The Sunshine icon pic above was created by Karilan.
I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Karilan. If you haven't checked out her blog, I think you should. It's full of awesome stories, and I particularly love how she includes the schedules in a sidebar on her blog. It makes it super easy to keep track of the stories I'm reading. A particular favourite story of mine is her legacy, How To Live With Grace. It's a legacy story about people finding their feet in the world. A truly inspirational read.
What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?
The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to creative, positive, inspiring bloggers who spread sunshine to the blogging community.
The Rules:
In a blog post, thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.
Questions from Karilan:
1. Has any of your writing been inspired by someone else’s SimLit?
I was inspired to write my own action story when reading the Chagall legacy, which is a sims 3 legacy about a man who embarks on many exciting missions. The story that got me interested in writing sims4lit was Maladi’s Heffner Legacy, which showed me that you could write sims 4 action stories too, even though the sims 4 is not an openworld as is the sims 3. The story itself, however, was actually loosely inspired by the story of Alexander the Great and Hephaestion, but set in the future. I also put Hephaestion (Henry) on the opposing side to Alexander (Alex).
2. What is your favorite word?
Hmm… good question. I’ll have to go with the word, ‘cuddle,’ because it sounds like it is and it’s quite sweet. My second favourite word is ‘twig’, because you have to get your mouth around it and it makes me laugh. XD
3. Do you spend an equal amount of time playing as you do writing?
I used to play a lot and then write, but ever since I started Friends of Foes, I have been writing a lot more than playing. This is because I have a clear vision of where I want the story to go, and so I use the game as more of a puppet theatre, where my sims are props to tell the story I have written. There are certain sims, however, (glares at Halex), who tend to do whatever they please, despite my wishes otherwise. Alex, in particular, I have totally given up on and I let him behave as he pleases in a scene. Yep, most of those poses are purely Alex – I like to say he makes up his own poses, because his expressions are... well, very much his own. XD
4. Would you rather lay on the beach under the sun, or curl up in front of the fire in a snowy lodge?
If I lie on the beach in the sun in NZ, I’d most likely burn and suffer the painful consequences both immediately and later in life. Hence, I think I’d prefer to curl up in front of a fire in a snowy lodge, given I have a book with me and the snow’s more like the snow on Mt. Ruapehu. (A place in NZ).
5. Have you ever recreated your own home in any Sims game?
No, but I have created my cousin’s place on the sims 3, years ago. I thought their place looked cool, so I decided to have a crack at making it. It was one of the first homes I built on the Sims 3.
6. What do you do when you get stuck developing a character?
You know, I’ve never had trouble developing a character. I think it’s because I don’t really sit down and consciously think up a character, I just sort of play with the sims in my game and see who interests me. I like to play a game with myself where all the sims in my game are competing for my attention and the sim who grabs my attention with their interesting backstory or personality wins. Alex and Henry were actually ignored for all of their childhood and most of their teen years because I did not find them very interesting. The same happened with another character who I have not yet introduced properly. She was one of Paris’s friends and was totally ignored because she was a daughter of a ‘Goodie Two Shoes’ member. Then one day she died in a very interesting way and I had to tell her story. (Well, her story as a ghost – bear with me here). XD
In other words, I let my sims fight for the spotlight. If they win, I will write about them. If they are unsuccessful, it is never too late to keep trying. XD
7. Has a story ever taken a turn you didn’t expect? What did you do about it?
Actually yes. Paris was never meant to play the role he/she’s in now. Yes, Paris was supposed to be the Grandmaster vampire, but Paris wasn’t supposed to be Alexander’s main enemy. It was obvious when I decided to write a very loose variation of the story of Alexander and Hephaestion that Paris was going to play a certain enemy of Alexander, but I was in denial simply because I didn’t want Paris to have the same fate and endure the same tragedies, because I loved that sim. Now it’s coming to that point in the story where I can’t deny Paris’s plotline and role anymore. It’s a good thing, however, that Paris is playing this role, becuause he/she offers a new perspective on this character that hasn’t necessarily been explored before. Paris is a much more sympathetic character than the historical one and I plan to explore more deeply Paris’s reasons and justifications for some of the unpopular decisions that the historical/classical figure was said to have made. I am also tempted to write a twist on his/her fate.
