End of the Year Fic Meme
Total Word Count: 160,668 words
Total Number of Fandoms: Two, I guess. Almost all Captain America, with one Pepper & Natasha fic set during Iron Man 2. (I’ve been thinking about writing a PepperNat sequel to that one. “I’ll miss you after leaving Stark Industries,” Natasha said.
“I bet you say that to all your marks,” Pepper said.
“Oh no,” said Natasha. “I’m only a spy. We’re not at good at lying as CEOs.”)
Total Fics: 31
(Just assume these are all Captain America fics.)
January: 2 fics, 13,971 words
Interrogation Techniques, 5981
Self-Possession, 7990
February: 3 fics, 8,616 words
Apologies, 2,087
Pep Talk, 3,054
Taylor Swift, 3,475
March: 5 fics, 26,125 words
Breakdown, 5,409
Summer Vacation, 6,637
Florence, 5,693
Normalization, 5,230
Lay Your Armor Down, 3,156
April: 2 fics, 7,636 words
Apprentice Devils, 2,581 words
Back Alley, 5,055 words
May: 2 fics, 13,897 words
Scapegoat, 4,492 words
Recidivism, 9,405 words
June: 3 fics, 10,675 words
Temperament, 816 words
Been There, Done That, 580 words
Memory, 9,279 words
July: 3 fics, 17,646 words
Accountability, 9,040 words
Second Chances, 6,515 words
Tit for Tat, 2,091 words
August: 1 fic, 5,756 words
Sketch, 5,756 words
September: 2 fics, 10,469 words
Confessions, 5,671 words
About-Face, 4,798 words
October: 4 fics, 13,591 words
Home, 9,720 words
Nightmare, 337 words
Transfer, 2,856 words
A Worthy Foe, 678 words
November, 1 fic, 510 words
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, 510 words
December: 3 fics, 31,508 words
Reciprocity Extras, 25,064 words (this is misleading, because I’ve been posting these since June)
Hydra Prelude, 4,093 words (ditto)
Trial Run, 2,351 words
Looking back, did I write more fic than I thought I would this year, less, or about what I’d predicted?
More. I definitely didn’t expect Reciprocity to grow as long as it did (or to sprout as many side stories as it did), and that definitely pushed up the word count.
What pairing/genre/fandom did I write that I would never have predicted in January?
I didn’t manage to actually include any Pepper/Nat in A Worthy Foe (too early in their relationship, I guess), but that. Would not have expected Pepper/Nat.
What’s my own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes me happiest?
I’m not sure. I actually really like a lot of my stories this year, so I don’t think I can pick just one.
What is my most popular story?
By hits and by kudos, it’s “Lay Your Armor Down” (which is in fact my most popular fic by kudos out of everything I’ve ever written). I guess people really, really wanted to see Steve and Bucky finally talk things out. And make out.
Did I take any writing risks this year? What did I learn from them?
Probably the biggest one was plunging into the mind-wiping plot in Reciprocity, both from a writing standpoint - it added a hefty chunk of plot to a story that I had thought was winding down - and from an audience retention standpoint. And I learned to take the dark road and trust the audience.
Do I have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
For fanfic, I have a few last Reciprocity stories I want to wrap up (it’s the fic that will never die, oh my God). I waffle about whether I should make a list of the ones I most want to write and stick to it, or just write them as I feel the urge.
For profic, I mean to...well, write more of it. I'm planning to make a New Year's Resolutions post later today so I'll talk a bit more about that there.
Best Story:
I’m so bad at deciding, sorry. I like a lot of these stories, but none of them are jumping out at me as better than all the others.
Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe:
Probably Back Alley. It’s the only Reciprocity story that was posted out of sequence, and I moved it back to its proper place in the timeline when I posted it, and I think that made it hard for people to find.
Most Fun:
I had a blast writing Apologies, which probably says bad things about me as a person.
Hardest to Write:
Probably either Recidivism or Confessions. Recidivism wasn’t hard to write so much as hard to plot; I had to set the basis for the final plot arc in the story, and I hadn’t decided on a final plot arc yet (and thank you, Agents of SHIELD, for handing me that on a silver platter), so I flailed for a while.
Confessions wasn’t hard to plot, but I had a hell of a time writing the stupid congressional hearing scene. (“Why did I write myself into a corner where I had to write a congressional hearing?” I howled, more than once.) It was also originally one big story with About-Face, which is the story afterward where the Avengers knock over a Hydra base, and they really didn’t fit together very well.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
I don’t think there was a specific story that did it - probably a combination of Scapegoat and A Worthy Foe - but I’ve become more and more aware of the “serene swan paddling furiously just below the surface” thing Natasha’s got going on. On the outside she’s cool, calm, collected, and secure in her place in SHIELD - but to what extent does that reflect reality?
