline did fall in love and marry. It was time for Titania to move out. Because I no longer needed her in the game and had no place for her in my regular rotation schedule, she went to the “Unplayed” townie bin.

And so it was, when I realized she was suddenly gone from the game, I felt a twinge of sadness. “Poor Titania,” I thought to myself. “You never really had a chance.” But what had happened to her? Why had she suddenly moved away?

Just then I noticed her assigned personality role. Victim.

I knew at once what had happened to poor Titania. She’d been murdered, and I knew exactly who had done it.

Previously, in “Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?” I wrote about the criminals and sexual offenders in my game. I briefly mentioned the killers, but did not go into detail about them. If you’ve read that earlier post, you know that my decision was to mark every 44th townie on my list as a killer.

But not all killers are the same.

Referring again to Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, I reviewed the various types of murderers:

MURDERERS
1	Argumentative
2	Domestic
3	Erotomaniacal
4	Extremist
5	Female
6	Incidental
7	Inheritance
8	Passionate
9	Professional
10	Product-Tampering
11	School Shooter
12	Serial Killer
13	Sexual Killer
14	Simmering Killer
15	Terrorist
16	Visionary Killer

Each time I mark a townie as a killer, I jump over to Random.org and quickly determine the particular type. So it was, as I looked over my spreadsheet, not far from Titania McTeague’s name, I saw the following information:

Luke

Tristan

Bars and Clubs

Pool Hustler

20

Resilient

Sexual Killer

I knew at once that I’d found the murderer. I knew who had killed Titania McTeague. And it wasn’t much of a stretch for my imagination to understand how and why it had happened. Remember her search for love? Remember all those bars and clubs where she and her friend hung out? Obviously she’d met her killer at one of those clubs and lost her life as a result. Looking for Mr. Goodbar, anyone?

Although I knew the identity of the killer, my game sims didn’t, and thus began the mystery. As each new month rolled around in my rotation, I used a die to follow the progress of my detectives on the case. It was so much more interesting than the meaningless crimes the game gives them to solve. It was also rather poignant because the lead detective on the case, Justin Simone, was the man Titania’s friend and former roommate had married.

Yes, in time, Tristan Luke was caught. He went to trial, was convicted, and is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. The streets of New Simeria are safe once again.

Or are they?

Coming Soon: It was Nice Knowing You!

 

Thanks so much for visiting the blog today. Happy Simming!

 

 

 

The Townie Project – Part 5: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

Part 1:First Thoughts

Part 2: Who is Sergio Romero?

Part 3: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

Part 4: What’s Your Style?

By now, my project was in full swing. My sim neighborhoods had people from all walks of life. I had a few eccentric characters, a few very conventional, conservative folks, and a broad range of positions across the economic ladder. Some were very rich; some were very poor. Most were just “the middling sort.”

But my fictional world of the sims still didn’t accurately reflect the real world. Basically, all my sims were good. Oh, I had sims with that “evil trait” EA provides for us, but we all know that true evil is more than simply insulting folks or starting fights. It was time for me — and my sims — to look at the darker side of life.

Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

Maybe you’ve heard those words before. They come directly from a radio program that first appeared in the 1930s and went on to become an American icon. If you want to know more, check out The Shadow for an interesting bit of history, or click here to hear the chilling words of The Shadow as portrayed by Frank Readick, Jr.

I kept hearing that voice in my head as I contemplated the townies in my sim bin. Surely there would be a few real stinkers in there, a few bad apples that could threaten the whole bunch. Oh, yes. I just had to find them.

I toyed with the idea of doing a bit of demographic research to determine what percent of the American population become criminals, but “illegal activity” covers a lot of ground, and I reasoned that it might be difficult to find exactly what I was looking for. So, I made my own sim demographics, arbitrarily choosing my own percentage. No, that’s not quite true. What I did was to choose an arbitrary number — 13 — which resulted in a percentage. To save you from doing the math, it works out to 8% of my population.

But that’s just for the more-or-less average, ordinary, run-of-the-mill criminal. The world has not only common criminals, but sexual predators, too. And then there are the truly dangerous men and women of the world — the killers. Yep. Oasis Springs, Willow Creek, and my other neighborhoods were about to be plunged into a crime wave as I found these despicable guys and gals and unleashed them upon my unsuspecting sims.

