Featured Author, an Interview with Simsophonique!

Happy Timezones! Once again, it is time to feature an author through an interview! Today’s is with Simsophonique who writes, “Miss V Detective: Enquêtes à Sunset Valley. A Sims 3 Story.” Symphonique is French and English is not her first language (something she is self-conscious about). However, I’ve been reading her stories for quite some time and understand them just fine. 🙂 Miss V is a delight as she hunts down clues to solve mysteries that baffle the police!

Shall we begin?

1. How long have you been playing The Sims and what got you into it?

I play the sims since I am sixteen. I started to play with the sims original series while the Sims 2 series was released. First time I saw the sims original it was at my childhood friend a couple of years before I came to myself. She had tested the sims 1 on her computer. I fell in love with this game. I couldn’t believe such a game could exist, a big childhood dream was. To possess toys who are alive. I grew up in the 90’s as millions of girls of my age I played a lot with small characters as toys. The only wish, to see them animated. The Sims are there. They are better than dolls however they are as limited as toys.

I forgot a little bit about it because we only play once. It’s when I start to be a bored teenager I started to buy my own copy and play with it. Since I still play the gameplay with the same passion except for the sims 4 I got difficulties to enjoy it anyways it’s a good tool for writing special kinds of stuff.

2. Why did you begin blogging your sims story?

Mainly and still be on my own, to develop my own ideas. It’s always easier to publish my own notes online than offline. The tools online are better optimized for writers than writing programs in my very own opinion.

3. How do you come up with your story ideas?

I used to play the Sims 3 as a game player without thinking of writing a story. It’s when my simself worked as a receptionist at the spa she met Mathieu Rethel, one of my sims. Both spoke about computers as Mathieu at that time was a computer whiz. While this sims conversation, I had in late 2015 to turn my simself as a Detective to test the career. It was an eye-opener. I started to be a little bit bored with the plain gameplay. I adored it so much the Private Eye career, I decided to write her own story. I published beginnings on Tumblr than here. My 2016 game saves folder become corrupted so I had to rewrite all my story, it helped me so much to sort out of my ideas. Now the Miss V Detective you are currently reading is totally refreshed since early 2017. If I am a simlit “author” you can thank the Sims 3, especially my sim Mathieu Rethel, for the little help. Mathieu Rethel is still a Vallerian.

4. Do your sims actions help create new ideas or make the story go in a different direction then you had intended?

Honestly what I am doing is to rewrite the sims story in my own vision I got of the game with my own Universe. As I am a game player based author, my sims are in the heart of the actions. They set the tone. The gameplay is my base. I couldn’t imagine writing Miss V the regular story without being as support the game itself. I only write about when something important is happening. A Sim who is visiting my simself, or everything I play that could be interesting to say.

If there is a fight between two sims, it gives me the base of my writing. They expected me to guess the reason(s) why they fight, the dialogs, the atmosphere. For instance, if my simself goes on a piece of evidence gathering in a place in Sunset Valley for her mission, the notifications of the game tells me some hints of what she thinks of. As it is repetitive and not quite fun in reality, I forecast. Especially, the Sims 3 are characters that are extremely expressive compared to what the Gurus and the players say. They got five or seven personality traits, they are deeper than what they appear. They are always telling you something beyond the personality they choose or you gave to them to be, by their behaviors, their actions. However as I hide the bubble speeches I have to dig deep into my imagination to create something different than expected and I don’t want my few readers even me reads the same things, how boring to play five times the same cases because your game randomly choose that for you, repeating the same on an on? I am pushed to break that routine at least to keep the story to be entertaining.

