Fanfic Meme
I succumb, friends, I succumb...
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?
More. As of August, I was OUT of the fanfic scene for almost four years, so the fact that I wrote anything this year was a most pleasant surprise. To me, at least. ;)
Where did you publish/archive your stories?
My LJ, open_on_sunday, AO3
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2009?
I would never have predicted that I'd write Supernatural *anything*. Ever. And then, boom, "A Very Winchester Thanksgiving." WTF? LOL
What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?
Probably "In the Living Season" makes me happiest as a writer. I panicked and panicked about that approaching seasonal_spuffy deadline, and then ItLS just *happened* with a kind of power I experience only rarely as a writer.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
"The Queen's English" went over like gangbusters, which prompted "Blood and Biscuits." My Spike and Giles get a lot of love around here, which is really neat. :) ItLS was also tremendously well received, which was super gratifying. The comment from the person who said she'd recently experienced real life grief and been touched by the story really blew me away.
Story most under appreciated by the universe?
When you write as little and irregularly as I do, I don't think you get to call *anything* under-appreciated! I was grateful for the fact that anyone was reading anything at all!
Story that could have been better?
Geez, all of them *could* be better. I always see a word or phrase or plot point (when I get around to plotting!) that is so godawful I cringe, but I try not to make the same mistakes twice. I find new ones each time out. *snort*
Sexiest story?
Does Spike's innuendo in the B&B series count? ;)
Most fun story?
I had a lot of fun with Spike and Xander and Clem talking about the Fabulous Ladies Night Club in "Leave Those Umbrellas Home Tonight." Oh, Spike and Giles talking about Lord of the Rings was much fun.
Story with single sweetest moment?
"Oh, Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven"'s reunion bit right at the end. I loved that.
The story that made you cry?
I don't ever cry at my own stories, but in Day 3 of "In the Living Season" when Spike sees the Buffybot after Buffy's funeral and falls down at the pain of it? Yeah, that one HURT. Actually that whole story crushed me, even if it didn't bring me to tears. I was sort of low for weeks afterward.
Hardest story to write?
Huh. I can't pick. They all have their little challenges, from whittling down drabbles (mine usually start off between 120 and 135 words) to thinking through characterizations and voices.
Easiest story to write?
"Late Night Diner Talk," in which Spike and Dawn chat about salt walling, took about 10 minutes. Then again, it was a drabble, but with important historical content! "The Man of His Dreams" was also a quickie, perhaps speeded by the wine I was consuming at the time...
Most overdue story?
"When You Wish." What's a four-year hiatus between friends? Oy!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
"Here's the Thing," the Whistler POV piece was WHOA! outside my comfort zone, so I learned that I can think outside the box. Occasionally. I'm going to count "The First Dance" as a 2009 fic as well, and S2 with shades of Spuffy was really a challenge, but in a good way. That was the first non-drabble piece I'd written some "Something Borrowed" in November 2005, so I learned I can still do it? Sort of?
Total Word Count for 2009
Somewhere around 18,000 made public. Okay, yes, 11,000 of that was drabbles and drabble series. Is that not right? ;)
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?
Coming out of the LJ-cut so that these are in public. That way I can't back out of working on them! How's that for strategy?
*Finish "When You Wish." *points to resolve face* readerjane has provided so much incentive in our email discussions of that story that I'll do it just for her if it kills me!
*"The Apocalypse between Day 19 and Day 37" in my soon-to-be "In the Living Season"verse- Yes, dammit, I'm going to create my own 'verse! I live in that post-S5 summer anyway, so I figure I might as well put that to good use. I'm dying to tell the story of how Spike and the Scoobies deal with that first post-Buffy apocalypse, as referenced in ItLS, but it is not going to be lighthearted, so I've got to gear up for the angst.
*An untitled ficlet about Spike in 1916, which I really want to have done for the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1. I have been playing with this idea for YEARS, and I've got to get around to getting it out!
*More "Blood and Biscuits," of course. :)
*"my so-called calling," an mscl/BtVS mash-up in which Angela Chase is the Chosen One. This is inspired by crackers4jenn's recent piece on characters from other fandoms being The Slayer. I might need a little prompting on this one from any of you out there who are Lifeheads (1995-speak for mscl fans!), though, or I'll probably end up keeping this one to myself. But here's some potential dialog just to push you to cheer me on:
"You want to smooch him."
"Who?"
"Who?" Willow looks at me coyly. "Angel? Come on, admit it! I'm not gonna tell anyone."
"I love the way he broods," I confess. "About stuff. He broods great. Well, either smoochies or a conversation. Ideally both."
Come on, now. Shouldn't Angela totally be in Sunnydale? ;)
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?