8. Have you ever tried to rewrite an old story from a new perspective?
That’s sort of what I’m doing here. I am roughly echoeing the story of Alexander the Great from the perspective of his best friend Hephaestion, although I am setting it in the future and placing Hephaestion on the opposing side. Hephaestion is my favourite historical figure in the tales of Alexander the Great. I realise, if you know the story of Alexander, you’re possibly wondering why Hephaestion when there were so many other awesome characters? It’s because Hephaestion seemed to get away with things Alexander’s other friends did not get away with. He could challenge Alexander and not get murdered. Okay, he did get threatened with being killed by Alexander once in Plutarch’s version of the story, where he and Craterus were arguing and drew swords. That’s when the famous argument happened where Alexander tells Hephaestion that he would be nothing without him. Pretty cruel, but I think Alexander was just extremely worried about losing his two closest companions and got a bit emotional. (Of course it could just be Plutarch dramatising things since ancient historians usually did that XD). But as far as we know, Hephaestion was never murdered, which is odd because he was probably one of the least popular members of Alexander’s army. According to Arrian, that’s because everyone was jealous of his relationship with Alexander. Not sure if we know that for sure. I am by no means a classical historian, but I bet Hephaestion was a manipulative little ‘so and so,’ having been one of the main members to have called out potential plotters against Alexander. Furthermore, if anyone could get Alexander to do what they wanted, it was Hephaestion, hence he was the one who persuaded Alexander into torturing Philotas into confessing he was plotting against the king. He was also sometimes made General of one of the armies, despite being unskilled in the area. However, he was either co-leader or appointed a smaller army. But talk about a 'mateocracy' XD.
Anyway, that’s why I love Hephaestion, because it appears he gets ‘special treatment’ and I bet he loves it. XD
His bust (yes he’s so special he had his very own bust made for him) is also very handsome. He was actually considered drop-dead gorgeous and was apparently really tall. (Yeah, that might have been an exaggeration on the ancient historians’ part, but from looking at the bust, it could certainly have been the case).
In fact, there’s a theory held by some modern historians that uses Hephaestion’s exceptionarily good looks as an argument for why Alexander might have been in love with him. (Not kidding).
9. Bella Goth is one of my favorite of EA’s townies that jumps between each of the games. Have you ever played her and given her a different life than EA’s mystery?
The first and only time I played Bella Goth was years ago when I was playing the sims 1. I would definitely have given her a different life than EA’s mystery, because I didn’t know about it untill I started playing the sims 2.
10. Think about someone who makes you smile. Who is it?
Bugsie!!!!!!!!
11. If you could sit down with any of your characters for an hour, who would it be, and what would you ask them?
Well, I’m shamelessly an avid Paris fan, so it would have to be Paris and I think we’d both need more than an hour of chatting if I’m super honest. Yep, we’d get a long so well I think we’d be ‘besties’ after the first few minutes. What would I ask Paris? Well, I might ask him/her about the weather. That’s a good conversation starter. Then we’d move on to introductions, where Paris would introduce him/herself and I would do the same. Then my next question would be what’s it like being a vampire? And Paris would go into a long tragic tale about his/her life. It would be very moving and dramatic and I’d be so ‘understanding.’ Then Paris would tell me, in a burst of hysterics that nobody gets him/her like I do, and I’d passionately agree. And we’d hug and cry and it would be so emotional. Then, obviously, after this I’d ask Paris to marry me and Paris would be so overjoyed he/she’d shout at the top of his/her lungs… okay, okay, I’ll stop fantasizing. XD
Bloggers I’m nominating:
1. Bugsie2016
2. TheYayToast
3. Jes2G
4. Munterbacon
5. Shadami
6. IchigoUsagi
7. Emorrill
8. MadameLee
9. Pammiechick
10. Rockannie
11. Xylorta-XV
Eleven questions for the bloggers:
I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Karilan. If you haven't checked out her blog, I think you should. It's full of awesome stories, and I particularly love how she includes the schedules in a sidebar on her blog. It makes it super easy to keep track of the stories I'm reading. A particular favourite story of mine is her legacy, How To Live With Grace. It's a legacy story about people finding their feet in the world. A truly inspirational read.
