Annual End of Year Writing Meme 2017
Last year's post is here
I feel a bit stupid doing this this year as I don't feel all that happy about much of my fic for 2017, but when I look at it, I don't really think it was all that dreadful; I think it's just me wanting to do more - have more brain, write better, write more, be less obscure, and just be more, generally. Which is no doubt a good sign in the slow stages of getting well, but a frustrating place to be for months on end. But I think it's mainly a feeling and not really the fic. I hope! But no reason not to complete the annual meme anyway.
Stats:
List of Completed Fics:
Meet Me at Midnight (G, 1966 words. Four + all companions, DW.) For
who_allsorts
Night Falls (Teen, 8535 words. Ensemble, Dracula TV 1968.) For NYR 2017.
Invisible Incident (G, 2461 words. Martel & Richter, Olive, Enemy at the Door.) For
hc_bingo &
trope_bingo.
Ghost Lights (Teen, 4930 words. Dayna/Tarrant, B7.) For
hetswap.
Unconsidered Trifles (G, 1835 words. Eight/Charley, DW.) For
hetswap.
Gothic Romance (Teen, 7359 words. Clara/Scaroth, DW.) For
who_guestfest (& also
trope_bingo,
hc_bingo &
who_allsorts).
Treasure Hunt (G, 1861 words. Four & Leela, DW.) For
who_allsorts
War is Love, Love is War (Teen, 1342 words. Vincent/Various, Manhunt.) For
hc_bingo.
Always a Wolf (G, 1301 words. Lynda Day, Press Gang). For
trope_bingo
Spiritual Awakening (G, 3474 words. Joh Seward & Van Helsing, Dracula TV 1968). For
trope_bingo
Midwinter Night (G, 1384 words. Nina/Jimmy/Vincent, Manhunt.) For
trope_bingo
Make Love, Not War (Teen, 3763 words. Adam Adamant/Georgina Jones, AAL!) For
trope_bingo
One Good Fall (Deserves Another) (G, 1766 words. Five & Clara, DW.) For
genprompt_bingo,
hc_bingo and 500 prompts.
Coffee and Crumbs (The Idiot in the Attic Remix) (G, 2145 words. Twelve, Sky, Sarah Jane, DW/SJA.) For Remix Revival.
Substitute (G, 13480 words. Original characters). For
hc_bingo,
genprompt_bingo & runaway_tales
Foiled (G, 494 words. Daisy Dalrymple/Alec Fletcher, Daisy Dalrymple Series)
Fatal Error (G, 691 words. Twelve & Clara, DW.) For 500 Prompts.
Unbreakable (G, 399 words. Regina Mills, OUaT) For 500 Prompts.
AU Meme:
Sam Vimes (Discworld)
Deva (B7)
Five & Nyssa & Tegan (DW)
Beatrice & Evangeline Eliott (House of Eliott)
Cally (B7)
Liv Chenka (DW/BFA)
Sarah Jane Smith (DW)
Miss Marple (Miss Marple)
Donna Noble (DW)
Emma Peel (The Avengers)
Ander Poul (DW/Kaldor)
William de Worde & Sacharissa Cripslock (Discworld)
Spooky Meme:
Haunted (G, 340 words. Ruth/Harry, Spooks)
A Candle to Light You to Bed (G, 450 words. Silver/Liz, DW/S&S)
Old Bones Buried Under (G, 2228 words. Inspector Alleyn Series)
Valley of the Shadow (Teen, Jonathan/Mina, Dracula TV 1968)
Cursed (G, 622 words. Adam, Georgie & Simms, AAL!)
Necessary Action (G, Drabble, Miss Marple).
Beginner's Luck (G, 457 words. One & Vicki, DW.)
Yuletide 2017:
Served Cold (Teen, 3402 words. Ensemble, Dracula TV 1968)
arrows to the heart (G, 1102 words. Margaret Beaufort & Henry VII, 15th C RPF)
Of Human Bondage (or Five Times Adam and His Friends Found Themselves All Tied Up) (G, 2486 words. Adam, Louise, Georgie, Simms, Guest Characters, AAL!)
