Evolution of a storyline

[dicreasy2]

Now that I have got Alexandra's story done and on the exchange, I'd like to share how the storyline changed and evolved with you.  This is extremely spoilery, so if you haven't read chapter 15.3, don't read this.

My original idea for Alexandra and Joe's relationship was completely, completely different to the relationship you have seen.  When he was first dropped from the well I was going to write and play them as being in a pretty happy relationship.  They were going to marry and have children, and Joe would be the slightly hen-pecked husband always following in Alexandra's wake.  The fact that he was a well drop and they were happy was going to be referred to in Eddie's storyline too, so it all seemed to fit well to me.

Then came two turning points that made me re-evaluate where I was going with it. 

The first was when I started switching my focus when playing and shooting from William to his children.   I was writing Alexandra as being spoilt because she always wanted to be the centre of attention as a toddler and child.  Once she was a teenager, I wanted to add more depth to her and start exploring why she acted like that.  It was whilst I was following her around with the camera I realised that she pulls the most wistful and sad faces of any sim I have seen.  It wasn't a great leap for me to start seeing a vulnerability there that I could bring into her character.

The second was when I invited Joe to stay for three days.  He never did interact with Alexandra of his own volition.  I had to have her speak to him each time since he would rather speak to Vicky or Beth or play one of the pianos . 

Then of course there was the fact that he left on the first day at the normal teen curfew time.  I'm still not sure if this is how the game is coded since I've not dug out my BV guide to look, but it certainly threw my plans into disarray.  I had invited him because Alexandra would not stop rolling the want to ask him on a date.  I actually ran out of time to have her ask him that first day since I'd taken Beth, William and Eddie to the businesses and was then running around trying to keep Beth and Eddie happy once they got home.  I had planned to have her ask him on the second day, but of course he left.

I started to think how I could use this and ended up developing the relationship as I was writing so that it looked as if Joe wanted out, and was hoping that by avoiding Alexandra he would be giving her hints to leave him alone.

Alexandra's natural persistance would mean that she wouldn't get the hints, especially since she had set her heart on being with him forever.  That meant that I started thinking about how I would end the relationship.  My first idea was to have Alexandra see Joe with another girl somewhere on campus, and then know that he didn't care for her.  It was a good idea, but somehow I just felt that it needed more.  Also as a young adult, the wistful and sad faces I had noticed in her as a teenager were much more apparent.  I just knew then that although she acted with such forcefulness and was so bossy  it was a front and that underneath it all she was incredibly vulnerable and just wanted someone to love and care for her.  She thought Joe did because of the interest he had shown in her and so clung to that like a lifebelt.

As is so often the case, my next brain wave occurred whilst I was letting my mind wander.  I came up with the idea of Joe leaving her at the altar.  I liked that, because I like drama, and so started thinking about the logistics of it.  I needed to come up with reasons as to why Joe wouldn't call it off before the wedding.  Alexandra's persistance wasn't quite enough, which is where the ideas that he could see she would be a good wife, and was extremely attracted to her, once it was pointed out how pretty she was, came in.  Once I knew he would desire her it was a natural progression for me to have her pregnant when he leaves her.  I also started to develop Joe's character more at this point so that him sleeping with her before the wedding would make sense and not be out of character for him.

So I now knew where I was going with Alexandra, but it wasn't complete.  I had no idea what would happen to Alexandra or her baby.  Would I have Beth and William pretend that it was their own, even though Beth was too old to have more children?  Would they claim it ws a foundling?  What?  I  was clueless.

