How I Write My Story
I basically just play, take piles of screenshots, then write the story based on what happened. When I play, I am “in the character” of who I am controlling. I imagine how they are feeling and I govern their actions by their personality traits. At first I wasn’t playing much on free will but started using it around Van’s generation – and it really lets me see their personalities even more. If you don’t play free will you should definitely try it!
I almost always try to fulfill their wishes (unless it’s something stupid like wanting to suddenly pillowfight or jam with a person they just met), and I always work on their lifetime wish.
When I say “it’s a true story”, it pretty much is. I don’t make up a story then take shots (I’m not that creative, hah). I just play the game and then write what happened. Pretty much. 😉 It usually works out well. But sometimes I take only a few shots for an event and if I decide to make a chapter or scene about it I will have to go back in a previous save of my game and take extra shots. The extra shots are what’s really fun.
Often, visiting the characters again will enlighten me to more ideas of what was happening ‘behind the scenes’ or in their little Sim minds. Or maybe something that could have happened in the other room with different characters, while I was concentrating on someone else when I was actually playing.
For these times, I often get that “ohhh, so that’s what really happened!” moments. 🙂 I love those. So yeah, a few things I might describe in more detail in the story, change the time sequence, or make up some minor details, but pretty much this is how their simulated lives actually went. So I can’t change events or take a different direction in my story, because it is what it is. 🙂 It does make it harder to put it all together logically, so that’s why the chapters are released more sparsely than other legacies.
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The Party People! 
I think you summed it up better than I could. I’ve never played that far ahead, but now that you’ve planted that idea in my head, I might try it…your efforts at characterizing your sims is certainly what makes your stories so fun to read.
Thanks! I never meant to be that far ahead but I ended up putting much more effort into Van’s story and I wanted to take my time and enjoy writing the scenes and characters. There’s a lot more story to tell yet! Next generation might be completely different, who knows! 🙂 Seeing it’s my first time and all.
Thanks for sharing. Its fun to explain things through Sim eyes. I’ve gotten some of my best moments based on auonomous things.
Yeah it’s fun to just play their characters rather than to force them to do things. I don’t have the patience to use pose player for my stories either… however it’s great to see those who use it well.
Sounds like a cool idea
Thanks! I just like to play, more than write, though the writing of their characters is fun too. 🙂
Hi Sharona,
Enjoyed your post. I basically play the same way, mostly ‘As-it-happens’ with random and ‘wishacy’ styles with me as their guide mixed in Sims 3. In Sims 4 I still play the same way but do it in a rotational way and mixing in some challenges. It’s fun to see what our Sims do on their own. I find they tend to find their own drama without us helping them.