2014 writing roundup
So... after 3 years of not writing fic, I tripped and fell into a new fandom and got super inspired this year. Hahaha.
I'm really pleased with both my word counts and the stories I've produced in just a few months this year, especially considering how incredibly rusty I am and how much I've tormented the few brave souls still willing to beta read for me. (I'm hiring!)
In 2011, I didn't even make a year-end post, but I wrote about 40,400 words, a majority of which was for Glee, nearly 40% from one long fic.
This year's stories are:
In May, I wrote:
Pomp and Circumstance (the Battleground Reverb) (BtVS gen with canon pairings, 3200 words)
High school (and the apocalypse) may be over, but life goes on.
This was for Remix -- I volunteered to do a pinch-hit because (after 3 years away from fandom) I missed the signup date. It seemed like the original author didn't like my fic very much, but I love Remix and was happy to have the excuse to write again.
Then beginning in October, BAM! Hunger Games.
Prep (Gen, Haymitch and Peeta, 800 words)
Haymitch learned interview strategy the hard way.
All This Could Be Yours (Katniss/Peeta AU, 7500 words)
Katniss doesn't do relationships. Peeta doesn't do one-night stands. He'll just have to convince her, one way or another.
[I like this story and think it compares favorably to my others, but DAMN the response has been insane, haha. In 2 months it's gotten 272 Kudos.]
Daddy's Girl (Katniss gen, 1000 words)
Five times Katniss lost her father.
Tonight You're Perfect (Haymitch/Maysilee ficlet, 675 words)
Farm to Table (Katniss/Peeta, 10,500 words)
Peeta Mellark has bread to bake, a struggling business to protect, and a reality show to film. Oh, and somehow he has to work up the nerve to speak to the girl of his dreams.
Second Hand News (Gale/Madge, 3700 words)
How did people know? Madge barely even knew what they were doing, and now it was the talk of the school?
Untitled Pining Ficlet (Gale, 780 words)
...and two anonymous fics, one Hunger Games and one not.
...and one more HP fic for old times' sake, for hp_reunion:
Things We Found in the House (Harry/Ginny, 2500 words)
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black left a lot of things behind. Harry makes sure they don't go to waste.
My total word count for 2014, almost all of it in the last 3 months of the year, was about 33,700 words. This actually compares pretty well to entire YEARS in the past. So yeah, I'm pleased. 7 fics over 1000 words, in a total of 4 different fandoms, 2 of which are new to me.
For next year, my goals and hopes are to continue writing Hunger Games fic as well as a new fandom that shall not be named, and try to devote myself to working on longer fics that I put more work into, as opposed to shorter pieces. I want to try to write more complex stories, with fully developed subplots, supporting characters and multiple plot arcs -- which will likely mean longer word counts. Also, I'm going to try to avoid fests as much as possible (Remix is the exception, I love that fest), because I just don't write my best fic there. Although I was thrilled to finally experience Yuletide, writing for it was not a positive experience and the fic itself is not my best work.
I've embraced Tumblr this year, and I don't regret it -- because that's where Hunger Games fandom IS, for better or worse. But sometimes it seems like the Tumblr format encourages writers to post pieces that attract a maximum amount of attention -- short, sexy pieces with a wacky premise and a serialized format. This is nothing new, of course, but... I've done that myself in the past (Harry/Ginny as neighbors?), and it has NOT resulted in fics I'm proud to look back on. That's what I want to write -- stories that I can think of later, that I can go back to years later and still be proud of.
I'm really pleased with both my word counts and the stories I've produced in just a few months this year, especially considering how incredibly rusty I am and how much I've tormented the few brave souls still willing to beta read for me. (I'm hiring!)
In 2011, I didn't even make a year-end post, but I wrote about 40,400 words, a majority of which was for Glee, nearly 40% from one long fic.
This year's stories are:
In May, I wrote:
Pomp and Circumstance (the Battleground Reverb) (BtVS gen with canon pairings, 3200 words)
High school (and the apocalypse) may be over, but life goes on.
This was for Remix -- I volunteered to do a pinch-hit because (after 3 years away from fandom) I missed the signup date. It seemed like the original author didn't like my fic very much, but I love Remix and was happy to have the excuse to write again.
Then beginning in October, BAM! Hunger Games.
Prep (Gen, Haymitch and Peeta, 800 words)
Haymitch learned interview strategy the hard way.
All This Could Be Yours (Katniss/Peeta AU, 7500 words)
Katniss doesn't do relationships. Peeta doesn't do one-night stands. He'll just have to convince her, one way or another.
[I like this story and think it compares favorably to my others, but DAMN the response has been insane, haha. In 2 months it's gotten 272 Kudos.]
Daddy's Girl (Katniss gen, 1000 words)
Five times Katniss lost her father.
Tonight You're Perfect (Haymitch/Maysilee ficlet, 675 words)
Farm to Table (Katniss/Peeta, 10,500 words)
Peeta Mellark has bread to bake, a struggling business to protect, and a reality show to film. Oh, and somehow he has to work up the nerve to speak to the girl of his dreams.
Second Hand News (Gale/Madge, 3700 words)
How did people know? Madge barely even knew what they were doing, and now it was the talk of the school?
Untitled Pining Ficlet (Gale, 780 words)
...and two anonymous fics, one Hunger Games and one not.
...and one more HP fic for old times' sake, for hp_reunion:
Things We Found in the House (Harry/Ginny, 2500 words)
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black left a lot of things behind. Harry makes sure they don't go to waste.
My total word count for 2014, almost all of it in the last 3 months of the year, was about 33,700 words. This actually compares pretty well to entire YEARS in the past. So yeah, I'm pleased. 7 fics over 1000 words, in a total of 4 different fandoms, 2 of which are new to me.
For next year, my goals and hopes are to continue writing Hunger Games fic as well as a new fandom that shall not be named, and try to devote myself to working on longer fics that I put more work into, as opposed to shorter pieces. I want to try to write more complex stories, with fully developed subplots, supporting characters and multiple plot arcs -- which will likely mean longer word counts. Also, I'm going to try to avoid fests as much as possible (Remix is the exception, I love that fest), because I just don't write my best fic there. Although I was thrilled to finally experience Yuletide, writing for it was not a positive experience and the fic itself is not my best work.
I've embraced Tumblr this year, and I don't regret it -- because that's where Hunger Games fandom IS, for better or worse. But sometimes it seems like the Tumblr format encourages writers to post pieces that attract a maximum amount of attention -- short, sexy pieces with a wacky premise and a serialized format. This is nothing new, of course, but... I've done that myself in the past (Harry/Ginny as neighbors?), and it has NOT resulted in fics I'm proud to look back on. That's what I want to write -- stories that I can think of later, that I can go back to years later and still be proud of.