In which I babble about writing...
...and even the porn kicked my ass.
After agonizing longer than I should admit about this, I decided to break it down into completed stories and works in progress. Since I have this insanely annoying habit of writing in existing 'verses, I've organized by that as well so you don't have to see me blather about titles every time we change 'verses.
Everything is based on some variant of the Supernatural 'verse. Even the Firefly cross-over is set within season three of the show.
Completed Stories:
2008 was the year where I explored shorter fiction. Well, based on the standards of my usual fare. I only started two multi-chapter stories and I finished one of them during the course of the year and got halfway through the other. Problems with my health made it difficult to focus on the larger stories. I also wrote more Gen stories in 2009 than in any other year.
So without further ado...
Strange Angels
It's the 'verse that started it all for me. Yes, I know that I've let the main storyline lapse in favor of short vignettes within the 'verse. And, yes, I know that it was completely Joss'd by the end of season two. But I can't stay away from the 'verse, even though I haven't been able to focus on the main storyline. I wouldn't be surprised if I was still writing vignettes in it after the show has been cancelled, probably to console myself for being the last person on the planet still writing Supernatural fanfic in 2015.
I just keep losing my beat: At least they were letting him have a couple of shots between the hand waving and the quarter tossing and that stupid rhyme they kept reciting in Latin. (Dean/OFC, PG-13, Dean POV, Word Count: 2700)
When All Logic Grows Cold: "Maybe I'm the one who should be teaching you a lesson or two." (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 3000)
When You're Falling
This 'verse began last year with Always Falling, an alternate universe where Dean goes to college, there are no demons and Mary is still very much alive. I considered the first story a character study and was prepared to leave it at that - which, with me, is never the right thing to say.
Any Chance Collision: Georgetown was the next step in her plan but her father was always telling her that life could turn on a dime. If the trick was learning how to dance, she had really screwed it up by tripping over that boy who bussed tables in the New South Dorm cafeteria. (Dean/OFC, Het, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 47,1888)
Can't Tell Which Way is Down: He knew the job was dangerous when he took it. (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 317)
'Til I Hit the Ground: "It's official. Hell is an Aerosmith video." (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Dean POV, Word Count: 2600)
Rhapsody of a Windy Night
I never intended to write a Supernatural/Firefly crossover, let alone create a playground where I could explore the notion that Sam Winchester and River Tam are my crossover OTP. I blame this, really, on too much T.S. Eliot and a fascination with fairy tales.
In this last of meeting places: She's not a princess but kisses can wake the dead. (Sam/River, Sam/Ruby, Sam/Jess, Het, NC-17, River POV, Word Count: 2931)
Both the hunters and the hunter: Some skies can only be walked alone. (River, Dean, Gen, PG-13, River POV, Word Count: 275)
And ashes to the earth: The brother who runs from dogs drowns their voices in whiskey and the scent of a woman. (Sam/River, Dean/OFC, PG-13, River POV, Word Count: 1600)
Washed as white as snow: He tries to convince himself that she's just a girl. (Dean, River, PG-13, Dean POV, Word Count: 100)
Gobsmacked
Ah, Gobsmacked... Also known as "the 'verse that pheebs1 built. Despite having mapped out Seasons Two and Three within the framework of the story I want to tell, I didn't spend a lot of time writing in it...beyond a couple of snippets and vignettes. And by that, I think I mean exactly "two."
Demons of Her Own: It all went to hell when Mom died. (OFC, Dean, Sam, Gen, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1513)
Kissin' Dynamite: It started out the way that it usually did, with tequila and a pool table. (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Dean POV, Word Count: 2200)
Transcendental Numbers
Now that there's more than one story bouncing around out there now based on one high school semester the Winchesters spent in Poughkeepsie, New York, I decided that it deserved a grouping all of its own. And I thought the title was kind of cool, so...
Though I should point out that the link points to the Strange Angels 'verse as these stories are all part of that 'verse, albeit during a pre-series time frame.
