The Liebster Award (x9)

Hello all! I was nominated by not one, but two* amazing sim writers for this award: Jax (And Then It Rained…) and Late Knight Simmer (Echoes of Eternity). Let me tell you that this completely made my day and somehow turned out to be good timing too because there’s some not so exciting stuff occurring in my life that has me all on edge and doubting everything about myself, so thank you both a million! It was definitely a greatly appreciated and unexpected surprise. Since I was nominated by two people and couldn’t decide what to do about all of those questions, I just decided to answer both sets. After all, if both of you took the time to think of me, the least I can do in return is think of the both of you.

*NOTE: I have since been nominated by Ixot as well, only I didn’t notice until I was about to post this! Regardless, thank you too, seriously! ^_^; ❤

*NOTE2: I was also nominated in turn by SimComix (MrsOogieBoogie). I may need to consider answering some more questions, haha. Thank you so, so much!

*NOTE3: Oh my goodness, AND I’ve been nominated by Noonibean, Stormy, jantilles, Tiny Piglet, and fluffy mao. Guys, I can’t even! Thank you all SO SO much!!! I didn’t realize so many people read my blog. I am officially overwhelmed by love ❤ So, here we go:

The Liebster Award is, from what I understand, a way to recognize noteworthy blogs that may not have received all that much attention so far, thereby notifying others of amazing reads that you may have been missing out on. There are a few rules though which are as follows:

1.) Post the award on your blog

2.) Thank the blogged 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.

My Nominees Are:

1.) The Insane Dubois Legacy by SimComix aka MrsOogieBoogie

Yes, I know she’s already been nominated, but I don’t particularly care because I love this blog so much that it deserves all the accolades that it could possibly receive. It is a legacy (a patriarchy to be specific) with a bit of a twist: Each and every heir inherits the “insane” trait. Now, I don’t mean insane as in “I’m wearing my formal wear to bed,” but rather “I’ve gone off the handle and murdered people” insane. This blog has made me cry. This blog has made me laugh. This blog has made me literally jump out of my seat and run around crazily because I am so overwhelmed by all the FEELINGS it gives me. It is amazing. ❤

2.) Absolutely Cuckoo by Ixot

This blog is an I’m Surrounded By Idiots (ISBI). Yes, I know, another one? Why is this one worthy of my attention? Well, I’ll tell you—because it is genuinely, wonderfully funny and well-written. Each of her characters have unique personalities that make them distinct and I never fail to have a laugh with every chapter she posts. When I see updates from this girl in my reader I give a little squeal because I know it won’t disappoint.

3.) The Simple Life by Autumnrein

While I am aware that Autumnrein was already nominated for this award, she’s primarily been recognized for her ISBI and while that one is amazing of course, I’d like to bring attention to her other blog, The Simple Life. This awesome blog is actually based on a challenge she created herself and is based on the premise of having a completely farming-based legacy. It’s super charming and I never fail to laugh with each subsequent update! If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should.

4.) Trusting Desire by Noonibean

Oh goodness, another blog that has me squealing whenever I see updates about it appear in my feed. This blog is a Sims 3 Historical Romance and it is written in comic form. YES, COMIC FORM! This amazingly talented woman puts little speech bubbles and art details and everything on in-game photos to create an actual SIM COMIC. It’s absolutely incredible and is even based off a book she actually wrote and published. Um, what!? This woman is amazing—and so is her blog.

5.) The Suitor by Becki

This is another Sims 3 historical romance because damn it, I love me some historical romances, clearly, and this one just takes the cake. I mean, wow. It is truly well-written! I think I literally lost nights of sleep because I couldn’t stop reading it in order to catch-up. It’s that good! She doesn’t update a whole lot, but gosh it doesn’t even matter because you know that when she does, you’re in for a real treat.

6.) The Life & Times of the Willows by Stormy

This legacy story immediately starts out with a gripping plot and compelling characters with unique stories—all brought to life with utterly striking photos. This wonderful blog is totally in need of some more love, so go check it out!

7.) Broken World, Hidden Colours by Simblroonies

GUYS, this blog only has like 15 followers and it’s so freaking awesome! It’s a post-apocalyptic, rags-to-riches-esque story and every single chapter has been ON POINT. The story is compelling, the characters are multi-dimensional, and the photos are just gorgeous. You won’t regret checking this one out!

Jax’s Questions:

1. If you could restart one generation or a couples chapters from your story; would you?

Oh gosh yes, are you kidding me? I’d write the entire first generation over. In fact, sometimes I wish I could delete it entirely, that is how much I would love to restart the first generation. The style of it is just so disparate from the rest of my blog that I feel like it does a horrible job of showing what my blog is actually like. Sometimes I feel like just sticking a huge disclaimer on it that says: “Yes, I know it’s childish and sucks, but if you can bear with me, it gets better….” I get touches of that feeling in the second generation too, but the first one is all head desking for me. If I had more time, I’d rewrite it in full.