Plus runaway_tales installments (22 total, not including Substitute, which is also on AO3):
When the Clock Strikes Twelve (PG, 3486 words. Edward/Julia, others.)
Familiarity (All ages, 1038 words. John Iveson, Elizabeth Long, Jack Iveson, Edward Iveson.)
Working Holiday (Teen, 2713 words. Edward & Julia.)
Ashes and Dust (Teen, 3290 words. Charles Terrell, Marian Dalton, Edward Woodfield, Liesa.)
Family Gossip (All ages, 2643 words. Long family.)
The Letter (Teen, 2515 words. Liz Cardew, Charles Terrell, Edward Iveson.)
Devil's Bargain (PG, 2474 words. Edward/Julia, AU.) Also for
hc_bingo
Homecoming (All ages, 1146 words. Edward/Julia.)
Bleeding Out (PG, 1478 words. Julia & Diana Foyle.) Also for
origfic_bingo
My Tomorrows in Your Hands (Teen, 8600 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
origfic_bingo
Emergency Contact (PG, 5095 words. Edward Iveson & Daisy Long, Elizabeth Long.) Also for
origfic_bingo and
hc_bingo
By My Side (PG, 1887 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
origfic_bingo and
trope_bingo
Carried Away (Teen, 5082 words. Edward/Julia AU). Also for
origfic_bingo and
trope_bingo
Misdirection (All ages, 1505 words. Edward/Julia.) Also for
origfic_bingo.
Shot in the Park (Teen, 6925 words. Edward, Julia, Roderick Howe, James Seymour.) Also for
hc_bingo
Hero of the Lower Sixth (Teen, 5738 words. Edward Iveson & James Seymour.) Also for
hc_bingo
Everything But Words (PG, 1921 words. Edward/Julia.) Also for
genprompt_bingo
I Hear the Sound of Empires Toppling (Teen, 2906 words. Julia Iveson, Ron Whittaker.)
Holding On, Letting Go (PG, 2123 words. Edward Iveson & Elizabeth Long.)
Proposition (PG, 3821 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
hc_bingo
Small Comfort (PG, 1117 words. Julia Graves & Caroline Sheldon.)
Out With the Old (All ages, 969 words. Edward/Julia.)
Total number: 40 + 22 = 62
Total word count: 84,521 + 68,472 = 152,993
Ship/character breakdown:
All ships appearing more than once:
Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker - 2
Other than that, all was random multi-shipping, mostly het, barring the Manhunt pieces, just to give this year some variety. (The actual most shipped characters were OCs, with 13 x Edward/Julia pieces, including 2 posted to AO3.)
All characters appearing 2-3 times (the most anybody got):
Adam Adamant - 3
Georgina Jones - 3
Jonathan Harker - 3
Mina Harker - 3
John Seward - 3
Abraham Van Helsing - 3
Leela - 3
Sarah Jane Smith - 3
Fourth Doctor - 3
Clara Oswald - 3
William Simms - 2
Jane Marple - 2
Dracula - 2
Kiy Uvanov - 2
Liv Chenka - 2
Harry Sullivan - 2
Twelfth Doctor - 2
Roj Blake - 2
Fifth Doctor - 2
I think that may actually be my most random year in fanfic. It was mainly down to what requests people had in the writing memes and me wanting to write more Dracula (TV 1968) after Yuletide 2016.
Specifics:
Best/worst title?
Meet Me at Midnight, I think. Also Unconsidered Trifles (because it has layers), Coffee and Crumbs (The Idiot in the Attic Remix) just because of the difficulty of Remix titles. And Shot in the Park for being literal and punny. And One Good Fall (Deserves Another).
I don't think I came up with many great titles this year. As to worst, I don't think there's anything really dreadful. There are some one word titles, but those are for meme ficlets and I refuse to beat myself up over titles for meme ficlets.
Best/worst summary?
