To sim or not to sim?

[genlisae]

There is this thing where the "what if's" go around and around in my head, usually as not much more than a dull roar in the background. What if this character had said this instead of that? What if over here this happened? And off they go playing out in detail somewhere on the edge of my consciousness. Every so often one of them will come to the forefront of my thoughts and I will scribble them down for further thinking about later. Sometimes though; this happens:

It all started simply enough. Someone, somewhere stopped for just a moment and looked at the world.  He looked around him and he saw it. He saw what had been right in front of his eyes all along, but on that day, in that moment, he saw it for what it really was and he perceived a threat.
 
It scared him, this vision of his world unraveling. He was no one of consequence. History would never remember his name or even the moment when this one person, otherwise unremarkable, would change everything.

What the history books will tell us is what happened next. Whispers around the water cooler – It’s coming. Murmured in dark corners – It’s here.  Anxious words exchanged in back rooms – We have to stop it. In the places of power where the laws are written it echoed – Control.

The first steps were small. Like a child learning to walk the steady progress is hardly noted, seen only as more of the same. The steps grow bolder, more certain. Until one day they are spurred to run.
 
 And then all Hell broke loose.

* * *

Now when I come to putting visualizations to this, I realize I have watched way too many movies and read far too many books in which the world finds itself in a police state, heavy military control, etc, etc. Being as this is merely the setup though, I am not that concerned about it. What happens next only borrows slightly from other things and goes much more into exploring the psychology behind what causes otherwise good people to commit horrible acts. Where I start to trip up is on how to present it.

My urge is to sim. I feel comfortable with the images telling part of the story. It is the style I have grown accustomed to and often when I write just text anymore it feels hollow and empty, lacking the spark and "bringing to life" I have grown accustomed to. I expect this is an issue with simply my writing as when I read other simply text works the issue is not there.

At this point Mathew tells me the problem is I should be writing screenplays. He may be correct in that.Why? Because what my writing actually looks like in it's raw form is this:

(man, business dress type, shirt and tie? In a standard office cubical, looks up as co-workers pass by, some are alien and they are smiling and joking with each other)

It all started simply enough. Someone, somewhere stopped for just a moment and looked at the world.

 
(man looks across the office, there are an equal mix of humans and aliens all going about their work day. Outside the office window is a street and a similar mix of humans and aliens are passing by.)

He looked around him and he saw it. He saw what had been right in front of his eyes all along, but on that day, in that moment, he saw it for what it really was and he perceived a threat.

 
(he stares at one particularly innocent looking group of aliens, his face registers fear)

It scared him, this vision of his world unraveling. He was no one of consequence. History would never remember his name or even the moment when this one person, otherwise unremarkable, would change everything.

(group of previously seen office workers and perhaps the man from earlier standing around a water cooler, they look suspiciously at an alien co-worker as he passes)

 What the history books will tell us is what happened next. Whispers around the water cooler – It’s coming.

(group of men, some from the earlier office scene, others with various other ‘visible professions’, think ‘the guys hanging out after work type scenario, all middle working class glance up with a mix of suspicion and hatred as a similar group of alien men enter the bar)

Murmured in dark corners – It’s here.

(higher calibre of business men, perhaps some ‘mobster’ looking types with associated thugs. Tailored suits, briefcases etc around a table in a dark room with a single light above them, perhaps a warehouse, these are the ‘back room’ dealers.)

Anxious words exchanged in back rooms – We have to stop it.

(Senate or UN hearing type setting, long tables with microphones and name plates set before each person, large television screen and perhaps a central table where an impassioned speaker is presenting their case:

"They abduct us, good human men, and they violate our bodies against our will, impregnating us with their spawn! And what do we do about it? Nothing. We welcome these spawn into our society, accept them to live among us. Unchecked. Unhindered. We make them feel at home! I ask is this the sane thing to do? Is this the safe thing to do? We know what the originators are capable of; forcing us to bear their young with acts of kidnapping, rape and torture. What about the offspring? What are they capable of?")

In the places of power where the laws are written it echoed – Control.

 
(poster on the side of a building proclaiming the ‘benefits of being a registered alien’ and ‘for the greater good’.)

The first steps were small.

 
(New poster, perhaps a billboard as well this time declaring an “alien curfew”. Increased police presence is also visible. Aliens are visibly not pleased, walking away in disgust and mistrust, now whispering among themselves and shooting suspicious glances toward the humans.)

Like a child learning to walk the steady progress is hardly noted, seen only as more of the same.

(Police line blocking a mob of alien protesters)

The steps grow bolder, more certain.

 
(one of the aliens steps forward, he has a Molotov cocktail)

Until one day they are spurred to run.

 

(Now a full scale riot, police are barely holding the line if not outright retreating. People and buildings and cars are burning, things are being smashed all over, former protest signposts used as clubs as one group of aliens surrounds a downed officer. In the distance military vehicles can be seen approaching, on the other side more aliens are arriving, these ones have guns)

And then all Hell broke loose.