I stayed clueless until I was procrastinating here at LJ and shooting preview pictures of the green eyes I had recoloured to share with you all.  Since I was playing Charles at  SSU, I went into the YA CAS to take them.  I grabbed a random sim from the premade Maxis ones (not the templates the full sims) and took the pictures.  As I did so I decided that I wanted to see what the jade eyes looked like in game, so I  called him Anthony Smith and accepted him 

So there I was in SSU with this sim wondering which dorm to put him in.  I had my next brainwave.  I could use him to get reaction shots with Joe:  he could be a friend that Joe tells about Alexandra and how she won't leave him alone, and he wants out.  In fact this Anthony can give him advice.  That was it.  A firework went off in my brain and I had the rest of the storyline worked out in a split second.  Anthony would fall in love with Alexandra, and hate how Joe was treating her.  He would try his hardest to get Joe to acknowledge how he felt and get him to tell Alexandra.  He would be there when Joe did leave Alexandra, and he would marry her even though she was pregnant with another man's child.

So there you have it.  That's how a combination of sims' actions and my thoughts caused me to develop this storyline into what you have seen  in chapters 13-15.  I still have a couple of scenes to shoot with Anthony and Alexandra which will put the finishing touches to this part of their lives, but I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Comments

[writeraissa.livejournal.com]

Well, I for one am glad that brainwave struck! I've loved the entire story and, even though parts of it sucked for Alexandra--in the end, she'll have her Happily Ever After, which is really all she ever wanted :).

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I'm really happy that there has been such a positive reception to this story. It did just spark into life, and once I had it in my head I was compelled to tell it.

She will certainly live happily ever after, that's for sure.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I love the way storylines evolve from little thought nuggets. :) I'm really glad you've gone the direction you have with Alexandra's storyline. I think if you'd gone with your first inclination, I never would have developed any liking for her. She annoyed me when she was a child and her pushiness bothered me. That you skillfully worked up to revealing her vulnerability and switched the sympathy away from Joe were really well done.

I do hope you do this type of thing after you get most of Eddie's storyline out there. I'm dreading it but looking forward to it at the same time.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I definitely found Alexandra slightly annoying when I read back how I was writing her as a child. It was as I started paying more attention to her I started seeing another side of her and wanted to show that.

Thank you, I wanted to do the switch obviously, but I was worried that it would come across as being too sudden and forced. It looks like I got the balance right.

I liked doing this. It was good to sit down and write why I did what I did.

[docnerd.livejournal.com]

Well, it all worked out amazingly well. It's so nice when everything clicks into place and you get a great story out of it.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

It really did all fit together so well. I don't think it would have worked out better if I had sat down to plan it all in one go back when she was a child.

[leaths.livejournal.com]

I really liked reading your thought process on this one. I love the Anthony Smith came about because you wanted to try out those eyes.

Well, it all clicked together beautifully because this storyline was probably one of my favorite ones that you've done. Not to mention that we got Anthony out of it, whom I adore, and we got to really get to know Alexandra in a different and more appealing way. It was really well done.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I like to share. Yep the only reason I made Anthony was to try those eyes. It was only when I was sitting there with him attached to the curser thinking 'where do I put him?' that it all came together.

Aw thanks. I'm glad I didn't ditch it as being too similar to Eddie's then.

[rosefyre.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with Orikes - Alexandra annoyed me as a child. I even thought she was being too pushy with Joe when he was first dropped. But then, when I saw how he was being...I started to like her a lot more, and to feel bad for her.

Definitely glad you went in that direction.

I have a lot more to say about my views of Alexandra (and why I'm really relating to her storyline at the moment), but I'll leave that in a boolprop comment, when I have the time...or when I'm trying to avoid homework. Either way.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

There was a definite switch for me when I started to try to work her vulnerability into her character. Part of the reason I started to look at adding more depth to her was because I didn't want to put people off of her because of her attitude.

Hey whenever you get time. We're all busy and do this in our free time, so I understand.

[regacylady.livejournal.com]

Isn't it great when we plan things and then they go in a completely different direction? Even though it hurt Alexandra, I'm glad the story went the way it did. Anthony was a testing sim? It was like he was made for her, only he didn't know it (and neither did you) and then fate brought them together. =D So romantic. <3

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I know. I did a complete 180 with her Joe's relationship didn't I?