Hmm, I don't know - I'm not sure if I'm any good at summaries, but I still like these ones, I think:
Subsitute: Julia Graves has perfectly reasonable motives for fake-dating a customer - it’s all about interior decorating, honestly…
Gothic Romance: It is a fact universally acknowledged that any beings splintered in time will inevitably run into each other. No law says it has to end well, though…
Invisible Incident: Oberst Richter has not been shot; there was no bullet.
As to worst, all the AU Meme pieces say "10x AU scenarios for X for a meme" which is not a proper summary, but it is a fairly correct description and didn't seem to put people off. (I got far more comments on these collectively than anything else. But they are always fun to do.)
Best/worst first line?
(I interpret this as "first segment/cluster of lines" in most cases, because it seems fairer to me, but maybe that is just because I don't write one good first line just about ever.)
Always a Wolf: “Look,” said the small child in scarlet, “do we have to go through the whole ‘all the better to see you with’ routine?”
Gothic Romance: They met at midnight on a blasted Heath. Hampstead, to be precise.
Ashes and Dust: The first explosion was so small that nobody knew exactly what it was. The second, however, went off on Westminster Bridge, stopping the traffic, killing a cab driver, and swiftly making the news.
Misdirection: “Will you stop the car?” said Julia. “That’s the third time we’ve passed that house now. People are beginning to stare.”
I Hear the Sound of Empires Toppling: It had come to something, Ron Whittaker felt, when Mrs Iveson came to call and wound up pointing a gun at him.
As to my worst lines, I'm not going looking, thank you. I feel bad enough about my 2017 fic as it is. But there are plenty of fairly workmanlike starts and my usual number of tortured run-on sentences. I'll try and fix those one day...
Best/worst last line?
Everything But Words: “I’m sure,” she said, “that nobody will notice anything odd at all, darling. But in the meantime, do you think we should lock the door and disconnect the telephone, just in case?”
Hero of the Lower Sixth: For the first time, flicker of understanding passed between them. Edward could even have sworn that Seymour had grinned at him before he’d disappeared into the car.
Meet Me at Midnight: The Doctor edged nearer to her as he thought about that. “Two what?” he asked, as they strolled on through the woodland into a particularly fine seventeenth century sunset. (Probably shouldn't count, because you do need to know that this is in response to Romana's "It's better with two." But it probably is my favourite ending line of the year, so.)
Unbreakable: Love defeats her and leaves her wounded on the ground; it’s how it ends her curse and sets her free. Love is, she knows again, never a weakness, no matter how it hurts.
Valley of the Shadow: He grinned again, the wolf glinting in his eyes. “Time is passing, you know - you’d better pray the train isn’t delayed!”
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Less! I mean, it looks a lot, but if I hadn't done a couple of writing memes at the end of the year, it wouldn't have been much fanfic, while the origfic pieces tended to be slightly longer on average than last year, but there were less, and I was less pleased with them. And considering how ill I was in 2016, I hoped to do better in 2017. But I think it was a combination of things, including more energy spent on family tree things and reading.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Last year I hadn't supposed that I would like Manhunt if I saw it, so I wouldn't have predicted writing Jimmy/Nina/Vincent or Vincent/Various others, and I certainly didn't expect the Alec/Daisy ficlet for the Daisy Dalrymple series.
I was already planning to write Clara Splinter/Scaroth Splinter for
who_guestfest, so that didn't come as a shock, however. I mean, he may be a villain made out of off-putting tentacles, but once thought of, it had to be done...
What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
Substitute (because writing these silly Edward/Julia AUs was my happy space still) and Always a Wolf and Meet Me at Midnight.
Also Gothic Romance, because it's been in my head for ages, although I wish I had managed to make it longer (I had Clarissa diary entries and everything at one point in draft) and better, because it was such a fun idea.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
It's got to be Meet Me at Midnight. I'm not going to complain about that: it was a sweet and fun Five Times fic, contrasting all the Fourth Doctor team TARDISes (well, except the very last, with Adric & Romana but I hadn't yet watched E-Space at the time) and I'm glad that other people seemed to enjoy it about as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The Sam Vimes AU meme entry also went down well, and I'd agree, it was definitely the best of the bunch. (And the first - I peaked early; it's kind of tragic.)
arrows to the heart also did well in Yuletide, and, again, I've got no complaint about that. I was quite pleased with it in the end.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
My Vincent/Nina/Jimmy fic! But that's what you get for being wilfully obscure and not even very shippy. I am actually read more than I deserve!