If You Try Sometimes: His birthday wasn't something to be celebrated with streamers and chocolate cake. (Sam, Jess, OFC, Gen, PG-13, Sam POV, Word Count: 2570)
Run Like a Vagabond
Last year, I signed up for the occhallenge with an idea for a female hunter within the Supernatural universe. It was one of the things I swore that I would never write when I started writing within the fandom but I decided it was a good way to challenge myself and I *think* I came up with an OFC who won't get my ass kicked. All things being equal, though, Tessa needed her own sandbox.
So much for all the prayers you've learned: Four things are always true, no matter what she hunts or where the road takes her. (OFC, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1300)
I dream of a circle: She swallows her pills and falls asleep. (OFC, Dean, Sam, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1700)
One-Shots
Sometimes, I even write things that aren't part of a 'verse...
In the Torn Recesses: She was going to die, as sure as her bones ached. (Gen, Winchester, OFC, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 497)
Bound to Burn the Wilderness: She was no stranger to losing something precious in a fire, for all that hers started with a whoop and the squeal of tires down a dirt road. (Missouri, John, PG-13, Missouri POV, Word Count: 683)
Ghosts in our rear view mirror: "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen (Dean/OFC, Sam/Sarah, NC-17, Dean POV, Outsider POV, Word Count: 10,340)
Works-in-Progress:
A long time ago, pheebs1 challenged me to write a story set outside of my existing 'verses. I had a story planned called Cuts You Up that was going to be that story but I promised myself I wouldn't start it until other stories sitting in limbo were completed. And then Alice Meeks walked into my brain and drop-kicked my muse to the floor. It was pretty much all she wrote after that and I know this is the one work-in-progress that will get finished before all others, despite my goal of completing By Gaslight this year and the hope for significant progress on Beneath the Hollow.
Your Sorrow for Another Coin: Winchesters always needed protecting, from themselves as much as anything else - so maybe it was no surprise that Mama added all that thyme and basil and oregano into spaghetti sauce every time a Winchester crossed their doorstep. (Dean/OFC, John/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 33,400 at the approximate halfway point)
Looking Ahead:
This is the year of finishing fic. With the exception of writing a Missouri/OMC story, every other goal I have set for myself is to finish existing stories. In addition to By Gaslight, I hope to finish the next story in the Rhapsody of a Windy Night 'verse as well as get a goodly chunk of Beneath the Hollow completed by year-end. I'm also hoping to finish a chart challenge, too. Yes, I signed up for the "sexual healing" chart. Don't judge me. It's Dean and Haley Collins.
My Favorite Stories of the Year:
Because I am utterly predictable, I would say that it's a toss-up between Any Chance Collision, Kissin' Dynamite and Your Sorrow for Another Coin. Any Chance Collision felt like going home for me (and it came at a time when I really needed it), Kissin' Dynamite reminded me of how much fun it was just to write something porny for the sake of it and Your Sorrow for Another Coin is the Supernatural story I've always wanted to write but was never good enough to pull off.
My Best Stories This Year:
I would have to go with Your Sorrow for Another Coin, even though it is still in progress. The narrative voice drives me absolutely crazy to write sometimes and it writes more slowly than anything else I have ever written but it's as honest as As She Hit the Open Road. It's also the best damn thing I have ever written in my life. If I stopped writing Supernatural fanfic after I finished it, the story would be the one thing I personally would want to be remembered in fandom for having written.
Stories most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
This honor would have to go to And ashes to the earth. It marked a turning point in the Rhapsody of a Windy Night 'verse, specifically in how River relates to Dean. I felt the story was well-written and that my River voice was spot on...but not a lot of people read it. Which is a shame, because I think it was one the best character studies I've written for Dean.
Stories I Wrote That I Never Thought I'd Write:
So much for all the prayers you've learned and I dream of a circle - two stories that show just how willing I am not to rely on a Winchester for a story. The fact that they feature female hunters in the lead role also shocks me...
