2016 end of the year fic review
posting this here even though all my fics are on ao3 now because why not
Total Word Count: 110,877
Total Fics Written: 7
Fandoms Written In: VIXX
Chronological list: (all fic on jaehwandred @ ao3)
August:
Little Talks | NC-17 | Keo | High School!AU | 33,810
One For the Road | R | Hyuken | 9,372
Talking To The Moon | G | Keo | 2,649
All The Right Moves | NC-17 | Hyuken | 2,729
November:
Heart Skipped a Beat | R | Hyuken | 635
December:
Atlas | R | Hyuken/Neo/Rabin | Demigod!AU | 45,441 | On-Going
Dear Happy | PG-13 | Hyuken | 4,741
Overall Thoughts:
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
I definitely wrote more than I thought I would, actually. This is my first year writing fic seriously and to have put out 100,000 words of material is a huge deal to someone who used to consider a 3k fic a long fic. It was also a very busy year for me so I never thought that I’d be able to find time to write but I pushed myself to make time to write instead of waiting for it to come to me. About half of my word count came from Atlas this year and I’m guessing that next year it’ll be about the same assuming that I finish it next year.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
I got into VIXX in late 2015 so I didn’t think that I would be so quick to join the fandom and write so much for it because I was still pretty into EXO by the time January 2016 rolled around. Nonetheless, I’ve found that I really enjoy writing for VIXX so I’ll probably be here to stay for quite a bit.
What's your own favorite story of the year?
I’m assuming this is referring to fics/stories I’ve read throughout the year? My favorite was probably almaduele’s “Hang the Fool”. It isn’t even a KPop fic but I’m super into Overwatch right now too and “Hang the Fool” was the biggest fic for the only ship I had in the fandom so of course I enjoyed it. It definitely read more like a novel than a fanfiction and I think that I really enjoy reading character study fics more than I enjoy writing them myself.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
Atlas was my biggest writing risk because I’ve never written a chaptered fic before so the pressure of having to edit chapter by chapter to try and get everything write before I post it while not having written the rest of the story yet is super scary to me. Looking back, I think I should have solidified certain character threads and motifs before I started writing but I can always go back and touch up when the entire thing is posted.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?
I WANT TO FINISH ATLAS.
I’m pretty confident that I’ll finish Atlas this year but I also want to finish it in a reasonable amount of time so I can move on to other big writing projects. I’m not sure if they’re going to be chaptered fics but I have a lot of plot bunnies that I’ve been picking at that I feel will grow into these huge almost novel-length fics because I have no self control.
From my past year of writing, what was...
My best story of this year:
I feel like I keep talking about Atlas but despite some chapters that I really hate, I think that so far it’s both been really fun to write and I’ve gotten rather attached to the characters. That being said, I think this is mostly because I know what’s ahead and after writing the prologue/early stuff, I’m a lot more excited for the upcoming chapters.
My most popular story of this year:
Atlas! I’m really thankful that it even got any readers because I know that I’m pretty reluctant to start reading unfinished chaptered fics but going by hits and kudos, that was my most popular. And of course my second most popular fics were the ones with porn. Because. I mean.
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
Uhhh I don’t really think any of my stories are super under-appreciated because I kind of have a sense of what’s going to be popular or not when I post it but I think “One For the Road” is my least popular fic but I actually really liked the imagery in that fic.
Most fun story to write:
Probably “Dear Happy” because I mean. I got to write from a dog’s point of view. That was super fun and I spent a lot of that just staring at my own dog wondering what the hell goes through his mind. The Keo High School AU was also super fun but that’s mostly because I wrote that for shits and giggles, never thinking that it would get any attention and it actually did and posting that was kind of my gateway into writing more.
Hardest story to write:
MOST DEFINITELY ATLAS. Like I said I’ve never written a chaptered fic so just the stress of having to plan that far in ahead what’s going to happen to what character and having to juggle so many different plot elements was really hard for me. I also think balancing character development and plot pacing was super hard and I had more trouble with the dialogue than I thought I would. Especially for Jaehwan who is essentially a character that’s both old and young and whose personality is really a conflicting mess of traits he tries to hide but can’t. This is the only fic where I’ve had to draw stuff out to keep track of everything regarding themes, motifs, and backstories that I want to explore in the fic proper but also managing to keep the plot moving forward.