I felt that the pain she experienced in this chapter would be offset by all the happiness she will experience with Anthony.

To tell the truth I hadn't even decided if I would play Anthony through uni or just have him as a placeholder. I literally created him on the spur of the moment. I can't believe how well it worked, and thank goodness for brainwaves!

[lauriempress.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this with us. I too had felt that Alexandra was just a bit too pushy and spoiled. I suppose when you saw her vulnerability the story started telling itself. I have a feeling that if Joe had acted differently, you probably would have found another way to show that other side of Alexandra, but the combination just worked for an emotional story so close to her brother's.

Lauri

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

The story really did just take off once I realised that vulnerability in Alexandra and that Joe just didn't seem that into her. I think that I would have found a way to show her vulnerability somehow, but I agree this was just perfect.

There really are strong parallels between Alexandra and Eddie's stories, and that nearly made me pull out of doing this. The reasons I didn't were that I felt compelled to tell this, and I actually like the similarity to her brother. To me it makes sense if you think that they have all been brought up with their parents' perfect marriage as an example. Beth is William's first love, and he is hers. I think that both Eddie and Alexandra then expected the first person they met to show an interest in them would also be their true love. Unfortunately, that leads to them both making a mistake.

[thepiepers.livejournal.com]

While Alexandra was a bit pushy as a child, I didn't dislike her. Perhaps it's because in some small way she reminded me of myself as a child. It's so true what you said about her being able to put on a front, yet feel vulnerable at the same time. At least she now has Anthony.

While I didn't get left at the alter, I did have a patient man who waited for me much like Anthony did for her. It's so nice to know that she will finally get the love she deserves.

I look forward to reading more about the two of them and their life together.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you didn't dislike her. She is still pretty pushy, but that has been tempered by what she has been through, and now she has a man who will tell her no when she needs to hear it. I have plans for the two of them to be very happy together, and as you know, the best things come to those who wait.

[gintasticnecat.livejournal.com]

It's great when random plans come together isn't it?

Well I love Alexandra, and I love Anthony, and hate hate hate Joe! So I think it all came together really really nicely :) I do remember you saying somewhere at some point that Anthony had only been brought about to use the green eyes, but oh if only we knew! This has been a really exciting story line, and I'm so so happy it all worked out in the end. Though now I just hope that the children don't take after their biological father too much..

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

Totally. That final piece of the puzzle just clicked once I made Anthony.

I am so happy that everyone has enjoyed it. As I was coming up with more and more of it, I really did feel compelled to share it. I am really looking forward to seeing the kiddies grow up, but I am holding out for them taking after Alexandra more than Joe. Christopher especially. I would adore it if he turns out to be a brunette version of William.

[avidreader7.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy you went testing those eyes! I love when storylines are resolved or added to by accident like that. I loved reading how this all came about.

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

I know, one completely random, off the cuff action completed the entire storyline. I now couldn't imagine it happening any other way.

[jenga218.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing that with us, Di. That storyline was amazingly well-done. And I am glad we got to know Alexandra better. I knew she was more than that pushy little thing, but when Beth pointed out that she had always been small and vulnerable, it really got me thinking.

I mean, part of why I love The Sims 2 is that the little pixel people can teach us little life lessons if we let them. Aren't we all small and vulnerable underneath?

Now my mind is wandering, and I'm sorta stealing your spotlight. But you really did a great job in portraying Alexandra and that little fact of life.

It's funny that Anthony came simply from a set of eyes. I was wondering who he really was, mainly from curiosity, but I did notice those lovely eyes straight away. That was amazing how that whole storyline came together.

~Jane~

[dicreasy.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it Jane. Sometimes I get an idea in my head and have to see it through.

I was worried with how I was portraying Alexandra at first, so I'm really happy that you have all responded so well to me finding and writing that vulnerability in her character.

Yup, I made him on a whim to try those eyes. Sometimes I do wonder if my subconscious brain knows these things before it lets me know.