Writing: A Year in Review (2015)
I wasn't sure I could do this, or even had something to talk about. In the end, I decided it was worth a try.
Total number of stories worked on: Not that much, if I don't count ideas written down in a rush. I think, around 15?
Total number of completed stories: 6, if I don't include my collection of fills for the VIXX 3 sentence ficathon.
Fandoms written in: VIXX, INFINITE, BESTie, Rainbow, KARA, A Pink, Laboum
Total word count: 50,000 words
March
Burned Out Stars, They Shine So Bright
Rainbow. Noeul-centric. 14,007 words. R. Written for kpop_olymfics
June
Grant My Last Request (and Just Let Me Hold You)
VIXX (+Apink, BESTie, Laboum, INFINITE). 3,446 words. PG-13. A collection of drabbles from the VIXX 3 sentence ficathon.
July
Tell Me What Happened to the American Dream
KARA. Park Gyuri/Han Seungyeon. 7,496 words. PG. Written for unnideul's summer exchange.
August
Who I Am, Who I'm Not, Who I Wanna Be
INFINITE. Sunggyu-centric. 11,282 words. PG-13. Written as a pinch-hit seasonthreee
Suck My Duck
VIXX. Hyuk/?. 3,415 words. Rated for description of sex toys. Written as a pinch-hit for forvixx
September
Running Like The Ocean to Find Your Shore
VIXX/BESTie. Taekwoon/Yuji. 3,375 words. PG-13. Written as a pinch-hit extrafictionary
December
Baby, We Found Love (Right Where We Are)
VIXX/Red Velvet. Taekwoon/Irene. 7,274 words. PG. Written for vixxgifts
Overall
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I can only say more. Way, way, way more. After writing nothing in 2013 and barely 9k in 2014, I never thought I would or even could write that much. 50k isn't a big accomplishment in itself, and 6 fics in 12 months isn't either but I'm proud of myself for well, finally doing what I love more regularly.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
It's quite an interesting question. Fandom-wise, and as weird as it sounds, definitely INFINITE. I know it might sound surprising, considering I've been modding dashidorawa for years now but this year marks my first INFINITE fic. I always thought the guys were too difficult to portray, and that I couldn't do them justice.
Genre-wise, maybe humor. More than fluff, I never thought I could write something funny (or supposed to be funny), but well, Suck My Duck wrote itself.
What’s your own favorite story of the year? Who I Am, Who I'm Not, Who I Wanna Be without a doubt. It's flawed, and lacking in so many ways but but all my feelings, and my love for Sunggyu are in this fic. It's just an introspection on what I think could happen. There's still so much more than I want to write about it, but it was the first time I just couldn't stop thinking about a fic and just ate, slept, lived for it.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I think I did? I tried a lot of different genres, wrote homosexual pairings (both male and female) and het, and well, just tried to change my writing style (or well, more like fix some issues) after getting lovely pointers from slashedsilver around July.
So yes, I tried to "vomit" a bit less and just have a lighter hand when it comes to descriptions, almost in a "don't tell but show" way? Learnt that not everything had to be said or shown at once and to be more subtle, in a way.
One my my biggest flaws was also unsatisfactory endings, most of them sounding a bit rushed? I don't think I'm completely there where I want to be with that yet but it's getting better.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year? Word-count wise, I would love to continue to write more and I'm aiming for 75k, though I barely believe it will happen. Other than that, I would just like to continue to improve, and write a bit more for myself.
My goals from last year were: I truly had none, except to push myself and write. Kudos for myself, I guess!
From my past year of writing, what was…
My best story of this year: I'm not even sure, but considering I think I improved, maybe Baby, We Found Love (Right Where We Are)? It's not the best, but quite possibly my best.
My most popular story of this year: Well, I don't think any of my fics were popular in the first place. Kudos-wise, Suck My Duck would be the one but if I had to base myself on heartfelt comments, and people talking about my fics, then maybe Who I am, Who I'm Not, Who I Wanna Be or Baby, We Found Love (Right Where We Are).