• First, I marked every 13th townie as “Criminal”
• Second, I marked every 31st townie as “Sexual Offender”
• Third, I marked every 44th townie as “Killer”

All those number are arbitrary ones. Thirteen sounded like a good, chilling number for criminals. I turned it around to arrive at my sexual offender factor, and as you can easily see, I added those two numbers together to come up with a designation for true evil.

But wait! There’s more.

There are many different types of criminals, many different sexual crimes, and many different ways in which murders are committed. Once again, I drew inspiration from Writer’s Guide to Character Traits. Looking to create a criminal? Take a look at this list:

CRIMINAL BEHAVIORS
1	Arsonist
2	Confidence Specialist
3	Counterfeiter or Forger
4	Delinquent Youth
5	Domestic Abuser
6	Habitual Petty Criminal
7	Impostor/Pretender
8	Kleptomaniac
9	Late-Blooming Criminal
10	Looter
11	Occasional Offender
12	Ordinary Career Criminal
13	Professional Career Criminal
14	Pyschopath
15	Skyjacker
16	Stalker
17	Violent Criminal
18	White-Collar Criminal

I decided to skip over the “skyjackers” since that didn’t seem too useful for my game. Using the number generator at Random.org I assigned a “criminal type” to my sim criminals.

It proved interesting. As I looked at the information I’d compiled on my spreadsheet, my imagination kicked into gear. Consider the possible stories for Corinne Edwards based on her profile:

Corrine Edwards

Single

Adventurer

Age 27

Bank Teller

Springdale Bank

Criminal — Occasional Offender

 

An “occasional offender” working as a bank teller? Hmmm.  A single young woman who yearns to live a life of adventure? She’s probably “dipping into the till” now and then, stashing a bit of cash for all those worldly adventures she can’t afford.

Things got even more interesting as I looked at the different types of sexual offenders.

SEX OFFENDERS
1	Exhibitionist
2	Sexual Abuser
3	Sexual Addict
4	Pedophile
5	Pornographer
6	Rapist

As I randomly assigned sexual offense “types” for my Townie Project, I came across this fellow:

Allen Jensen

Married

Eccentric

Age 48

Contractor

Jensen Painting Company

Sexual Abuser

Oh, my! I looked at his family in the bin. His lovely wife and his two beautiful, blonde-haired teen daughters. I truly saw the evil. I thought especially of his oldest daughter, Sofia, and how skittish she’s been around boys, and I knew I’d uncovered a deep, dark secret in her life.

And what about the killers?

More to come!

The Townie Project – Part 6: Who Killed Titania McTeague?

By the way, let me quickly fill you in on a few interesting things about Corrine Edwards and Allen Jensen. As my Townie Project has continued, a lot has happened.

• Corrine has now married Dr. Bennett London, her psychologist, and they’re expecting their first child.
• Allen Jensen’s wife finally left him after he got caught fooling around with a young student at Dunbar State University. She moved out, the student moved in, and little Jacqueline Jensen recently came into the world.
• Sofia Jensen married a wonderful, loving young man but was devastated to learn that she’ll never be able to have babies as a result of the sexual abuse she suffered throughout her childhood. She’s now attending regular sessions with one of Dr. Bennett’s therapy groups.

 

Happy Simming!

 

 

 

The Townie Project – Part 4: What’s Your Style?

Part 1:First Thoughts

Part 2: Who is Sergio Romero?

Part 3: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

Putting my townies to work was a big step forward, but I knew I still had a long way to go. People — and sims, too — are not defined solely by their occupations. A teacher, for example, might be the prim and proper sort like Miss White, my English teacher years ago, or a brash and outspoken man like Mr. Graves, my old history teacher. Teachers come in different shapes and sizes and each has his or her own style. We’ll see this same variation in personality styles in most other occupations, as well.

What’s Your Style?

This was my next question as I approached each of the townies in my household management bin. Of course, they weren’t the ones providing the answer. Instead of them telling me about their personality, I was telling them. Hey, you know what EA says, right? My game, my rules.

Just as I did with my original career list, I drew inspiration from Writer’s Guide to Character Traits and compiled a list of personality styles. These ranged from “adventurer” to “victim” with a lot of interesting types along the way.