Nevertheless, I do wish my Remix fic (Coffee and Crumbs) had got a couple more comments. When you write in a well-known fandom in an exchange, it really does feel like you must have done something badly wrong to get hits and kudos but no comments; weirder than just getting neither (because then, clearly, if people would read your obscure fic, they would appreciate it). But that's just me being weird about kudos vs comments in exchanges. (But still, if I wrote better, I would have more comments, wouldn't I? /the doubts will never go)
Story that could have been better?
As always: ALL OF THEM!
And if I had a more functional brain, Gothic Romance would probably have been twice as long, but whether or not that would have been a good thing, who knows? Possibly not...
Sexiest story?
I have reverted to type and probably none of them, except maybe one or two of the Edward/Julia pieces. There's definitely some kissing and implied sex in some of them.
Saddest story?
I wasn't all that bleak for the main! Probably War is Love, Love is War, but that's just Manhunt for you. Not the cheeriest canon in the world!
Most fun?
Meet me at Midnight and Always a Wolf.
Story with single sweetest moment?
Probably this will be some Edward/Julia thing as well. Mind, Coffee and Crumbs I think had some sweet moments and a Twelve-Sarah hug.
Oh, and also Four cheering up a little alien child in Treasure Hunt.
Hardest story to write?
My Yuletide assignment that I completely failed at. Otherwise, When the Lights Go Out, because I saddled myself with a ridiculous number of OCs to kill. Never saddle yourself with a ridiculous number of OCs to kill. (Maybe kill. Or whatever, it's S&S). I'm still working on it.
It took a while to get Night Falls and Gothic Romance at all right, though.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
Meet Me at Midnight and Always a Wolf. Also the AAL! five times Adam got tied up one. I like humorous five times fic, what can I say? I like to think I'm good at them, too.
Always a Wolf in particular, though, because I hadn't written any Press Gang in ages, and it's always a joy to come back to Lynda Day and the flexibility of the canon (the hard part of this was making the fairy tale segments stay AU). (The fic sort of came out of a conversation
astrogirl and I were having, as a tangent because we were talking about our bingo cards and my AU fairy tale squares and I was talking about PG, and
astrogirl was wisely forgetting that part, and the two came together and: FIC. Which is always lovely when it happens.)
I missed an awful lot of typos though. I think I've got them all now.
Most overdue story?
Look, I very nearly have Chapter Two of When the Lights Go Out done! I mean, I only started it two years ago, give me some time here... /o\
(I did actually draft out some important background notes and write a lot more in rough, though.)
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I really don't feel as if I did. I don't feel that happy about my writing this year, and I don't know if that's just the consequence of RaTs dying under me, and writing in obscure fandoms or just me being down and weird, or if, me being down and weird, I have just been not so great at it this year. So I was not really taking many risks.
Oh, I suppose one thing was Treasure Hunt because it was a different kind of outsider POV and I was rather nervous about whether or not it worked - it was written at the same time as Meet Me at Midnight but took me far longer to type up because of that reason. But I got some nice comments, so I think it paid off.
I did sign up for Hetswap, Remix and Yuletide, though, which is always a risk, although usually a worthwhile one.
This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
*looks at list* Um, yeah. Possibly unlikely alliances and friendships? And Edward and Julia kept the marriage of convenience/fake relationship tropes going, as did Scaroth and Clara.
But otherwise I really really can't see a theme!
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
I don't know, but be better, or worry less about it and have more fun. Maybe start a more attractive origfic canon or maybe not. Write more, hopefully. Do my
tic_tac_woe card and my
who_allsorts and
genprompt_bingo and more 500 prompts fic, because I tend to enjoy that. Be less obscure. (It could happen.)
Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Please click through to comment. -- Current comments:
I feel a bit stupid doing this this year as I don't feel all that happy about much of my fic for 2017, but when I look at it, I don't really think it was all that dreadful; I think it's just me wanting to do more - have more brain, write better, write more, be less obscure, and just be more, generally. Which is no doubt a good sign in the slow stages of getting well, but a frustrating place to be for months on end. But I think it's mainly a feeling and not really the fic. I hope! But no reason not to complete the annual meme anyway.
Stats:
List of Completed Fics:
Meet Me at Midnight (G, 1966 words. Four + all companions, DW.) For
who_allsorts
Night Falls (Teen, 8535 words. Ensemble, Dracula TV 1968.) For NYR 2017.
Invisible Incident (G, 2461 words. Martel & Richter, Olive, Enemy at the Door.) For
hc_bingo &
trope_bingo.
Ghost Lights (Teen, 4930 words. Dayna/Tarrant, B7.) For
hetswap.
Unconsidered Trifles (G, 1835 words. Eight/Charley, DW.) For
hetswap.
Gothic Romance (Teen, 7359 words. Clara/Scaroth, DW.) For
who_guestfest (& also
trope_bingo,
hc_bingo &
who_allsorts).
Treasure Hunt (G, 1861 words. Four & Leela, DW.) For
who_allsorts
War is Love, Love is War (Teen, 1342 words. Vincent/Various, Manhunt.) For
hc_bingo.
Always a Wolf (G, 1301 words. Lynda Day, Press Gang). For
trope_bingo
Spiritual Awakening (G, 3474 words. Joh Seward & Van Helsing, Dracula TV 1968). For
trope_bingo
Midwinter Night (G, 1384 words. Nina/Jimmy/Vincent, Manhunt.) For
trope_bingo
Make Love, Not War (Teen, 3763 words. Adam Adamant/Georgina Jones, AAL!) For
trope_bingo
One Good Fall (Deserves Another) (G, 1766 words. Five & Clara, DW.) For
genprompt_bingo,
hc_bingo and 500 prompts.
Coffee and Crumbs (The Idiot in the Attic Remix) (G, 2145 words. Twelve, Sky, Sarah Jane, DW/SJA.) For Remix Revival.
Substitute (G, 13480 words. Original characters). For
hc_bingo,
genprompt_bingo & runaway_tales
Foiled (G, 494 words. Daisy Dalrymple/Alec Fletcher, Daisy Dalrymple Series)
Fatal Error (G, 691 words. Twelve & Clara, DW.) For 500 Prompts.
Unbreakable (G, 399 words. Regina Mills, OUaT) For 500 Prompts.
AU Meme:
Sam Vimes (Discworld)
Deva (B7)
Five & Nyssa & Tegan (DW)
Beatrice & Evangeline Eliott (House of Eliott)
Cally (B7)
Liv Chenka (DW/BFA)
Sarah Jane Smith (DW)
Miss Marple (Miss Marple)
Donna Noble (DW)
Emma Peel (The Avengers)
Ander Poul (DW/Kaldor)
William de Worde & Sacharissa Cripslock (Discworld)
Spooky Meme:
Haunted (G, 340 words. Ruth/Harry, Spooks)
A Candle to Light You to Bed (G, 450 words. Silver/Liz, DW/S&S)
Old Bones Buried Under (G, 2228 words. Inspector Alleyn Series)
Valley of the Shadow (Teen, Jonathan/Mina, Dracula TV 1968)
Cursed (G, 622 words. Adam, Georgie & Simms, AAL!)
Necessary Action (G, Drabble, Miss Marple).
Beginner's Luck (G, 457 words. One & Vicki, DW.)
Yuletide 2017:
Served Cold (Teen, 3402 words. Ensemble, Dracula TV 1968)
arrows to the heart (G, 1102 words. Margaret Beaufort & Henry VII, 15th C RPF)
Of Human Bondage (or Five Times Adam and His Friends Found Themselves All Tied Up) (G, 2486 words. Adam, Louise, Georgie, Simms, Guest Characters, AAL!)