What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?
The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to creative, positive, inspiring bloggers who spread sunshine to the blogging community.
The Rules:
In a blog post, thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.
Questions from Karilan:
1. Has any of your writing been inspired by someone else’s SimLit?
I was inspired to write my own action story when reading the Chagall legacy, which is a sims 3 legacy about a man who embarks on many exciting missions. The story that got me interested in writing sims4lit was Maladi’s Heffner Legacy, which showed me that you could write sims 4 action stories too, even though the sims 4 is not an openworld as is the sims 3. The story itself, however, was actually loosely inspired by the story of Alexander the Great and Hephaestion, but set in the future. I also put Hephaestion (Henry) on the opposing side to Alexander (Alex).
2. What is your favorite word?
Hmm… good question. I’ll have to go with the word, ‘cuddle,’ because it sounds like it is and it’s quite sweet. My second favourite word is ‘twig’, because you have to get your mouth around it and it makes me laugh. XD
3. Do you spend an equal amount of time playing as you do writing?
I used to play a lot and then write, but ever since I started Friends of Foes, I have been writing a lot more than playing. This is because I have a clear vision of where I want the story to go, and so I use the game as more of a puppet theatre, where my sims are props to tell the story I have written. There are certain sims, however, (glares at Halex), who tend to do whatever they please, despite my wishes otherwise. Alex, in particular, I have totally given up on and I let him behave as he pleases in a scene. Yep, most of those poses are purely Alex – I like to say he makes up his own poses, because his expressions are... well, very much his own. XD
4. Would you rather lay on the beach under the sun, or curl up in front of the fire in a snowy lodge?
If I lie on the beach in the sun in NZ, I’d most likely burn and suffer the painful consequences both immediately and later in life. Hence, I think I’d prefer to curl up in front of a fire in a snowy lodge, given I have a book with me and the snow’s more like the snow on Mt. Ruapehu. (A place in NZ).
5. Have you ever recreated your own home in any Sims game?
No, but I have created my cousin’s place on the sims 3, years ago. I thought their place looked cool, so I decided to have a crack at making it. It was one of the first homes I built on the Sims 3.
6. What do you do when you get stuck developing a character?
You know, I’ve never had trouble developing a character. I think it’s because I don’t really sit down and consciously think up a character, I just sort of play with the sims in my game and see who interests me. I like to play a game with myself where all the sims in my game are competing for my attention and the sim who grabs my attention with their interesting backstory or personality wins. Alex and Henry were actually ignored for all of their childhood and most of their teen years because I did not find them very interesting. The same happened with another character who I have not yet introduced properly. She was one of Paris’s friends and was totally ignored because she was a daughter of a ‘Goodie Two Shoes’ member. Then one day she died in a very interesting way and I had to tell her story. (Well, her story as a ghost – bear with me here). XD
In other words, I let my sims fight for the spotlight. If they win, I will write about them. If they are unsuccessful, it is never too late to keep trying. XD
7. Has a story ever taken a turn you didn’t expect? What did you do about it?
Actually yes. Paris was never meant to play the role he/she’s in now. Yes, Paris was supposed to be the Grandmaster vampire, but Paris wasn’t supposed to be Alexander’s main enemy. It was obvious when I decided to write a very loose variation of the story of Alexander and Hephaestion that Paris was going to play a certain enemy of Alexander, but I was in denial simply because I didn’t want Paris to have the same fate and endure the same tragedies, because I loved that sim. Now it’s coming to that point in the story where I can’t deny Paris’s plotline and role anymore. It’s a good thing, however, that Paris is playing this role, becuause he/she offers a new perspective on this character that hasn’t necessarily been explored before. Paris is a much more sympathetic character than the historical one and I plan to explore more deeply Paris’s reasons and justifications for some of the unpopular decisions that the historical/classical figure was said to have made. I am also tempted to write a twist on his/her fate.