At this point, of course, I had entered my previous information on a spreadsheet showing the first name, last name, occupation, and place of employment for each townie sim. Now I inserted a new column and headed it Personality. Beginning with the first townie on the spreadsheet, I added in all the styles, assigning one style to each of those unsuspecting townies.

Oh, how fun it was!

I learned that some of these townies were problem solvers; others had an eccentric streak. Some were conventional folk who believed in playing by all the rules; others were show-offs who wanted attention. I had leaders and followers, and as I looked at each one I could imagine their lives more clearly now. I could sense more of who they really were and what made them tick.

Little Lila might be young, but she’s already showing definite leadership skills.

Even the children in my townie bin, I should point out, received both an occupation and a personality style. Although they were still listed as “in school” on my spreadsheet, I knew now the direction they would take as they grew up…which brings us to the next point.

Like the active sims in my regular rotation, the townies in my game also age. Once each rotation cycle, I age them “one day”, which is equivalent to one year of game time.

I do keep track of the ages of all my active sims and manually age them at appropriate times.

• Babies age up to school age children when they turn 6
• Children become teens at age 13
• Teens turn into young adults at age 19
• Young adults mature to adults at age 40
• Adults become elders at age 65

It was only logical that I should also keep track of the ages — and birth months — of each of my townies. I added two more columns to the spreadsheet. Here’s a look at one entry. Wade Hendrickson was born in September and turned 44 during the rotation I’ve just completed.

Hendrickson

Wade

9

44

Hendrickson’s Mortuary

Funeral Director

Conventional

Send your loved ones to eternal rest with the loving care provided by Hendrickson Mortuary. Wade Hendrickson, Director.

Yes, I now have a funeral director in my game. It’s a family-owned, family-operated business, and whenever one of my beloved simmies passes away, I can rest assured that all arrangements will be handled swiftly and efficiently by Hendrickson Mortuary.

It’s pretense, of course. The Hendrickson family is just another “townie family” in the bin. In my mind, though, they’re very real. I can imagine their lives, shudder at the thought of dealing with dead bodies every day, and feel a bit of sympathy for the two children growing up in what must be a rather gloomy atmosphere.

You’ll notice, of course, that I’ve dressed Wade Hendrickson all in black. It seemed quite fitting. Clothes do make the man, as Shakespeare said, and they make the women and children, too. Part of my Townie Project also involves making-over my characters, dressing them for the roles they’ll be playing.

More to come!

The Townie Project – Part 5: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Townie Project – Part 3: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

Part 1:First Thoughts

Part 2: Who is Sergio Romero?

Once I realized how useful townies could be, it was time to put them to work — literally. I wanted my townies to have job. Real jobs. I wanted more than the limited in-game choices. It was time to find gainful employment for my townies.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

I’ve never been satisfied with the career choices available in The Sims. Even from the original game, I was looking for something more than what was offered. There have always been too few careers to suit me, especially considering that I play with multiple households. To remedy the problem, I’ve always turned to a bit of imagination, custom content, or both.

With the original game, I found a “career creation” program that allowed me to “edit” existing careers, deciding on what text would be included at each stage, and setting a few requirements for friends or skills. I couldn’t add more careers. I could only replace ones already in the game. It was a start, and I happily created a librarian career, and dabbled with a few others. Ultimately, it became easier to simply imagine my sims in a particular career than to go through the tedious process of editing every level of a career. Besides, replacing one career with another still didn’t solve the real problem. There just weren’t enough different types of jobs available.

With Sims 2, I resolved the issue by “expanding” various career paths that were open to my sims. Not every sim who entered the Sports career, for example, went through the standard career levels. In fact, I doubt that any of them did. The various levels weren’t realistic, in my opinion, and hey, it was my game, so I felt free to mentally change whatever didn’t work for me. So, among my athletes, I had baseball players, professional bowlers, tennis professionals, and even a gal who did roller-derby.

I approached the medical profession with the same expansive attitude. Some of my Medical career sims became doctors; others became dentists. I had nurses, surgeons, and optometrists. For each of these “home-made careers”, I simply made a list of ten achievement levels, so as my sims gained promotions, I knew where they were in the career I’d chosen for them.