She’s a defector. She has to know that to some people, her loyalties will always be suspect. (Is she a Russian sleeper agent? How did she convince Clint to bring her in? The From Russia with Love jokes got old the first time they were told.)
Is she genuinely “comfortable with everything” (as Fury says), or does she always agree to any mission because she feels that she can’t refuse without calling her loyalty into question?
Does she still think SHIELD will kill her or lock her up forever if she doesn’t?
(And, if you accept Agents of SHIELD as canonical to the MCU - is she right?)
Favorite OC:
Oh, Joyce. Definitely Joyce. Someone sent me an ask about a good day at Tony Stark’s Home for Brainwashed Agents for one of the patients, and I’ve been turning around the idea for a story about Joyce for that.
“Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass. Steve Rogers kept in stasis gel as a museum exhibit post-Hydra victory FTW!
Biggest Disappointment:
I don’t think I had any big disappointments this year.
Biggest Surprise:
Still the sheer length of Reciprocity. Jesus Christ.
Most Sexy:
Sketch, most definitely.
Story that made me cry:
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass. I thought about writing a continuation, but it’s just too sad.
Story with the sweetest moment:
The ending of Home is pretty sweet. But I think probably Florence is the sweetest.
Story with the single sexiest moment:
Probably still Sketch.
Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
I don’t think any of them are individually particularly telling, but the aggregate weight of them makes some of my obsessions - trust! loyalty! paranoia! - pretty obvious.
Story I haven’t yet written, but intend to:
Well, there’s the aforementioned Pepper/Nat story.
This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
Trust, I think. Both learning how to trust, and who to trust, and how to deal with the consequences when it turns out that you trusted someone you really, really shouldn’t have.
I don’t think that any one story focuses on this more than all the others, but probably the one that makes it most explicit is About-Face, because it features both facets of this theme: Bucky makes a leap of faith to trust Tony and Rhodey in order to protect Hydra brainwashing victims, while Steve confronts Coulson about Coulson’s betrayal of his trust.
Total Number of Fandoms: Two, I guess. Almost all Captain America, with one Pepper & Natasha fic set during Iron Man 2. (I’ve been thinking about writing a PepperNat sequel to that one. “I’ll miss you after leaving Stark Industries,” Natasha said.
“I bet you say that to all your marks,” Pepper said.
“Oh no,” said Natasha. “I’m only a spy. We’re not at good at lying as CEOs.”)
Total Fics: 31
(Just assume these are all Captain America fics.)
January: 2 fics, 13,971 words
Interrogation Techniques, 5981
Self-Possession, 7990
February: 3 fics, 8,616 words
Apologies, 2,087
Pep Talk, 3,054
Taylor Swift, 3,475
March: 5 fics, 26,125 words
Breakdown, 5,409
Summer Vacation, 6,637
Florence, 5,693
Normalization, 5,230
Lay Your Armor Down, 3,156
April: 2 fics, 7,636 words
Apprentice Devils, 2,581 words
Back Alley, 5,055 words
May: 2 fics, 13,897 words
Scapegoat, 4,492 words
Recidivism, 9,405 words
June: 3 fics, 10,675 words
Temperament, 816 words
Been There, Done That, 580 words
Memory, 9,279 words
July: 3 fics, 17,646 words
Accountability, 9,040 words
Second Chances, 6,515 words
Tit for Tat, 2,091 words
August: 1 fic, 5,756 words
Sketch, 5,756 words
September: 2 fics, 10,469 words
Confessions, 5,671 words
About-Face, 4,798 words
October: 4 fics, 13,591 words
Home, 9,720 words
Nightmare, 337 words
Transfer, 2,856 words
A Worthy Foe, 678 words
November, 1 fic, 510 words
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, 510 words
December: 3 fics, 31,508 words
Reciprocity Extras, 25,064 words (this is misleading, because I’ve been posting these since June)
Hydra Prelude, 4,093 words (ditto)
Trial Run, 2,351 words
Looking back, did I write more fic than I thought I would this year, less, or about what I’d predicted?
More. I definitely didn’t expect Reciprocity to grow as long as it did (or to sprout as many side stories as it did), and that definitely pushed up the word count.
What pairing/genre/fandom did I write that I would never have predicted in January?