8. Have you ever tried to rewrite an old story from a new perspective?
That’s sort of what I’m doing here. I am roughly echoeing the story of Alexander the Great from the perspective of his best friend Hephaestion, although I am setting it in the future and placing Hephaestion on the opposing side. Hephaestion is my favourite historical figure in the tales of Alexander the Great. I realise, if you know the story of Alexander, you’re possibly wondering why Hephaestion when there were so many other awesome characters? It’s because Hephaestion seemed to get away with things Alexander’s other friends did not get away with. He could challenge Alexander and not get murdered. Okay, he did get threatened with being killed by Alexander once in Plutarch’s version of the story, where he and Craterus were arguing and drew swords. That’s when the famous argument happened where Alexander tells Hephaestion that he would be nothing without him. Pretty cruel, but I think Alexander was just extremely worried about losing his two closest companions and got a bit emotional. (Of course it could just be Plutarch dramatising things since ancient historians usually did that XD). But as far as we know, Hephaestion was never murdered, which is odd because he was probably one of the least popular members of Alexander’s army. According to Arrian, that’s because everyone was jealous of his relationship with Alexander. Not sure if we know that for sure. I am by no means a classical historian, but I bet Hephaestion was a manipulative little ‘so and so,’ having been one of the main members to have called out potential plotters against Alexander. Furthermore, if anyone could get Alexander to do what they wanted, it was Hephaestion, hence he was the one who persuaded Alexander into torturing Philotas into confessing he was plotting against the king. He was also sometimes made General of one of the armies, despite being unskilled in the area. However, he was either co-leader or appointed a smaller army. But talk about a 'mateocracy' XD.
Anyway, that’s why I love Hephaestion, because it appears he gets ‘special treatment’ and I bet he loves it. XD
His bust (yes he’s so special he had his very own bust made for him) is also very handsome. He was actually considered drop-dead gorgeous and was apparently really tall. (Yeah, that might have been an exaggeration on the ancient historians’ part, but from looking at the bust, it could certainly have been the case).
In fact, there’s a theory held by some modern historians that uses Hephaestion’s exceptionarily good looks as an argument for why Alexander might have been in love with him. (Not kidding).
9. Bella Goth is one of my favorite of EA’s townies that jumps between each of the games. Have you ever played her and given her a different life than EA’s mystery?
The first and only time I played Bella Goth was years ago when I was playing the sims 1. I would definitely have given her a different life than EA’s mystery, because I didn’t know about it untill I started playing the sims 2.
10. Think about someone who makes you smile. Who is it?
Bugsie!!!!!!!!
11. If you could sit down with any of your characters for an hour, who would it be, and what would you ask them?
Well, I’m shamelessly an avid Paris fan, so it would have to be Paris and I think we’d both need more than an hour of chatting if I’m super honest. Yep, we’d get a long so well I think we’d be ‘besties’ after the first few minutes. What would I ask Paris? Well, I might ask him/her about the weather. That’s a good conversation starter. Then we’d move on to introductions, where Paris would introduce him/herself and I would do the same. Then my next question would be what’s it like being a vampire? And Paris would go into a long tragic tale about his/her life. It would be very moving and dramatic and I’d be so ‘understanding.’ Then Paris would tell me, in a burst of hysterics that nobody gets him/her like I do, and I’d passionately agree. And we’d hug and cry and it would be so emotional. Then, obviously, after this I’d ask Paris to marry me and Paris would be so overjoyed he/she’d shout at the top of his/her lungs… okay, okay, I’ll stop fantasizing. XD
Bloggers I’m nominating:
1. Bugsie2016
2. TheYayToast
3. Jes2G
4. Munterbacon
5. Shadami
6. IchigoUsagi
7. Emorrill
8. MadameLee
9. Pammiechick
10. Rockannie
11. Xylorta-XV
Eleven questions for the bloggers:
- What do you think makes a good character?
- Do you find the writing process challenging? If so, what particularly challenges you?
- What part of the writing process do you particularly enjoy?
- How important is the reader’s reaction to your plot and character development?
- What’s the most surprising thing a character’s ever done?
- Think about someone who makes you smile. Who is it?
- If you had to be stranded on a desert Island, which of your characters would you want to be there with you and why?
- Which of your characters is most likely to win ice curling in the Winter Olympics?
- Which of your characters/pet would take the opportunity to live on Mars?
- What plotline has surprised your readers the most?
- What video game does your sims enjoy playing the most?