5. Which character is your favorite and why?

Jenna Banks. Jenna is a very beautiful blonde-haired Genie in the Bottle that sows your wild oats, she always has a dirty trick in her mind. She does everything that breaks the Harmony of the ISS Government governed by Nibiru Solarii is for keeping people in Peace. She thinks to be too Goodwill soon or later will attract the sworn enemy of Nibiru Solarii, Adelphe’s fans, those who are rebelled against Nibiru and it’s government, menacing to another perpetual war and another destruction of Sunset Valley. Fortunately the efforts of Jenna are never discovered by anybody and nobody suspects her except some curious on the simchan and other place on the simweb. She is the Queen of the Néfastes. Other nasty sims never really follows her. In the end, she is not really wrong.

When I play with her I always do crazy things with my sims or with her that makes me die laughing. Genies in the Bottle in this game have got funny abilities as Bewitched people. I always use that. If only we got more powers for supernatural sims in this game.

I also like Enji Rinkashi as well because I always have demonic ideas of bringing mess on my sims’ quiet life.

With my Evil sims I experiment things I can’t do with my simself. I play the game differently. I cry of laughing each time I got them .

I love my sims so much there are nobody I really don’t like.

6. What chapter has been the most difficult to write so far, and why?

Every chapter I write is difficult because I have to self-adapt my story to the gameplay facts avoiding to be repetitious, I also don’t master English at all. Often, I have no real ideas of what I wrote or how I am going to write my ideas.

7. Is there anything you wish was different about your story?

That isn’t the question I wish more gameplay, more and more animations. The gameplay has so much limits that I have to change my plot. I don’t like to use poses and I rarely do it except when it’s a true need. That’s so sad there are a few modders for the sims 3 , that I can’t add myself what I need and there are no gurus anymore to care of this game. I really wish to have a game that we can easily modify for our needs without being a computer whiz.

8. Do you have advice for any other writers who may just be starting out?

If you got the feeling you are amused of what you are doing with the Sims or with an other story games, no matter what kind of stories you shares. To have fun brings you Happiness. Happiness brings you a kind of Passion that nothing can break, not even Hate. Hate is words. If you don’t think confortable with what you are playing, writing, toss it, delete and start over.

Do not make pressure on you. There is no good or bad genres. There is Litterature with all its shades, all its from the simple texts. If you are not convinced of this fact , just go to any libraries take randomly some books and read their back covers synopsis , you willl see how diverse Litterature is. There is no good or wrong subjects and there is no clever or silly texts at all. Just be yourself, wild and free. Do not mind how people think of who you are, through your texts Internet people doesn’t know you at all.

9. What are the challenges of bringing your characters to life?

My sims are enough alive to notice things they are telling me. However the most challenging is to play with them and write something about. I got hundred of sims in my Sunset Valley, I don’t know most of them.

10. Would you like to share an excerpt from your story or a summary of your story? Or both?

Aw sorry my bad I won’t write any summary because with the b-sides and my regular story I mix my mind so I rather share you excerpts if you may.

Miss V Detective: Chassing Gossip (2)

« It with a huge disappointement I take a chance as rummaging the outside bin. People doesn’t know , bins is a wealth of information on each policemen and investigators. In the next twenty minutes I find out in the wastes, a journal with torn pages. I didn’t read a lot of stuffs except that Noémie make the wish to incorporate a criminal union. By chance, she mentionned the Abandonned Warehouse. I put the journal and some untouched piece of paper in my pockets.

–How Thomas discovered this secret? This guy is either a bad neighbour or he is a rival who denounced her.

Before bringing my conclusion to Mr. Cross. I drive until the local sport bar. I lock myself up in the restroom. After changing my outfit, I join Thomas.

Thomas was about to escape me when I ask him to get out of the car. I make him later at work. »

Miss V Detective : SOS the Library is Hacked Off (2)

« The evening after a long full night, Gnomy V inspects Steven Carrault and the whole household mailbox to find some hints to charge Mr. Carrault for a pirating act. She opens the mailbox , glancing one by one the letters received , take in her pocket the modem receipt letters for purshasing pirating software he received and close it.