Plus runaway_tales installments (22 total, not including Substitute, which is also on AO3):
When the Clock Strikes Twelve (PG, 3486 words. Edward/Julia, others.)
Familiarity (All ages, 1038 words. John Iveson, Elizabeth Long, Jack Iveson, Edward Iveson.)
Working Holiday (Teen, 2713 words. Edward & Julia.)
Ashes and Dust (Teen, 3290 words. Charles Terrell, Marian Dalton, Edward Woodfield, Liesa.)
Family Gossip (All ages, 2643 words. Long family.)
The Letter (Teen, 2515 words. Liz Cardew, Charles Terrell, Edward Iveson.)
Devil's Bargain (PG, 2474 words. Edward/Julia, AU.) Also for
hc_bingo
Homecoming (All ages, 1146 words. Edward/Julia.)
Bleeding Out (PG, 1478 words. Julia & Diana Foyle.) Also for
origfic_bingo
My Tomorrows in Your Hands (Teen, 8600 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
origfic_bingo
Emergency Contact (PG, 5095 words. Edward Iveson & Daisy Long, Elizabeth Long.) Also for
origfic_bingo and
hc_bingo
By My Side (PG, 1887 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
origfic_bingo and
trope_bingo
Carried Away (Teen, 5082 words. Edward/Julia AU). Also for
origfic_bingo and
trope_bingo
Misdirection (All ages, 1505 words. Edward/Julia.) Also for
origfic_bingo.
Shot in the Park (Teen, 6925 words. Edward, Julia, Roderick Howe, James Seymour.) Also for
hc_bingo
Hero of the Lower Sixth (Teen, 5738 words. Edward Iveson & James Seymour.) Also for
hc_bingo
Everything But Words (PG, 1921 words. Edward/Julia.) Also for
genprompt_bingo
I Hear the Sound of Empires Toppling (Teen, 2906 words. Julia Iveson, Ron Whittaker.)
Holding On, Letting Go (PG, 2123 words. Edward Iveson & Elizabeth Long.)
Proposition (PG, 3821 words. Edward/Julia AU.) Also for
hc_bingo
Small Comfort (PG, 1117 words. Julia Graves & Caroline Sheldon.)
Out With the Old (All ages, 969 words. Edward/Julia.)
Total number: 40 + 22 = 62
Total word count: 84,521 + 68,472 = 152,993
Ship/character breakdown:
All ships appearing more than once:
Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker - 2
Other than that, all was random multi-shipping, mostly het, barring the Manhunt pieces, just to give this year some variety. (The actual most shipped characters were OCs, with 13 x Edward/Julia pieces, including 2 posted to AO3.)
All characters appearing 2-3 times (the most anybody got):
Adam Adamant - 3
Georgina Jones - 3
Jonathan Harker - 3
Mina Harker - 3
John Seward - 3
Abraham Van Helsing - 3
Leela - 3
Sarah Jane Smith - 3
Fourth Doctor - 3
Clara Oswald - 3
William Simms - 2
Jane Marple - 2
Dracula - 2
Kiy Uvanov - 2
Liv Chenka - 2
Harry Sullivan - 2
Twelfth Doctor - 2
Roj Blake - 2
Fifth Doctor - 2
I think that may actually be my most random year in fanfic. It was mainly down to what requests people had in the writing memes and me wanting to write more Dracula (TV 1968) after Yuletide 2016.
Specifics:
Best/worst title?
Meet Me at Midnight, I think. Also Unconsidered Trifles (because it has layers), Coffee and Crumbs (The Idiot in the Attic Remix) just because of the difficulty of Remix titles. And Shot in the Park for being literal and punny. And One Good Fall (Deserves Another).
I don't think I came up with many great titles this year. As to worst, I don't think there's anything really dreadful. There are some one word titles, but those are for meme ficlets and I refuse to beat myself up over titles for meme ficlets.
Best/worst summary?