2. If you were allowed to know one thing from the future, would you take the chance to know? And what would you want to know?

I would like to know how far technology really advances. I mean what innovations will we have 100 years from now if humans still exist? Flying cars? Entire countries fueled by solar power? A pill that can safely eliminate cancerous cells? What in the world will we come up with? I REALLY MUST KNOW.

3. Sims 2, Sims 3 or Sims 4? And why?

I would choose The Sims 3 because I enjoy playing it the most. Although I loved TS2, now when I look back at it I can’t stand how the sims look. As for TS4, it feels wholly lacking in so many domains that I find its playability limited. There are certain aspects that I enjoy, but it has so little depth that I don’t feel as connected to it as I do with TS3. I feel for the little pixelated beings that inhabit the TS3 realm…the ones in TS4, not so much. They feel flat right now. Perhaps that’ll change, but considering one of my favorite aspects of this game is the family system, I’m not so certain this can happen without some serious additions (non-object babies and toddlers, please?).

4. What are your goals for your current story, legacy, isbi?

My goal is simply to finish it. That would be everything to me. Seeing as how that goal is so far away though, my current smaller goal is to finish generation 7. Why? Because I already have plans for generations 6 and 7, so I would like to write out my ideas. I’m sure by the end of that time I’ll have a plan for generation 8 too, but for now, I’m more concerned about getting there at all, haha.

5. Do you plan on starting another challenge or story after your current one is finished?

I feel like the end of this one is so far in the future that it’s difficult to answer this question. I mean, most likely not because the reality is that this blog probably won’t be completed for years, but who knows? I have played around with the idea of starting a casual-play blog, but since I have such limited time for even my one blog, I’m not so sure that’ll happen.

6. Do you like expressing to people about your stories? Or would you rather keep it personal?

You mean my sim stories? I used to keep it personal, but now I just straight up tell people because anyone who would think less of me if I told them isn’t someone I need in my life anyway. That being said, most people think it’s pretty cool/interesting ^_^;

7. What is something you love to do besides playing Sims?

I enjoy reading and watching movies as well as playing some other games, such as Skyrim and Kingdom Hearts. I also like going to theme parks, zoos, museums and the like and in general enjoy spending time with the people I love.

8. Do you ever think you’ll change your writing style? You know, give yourself a challenge?

I already have changed my writing style throughout the course of this blog, and I expect that it will continue to change as I pass through each subsequent generation. My continuous challenge to myself is be better and top what I’ve done previously because there is always room for improvement. No generation is perfect, nor ever will be.

9. What is your favorite animal? Why?

My favorite animal is an orca whale. There’s just something about them. I also love cats…because they are fluffy, awesome, curious little mau maus!

10. What is something you love about your writing? (Yes, give yourself some love! You deserve it.)

Hmmmm…I love…my ability to infuse emotion into my writing. If I feel nothing when reading part of a chapter, it usually gets re-written until I can read the entire thing while feeling all the feels 🙂

11. And lastly, who is someone you admire?

J.K Rowling! Despite my voracious appetite for reading, she remains by far my favorite author. Not to mention she has used her fame and wealth to do so much good for people, instead of it all only benefiting herself. She’s wonderful. On that note, I admire John Green as well for many of the same reasons. If I could be even half the people they are, I would feel incredibly fulfilled.

Late Knight Simmer’s Questions:

1. What got you interested in writing? Have you always been a natural writer, or did some life event spark you to start the hobby?

I think to an extent I’ve always been a natural writer. I can remember back to elementary school when I’d write little stories for class, and I remember one time my teacher gave me really high praise for some of my writing, and I think that built a confidence in me that led me to being determined to continue to improve and grow in my writing. Since then, I am always trying to top what I did before, haha. I think I got seriously into writing though in the 8th grade when my friend told me that she was a member of all these “role play” websites, in which basically one person starts a story in one character’s point of view, and then you “join in” as another character in the story and continue the plot. I was so interested in this that I joined several Harry Potter role play websites myself, spending hours just writing back and forth with all these other great writers. This same friend also wrote her own stories, so I got into that too. In fact, I totally wrote this one really elaborate story about a girl who is teleported to an alternate, fantastical universe. It ended up being over 120 pages typed before I got so lost in the story that I gave up on it, haha. Since then I have continued writing stories (I have entire folders full of them on my computer) and even took creative writing classes both in high school and college. Basically, a “me” that doesn’t write, isn’t even me anymore

2. How serious are you about writing? Do you want to be a world famous author someday, or do you just write Sims stories for fun?

As you can probably tell from the previous answer, I’m pretty serious about writing. To be completely honest, I have always dreamed of being a published author, but because I know how difficult it is to make a career out of this, I’ve felt like I need to have a professional career in place first, and then maybe in my free-time work on a novel. I have this sort of vague goal of having a book published by the time I’m 35. Will this happen? I have no idea, but god would that be amazing! On that note, being “world famous” isn’t part of that goal. It’s enough for me to have an actual published book! As for the Sims stories, I write them to refine my writing because I know it’s not quite on the level that it needs to be a professional writer (or so I feel) so this is an excellent avenue to not only practice, but also combine two of my most favorite things in life—writing and The Sims.