Most Fun Stories:
Most of my stories have a lot of humor blended in with the angst but, on sheer funny alone, I'm going with I just keep losing my beat. There's drunk!Sam and drunk!Charlotte and both of them trying to outdo each other in the karaoke show from hell, down to air guitar and Charlotte screeching her way through "You're the One that I Want" from Grease before falling flat on her ass. What's not to love? Though When All Logic Grows Cold is also a contender; nothing says "fun" like covering your hero in giant bug guts and then getting him laid.
Sexiest Stories:
I didn't write as many porny stories this year, though both of the multi-chaptered stories have their fair amount of sex within the context of the plot. I think it's a tie between 'Til I Hit the Ground and Kissin' Dynamite, both of which were written completely for the sex. Both feature some of my experimentations in Dean point of view as well but I think most people went along for the ride because they were porny.
Although...maybe the fact that Kissin' Dynamite was recc'd twice on crack_impala over the summer indicates that a tie was broken...
Hey. Never underestimate the power of Penny Hillsworth, especially when Dean has her tied up on her four-poster bed.
Hardest Stories to Write:
I'm not going to say "all of them" despite the fact that, on the whole, writing was harder to do this year than in previous ones.
I will say that the one I've been most emotionally attached to has been Sorrow, meaning that I've found myself getting emotionally caught up in the story. I'm ashamed to admit it, but there are scenes in there where you can probably tell that I was crying while I wrote them and there are scenes coming up that I will probably bawl my way through, too...
The plain hardest to write? Ghosts in our rear view mirror. I wrote it as part of a fix exchange and I'm always harder on myself when I'm writing the story for someone else. And I don't do deadlines well, so there was considerable angst about my even making the deadline. As proof I submit this: I was still writing the story on New Year's Eve, sending the last section off to embroiderama to beta thirty minutes before I started posting the last batch of fic exchange responses on spn_het_love.
Easiest Stories to Write:
Man, I have to say that even the porn kicked my ass in 2008. I think the easiest stories for me to write, though, were the ones with Dean and Charlotte - regardless of the 'verse. I've been writing them together for so long, and I'm so comfortable with how they think and act now, that writing stories with them in it has been my own personal comfort zone. They're my happy place and goddess knows I needed a lot of that last year, especially after the pre-cancerous stuff hit towards the end of the year.
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
I wrote considerably less, though I think the quality is better than in previous years - despite the fact that I was sick throughout most of the year, in some form or fashion.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
In the interest of perspective, I can say that this is the year where I took lots of narrative chances. I began playing around with my Dean voice, albeit with versions of the character I'm generally used to writing. River's narrative structure required me to throw out all of the standard rules of grammar and make up my own just for her. And then there's Sorrow, which feels more like writing poetry than it does writing prose. The language of the story has forced me to look at writing in different ways than I normally do and I think the story is better for it.
Biggest Disappointment:
This may sound lame but...the fact that I didn't finish any of my existing WIPs frustrated me - in part because I was able to write much more consistently in previous years than in this one. And there was the decision I made to place both Cowboy Smile and And the Air Shall Stand Red into amnesty status. I love both of the stories but Smile was intended to explore some of the things I'm doing more effectively in Sorrow. If I do have time, though, I still intend to work on Air because I think the case file is killer and it's definitely got the feel of an episode. It's just not up there on the priority list, though.
Biggest Surprise:
Getting nominated in the Best Author category of the Salt and Burn Awards. Seriously. I made choking noises. I was less shocked when Your Sorrow for Another Coin also received a nod...but only because the story has been well-received on the whole. (And I really do think it's the best thing I've ever written...)
Do you have any goals for the New Year?
To finish the stories I've already started, beginning with Sorrow and pushing my way through By Gaslight so I can post the ever-patient ysbail's Sweet Charity fic without worrying about potential spoilers.