– I don’t know who and where he paid for the Onion Network. This guy is mad, getting it without army authorization is illegal. I myself know what I have to bear if I am caught. However I don’t steal it at the black market. This is something I naturally inherited by my family.

After she rummages the bin, she is worried of being identified as Miss V Detective, she hurries up to search an other blantant evidence to bring to Emilie. She hurts her hand on hard plastic box , that is a modem. This isn’t an ordinary modem , the first modem used for ATOM. »

Miss V Detective : Caper Cruisader (1)

« Liam:-Challenge yourself Caper Crusador! I bet you didn’t know he kills Enji Rinkashi. Of course you won’t admit the Truth in him.
Simself:-Jason killed Enji. I don’t care of what you think of Jason. You’re a liar about the spy I’ll prouve you it.

Liam :-May Darky be with me to destroy you little snooper ! Jenna my Queen I fullfill your wish.

He loudly says with joy when I am running of horror until a quiet place face to the sea. Tear drops runs slowly on my cheeks. I am standing still facing to the sea holding my umbrella, the sky is crying with me. All my memories of Jason when we were colleague at the caravan pass before my mind as a movie. All our telephone conversations as well, hours to talk to this and that and laughing as big kids. This sailboat on the sea, far away from this town, how I envy it. I wish to be inside, sail away and never be back home.

-He can’t be ! He can’t be ! I repeat myself. »

11. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing exhausts me a lot I have to think of a language that isn’t mine and even if I thought my story in my everyday language, it’s hard to organize my plot.

12. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I am always original . I am kind of Selfish when I write something. I don’t say readers doesn’t have something to say I myself share enough my ideas on other simlit stories I read just to start a conversation I am a ballbreaker I know . However I never ever force the author/player to follow my mind. I respect what they are writing. I except the same in return.

13. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

I think everybody can be a writer as long as the person has enough Empathy to be able to embody the characters they want to make alive. That’s a thought beyond the sims game. When I was at middle school , in French class, French teachers weekly or bi-weekly asked us to write essays . Everytime I was myself faced to that reality especially when it’s a rewrite or a following of a text. You have to understand the text context and reality. There is true when you have to build your own Universe, your own world. In the Simlit or in the Author carreer, the similaritybetween the two writing excercise is you have to face people that is different than yourself even a person who is similar to you never acts or thinks as you truly are. Writing isn’t only a matter of Emotions. There is first a matter of your ability of being somebody else as an actor in a movie. To me, you have to think before to feel. Feelings and Emotions comes when you know who you have to embody. Emotions can be a pain when you are yourself a too much over-emotional person . You have to focus on putting them away if you want to take the control of your story this is the reason why I think this way.

14. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

If I was gifted for being a real author, I don’t know I would face Celebrity. When you walk on the street , your lector asks you selfies, autographs . To be a famous is not an easy thing and it’s harder in my condition.

15. Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is special?

Miss V is special because despite she is my simself, she has the same identity, zodiac sign and a couple of my personality traits, we are two different entities. I am the true Marie-Béatrice, she is an avatar of me. We got common points sometimes common thoughts or sometimes the same manners, final point.

She has to deal keeping her ancestry traditions in a world that people lost their roots. Other Vallerians kepts only some Cultural and Spiritiual beliefs, just what Nibiru encouraged to keep. In reality, the untold thing is she is considered as old-fashionned through other sims eyes in reality despite as all other Vallerians she grews up in a world that isn’t her, she has a double culture but she raised up with the Tradition of Sixam I , a bit flawed at some points just because Parents when they are telling you the Story of the Family sometimes distorted , bowdlerizing the bad moments. The weight of her culture is heavy on her shoulders and maybe she’s the only one who totally follow it right now. Her culture makes her special and not only her personality.

16. Do you believe in writer’s block?

Yes . It often happens to me so why it doesn’t happen to anybody else?

Thank you so much, Marie-Béatrice, for such an awesome interview! I really appreciate it!