Biggest disappointment:
I think just realizing how hard it is to gain recognition as a fic writer and feel like I’m not shouting into the void when I’m posting fic.
Biggest surprise:
That I was able to get my shit together and write toward the end of the year. Also I thought my VIXX OTP was Keo. It is becoming quite evident that I have a very soft spot for Hyuken.
Most unintentionally telling story:
This is in the unwritten Keo scenes but my beta reader/best friend told me that while she was reading those scenes, she could tell they were really personal to me because a lot of the feelings that Jaehwan has really echoed one of my past relationships that did not start or end very well.
Favourite Opening Lines:
“The summer air sizzled on top of black asphalt and cracked earth. When the heat settled upon the earth like a blanket too heavy to throw off, Sanghyuk took to the streets. When his worn sneakers scuffed the concrete and the only ones awake were the ones that were up to no good, it was a summer well spent.
There was a Sanghyuk without the award winning smiles and the president of his High School’s Academic Decathlon team smile. And there was a Sanghyuk that threw caution to the wind, scattering it behind him out the window of his trusty Ford Mustang, ironically a gift for his satisfactory performance that was sealed away in resumes and letters of recommendation. He had an unfortunate side affair with skid marks and exhaust fumes and the thrill of a dare” (One For the Road).
Favourite Closing Lines:
“They stayed like that for an hour, sated and foolishly happy in each other’s company, bathed in soft morning light. When the time came for both of them to return to the workings of everyday life, Jaehwan found himself watching Sanghyuk go, heart burning for the quiet of sunset where they could meet in solitude again” (Heart Skipped a Beat).
Fic-writing goals for 2017:
-Finish Atlas!
-Haken Historical Fantasy AU
-Neo Urban Gothic AU
-Neo Groomsmen One-Shot
-Lay off the Hyuken...which may prove to be impossible as I’ll probably slip up and write at least one or two fics for them next year
-Rewrite, edit, and post Hyuken Harry Potter AU
Total Word Count: 110,877
Total Fics Written: 7
Fandoms Written In: VIXX
Chronological list: (all fic on jaehwandred @ ao3)
August:
Little Talks | NC-17 | Keo | High School!AU | 33,810
One For the Road | R | Hyuken | 9,372
Talking To The Moon | G | Keo | 2,649
All The Right Moves | NC-17 | Hyuken | 2,729
November:
Heart Skipped a Beat | R | Hyuken | 635
December:
Atlas | R | Hyuken/Neo/Rabin | Demigod!AU | 45,441 | On-Going
Dear Happy | PG-13 | Hyuken | 4,741
Overall Thoughts:
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
I definitely wrote more than I thought I would, actually. This is my first year writing fic seriously and to have put out 100,000 words of material is a huge deal to someone who used to consider a 3k fic a long fic. It was also a very busy year for me so I never thought that I’d be able to find time to write but I pushed myself to make time to write instead of waiting for it to come to me. About half of my word count came from Atlas this year and I’m guessing that next year it’ll be about the same assuming that I finish it next year.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?
I got into VIXX in late 2015 so I didn’t think that I would be so quick to join the fandom and write so much for it because I was still pretty into EXO by the time January 2016 rolled around. Nonetheless, I’ve found that I really enjoy writing for VIXX so I’ll probably be here to stay for quite a bit.
What's your own favorite story of the year?
I’m assuming this is referring to fics/stories I’ve read throughout the year? My favorite was probably almaduele’s “Hang the Fool”. It isn’t even a KPop fic but I’m super into Overwatch right now too and “Hang the Fool” was the biggest fic for the only ship I had in the fandom so of course I enjoyed it. It definitely read more like a novel than a fanfiction and I think that I really enjoy reading character study fics more than I enjoy writing them myself.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
Atlas was my biggest writing risk because I’ve never written a chaptered fic before so the pressure of having to edit chapter by chapter to try and get everything write before I post it while not having written the rest of the story yet is super scary to me. Looking back, I think I should have solidified certain character threads and motifs before I started writing but I can always go back and touch up when the entire thing is posted.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?