Hmm, I don't know - I'm not sure if I'm any good at summaries, but I still like these ones, I think:
Subsitute: Julia Graves has perfectly reasonable motives for fake-dating a customer - it’s all about interior decorating, honestly…
Gothic Romance: It is a fact universally acknowledged that any beings splintered in time will inevitably run into each other. No law says it has to end well, though…
Invisible Incident: Oberst Richter has not been shot; there was no bullet.
As to worst, all the AU Meme pieces say "10x AU scenarios for X for a meme" which is not a proper summary, but it is a fairly correct description and didn't seem to put people off. (I got far more comments on these collectively than anything else. But they are always fun to do.)
Best/worst first line?
(I interpret this as "first segment/cluster of lines" in most cases, because it seems fairer to me, but maybe that is just because I don't write one good first line just about ever.)
Always a Wolf: “Look,” said the small child in scarlet, “do we have to go through the whole ‘all the better to see you with’ routine?”
Gothic Romance: They met at midnight on a blasted Heath. Hampstead, to be precise.
Ashes and Dust: The first explosion was so small that nobody knew exactly what it was. The second, however, went off on Westminster Bridge, stopping the traffic, killing a cab driver, and swiftly making the news.
Misdirection: “Will you stop the car?” said Julia. “That’s the third time we’ve passed that house now. People are beginning to stare.”
I Hear the Sound of Empires Toppling: It had come to something, Ron Whittaker felt, when Mrs Iveson came to call and wound up pointing a gun at him.
As to my worst lines, I'm not going looking, thank you. I feel bad enough about my 2017 fic as it is. But there are plenty of fairly workmanlike starts and my usual number of tortured run-on sentences. I'll try and fix those one day...
Best/worst last line?
Everything But Words: “I’m sure,” she said, “that nobody will notice anything odd at all, darling. But in the meantime, do you think we should lock the door and disconnect the telephone, just in case?”
Hero of the Lower Sixth: For the first time, flicker of understanding passed between them. Edward could even have sworn that Seymour had grinned at him before he’d disappeared into the car.
Meet Me at Midnight: The Doctor edged nearer to her as he thought about that. “Two what?” he asked, as they strolled on through the woodland into a particularly fine seventeenth century sunset. (Probably shouldn't count, because you do need to know that this is in response to Romana's "It's better with two." But it probably is my favourite ending line of the year, so.)
Unbreakable: Love defeats her and leaves her wounded on the ground; it’s how it ends her curse and sets her free. Love is, she knows again, never a weakness, no matter how it hurts.
Valley of the Shadow: He grinned again, the wolf glinting in his eyes. “Time is passing, you know - you’d better pray the train isn’t delayed!”
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Less! I mean, it looks a lot, but if I hadn't done a couple of writing memes at the end of the year, it wouldn't have been much fanfic, while the origfic pieces tended to be slightly longer on average than last year, but there were less, and I was less pleased with them. And considering how ill I was in 2016, I hoped to do better in 2017. But I think it was a combination of things, including more energy spent on family tree things and reading.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Last year I hadn't supposed that I would like Manhunt if I saw it, so I wouldn't have predicted writing Jimmy/Nina/Vincent or Vincent/Various others, and I certainly didn't expect the Alec/Daisy ficlet for the Daisy Dalrymple series.
I was already planning to write Clara Splinter/Scaroth Splinter for
who_guestfest, so that didn't come as a shock, however. I mean, he may be a villain made out of off-putting tentacles, but once thought of, it had to be done...
What's your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
Substitute (because writing these silly Edward/Julia AUs was my happy space still) and Always a Wolf and Meet Me at Midnight.
Also Gothic Romance, because it's been in my head for ages, although I wish I had managed to make it longer (I had Clarissa diary entries and everything at one point in draft) and better, because it was such a fun idea.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
It's got to be Meet Me at Midnight. I'm not going to complain about that: it was a sweet and fun Five Times fic, contrasting all the Fourth Doctor team TARDISes (well, except the very last, with Adric & Romana but I hadn't yet watched E-Space at the time) and I'm glad that other people seemed to enjoy it about as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The Sam Vimes AU meme entry also went down well, and I'd agree, it was definitely the best of the bunch. (And the first - I peaked early; it's kind of tragic.)
arrows to the heart also did well in Yuletide, and, again, I've got no complaint about that. I was quite pleased with it in the end.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
My Vincent/Nina/Jimmy fic! But that's what you get for being wilfully obscure and not even very shippy. I am actually read more than I deserve!
