2009 Fiction Summary And Critique
Hey, folks! Long time, no see. While I intended to take a good solid break, I didn't intend it to be this long! Funny thing, when you spend five hours a day writing (average minimum), and stop doing it for a while, you find that there are other things you enjoy, too. I'm afraid that self discipline is going to take a little while to be imposed again. ;)
Anyway, here's a belated summary of this year's writing with commentary.
2009 fiction: Stargate SG-1
February
(Hypotheticals, PG-13)
-Cam in leadership mode, trying to stop Daniel from doing something that is almost guaranteed to end badly without actually telling him not to do it, which would probably end just as badly. Cam got away from me a little in this one. I think he works best when the 'southern' comes out in his manner rather than his language, and his speech is a little too deep south here. Still, I like the interaction between the two characters.
April
(The Stars are Bright on Abydos, G)
-This one was written for the Sam&Jack Friendathon, but turned into more of a team story, although the interactions between Sam and Jack feature prominently. There were initially longer sections, and lighter ones, between Sam and Jack, but they detracted from the story, so they had to go. It's also a fairly bleak story about the aftermath of Sha're's funeral. I think some were a bit taken aback to find that as an entry in a ficathon about friendship, but my take on friendship is that it isn't all puppies and cake, sometimes it's pulling together in really bad moments. Actually, if I were to change anything about it, I'd make the ending a little less resolving/upbeat.
May
(Eye of the Beholder, G)
-Written for the Teal'c Ficathon, a team mission with Teal'c saving the day. This one is fine as far as it goes, but that's not far enough. It needed to be part of a larger story and have more plot and character development/implications. It kind of lacks depth, I think. Of course it was written before I started wanting my stories to be more, something I moved toward increasingly as the year progressed, and it's now a primary focus.
June
(Dances With Knives, PG-13)
-Pure Fluff. It was written while I was writing 'Daimons' (which took months)and was me giving both myself and Daniel a little break. I felt the need to give him a nice day given what I was putting him through in 'Daimons.' So that's what this is, a story built on a Star Trek joke in which Daniel has a nice day. ;)
September
(Daimons (Illustrated), PG-13)
(Daimons (Text Only), PG-13)
-Written fo Phoenix-gate. Daniel goes to Kelowna to join an archeological expedition early in season eight. Last time I tried to write a longer, plot-driven story, it suffered from a cliche villain, and shifting POV. In fairness, I'd only been writing for a matter of months, but it was important to avoid that here, and I think I managed to do so. Well, POV hadn't been a problem for a long time, but I was still struggling greatly with OCs and creating a plot. This took a lot of rewriting, but I learned a great deal. I'm very proud of this story.
November
(The Interview, PG-13)
-My first story with an OC main character, and I think it worked out quite well. It's a look at an outsider's introduction to the SGC. I'm getting better at writing OCs, I think, which is important in my planned shift to longer, plotty work. This one is neither long, nor plotty, but it's pretty fun.
(Quality Programming, PG-13)
(Water, PG-13)
(Mythology, PG-13)
-These three were all intended to be drabbles but are not. Apparently, I'm incapable of writing less than 800 words. They were done from requested prompts and are shortish character studies: Daniel & Teal'c, Sha're & Daniel, and Daniel. I needed a break from an as yet unfinished story, which is good, because I like these. They fly in the face of a concious decision to write plot-driven stories, but sometimes when those longer stories get bogged down, it's nice to take a little break such as I did here.
My favorite story this year (of my own):
Daimons. My most complete story, and a step in the direction I want to move.
My best story this year:
Hmmm.... That's a toughie. The two that I think are best both have flaws. 'The Stars Are Bright on Abydos' is a little heavy handed at the end, I think, and 'Daimons' doesn't go quite far enough in terms of OC character development.... But the question isn't which is perfect, is it? I still can't say. They're too different to compare. One of these two, though.
Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
'Daimons.' Straight-up adventure stories, especially longish ones, just don't seem to appeal to as many people. I have difficulty grasping that, because they're the stories I like the most. This was an attempt to write a story that could be an episode, and it won't be the last. I started reading fanfic in an attempt to recapture the 'new episode' feeling after the series was cancelled, and writing that type of story was always my goal.
Most fun story:
Probably 'Dances With Knives', although 'Quality Programming' and 'The Interview' are also pretty fun.
Sexiest story:
Well, Daniel makes a new friend in 'Dances With Knives', but that's about as far as it goes. I'm too canon for sexy stories. It's all PG-13.
Hardest story to write:
Heh, the one I haven't finished.... Okay, of the ones that are done, 'Daimons', definitely. Lots of rewrites, lots of plot changes, many months to write. Worth it though!
Biggest Surprise:
Well, that plots are so very challenging to make adequate, I guess. But maybe that's just a learning curve thing.
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Much less, but I put more effort into each one, and most were longer than the stories of the previous year, and more complex. I didn't spend less time writing, I just spent that time on fewer stories. But my goal last year was to improve as a writer, and I believe I did that.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I'm trying to put more planning into stories, delve deeper into the characters, to write more complicated stories. It's a risk. It can also be a little depressing, because I could swear that the harder I work, the fewer people read, but you gotta do what you gotta do. ;) What did I learn? More about writing!
Things I've learned:
I'm moving toward writing episode-style stories, and most of the things I did last year were trying to find pieces of the puzzle that makes that all come together. Plot, OCs, trying to find ways to mesh humor and drama without breaking the story to get that blend of comedy and drama that typified SG-1. I didn't master anything this year, but I moved along the path in a satisfying way.