* * *

The visualizations are there even in the draft stages, perhaps explaining why I have never been terribly good, in my opinion, at setting the visual stage in the readers mind with prose. I write it all out this way first and then go back through the excruciating process of fleshing out the details in the writing to convey what is in the parenthetical notes.

Efficient? Not even remotely. Thus why sims stories (or graphic novels which I would never have the ambition to pull off, and really, is that not sort of what sims stories are in the first place? Just digitally generated graphic novels?) or stage/screen writing, as Mathew suggested, are probably much more suited to the way I see the story and thus the way I tell it.

So I sim. But this time, in this instance, I wonder if I should maybe try not siming? Realizing if I don't sim this there will be many tantrums and fits of frustration with my inability to do the story verbal justice and thus will probably give up on it part way through. Thus bringing me directly to the conclusion that sometimes, in some cases, knowing yourself is not a good thing and can keep you from even trying.

I will work this out, and if this story is going to be told, it will be, in one form or another. It wants to be told. It wants desperately to be told. How desperately? I already have the outline, summary and tagline.

Comments

[bolob.livejournal.com]

I've heard others have this argument with themselves before. Only reason I sim things is because I can't draw because I get these images in my head, but they can only translate into wording and not imagery; simming has helped me to bring things a bit more to life.

Well...I don't know much about screen playing because I don't usually write in such a manner; you're a lot more detailed in your storytelling than I. ^^;;; Here's my thing; writing for me is an outlet - a way to escape from reality for a bit - like simming or playing video games - but one thing I've always ALWAYS sworn to myself is to NEVER turn it into work because I know the second I do I probably won't want to do it. I don't like deadlines outside of what I do already :p LOL! It could be possible for you though. You could test the waters and see how it goes mayhaps? ^^

[genlisae.livejournal.com]

It doesn't feel like work. More like I would be limiting myself and the avenues I could explore if I were to keep it sim based ... which now that I think of it that way and start thinking of ways to overcome those limitations ... I have just realized I will have to use much more descriptive prose than I usually would anyway.

huh.

This will need more thinking.

:D

[bolob.livejournal.com]

Just don't overthink y'hear *noogies* ^-^ <3

Kinda like Amo said you could just do something where you have a limited amount of pics and write more of it - that's kinda the way i want to present my nano story that I'm very very slow in putting up although i'm about 14 chapters in and have only posted one damn chapter. I wanna do some scenario shots for each chapter - like 2 to 3 shots - but the people still have to read through the story and sometimes it's best to let things be left up to the imagination.

[amochan8878.livejournal.com]

Mathew is right. That is very much a screenplay or stage directions sort of way of writing. I've always found it sad that we both seem to have the opposite problems. Put us together, we'd be THE WORLD'S BESTEST WRITER...
Or something like that.

I'd say, if you're looking for a challenge, or really want to try to change how you write a story in general, then go for no simming.
But, if you like how you work already and feel simming would be the ideal way to present that story....well then simming it is.

[genlisae.livejournal.com]

There is shock and amazement going on beside me right now because "She is like the president of the 'I am Wrong' club and always sounds like she wants to club me! Sign of the apocalypse!"

In all seriousness though, we do have opposite problems and strengths.

I am looking for a challenge, something to occasionally break up the "samey" feeling I have been getting. At the same time I am not sure this is the one to do that for me either. My hesitation on siming it in the first place was that, by nature, it is going to be graphic and I did not want to limit myself to game mechanics. On the other hand, reading through the setup and most especially the outline, there is much that would make more sense simed (and I am sure you already picked out sim-specific details in this, that could be explained outside of a sim-verse, but perhaps not so elegantly. There are givens within a sims world that need explaining without that base.)

[amochan8878.livejournal.com]

It's the holidays. I'm feeling a little more agreeable than normal XD. Tell him not to get used to it.

You could always try writing it differently, and then only simming some of the key scenes or moments. Still telling the story with words and pictures, but not relying as heavily on the images.

[katzengirl.livejournal.com]

Wow. I so enjoyed that. I loved the first part, but when you showed us the way you write it, like a screenplay, my brain was tripping over the words because I was so excited.

I do agree that there are sim-based details in it, but I think a small scene where someone gives a little exposition would fill in the gap for non-simmers. I would read it no matter how you put it out there. Just the raw form has me salivating for more. I would be worried that you would feel cramped using the sims as a base for the graphics because even with all the poseboxes in the world, sometimes the mechanics just don't work for our ideas.

I think it all boils down to your goals. I can definitely see this little bit as a real movie trailer, and just with the clip I'd want to see the movie. But are your goals just to "publish" it for us, your simfan base? or perhaps are they a bit higher? Or maybe you just need to get the story out of your head, before it consumes you? Sometimes a great story is like that, lol.

Just don't limit yourself. If you think you can get it to work with simming, then go for it. If you find you can't, I'm sure there are many of us that would enjoy reading it, even without the pictures. I love reading, sims storys are just a bonus because they have pictures. *wink*

*huggles* You're awesome, by the way.