After agonizing longer than I should admit about this, I decided to break it down into completed stories and works in progress. Since I have this insanely annoying habit of writing in existing 'verses, I've organized by that as well so you don't have to see me blather about titles every time we change 'verses.
Everything is based on some variant of the Supernatural 'verse. Even the Firefly cross-over is set within season three of the show.
Completed Stories:
2008 was the year where I explored shorter fiction. Well, based on the standards of my usual fare. I only started two multi-chapter stories and I finished one of them during the course of the year and got halfway through the other. Problems with my health made it difficult to focus on the larger stories. I also wrote more Gen stories in 2009 than in any other year.
So without further ado...
Strange Angels
It's the 'verse that started it all for me. Yes, I know that I've let the main storyline lapse in favor of short vignettes within the 'verse. And, yes, I know that it was completely Joss'd by the end of season two. But I can't stay away from the 'verse, even though I haven't been able to focus on the main storyline. I wouldn't be surprised if I was still writing vignettes in it after the show has been cancelled, probably to console myself for being the last person on the planet still writing Supernatural fanfic in 2015.
I just keep losing my beat: At least they were letting him have a couple of shots between the hand waving and the quarter tossing and that stupid rhyme they kept reciting in Latin. (Dean/OFC, PG-13, Dean POV, Word Count: 2700)
When All Logic Grows Cold: "Maybe I'm the one who should be teaching you a lesson or two." (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 3000)
When You're Falling
This 'verse began last year with Always Falling, an alternate universe where Dean goes to college, there are no demons and Mary is still very much alive. I considered the first story a character study and was prepared to leave it at that - which, with me, is never the right thing to say.
Any Chance Collision: Georgetown was the next step in her plan but her father was always telling her that life could turn on a dime. If the trick was learning how to dance, she had really screwed it up by tripping over that boy who bussed tables in the New South Dorm cafeteria. (Dean/OFC, Het, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 47,1888)
Can't Tell Which Way is Down: He knew the job was dangerous when he took it. (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 317)
'Til I Hit the Ground: "It's official. Hell is an Aerosmith video." (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Dean POV, Word Count: 2600)
Rhapsody of a Windy Night
I never intended to write a Supernatural/Firefly crossover, let alone create a playground where I could explore the notion that Sam Winchester and River Tam are my crossover OTP. I blame this, really, on too much T.S. Eliot and a fascination with fairy tales.
In this last of meeting places: She's not a princess but kisses can wake the dead. (Sam/River, Sam/Ruby, Sam/Jess, Het, NC-17, River POV, Word Count: 2931)
Both the hunters and the hunter: Some skies can only be walked alone. (River, Dean, Gen, PG-13, River POV, Word Count: 275)
And ashes to the earth: The brother who runs from dogs drowns their voices in whiskey and the scent of a woman. (Sam/River, Dean/OFC, PG-13, River POV, Word Count: 1600)
Washed as white as snow: He tries to convince himself that she's just a girl. (Dean, River, PG-13, Dean POV, Word Count: 100)
Gobsmacked
Ah, Gobsmacked... Also known as "the 'verse that pheebs1 built. Despite having mapped out Seasons Two and Three within the framework of the story I want to tell, I didn't spend a lot of time writing in it...beyond a couple of snippets and vignettes. And by that, I think I mean exactly "two."
Demons of Her Own: It all went to hell when Mom died. (OFC, Dean, Sam, Gen, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1513)
Kissin' Dynamite: It started out the way that it usually did, with tequila and a pool table. (Dean/OFC, NC-17, Dean POV, Word Count: 2200)
Transcendental Numbers
Now that there's more than one story bouncing around out there now based on one high school semester the Winchesters spent in Poughkeepsie, New York, I decided that it deserved a grouping all of its own. And I thought the title was kind of cool, so...
Though I should point out that the link points to the Strange Angels 'verse as these stories are all part of that 'verse, albeit during a pre-series time frame.