I WANT TO FINISH ATLAS.
I’m pretty confident that I’ll finish Atlas this year but I also want to finish it in a reasonable amount of time so I can move on to other big writing projects. I’m not sure if they’re going to be chaptered fics but I have a lot of plot bunnies that I’ve been picking at that I feel will grow into these huge almost novel-length fics because I have no self control.
From my past year of writing, what was...
My best story of this year:
I feel like I keep talking about Atlas but despite some chapters that I really hate, I think that so far it’s both been really fun to write and I’ve gotten rather attached to the characters. That being said, I think this is mostly because I know what’s ahead and after writing the prologue/early stuff, I’m a lot more excited for the upcoming chapters.
My most popular story of this year:
Atlas! I’m really thankful that it even got any readers because I know that I’m pretty reluctant to start reading unfinished chaptered fics but going by hits and kudos, that was my most popular. And of course my second most popular fics were the ones with porn. Because. I mean.
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
Uhhh I don’t really think any of my stories are super under-appreciated because I kind of have a sense of what’s going to be popular or not when I post it but I think “One For the Road” is my least popular fic but I actually really liked the imagery in that fic.
Most fun story to write:
Probably “Dear Happy” because I mean. I got to write from a dog’s point of view. That was super fun and I spent a lot of that just staring at my own dog wondering what the hell goes through his mind. The Keo High School AU was also super fun but that’s mostly because I wrote that for shits and giggles, never thinking that it would get any attention and it actually did and posting that was kind of my gateway into writing more.
Hardest story to write:
MOST DEFINITELY ATLAS. Like I said I’ve never written a chaptered fic so just the stress of having to plan that far in ahead what’s going to happen to what character and having to juggle so many different plot elements was really hard for me. I also think balancing character development and plot pacing was super hard and I had more trouble with the dialogue than I thought I would. Especially for Jaehwan who is essentially a character that’s both old and young and whose personality is really a conflicting mess of traits he tries to hide but can’t. This is the only fic where I’ve had to draw stuff out to keep track of everything regarding themes, motifs, and backstories that I want to explore in the fic proper but also managing to keep the plot moving forward.
Biggest disappointment:
I think just realizing how hard it is to gain recognition as a fic writer and feel like I’m not shouting into the void when I’m posting fic.
Biggest surprise:
That I was able to get my shit together and write toward the end of the year. Also I thought my VIXX OTP was Keo. It is becoming quite evident that I have a very soft spot for Hyuken.
Most unintentionally telling story:
This is in the unwritten Keo scenes but my beta reader/best friend told me that while she was reading those scenes, she could tell they were really personal to me because a lot of the feelings that Jaehwan has really echoed one of my past relationships that did not start or end very well.
Favourite Opening Lines:
“The summer air sizzled on top of black asphalt and cracked earth. When the heat settled upon the earth like a blanket too heavy to throw off, Sanghyuk took to the streets. When his worn sneakers scuffed the concrete and the only ones awake were the ones that were up to no good, it was a summer well spent.
There was a Sanghyuk without the award winning smiles and the president of his High School’s Academic Decathlon team smile. And there was a Sanghyuk that threw caution to the wind, scattering it behind him out the window of his trusty Ford Mustang, ironically a gift for his satisfactory performance that was sealed away in resumes and letters of recommendation. He had an unfortunate side affair with skid marks and exhaust fumes and the thrill of a dare” (One For the Road).
Favourite Closing Lines:
“They stayed like that for an hour, sated and foolishly happy in each other’s company, bathed in soft morning light. When the time came for both of them to return to the workings of everyday life, Jaehwan found himself watching Sanghyuk go, heart burning for the quiet of sunset where they could meet in solitude again” (Heart Skipped a Beat).
Fic-writing goals for 2017:
-Finish Atlas!
-Haken Historical Fantasy AU
-Neo Urban Gothic AU
-Neo Groomsmen One-Shot
-Lay off the Hyuken...which may prove to be impossible as I’ll probably slip up and write at least one or two fics for them next year
-Rewrite, edit, and post Hyuken Harry Potter AU