Anything, rather than tidy the kitchen
Dec. 22nd, 2007 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestAs I have no 'writing' icon, coffee will have to suffice.
I squirrelled about and found a writing meme that I did at the tail end of last year, so I thought I'd do the same thing now. (Anything, rather than tidy the kitchen.)
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Twenty-six, including my MTYG story (if you count the prologue and epilogue to 'Prone' as two, that is) and two that are in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fic_requests but not on my website. Bit less than I'd have expected, given that I produced 36 last year and more than forty in the first fine careless rapture of 2005. More significantly, only two came in at over 10,000 words, and only two others over 3,000. However, that's pretty much normal for me, I've produced a majority of short/very short fics in each of those years—but I did total over 60,000 words of popslash this year, so perhaps it's not as bad as I thought.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2006?
My first three short storylets involving BSB only. Lance/Alan Cumming, which was not predictable, but after that fashion show (see top of page!), inevitable.
What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
I think it has to be If you want to fly. I really liked the way the world of the dragons unfolded itself to me, and all the nebulous things I had in my head when I was writing actually worked within the story. And even though the details of the 'reality' parts are quite wrong, they still feel right.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I guess my 'written backwards rape scene' story, Shade, was the most risky. It was interesting to try and achieve an exact balance - so that the at the second reading, everything is as true as it is at the first reading. Unless you count writing from very rare povs, ie Tiny (for Remix), for whom there is virtually no fanon and not a whole heap of canon either, and Jesse (for sparklyglee challenge), ditto (not, of course, forgetting the existence of 'Something So Right', but I couldn't just steal that Jesse). It's surprisingly difficult to write when there's no fanon, as I found last year when I wrote Reichen's pov.
From my past year of writing, what was...
My Best Story
Probably 'If you want to fly'. Everything in it fits together.
Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe
I suspect it must have been the Remix story, World Tour (the Let's Go By Vegas Remix), but I guess it's in the nature of Remix that they just don't garner that much feedback.
Most fun
I think the recent spate of ficlets on the Rocky Horror theme vies with the recent spate of ficlets written for MTYG testing as being Most Fun. All completely trivial (except for 'Unnatural') but somehow, very community-spirited. It's also rather nice to produce 'instant stories' - considerable reduction of pressure to 'get it right'!
Most disappointing
I think the 'important' stories (the long ones, mostly!) came out well; I did a little ficlet called Early Days which I should have made a better job of, though.
Most sexy
I'm pretty sure it has to be either Let your fingers do the walking or Audience. I honestly don't know which I prefer. (Both, incidentally, written for requests made by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ephemera_pop, who is obviously a very handy source of inspiration.)
Story With a Single Sexy Moment
I quite like the moment in JC's Unsatisfactory Vacation where Lance talks against JC's mouth as they're kissing. Something about that makes me go all gooey. It's amazing, really, that I don't write that all the time.
Hardest to Write
Um. Possibly 'Shade' (the 'rape' story), because it percolated in my head for *months*, but on the other hand, when I actually got down to writing it, it flowed remarkably easily. MTYG story took a fair bit of effort (and indeed, it took me a while to find a story to write), but that's only right and proper, for SeSa. Basically, I'm lazy. If a story is really hard to write, I just don't write it. (See Wallow.)
"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:
Um. Seeing the Light, in which Howie receives a Lamp? But then, that's pretty much normal, for me.
Most Unintentionally Telling
Um again. Possibly the MTYG story, in which the characters tend to say what I think.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
*shame* I made Resolutions, last year. I have Failed Miserably!
a) Finish the Chronicles. Dammit, I love these guys and I want to write more of them! Feel free to nag me, if you're a Chronicles reader. I posted only a tiny ficlet in this universe this year, which baffles me a bit as I *know* what happens next.
b) Finish and post the Wallow. Which is getting so very, very much more AU the longer I leave it. Augh!
c) Finish that Lance/AJ thing that got stalled when I got them into the bedroom. I've struggled on a bit further with it, and *still*... I dunno. It seems a shame to abandon it when they're so close, but they just aren't doing what I want them to do. Dammit.
I did better on:
d) Crack on with the fanfic100 and wtf27 challenges.
I've now completed 73 of myfanfic100 prompts, with ideas-to-be-written for six more. Not sure that any of my crack!fics qualify for any of the prompts, unfortunately.
e) Run another Dragon Challenge in the spring.
Yep! Yay!
f) Try to write at least one ficlet per month for fic_requests
Hmm. I did a bunch... I did miss at least one month somewhere in the middle, but did double the following month. Actually, I've lost track. But I did pretty well on this one.
So my goals for 2008 remain pretty much as they were for 2007. I also have an idea for an Unbirthday Challenge, not quite sure where that'll fit into the calendar, though.
I squirrelled about and found a writing meme that I did at the tail end of last year, so I thought I'd do the same thing now. (Anything, rather than tidy the kitchen.)
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Twenty-six, including my MTYG story (if you count the prologue and epilogue to 'Prone' as two, that is) and two that are in
fic_requests but not on my website. Bit less than I'd have expected, given that I produced 36 last year and more than forty in the first fine careless rapture of 2005. More significantly, only two came in at over 10,000 words, and only two others over 3,000. However, that's pretty much normal for me, I've produced a majority of short/very short fics in each of those years—but I did total over 60,000 words of popslash this year, so perhaps it's not as bad as I thought.What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2006?