Skipping over Sims 3 — which was incompatible with my playing style — I found myself again “making up” careers for my sims in Sims 4. I’ve used the athletic career as the basis for a “modeling” career, and for a young woman who’s playing the circuit of the SLGA — Simerian Ladies’ Golf Association.

So, from the start, I knew I wanted my townies to have a variety of jobs from numerous fields. Doing this, of course, requires a great deal of pretense. I can’t go into the game and make any sim an actual lawyer or accountant, for example. What I can do, if I choose to, is to use an existing career as a substitute, and allow myself to go on pretending. It’s fairly simple. The business career can include a lot of ground — accounting, banking, the legal profession, and many more. As pointed out above, the athletic career can substitute for a lot of imaginary jobs, as can the medical career.

But, I wasn’t going to put each townie into the game to give him or her an actual career. I wish we could assign careers while in CAS, but that’s not a feature of the game. So, giving a townie a career really means simply assigning a job to that sim. Later, if that sim should become important to a story and join one of my active families, then I can finish the process by putting that sim to work in an appropriate field.

This idea of expanding career choices through imagination and pretense opens the job world up and allows unlimited possibilities. I had only to make a reference list of careers I wanted to include, and I was on my way. To help create my initial list, I turned to Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph. D. The book includes an entire chapter of “Career Traits” and lists forty-two specific careers. That was my starting point.

Truck driver Kevin Pease discusses his job with Edmund.

I listed the forty-two careers, put them in alphabetical order, then made a list of all the townies from my “household management” screen. Yes, it required a little time, but I consider it time well spent. Now, when townie Kevin Pease comes around, a quick glance at my Townie Project list fills me in on who he is. He’s a truck driver with a local delivery route. I can even tell you the name of the company he’s working for. It’s Warren & Sons Delivery.

Sure, I just made it up. That’s the fun of it. I made up accounting firms, business corporations, hospitals, and martial arts academies. I made up banks and technology firms and restaurants.

In doing so, I could feel my towns — and the townies — coming to life. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get back to my game to see these townies strolling down the streets.

I wanted to point to them and say, “Oh, there goes Arthur Jimenez, you know, the retired lawyer. And over there, it’s Dr. London, the psychiatrist.” And the next time I caught one of my “goofballs” wandering around town in her hot-dog costume, I knew just what to do. I called Dr. London, arranged for Olanda to join his “Therapy Group”, and saw my game taking on whole new dimensions.

But that was only the beginning.

Oh, remember Sergio Romero, that awful townie that Stefanie Caldwell’s parents threw such a fit about? They were sure he was only after the Caldwell money. They’d marked him as a loser without even getting to know a thing about him. Well, I know about him now. Looks like Stefanie might have missed out on a very good thing. Sergio Romero, it turns out, just signed a major league contract with the Oasis Blues baseball team. He’ll be playing first base.

More to come!

The Townie Project – Part 4: What’s Your Style?

The Townie Project – Part 2: Who is Sergio Romero?

Part 1:First Thoughts

Realizing that something was missing from my game and wanting to introduce a little more dramatic conflict into the lives of my sims, I sat down to play one day and soon found myself asking a very significant question.

Who is Sergio Romero?

I was playing the Caldwell family. Specifically, I was playing through the eyes of Stefanie Caldwell, who at that point in the game stood on the brink of young womanhood. Stefanie is a very pretty girl who was “born in game”. Both her mother and father are sims that I created in CAS. They were, in fact, among the first sims I made when Sims 4 was released.

Many of my early sims met and married “townies”, and if you’ve read my forum posts or have been following this simming blog, you already know my feelings about townies. I’ve accepted that many of my sim children have a townie parent, but because Stefanie Caldwell’s parents were both my own creations, that makes her a bit different in my mind. Stefanie Caldwell is special.

As I stepped into the game and slipped into her life, it was a quiet Saturday morning. A high school senior, Stefanie had already completed her homework, and she had the day to herself. Her family is exceptionally wealthy — her mother is the daughter of Arthur Susskind, founder of the TechnoSoft Corporation — and Stefanie enjoys going to the Country Club, AKA as the “Bathe de Ril” in Windenburg.