If You Try Sometimes: His birthday wasn't something to be celebrated with streamers and chocolate cake. (Sam, Jess, OFC, Gen, PG-13, Sam POV, Word Count: 2570)
Run Like a Vagabond
Last year, I signed up for the occhallenge with an idea for a female hunter within the Supernatural universe. It was one of the things I swore that I would never write when I started writing within the fandom but I decided it was a good way to challenge myself and I *think* I came up with an OFC who won't get my ass kicked. All things being equal, though, Tessa needed her own sandbox.
So much for all the prayers you've learned: Four things are always true, no matter what she hunts or where the road takes her. (OFC, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1300)
I dream of a circle: She swallows her pills and falls asleep. (OFC, Dean, Sam, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 1700)
One-Shots
Sometimes, I even write things that aren't part of a 'verse...
In the Torn Recesses: She was going to die, as sure as her bones ached. (Gen, Winchester, OFC, PG-13, Outsider POV, Word Count: 497)
Bound to Burn the Wilderness: She was no stranger to losing something precious in a fire, for all that hers started with a whoop and the squeal of tires down a dirt road. (Missouri, John, PG-13, Missouri POV, Word Count: 683)
Ghosts in our rear view mirror: "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen (Dean/OFC, Sam/Sarah, NC-17, Dean POV, Outsider POV, Word Count: 10,340)
Works-in-Progress:
A long time ago, pheebs1 challenged me to write a story set outside of my existing 'verses. I had a story planned called Cuts You Up that was going to be that story but I promised myself I wouldn't start it until other stories sitting in limbo were completed. And then Alice Meeks walked into my brain and drop-kicked my muse to the floor. It was pretty much all she wrote after that and I know this is the one work-in-progress that will get finished before all others, despite my goal of completing By Gaslight this year and the hope for significant progress on Beneath the Hollow.
Your Sorrow for Another Coin: Winchesters always needed protecting, from themselves as much as anything else - so maybe it was no surprise that Mama added all that thyme and basil and oregano into spaghetti sauce every time a Winchester crossed their doorstep. (Dean/OFC, John/OFC, NC-17, Outsider POV, Word Count: 33,400 at the approximate halfway point)
Looking Ahead:
This is the year of finishing fic. With the exception of writing a Missouri/OMC story, every other goal I have set for myself is to finish existing stories. In addition to By Gaslight, I hope to finish the next story in the Rhapsody of a Windy Night 'verse as well as get a goodly chunk of Beneath the Hollow completed by year-end. I'm also hoping to finish a chart challenge, too. Yes, I signed up for the "sexual healing" chart. Don't judge me. It's Dean and Haley Collins.
My Favorite Stories of the Year:
Because I am utterly predictable, I would say that it's a toss-up between Any Chance Collision, Kissin' Dynamite and Your Sorrow for Another Coin. Any Chance Collision felt like going home for me (and it came at a time when I really needed it), Kissin' Dynamite reminded me of how much fun it was just to write something porny for the sake of it and Your Sorrow for Another Coin is the Supernatural story I've always wanted to write but was never good enough to pull off.
My Best Stories This Year:
I would have to go with Your Sorrow for Another Coin, even though it is still in progress. The narrative voice drives me absolutely crazy to write sometimes and it writes more slowly than anything else I have ever written but it's as honest as As She Hit the Open Road. It's also the best damn thing I have ever written in my life. If I stopped writing Supernatural fanfic after I finished it, the story would be the one thing I personally would want to be remembered in fandom for having written.
Stories most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
This honor would have to go to And ashes to the earth. It marked a turning point in the Rhapsody of a Windy Night 'verse, specifically in how River relates to Dean. I felt the story was well-written and that my River voice was spot on...but not a lot of people read it. Which is a shame, because I think it was one the best character studies I've written for Dean.
Stories I Wrote That I Never Thought I'd Write:
So much for all the prayers you've learned and I dream of a circle - two stories that show just how willing I am not to rely on a Winchester for a story. The fact that they feature female hunters in the lead role also shocks me...