My first three short storylets involving BSB only. Lance/Alan Cumming, which was not predictable, but after that fashion show (see top of page!), inevitable.
What's your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
I think it has to be If you want to fly. I really liked the way the world of the dragons unfolded itself to me, and all the nebulous things I had in my head when I was writing actually worked within the story. And even though the details of the 'reality' parts are quite wrong, they still feel right.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I guess my 'written backwards rape scene' story, Shade, was the most risky. It was interesting to try and achieve an exact balance - so that the at the second reading, everything is as true as it is at the first reading. Unless you count writing from very rare povs, ie Tiny (for Remix), for whom there is virtually no fanon and not a whole heap of canon either, and Jesse (for sparklyglee challenge), ditto (not, of course, forgetting the existence of 'Something So Right', but I couldn't just steal that Jesse). It's surprisingly difficult to write when there's no fanon, as I found last year when I wrote Reichen's pov.
From my past year of writing, what was...
My Best Story
Probably 'If you want to fly'. Everything in it fits together.
Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe
I suspect it must have been the Remix story, World Tour (the Let's Go By Vegas Remix), but I guess it's in the nature of Remix that they just don't garner that much feedback.
Most fun
I think the recent spate of ficlets on the Rocky Horror theme vies with the recent spate of ficlets written for MTYG testing as being Most Fun. All completely trivial (except for 'Unnatural') but somehow, very community-spirited. It's also rather nice to produce 'instant stories' - considerable reduction of pressure to 'get it right'!
Most disappointing
I think the 'important' stories (the long ones, mostly!) came out well; I did a little ficlet called Early Days which I should have made a better job of, though.
Most sexy
I'm pretty sure it has to be either Let your fingers do the walking or Audience. I honestly don't know which I prefer. (Both, incidentally, written for requests made by
ephemera_pop, who is obviously a very handy source of inspiration.)Story With a Single Sexy Moment
I quite like the moment in JC's Unsatisfactory Vacation where Lance talks against JC's mouth as they're kissing. Something about that makes me go all gooey. It's amazing, really, that I don't write that all the time.
Hardest to Write
Um. Possibly 'Shade' (the 'rape' story), because it percolated in my head for *months*, but on the other hand, when I actually got down to writing it, it flowed remarkably easily. MTYG story took a fair bit of effort (and indeed, it took me a while to find a story to write), but that's only right and proper, for SeSa. Basically, I'm lazy. If a story is really hard to write, I just don't write it. (See Wallow.)
"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:
Um. Seeing the Light, in which Howie receives a Lamp? But then, that's pretty much normal, for me.
Most Unintentionally Telling
Um again. Possibly the MTYG story, in which the characters tend to say what I think.
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
*shame* I made Resolutions, last year. I have Failed Miserably!
a) Finish the Chronicles. Dammit, I love these guys and I want to write more of them! Feel free to nag me, if you're a Chronicles reader. I posted only a tiny ficlet in this universe this year, which baffles me a bit as I *know* what happens next.
b) Finish and post the Wallow. Which is getting so very, very much more AU the longer I leave it. Augh!
c) Finish that Lance/AJ thing that got stalled when I got them into the bedroom. I've struggled on a bit further with it, and *still*... I dunno. It seems a shame to abandon it when they're so close, but they just aren't doing what I want them to do. Dammit.
I did better on:
d) Crack on with the fanfic100 and wtf27 challenges.
I've now completed 73 of my
fanfic100 prompts, with ideas-to-be-written for six more. Not sure that any of my crack!fics qualify for any of the prompts, unfortunately.e) Run another Dragon Challenge in the spring.
Yep! Yay!
f) Try to write at least one ficlet per month for fic_requests
Hmm. I did a bunch... I did miss at least one month somewhere in the middle, but did double the following month. Actually, I've lost track. But I did pretty well on this one.
So my goals for 2008 remain pretty much as they were for 2007. I also have an idea for an Unbirthday Challenge, not quite sure where that'll fit into the calendar, though.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 04:55 pm (UTC)Just so you know.
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Date: 2007-12-22 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 05:51 pm (UTC)I know this was talked about at the time, but I still wish remix got more readers.
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Date: 2007-12-22 10:42 pm (UTC)It's still a great challenge to do, of course.
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Date: 2007-12-22 06:25 pm (UTC)*hugs* I loved that fic.It was uhmm hot ;)
I will copy/paste this meme and answer it myself but with drawing questions :D (yes, I'm bored)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 08:29 pm (UTC)And the Lance/Alan Cumming fic is still one of the hottest things I've read this year.
Also, can I put in my 2c for more Chronicles please?
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 10:46 pm (UTC)I suppose Remix is kinda 'fanfic squared'. I find it a very interesting challenge, as a writer.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-23 09:30 pm (UTC)And the thought of more Chronicles makes me very gleeful.
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Date: 2007-12-23 10:12 pm (UTC)I'm pretty confident my dragon challenge will happen.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-24 12:07 am (UTC)And hooray for dragons.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 08:56 pm (UTC)*nags you about the Chronicles*
Dragon Challenge, wheeee!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 10:47 pm (UTC)And really, can one ever have too many dragons? Also, I seem to write some of my best stuff for that challenge. So. Good.