More. As of August, I was OUT of the fanfic scene for almost four years, so the fact that I wrote anything this year was a most pleasant surprise. To me, at least. ;)
Where did you publish/archive your stories?
My LJ, open_on_sunday, AO3
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2009?
I would never have predicted that I'd write Supernatural *anything*. Ever. And then, boom, "A Very Winchester Thanksgiving." WTF? LOL
What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?
Probably "In the Living Season" makes me happiest as a writer. I panicked and panicked about that approaching seasonal_spuffy deadline, and then ItLS just *happened* with a kind of power I experience only rarely as a writer.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
"The Queen's English" went over like gangbusters, which prompted "Blood and Biscuits." My Spike and Giles get a lot of love around here, which is really neat. :) ItLS was also tremendously well received, which was super gratifying. The comment from the person who said she'd recently experienced real life grief and been touched by the story really blew me away.
Story most under appreciated by the universe?
When you write as little and irregularly as I do, I don't think you get to call *anything* under-appreciated! I was grateful for the fact that anyone was reading anything at all!
Story that could have been better?
Geez, all of them *could* be better. I always see a word or phrase or plot point (when I get around to plotting!) that is so godawful I cringe, but I try not to make the same mistakes twice. I find new ones each time out. *snort*
Sexiest story?
Does Spike's innuendo in the B&B series count? ;)
Most fun story?
I had a lot of fun with Spike and Xander and Clem talking about the Fabulous Ladies Night Club in "Leave Those Umbrellas Home Tonight." Oh, Spike and Giles talking about Lord of the Rings was much fun.
Story with single sweetest moment?
"Oh, Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven"'s reunion bit right at the end. I loved that.
The story that made you cry?
I don't ever cry at my own stories, but in Day 3 of "In the Living Season" when Spike sees the Buffybot after Buffy's funeral and falls down at the pain of it? Yeah, that one HURT. Actually that whole story crushed me, even if it didn't bring me to tears. I was sort of low for weeks afterward.
Hardest story to write?
Huh. I can't pick. They all have their little challenges, from whittling down drabbles (mine usually start off between 120 and 135 words) to thinking through characterizations and voices.
Easiest story to write?
"Late Night Diner Talk," in which Spike and Dawn chat about salt walling, took about 10 minutes. Then again, it was a drabble, but with important historical content! "The Man of His Dreams" was also a quickie, perhaps speeded by the wine I was consuming at the time...
Most overdue story?
"When You Wish." What's a four-year hiatus between friends? Oy!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
"Here's the Thing," the Whistler POV piece was WHOA! outside my comfort zone, so I learned that I can think outside the box. Occasionally. I'm going to count "The First Dance" as a 2009 fic as well, and S2 with shades of Spuffy was really a challenge, but in a good way. That was the first non-drabble piece I'd written some "Something Borrowed" in November 2005, so I learned I can still do it? Sort of?
Total Word Count for 2009
Somewhere around 18,000 made public. Okay, yes, 11,000 of that was drabbles and drabble series. Is that not right? ;)
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?
Coming out of the LJ-cut so that these are in public. That way I can't back out of working on them! How's that for strategy?
*Finish "When You Wish." *points to resolve face* readerjane has provided so much incentive in our email discussions of that story that I'll do it just for her if it kills me!
*"The Apocalypse between Day 19 and Day 37" in my soon-to-be "In the Living Season"verse- Yes, dammit, I'm going to create my own 'verse! I live in that post-S5 summer anyway, so I figure I might as well put that to good use. I'm dying to tell the story of how Spike and the Scoobies deal with that first post-Buffy apocalypse, as referenced in ItLS, but it is not going to be lighthearted, so I've got to gear up for the angst.
*An untitled ficlet about Spike in 1916, which I really want to have done for the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1. I have been playing with this idea for YEARS, and I've got to get around to getting it out!
*More "Blood and Biscuits," of course. :)
*"my so-called calling," an mscl/BtVS mash-up in which Angela Chase is the Chosen One. This is inspired by crackers4jenn's recent piece on characters from other fandoms being The Slayer. I might need a little prompting on this one from any of you out there who are Lifeheads (1995-speak for mscl fans!), though, or I'll probably end up keeping this one to myself. But here's some potential dialog just to push you to cheer me on:
"You want to smooch him."
"Who?"
"Who?" Willow looks at me coyly. "Angel? Come on, admit it! I'm not gonna tell anyone."
"I love the way he broods," I confess. "About stuff. He broods great. Well, either smoochies or a conversation. Ideally both."
Come on, now. Shouldn't Angela totally be in Sunnydale? ;)