Who is Sergio Romero?

Upon arriving, she chatted with a friend for a moment and then she was approached by a handsome young man. Sergio Romero.

They struck up a conversation, and it was quite pleasant. Despite the age difference — he was a young adult and she still a teen — they seemed to genuinely like each other.

Being eighteen, Stefanie is always thinking about her future, and always wondering about the man she’ll someday marry. As she chatted with this good-looking fellow, her heart began to flutter a bit. Could this young man, Sergio Romero, be the one for her?

At once, I heard her parents jumping into my head and shouting “No, no, no! He’s not good enough for you, Stefanie!” The reason for this, of course, is that Sergio Romero was a townie. My imagination kicked into gear, and I understood exactly the argument against him that her parents would use. “He’s only after your money,” they would say. “He’s a loser. He’s a nobody.”

Now, some of this thinking might be attributed to the fact I’d just read a mystery titled Deadly Gamble, in which a low-life man ingratiated himself with members of the local country club for fun and profit.

But this was simming. This was my story.  And here I was with a character that I didn’t know, a character who had simply walked into the story from nowhere.  Who was Sergio Romero? I had no idea.

Of course, he could be anything I wanted him to be. Well, almost anything. He would always be a townie, so I nixed any thought of a relationship between him and Stefanie Caldwell, quickly convincing her that Sergio Romero wasn’t worth her time. After I exited the Caldwell household, however, I began to wonder.

Who is Sergio Romero?

At that point, I realized how useful the townies in my bin could be — if only I knew more about them. I realized, too, how much fun it could be to give each of those townies a real personality. I needed them to be more than a name and a few traits. I needed to flesh them out, to give them back stories, to make them as real as the sims I create in CAS.

That’s how it began. Once the idea took hold, I was off and running on The Townie Project.

READ MORE

The Townie Project – Part 3: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jonathan Chronicles – Follow the Story

The opening chapter of “The Jonathan Chronicles” is now available.

You can read it here.

 

The Jonathan Chronicles

Are Musicians More Sensitive?

Jonathan pours his soul into his music.

Jonathan Evans, as you know, is a gifted musician. He picked up the violin when he was only a child, and it became his world. He loved practicing, listening to music, and learning to express himself through the songs he played.

Like Jonathan, I, too, am a musician. I began playing piano at age four and went on to study at the Conservatory of Music in Kansas City. I also loved practicing, listening to music, and expressing my thoughts and feelings through music.

Are musicians perhaps more emotional and more sensitive than other people? That’s a question I’ve been exploring recently as I’ve been watching Jonathan’s story unfold. His father, Edgar, brought up the question one day as he pondered his son’s recent behavior. Jonathan, it seems, has become a bit of a player, and not in the musical sense. In other words, he’s doing a lot of skirt-chasing, getting emotionally involved with several young women, and no doubt charming them right into his bed.

Here are the thoughts going on inside Edgar’s head:

And Jonathan? Well, that boy is so busy he doesn’t even call. Being a musician is a fine profession, but maybe it doesn’t provide the right amount of structure for Jonathan. Maybe he’s too sensitive, too emotional, too passionate. In other words, maybe he’s spending too much time chasing after love. Or lust. More likely lust.

Edgar’s thoughts sparked a bit of curiosity. I could identify with thoughts of being too sensitive and too emotional. Is this common among musicians? For an answer, I turned to one of the reference books on my shelf: The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph. D.

Although her research suggests that musicians are generally introverted and unadventurous, reserved and sober, she also indicates that, indeed, musicians can be more imaginative than others and much more emotionally sensitive.

The “introverted”, “unadventurous”, “reserved” and “sober” traits hardly apply to most well-known musicians. No one would ever use those terms to refer to Metallica’s James Hetfield or country music star, Blake Shelton, or many other popular musicians from a variety of genres. In fact, most successful musicians are extroverted and out-going. They love showing off and performing on stage.

In that regard, Jonathan seems to have much in common with many of the greats, yet he definitely still has that sensitive, imaginative, and passionate side to his nature. He’s also learning to use it to his advantage as he charms the young ladies he meets.

Music speaks to us. For those in the performing arts, music also speaks for us. It can express thoughts and emotions that can never be put into words.