3. Is there a time of day that’s the best time for you to write?

I am a notorious night owl, to the point where I sometimes turn completely nocturnal and have to forego sleep one day in order to “reverse” the cycle back again. Thus, as you might imagine, the night is the best time for me to write. There’s something about the quiet beauty of the night that gets my creative energy flowing 🙂 When I first wake up is also an excellent time for me though (whenever that time may be given my questionable sleeping habits, lol)

4. What do you do to get over writers block?

I don’t actually have a specific thing that I do to get over it, apart from just leaving it for a while and doing other things. However, I find that watching movies or reading books sometimes sparks my creativity once again. Sometimes it’s actually even better for me to force myself to write through it. The writing is crap and I’ll probably have to change it all afterward, but trudging through it sometimes leads way to renewed inspiration. The only way out is through.

5. What made you start playing Sims?

Well golly, the same exact friend I mentioned earlier introduced me to The Sims 1 at a sleepover. We stayed up the entire night playing it and I didn’t want to leave her house because I didn’t want to stop playing LOL. On that note, I borrowed the game from her to install and ended up buying all of them in the end afterward. I now own ALL The Sims games, ALL The Sims 2 games, and all the Sims 3 games with the exception of a couple of the stuff packs and Into the Future, although I do plan to get the latter just for that dip kiss, lmao.

6. Do you prefer creating and writing about male or female Sims? Why do you prefer the one you do?

I prefer creating female sims in CAS because I feel like I’m better at it and there’s more options (although sometimes this also makes them a real pain to create), but I actually preferring writing about male sims. I don’t really know why, but somehow I feel like I’m better at that too. It’s probably why I keep inserting Gabriel’s POV into Joanne’s generation….I miss the guy POV, lol. I’m thus of course aiming for generation 6 to have a guy heir!

7. Other than Sims and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?

As mentioned previously, I read a lot as well as watch movies, play Skyrim or other video games, and visit museums and parks. I also love to listen to music and sing. Spending time with loved ones is always fun too ^_^

8. What are your favorite and least favorite expansion or stuff packs?

My favorite expansion has to be either Seasons or Generations, in both cases because I felt like they added a deeper layer to gameplay that made it feel more realistic. My least favorite is Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats. It marked the first time ever I did NOT purchase an EP/Stuff Pack Since then there have been a few other stuff packs I didn’t buy either and don’t plan to (70s, 80s, 90s stuff and Movie stuff). I don’t currently own Into the Future either, but I likely will end up buying that one.

9. What is one of your greatest fears regarding your writing?

My greatest fear regarding my writing for my sim blog specifically is writing myself into a bind—since the chapters are already posted I am more or less unable to go back and change things. This has already been the source of annoyance a few times now In general though, for all my writing, my greatest fear is simply not finishing it. I have soooo many started works, and with the exception of poems or short stories, have not finished them It sucks…especially if I ever actually want to publish a book.

10. If you could pick five personality traits for your Simself, what would they be? I know when I do it, there’s always more than five I want to use, but just think of the first five that come to mind.

Tough call! I’d probably change my answers based on my mood honestly, but currently: Bookworm, Overemotional, Perfectionist, Excitable, and Good.

11. What is your favorite type of CC to download and why?

HAIR HAIR HAIR HAIR HAIR. I HAVE SO MUCH HAIR. HAIR EVERYWHERE. Why? I’d really like to know that too. I mean, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps it’s because I really dislike all the EA hair, so I’ve felt the need to replace all of it with three times as much CC hair. It’s a problem—I need to be in CC Hair Anonymous or something. Poses are my second guilty pleasure (I’ve probably got over 300 of them in that damn folder), but at least that obsession makes sense—story telling!!

Questions For My Nominees:

1.) Describe your typical writing process, including what you do to prepare to write and your editing process (if you have one).

2.) If you could turn any of your characters into real people, who would you transform and why?

3.) What is your favorite aspect of The Sims? What keeps you playing it?

4.) If you could be miniaturized into a sim for a day, what in the game would you want to do?

5.) Do you have friends in “real life” who are also simmers? If not, how much do you talk to your friends about the sims/your sims blog?

6.) Do you also write outside of The Sims? If so, what do you write? If not, why not?

7.) What are you most proud of when it comes to your sim blog/your writing?

8.) Do you have any regrets regarding your sim blog? Why, or why not?

9.) What are your favorite hobbies aside from The Sims?

10.) For you, what is the most difficult part of writing and/or maintaining your sims blog?

11.) LOOK TO YOUR LEFT. The first object you see is about to come to life—how screwed are you?