Do you have any goals for the New Year?
More of the above, to focus more on longer adventure stories, to continue to work on improving my writing style and plots.
Anyway, here's a belated summary of this year's writing with commentary.
2009 fiction: Stargate SG-1
February
(Hypotheticals, PG-13)
-Cam in leadership mode, trying to stop Daniel from doing something that is almost guaranteed to end badly without actually telling him not to do it, which would probably end just as badly. Cam got away from me a little in this one. I think he works best when the 'southern' comes out in his manner rather than his language, and his speech is a little too deep south here. Still, I like the interaction between the two characters.
April
(The Stars are Bright on Abydos, G)
-This one was written for the Sam&Jack Friendathon, but turned into more of a team story, although the interactions between Sam and Jack feature prominently. There were initially longer sections, and lighter ones, between Sam and Jack, but they detracted from the story, so they had to go. It's also a fairly bleak story about the aftermath of Sha're's funeral. I think some were a bit taken aback to find that as an entry in a ficathon about friendship, but my take on friendship is that it isn't all puppies and cake, sometimes it's pulling together in really bad moments. Actually, if I were to change anything about it, I'd make the ending a little less resolving/upbeat.
May
(Eye of the Beholder, G)
-Written for the Teal'c Ficathon, a team mission with Teal'c saving the day. This one is fine as far as it goes, but that's not far enough. It needed to be part of a larger story and have more plot and character development/implications. It kind of lacks depth, I think. Of course it was written before I started wanting my stories to be more, something I moved toward increasingly as the year progressed, and it's now a primary focus.
June
(Dances With Knives, PG-13)
-Pure Fluff. It was written while I was writing 'Daimons' (which took months)and was me giving both myself and Daniel a little break. I felt the need to give him a nice day given what I was putting him through in 'Daimons.' So that's what this is, a story built on a Star Trek joke in which Daniel has a nice day. ;)
September
(Daimons (Illustrated), PG-13)
(Daimons (Text Only), PG-13)
-Written fo Phoenix-gate. Daniel goes to Kelowna to join an archeological expedition early in season eight. Last time I tried to write a longer, plot-driven story, it suffered from a cliche villain, and shifting POV. In fairness, I'd only been writing for a matter of months, but it was important to avoid that here, and I think I managed to do so. Well, POV hadn't been a problem for a long time, but I was still struggling greatly with OCs and creating a plot. This took a lot of rewriting, but I learned a great deal. I'm very proud of this story.
November
(The Interview, PG-13)
-My first story with an OC main character, and I think it worked out quite well. It's a look at an outsider's introduction to the SGC. I'm getting better at writing OCs, I think, which is important in my planned shift to longer, plotty work. This one is neither long, nor plotty, but it's pretty fun.
(Quality Programming, PG-13)
(Water, PG-13)
(Mythology, PG-13)
-These three were all intended to be drabbles but are not. Apparently, I'm incapable of writing less than 800 words. They were done from requested prompts and are shortish character studies: Daniel & Teal'c, Sha're & Daniel, and Daniel. I needed a break from an as yet unfinished story, which is good, because I like these. They fly in the face of a concious decision to write plot-driven stories, but sometimes when those longer stories get bogged down, it's nice to take a little break such as I did here.
My favorite story this year (of my own):
Daimons. My most complete story, and a step in the direction I want to move.
My best story this year:
Hmmm.... That's a toughie. The two that I think are best both have flaws. 'The Stars Are Bright on Abydos' is a little heavy handed at the end, I think, and 'Daimons' doesn't go quite far enough in terms of OC character development.... But the question isn't which is perfect, is it? I still can't say. They're too different to compare. One of these two, though.
Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
'Daimons.' Straight-up adventure stories, especially longish ones, just don't seem to appeal to as many people. I have difficulty grasping that, because they're the stories I like the most. This was an attempt to write a story that could be an episode, and it won't be the last. I started reading fanfic in an attempt to recapture the 'new episode' feeling after the series was cancelled, and writing that type of story was always my goal.
Most fun story:
Probably 'Dances With Knives', although 'Quality Programming' and 'The Interview' are also pretty fun.
Sexiest story:
Well, Daniel makes a new friend in 'Dances With Knives', but that's about as far as it goes. I'm too canon for sexy stories. It's all PG-13.
Hardest story to write:
Heh, the one I haven't finished.... Okay, of the ones that are done, 'Daimons', definitely. Lots of rewrites, lots of plot changes, many months to write. Worth it though!
Biggest Surprise:
Well, that plots are so very challenging to make adequate, I guess. But maybe that's just a learning curve thing.
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
Much less, but I put more effort into each one, and most were longer than the stories of the previous year, and more complex. I didn't spend less time writing, I just spent that time on fewer stories. But my goal last year was to improve as a writer, and I believe I did that.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I'm trying to put more planning into stories, delve deeper into the characters, to write more complicated stories. It's a risk. It can also be a little depressing, because I could swear that the harder I work, the fewer people read, but you gotta do what you gotta do. ;) What did I learn? More about writing!
Things I've learned:
I'm moving toward writing episode-style stories, and most of the things I did last year were trying to find pieces of the puzzle that makes that all come together. Plot, OCs, trying to find ways to mesh humor and drama without breaking the story to get that blend of comedy and drama that typified SG-1. I didn't master anything this year, but I moved along the path in a satisfying way.
Do you have any goals for the New Year?
More of the above, to focus more on longer adventure stories, to continue to work on improving my writing style and plots.