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Hard to say, because I think they all got the reception they were supposed to get in the end. Maybe Running Like The Ocean to Find Your Shore, though. I thought it was a cute little story, and felt bummed it wasn't seen as such.
Most fun story to write: Suck My Duck. Probably because I wrote it in four hours, between midnight and 4 A.M, and that the ending was totally improved after a gchat with people from some VIXX Meta Circle members, haha.
Story with the single sexiest moment: None, but I would like to write sexy this year. Be ready, everyone! Hyuk bathing with a vibrating duck is more hilarious than sexy, okay.
Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: The implied dub-con scenes in Burned Out Stars, They Shine So Bright. They were just, difficult to write in more ways than one.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Burned Out Stars, They Shine So Bright, definitely. I had so much feelings for that fic and for the girls, especially Noeul and the more I wrote about it, the more I couldn't help but wonder if there was even an ounce of truth in what I was writing. I got so into it that I kinda lost my way, too, sadly.
Hardest story to write:Baby, We Found Love (Right Where We Are). It was tough to write for a pairing I didn't really feel for and to have the pressure of wanting to do a good job but not knowing if I could make it in the end. Fluff, also, is so far from my comfortable niche of angst and canon/future fics that I was at a loss of whether I was doing it right or just completely being over the top.
Biggest disappointment: Myself? I just tire myself with how I can't never be satisfied with anything I write. I always try to remind myself that I'm not writing for anyone but me but, in the end, who I am fooling?
Biggest surprise: Having people to hold my hand when I was writing and just struggling? Having people ready to talk to me about fic issues or to beta for me. I never had anyone to really talk about writing before 2015 and Olymfics, and I don't think I would have been able to do everything that I did without all the wonderful writer friends I made last year.
Also, how I joined so many events and just went through all of them? Never thought it could happen.
Highlights + Wrap-up:
Favourite Opening Lines (3):
1. "There's no one waiting for him."
2. "No one had expected a war to ever break in Seleniam."
3. "It's time to leave, she thinks."
Favourite Closing Lines (3):
1. "(She had been the one who had started it, it had seemed fit she would also be the one to end it.)"
2. "Music is the one that let him live. Kim Myungsoo is the one who helped him survive.
Now, he has both.
He feels alive again."
3. "“And so will I,” She smiled softly, eyes shining bright, “I love you.”"
Favorite 5 Line(s) from Anywhere:
1. "She wants fireworks and a burn that takes her breath away forever. She wants to be the queen of her own world."
2. "“They’re right, though,” Joohyun states once she notices his back isn’t as rigid as it was a few minutes ago. “I’m a girl.”
Taekwoon stops in his step, and turns to look at her. He takes in the long hair framing her face, the way her flowery skirt floats around her legs with the late afternoon breeze and blinks. “You are,” he breathes out, his hold on her wrist loosening. He had always known she was a girl, but he had never seen. Not before now."
3. ""I like you for more than your face, Soo-yah."
"Because you're my leader."
"Because I'm a man," Sunggyu corrects and this time, he grabs Myungsoo's hand firmly in his."
4. "They had all fooled around on the beach, Sungjong and Sungyeol teaming up to bury a sleeping Dongwoo in the sand. Woohyun and Hoya had played in the water and Myungsoo had been playing his guitar before they had all come together to sing a few songs around the bonfire. It had been brief but the sweet taste of a break between packed schedules had left them energized for months afterwards."
5. "More than that, she wasn't able to stop thinking about him. Every minute of the day, he was on her mind, her thoughts always revolving about whether he was alive and still the same patient, shy but warm man she had always loved."
In Conclusion: I have never written this much and I don't believe that anything would have been possible without all of you. Thank for you for always being behind me and encouraging me to be a better person and a better writer. Hopefully, in 2016, there will be a day where I won't be ashamed to have you be proud of me. In the meantime, I'll continue to work hard, and write, write, write because it makes me feel alive (and worth something).
Friends' Reviews:
here - slashedsilver
here - mara-ciro
here - troqes