2015 ficwriting round-up
I posted 10 fics to Archive of Our Own this year, all longer than drabbles. I had a flurry of writing X word ficlets and Three Sentence fics. That’s one more than last year! Most were ficlets, with two passing the thousand-word mark, both of which were gen. Things happened in my life this year that had a big bearing on my writing.
There was a huge flurry in April, partly because of Easter and partly because of what was going on in The Mentalist’s final season - I wrote more The Mentalist fic than any other fandom, and I’ve never written fic in the fandom before. A minority of these fics, less than I thought, were based on prompts.
March
Indelible - The Mentalist, Jane/Lisbon ficlet, episode coda. 213 words.
I was shocked that I wrote some Jane/Lisbon, but at the same time wondered if I’d write more. (I didn’t. I suppose canon provided most of what I wanted for the pairing - perhaps too much so.)
April
Cleaning-up Duty - The Mentalist, one-sided Wylie/Vega ficlet, episode coda. 361 words
It begins...this was the episode where they pretended to be a couple.
Not Alone, Alive - Into the Woods, Cinderella, Baker, Red Riding Hood, Jack, Baker’s Son - gen, post movie. Summary: They find their way out of the woods, the birds find Cinderella and she finds something out. 1,661 words.
I wrote the first draft of this quickly after seeing the film, all my found family feelings and my desire for Cinderella not to slip into another relationship or mothering role poured into it. It took me a couple of months to get back to the draft, edit and polish it and feel happy with posting it.
Chalet - Gotham, Bruce/Selina. Summary: Bruce and Selina, now and later, seeking shelter. (Spoilers for 1.13) 570 words.
These two! I enjoyed imagining them as Batman and Catwoman, although I was sketchy on the details, which is why it’s so short, although anything over 500 words is a decent length for me.
Anniversary - The Mentalist, Wylie/Vega double drabble, AU fix-it Summary: One year on.
Stuff you, canon!
Elevation - The Mentalist, Wylie/Vega ficlet, AU fix-it fic, can be read as a sequel to ‘Anniversary’ 365 words.
More stuff you, canon! I had even more headcanon for these two that never got written up. While producing this, I was observing myself having these intense, classical motivations for writing fic for a live TV fandom, thinking 'Ah yes, this is what it feels like.'
July
A Time and a Place - Agents of SHIELD, Melinda May/Phil Coulson, comment fic. Summary: Only Phil Coulson would belt out a spontaneous proposal in a life-threatening situation. 403 words.
Saw prompt, wrote fic. While I tried to keep them in character, I think it’s fun, and fitting that I wrote something for a pairing (and show) that has snuck up on me.
August
The History Boys and Girl - Nashville, Scarlett, Gunnar, Avery, Micah. Spoilers for 3.08, Two Sides to Every Story. Set between ‘Well, I’m happy to fill in for you, if you’ll have me’ and ‘Well, the three of us have, uh, history’. 1,881 words.
I was very invested in what became ‘The XXXs’ and then ‘The XXs’, apparently. I wanted the characters to bask in what they’d achieved (with Scarlett and Avery being a bit more on the ball than Gunnar. Sorry, Gunnar.) As a missing scene, it was pretty self-contained, and the pressure of canon moving on made me get it out and get it up very quickly.
This happened during the eye of a storm in my life, as it were, and for the next few months, the fall-out affected my writing. It took December’s Three Sentence Challenge to really kick-start my writing, although there I've drafter other things at various points during the year.
December
Disappointments - Arthurian mythology, Guinevere/Arthur ish ficlet, Three Sentence fic, 133 words. Summary: They did have a child, a girl who is forgotten and dismissed simply because she was not a son.
This was the longest of them, although it’s had no feedback. Never mind, I had fun with the nomenclature, and the ficathon unlocked something in me.
Your Sweetness is My Weakness - BTVS, Tara/Riley ficlet, from a comment-fic prompt, 654 words. Summary: Your sweetness is beyond cute.
But I didn’t expect this to be the last fic I posted, or to write this pairing at all, but something about the prompt intrigued me, not just the fluff, because I did try to address canon and convince myself of the pairing in these circumstances. The prompter liked it!
A lot of these fics were written for me, and my longest fics were gen fics in tiny fandoms (sigh, Nashville, why so small?) The Agents of SHIELD and Gotham ficlets have got more hits. I have appreciated every bit of feedback that shows my fics made some connection, even if some of it, perforce, uses the word ‘short’. But I think this confirms that I write for me first of all, for whatever reasons.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/213839.html.