I didn’t manage to actually include any Pepper/Nat in A Worthy Foe (too early in their relationship, I guess), but that. Would not have expected Pepper/Nat.
What’s my own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes me happiest?
I’m not sure. I actually really like a lot of my stories this year, so I don’t think I can pick just one.
What is my most popular story?
By hits and by kudos, it’s “Lay Your Armor Down” (which is in fact my most popular fic by kudos out of everything I’ve ever written). I guess people really, really wanted to see Steve and Bucky finally talk things out. And make out.
Did I take any writing risks this year? What did I learn from them?
Probably the biggest one was plunging into the mind-wiping plot in Reciprocity, both from a writing standpoint - it added a hefty chunk of plot to a story that I had thought was winding down - and from an audience retention standpoint. And I learned to take the dark road and trust the audience.
Do I have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
For fanfic, I have a few last Reciprocity stories I want to wrap up (it’s the fic that will never die, oh my God). I waffle about whether I should make a list of the ones I most want to write and stick to it, or just write them as I feel the urge.
For profic, I mean to...well, write more of it. I'm planning to make a New Year's Resolutions post later today so I'll talk a bit more about that there.
Best Story:
I’m so bad at deciding, sorry. I like a lot of these stories, but none of them are jumping out at me as better than all the others.
Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe:
Probably Back Alley. It’s the only Reciprocity story that was posted out of sequence, and I moved it back to its proper place in the timeline when I posted it, and I think that made it hard for people to find.
Most Fun:
I had a blast writing Apologies, which probably says bad things about me as a person.
Hardest to Write:
Probably either Recidivism or Confessions. Recidivism wasn’t hard to write so much as hard to plot; I had to set the basis for the final plot arc in the story, and I hadn’t decided on a final plot arc yet (and thank you, Agents of SHIELD, for handing me that on a silver platter), so I flailed for a while.
Confessions wasn’t hard to plot, but I had a hell of a time writing the stupid congressional hearing scene. (“Why did I write myself into a corner where I had to write a congressional hearing?” I howled, more than once.) It was also originally one big story with About-Face, which is the story afterward where the Avengers knock over a Hydra base, and they really didn’t fit together very well.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
I don’t think there was a specific story that did it - probably a combination of Scapegoat and A Worthy Foe - but I’ve become more and more aware of the “serene swan paddling furiously just below the surface” thing Natasha’s got going on. On the outside she’s cool, calm, collected, and secure in her place in SHIELD - but to what extent does that reflect reality?
She’s a defector. She has to know that to some people, her loyalties will always be suspect. (Is she a Russian sleeper agent? How did she convince Clint to bring her in? The From Russia with Love jokes got old the first time they were told.)
Is she genuinely “comfortable with everything” (as Fury says), or does she always agree to any mission because she feels that she can’t refuse without calling her loyalty into question?
Does she still think SHIELD will kill her or lock her up forever if she doesn’t?
(And, if you accept Agents of SHIELD as canonical to the MCU - is she right?)
Favorite OC:
Oh, Joyce. Definitely Joyce. Someone sent me an ask about a good day at Tony Stark’s Home for Brainwashed Agents for one of the patients, and I’ve been turning around the idea for a story about Joyce for that.
“Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass. Steve Rogers kept in stasis gel as a museum exhibit post-Hydra victory FTW!
Biggest Disappointment:
I don’t think I had any big disappointments this year.
Biggest Surprise:
Still the sheer length of Reciprocity. Jesus Christ.
Most Sexy:
Sketch, most definitely.
Story that made me cry:
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass. I thought about writing a continuation, but it’s just too sad.
Story with the sweetest moment:
The ending of Home is pretty sweet. But I think probably Florence is the sweetest.
Story with the single sexiest moment:
Probably still Sketch.
Most Unintentionally Telling Story:
I don’t think any of them are individually particularly telling, but the aggregate weight of them makes some of my obsessions - trust! loyalty! paranoia! - pretty obvious.
Story I haven’t yet written, but intend to:
Well, there’s the aforementioned Pepper/Nat story.
This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
Trust, I think. Both learning how to trust, and who to trust, and how to deal with the consequences when it turns out that you trusted someone you really, really shouldn’t have.
I don’t think that any one story focuses on this more than all the others, but probably the one that makes it most explicit is About-Face, because it features both facets of this theme: Bucky makes a leap of faith to trust Tony and Rhodey in order to protect Hydra brainwashing victims, while Steve confronts Coulson about Coulson’s betrayal of his trust.