Alternate Universe: Blue Fire originally started as a Sims 2 story. The Sims (and its sequels) is widely used as a storytelling device. It was one of the reasons that compelled me to play it.
I started posting the sim story back in 2012. As a writer, telling your story is the most important thing. I was glad to share this world with sim players, who seemed interested in the story and characters.
The simming community is filled with endless creativity. We are proud promoters of each other. I received a lot of feedback on Alternate Universe while posting Book 1.
Around 2015 I decided to transform it into prose. I already had a base outline in the sim story so it just needed to be written.
This was the first manuscript I took seriously. Problem was I had not discovered my own writing style, a routine, or sense of organization. Things I discovered later that helped accumulate discipline to write every day.
So there were many revisions. Five actually.
Away from writing, I was largely frustrated by my job and living situation. It was difficult to concentrate on what I felt was important.
Somehow I completed Draft 4 and decided to send out my manuscript into the world. It is an exciting and terrifying thing to show people something you dedicated a lot of time and energy and emotion into building.
This process teaches you a lot about rejection. It is a frustrating, yet humbling experience. I received everything from the cold, "We have no interest in your novel" to encouraging, "I like a lot the themes your novel offers, but it needs work" messages.
I sent out so many queries that I lost count.
There was an agent that finally gave me time of day and stated that my idea was marketable, but it needed revising.
Just the thing you want to hear after four revisions. So, I took a step back to reassess.
During this time I moved between three states, experienced a year unemployed, and lost all my savings. But finally in late 2017 I had the space to really concentrate on my manuscript, found work, and began rewriting Blue Fire.
I decided to tackle this revision differently. Across from my bed was a giant white wall. I would stare at it, thinking so much blank space. Eventually I purchased the supplies to make my writer wall.
Organization is key. Being able to identify each chapter with a glance was incredibly useful. I had an outline. Now to revise Draft 4 into the fifth and final draft.
I scrapped chapters that seemed boring. Kept chapters that were major plots points that needed some touching up. Rewrote scenes from whole new perspectives. Then moved my way chronologically through the story.
In 2019, I finished and edited it. And now it is being published.
This picture on the right is my sample print on top of Draft 5 (the blue binder), sitting on Draft 4. It is one of my favorite visuals.
It began as a Sims 2 story.
Now it is a novel.