There was a huge flurry in April, partly because of Easter and partly because of what was going on in The Mentalist’s final season - I wrote more The Mentalist fic than any other fandom, and I’ve never written fic in the fandom before. A minority of these fics, less than I thought, were based on prompts.
March
Indelible - The Mentalist, Jane/Lisbon ficlet, episode coda. 213 words.
I was shocked that I wrote some Jane/Lisbon, but at the same time wondered if I’d write more. (I didn’t. I suppose canon provided most of what I wanted for the pairing - perhaps too much so.)
April
Cleaning-up Duty - The Mentalist, one-sided Wylie/Vega ficlet, episode coda. 361 words
It begins...this was the episode where they pretended to be a couple.
Not Alone, Alive - Into the Woods, Cinderella, Baker, Red Riding Hood, Jack, Baker’s Son - gen, post movie. Summary: They find their way out of the woods, the birds find Cinderella and she finds something out. 1,661 words.
I wrote the first draft of this quickly after seeing the film, all my found family feelings and my desire for Cinderella not to slip into another relationship or mothering role poured into it. It took me a couple of months to get back to the draft, edit and polish it and feel happy with posting it.
Chalet - Gotham, Bruce/Selina. Summary: Bruce and Selina, now and later, seeking shelter. (Spoilers for 1.13) 570 words.
These two! I enjoyed imagining them as Batman and Catwoman, although I was sketchy on the details, which is why it’s so short, although anything over 500 words is a decent length for me.
Anniversary - The Mentalist, Wylie/Vega double drabble, AU fix-it Summary: One year on.
Stuff you, canon!
Elevation - The Mentalist, Wylie/Vega ficlet, AU fix-it fic, can be read as a sequel to ‘Anniversary’ 365 words.
More stuff you, canon! I had even more headcanon for these two that never got written up. While producing this, I was observing myself having these intense, classical motivations for writing fic for a live TV fandom, thinking 'Ah yes, this is what it feels like.'
July
A Time and a Place - Agents of SHIELD, Melinda May/Phil Coulson, comment fic. Summary: Only Phil Coulson would belt out a spontaneous proposal in a life-threatening situation. 403 words.
Saw prompt, wrote fic. While I tried to keep them in character, I think it’s fun, and fitting that I wrote something for a pairing (and show) that has snuck up on me.
August
The History Boys and Girl - Nashville, Scarlett, Gunnar, Avery, Micah. Spoilers for 3.08, Two Sides to Every Story. Set between ‘Well, I’m happy to fill in for you, if you’ll have me’ and ‘Well, the three of us have, uh, history’. 1,881 words.
I was very invested in what became ‘The XXXs’ and then ‘The XXs’, apparently. I wanted the characters to bask in what they’d achieved (with Scarlett and Avery being a bit more on the ball than Gunnar. Sorry, Gunnar.) As a missing scene, it was pretty self-contained, and the pressure of canon moving on made me get it out and get it up very quickly.
This happened during the eye of a storm in my life, as it were, and for the next few months, the fall-out affected my writing. It took December’s Three Sentence Challenge to really kick-start my writing, although there I've drafter other things at various points during the year.
December
Disappointments - Arthurian mythology, Guinevere/Arthur ish ficlet, Three Sentence fic, 133 words. Summary: They did have a child, a girl who is forgotten and dismissed simply because she was not a son.
This was the longest of them, although it’s had no feedback. Never mind, I had fun with the nomenclature, and the ficathon unlocked something in me.
Your Sweetness is My Weakness - BTVS, Tara/Riley ficlet, from a comment-fic prompt, 654 words. Summary: Your sweetness is beyond cute.
But I didn’t expect this to be the last fic I posted, or to write this pairing at all, but something about the prompt intrigued me, not just the fluff, because I did try to address canon and convince myself of the pairing in these circumstances. The prompter liked it!
A lot of these fics were written for me, and my longest fics were gen fics in tiny fandoms (sigh, Nashville, why so small?) The Agents of SHIELD and Gotham ficlets have got more hits. I have appreciated every bit of feedback that shows my fics made some connection, even if some of it, perforce, uses the word ‘short’. But I think this confirms that I write for me first of all, for whatever reasons.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/213839.html.