Most Fun Stories:
Most of my stories have a lot of humor blended in with the angst but, on sheer funny alone, I'm going with I just keep losing my beat. There's drunk!Sam and drunk!Charlotte and both of them trying to outdo each other in the karaoke show from hell, down to air guitar and Charlotte screeching her way through "You're the One that I Want" from Grease before falling flat on her ass. What's not to love? Though When All Logic Grows Cold is also a contender; nothing says "fun" like covering your hero in giant bug guts and then getting him laid.
Sexiest Stories:
I didn't write as many porny stories this year, though both of the multi-chaptered stories have their fair amount of sex within the context of the plot. I think it's a tie between 'Til I Hit the Ground and Kissin' Dynamite, both of which were written completely for the sex. Both feature some of my experimentations in Dean point of view as well but I think most people went along for the ride because they were porny.
Although...maybe the fact that Kissin' Dynamite was recc'd twice on crack_impala over the summer indicates that a tie was broken...
Hey. Never underestimate the power of Penny Hillsworth, especially when Dean has her tied up on her four-poster bed.
Hardest Stories to Write:
I'm not going to say "all of them" despite the fact that, on the whole, writing was harder to do this year than in previous ones.
I will say that the one I've been most emotionally attached to has been Sorrow, meaning that I've found myself getting emotionally caught up in the story. I'm ashamed to admit it, but there are scenes in there where you can probably tell that I was crying while I wrote them and there are scenes coming up that I will probably bawl my way through, too...
The plain hardest to write? Ghosts in our rear view mirror. I wrote it as part of a fix exchange and I'm always harder on myself when I'm writing the story for someone else. And I don't do deadlines well, so there was considerable angst about my even making the deadline. As proof I submit this: I was still writing the story on New Year's Eve, sending the last section off to embroiderama to beta thirty minutes before I started posting the last batch of fic exchange responses on spn_het_love.
Easiest Stories to Write:
Man, I have to say that even the porn kicked my ass in 2008. I think the easiest stories for me to write, though, were the ones with Dean and Charlotte - regardless of the 'verse. I've been writing them together for so long, and I'm so comfortable with how they think and act now, that writing stories with them in it has been my own personal comfort zone. They're my happy place and goddess knows I needed a lot of that last year, especially after the pre-cancerous stuff hit towards the end of the year.
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
I wrote considerably less, though I think the quality is better than in previous years - despite the fact that I was sick throughout most of the year, in some form or fashion.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
In the interest of perspective, I can say that this is the year where I took lots of narrative chances. I began playing around with my Dean voice, albeit with versions of the character I'm generally used to writing. River's narrative structure required me to throw out all of the standard rules of grammar and make up my own just for her. And then there's Sorrow, which feels more like writing poetry than it does writing prose. The language of the story has forced me to look at writing in different ways than I normally do and I think the story is better for it.
Biggest Disappointment:
This may sound lame but...the fact that I didn't finish any of my existing WIPs frustrated me - in part because I was able to write much more consistently in previous years than in this one. And there was the decision I made to place both Cowboy Smile and And the Air Shall Stand Red into amnesty status. I love both of the stories but Smile was intended to explore some of the things I'm doing more effectively in Sorrow. If I do have time, though, I still intend to work on Air because I think the case file is killer and it's definitely got the feel of an episode. It's just not up there on the priority list, though.
Biggest Surprise:
Getting nominated in the Best Author category of the Salt and Burn Awards. Seriously. I made choking noises. I was less shocked when Your Sorrow for Another Coin also received a nod...but only because the story has been well-received on the whole. (And I really do think it's the best thing I've ever written...)
Do you have any goals for the New Year?
To finish the stories I've already started, beginning with Sorrow and pushing my way through By Gaslight so I can post the ever-patient ysbail's Sweet Charity fic without worrying about potential spoilers.