Nevertheless, I do wish my Remix fic (Coffee and Crumbs) had got a couple more comments. When you write in a well-known fandom in an exchange, it really does feel like you must have done something badly wrong to get hits and kudos but no comments; weirder than just getting neither (because then, clearly, if people would read your obscure fic, they would appreciate it). But that's just me being weird about kudos vs comments in exchanges. (But still, if I wrote better, I would have more comments, wouldn't I? /the doubts will never go)
Story that could have been better?
As always: ALL OF THEM!
And if I had a more functional brain, Gothic Romance would probably have been twice as long, but whether or not that would have been a good thing, who knows? Possibly not...
Sexiest story?
I have reverted to type and probably none of them, except maybe one or two of the Edward/Julia pieces. There's definitely some kissing and implied sex in some of them.
Saddest story?
I wasn't all that bleak for the main! Probably War is Love, Love is War, but that's just Manhunt for you. Not the cheeriest canon in the world!
Most fun?
Meet me at Midnight and Always a Wolf.
Story with single sweetest moment?
Probably this will be some Edward/Julia thing as well. Mind, Coffee and Crumbs I think had some sweet moments and a Twelve-Sarah hug.
Oh, and also Four cheering up a little alien child in Treasure Hunt.
Hardest story to write?
My Yuletide assignment that I completely failed at. Otherwise, When the Lights Go Out, because I saddled myself with a ridiculous number of OCs to kill. Never saddle yourself with a ridiculous number of OCs to kill. (Maybe kill. Or whatever, it's S&S). I'm still working on it.
It took a while to get Night Falls and Gothic Romance at all right, though.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
Meet Me at Midnight and Always a Wolf. Also the AAL! five times Adam got tied up one. I like humorous five times fic, what can I say? I like to think I'm good at them, too.
Always a Wolf in particular, though, because I hadn't written any Press Gang in ages, and it's always a joy to come back to Lynda Day and the flexibility of the canon (the hard part of this was making the fairy tale segments stay AU). (The fic sort of came out of a conversation
astrogirl and I were having, as a tangent because we were talking about our bingo cards and my AU fairy tale squares and I was talking about PG, and
astrogirl was wisely forgetting that part, and the two came together and: FIC. Which is always lovely when it happens.)
I missed an awful lot of typos though. I think I've got them all now.
Most overdue story?
Look, I very nearly have Chapter Two of When the Lights Go Out done! I mean, I only started it two years ago, give me some time here... /o\
(I did actually draft out some important background notes and write a lot more in rough, though.)
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I really don't feel as if I did. I don't feel that happy about my writing this year, and I don't know if that's just the consequence of RaTs dying under me, and writing in obscure fandoms or just me being down and weird, or if, me being down and weird, I have just been not so great at it this year. So I was not really taking many risks.
Oh, I suppose one thing was Treasure Hunt because it was a different kind of outsider POV and I was rather nervous about whether or not it worked - it was written at the same time as Meet Me at Midnight but took me far longer to type up because of that reason. But I got some nice comments, so I think it paid off.
I did sign up for Hetswap, Remix and Yuletide, though, which is always a risk, although usually a worthwhile one.
This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
*looks at list* Um, yeah. Possibly unlikely alliances and friendships? And Edward and Julia kept the marriage of convenience/fake relationship tropes going, as did Scaroth and Clara.
But otherwise I really really can't see a theme!
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
I don't know, but be better, or worry less about it and have more fun. Maybe start a more attractive origfic canon or maybe not. Write more, hopefully. Do my
tic_tac_woe card and my
who_allsorts and
genprompt_bingo and more 500 prompts fic, because I tend to enjoy that. Be less obscure. (It could happen.)
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